
Here’s the final two polishes from Essie’s Spring 2011 Collection, French Affair. For months I kept telling myself I didn’t need pastel purple or pastel pink, but then I ended up staring at these last two from the collection in a WalGreen’s and something snapped. I had to try them out!
I’ve already tried and really liked the other four polishes from the Essie Spring 2011 Collection. So I finally decided that I should check out the other two while they were still sitting at a drug store. I found Nice is Nice (the purple) quite easily, but I had to go diving into the back of the polish rows, where people had stashed random bottles, to find French Affair. Because at that point, it had turned into a hoarder, completing-my-collection type impulse.
I was happily surprised, therefore, when I found that Nice is Nice is a gorgeous, fleshy purple that is more Pirates of the Caribbean than Lilacism. It’s a lot warmer and kind of dirtier than other pastel purples I have. It was perfectly flattering and not stark and weird, just feminine. It took three easy coats and wasn’t streaky at all. I’m so happy to have it! It will make early spring purple polish a no-brainer.

In less direct light you can see that it’s still very light purple, not too pinkish or anything. It’s really nice!

I tried a coat of CND’s Lavender Pearl over a coat of OPI’s I Juggle…Men on top to prolong the manicure, and this was just kind of ok. It didn’t provide any contrast and the shimmer got a little lost over a color this close to the CND Effect itself. I Juggle…Men proved itself once again to be a shrinking wallflower with no oomph. I wouldn’t reach for this with a pastel again. It might be better over a darker color.


Then I turned to French Affair, the namesake of the collection. It’s a slightly purplish, pastel pink, very light and stark. The formula wasn’t as nice to apply as Nice Is Nice, and the color turned out very white and reminded me of China Glaze’s Something Sweet. It is a bit more purple, though, which might make it worth a look if you’re a light pink fan. It was a bit of a disappointment for me. I’m not sure I’ll really be wearing this anytime soon, since it’s the most aggressive pastel of the Spring 2011 Collection. I’m still kind of happy that I have it sitting in my Helmer, though, keeping the other five polishes company.


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