Essie French Affair

I'm mad at myself for not painting my nails on Sunday. After work on Saturday, I went over to a friend's house for dinner and then woke up early the next morning with no time to paint my nails. I went to the Chief's Show, which I'm sure will interest no one who reads my blog!! Haha. But it's basically a fire expo with lots of fire trucks, ambulances, vendors, etc. Way more fire than EMS based, and I'd prefer it the other way around, but I had a nice long talk with the rep from the company who makes our stretchers, so that was entertaining. Saw a few ambulances up there that I have personally worked in, which was also neat.

Anyway, back to nails. So I had intentions of doing something really awesome and fire/EMS related. Didn't happen at all. I went with naked nails :(

So when I went to paint my nails last night, I knew exactly what I wanted (something that hasn't happened for a while). Generally I tend to go for more flashy, bright, non-typical (not work appropriate) colors with awesome finishes. For some reason, I just wanted to wear a simple light pink creme and French Affair was that.

**Please note that even if my photos look a little wonky, the polish looks perfect in real life**













3 coats French Affair
1 coat Poshe
*Another side note:
My pinkie had been out of commission due to a horrible, horrible break a few weeks back. It finally grew out enough for me to silk wrap, and is back in my photos!! Woo!! And if you paid attention the the green blob on my palm, that's the reflection of the 50% off sticker I didn't take off the bottle.

Good GOSH this application was terrible. I don't understand how Essie manages to repeatedly put out pastel cremes like this. It was streaky, too thick, dried quickly on the brush, and had awful cuticle drag. This polish is a mess, I am so disappointed. The photos you see are actually a re-paint because the first one I stared at closely and realized would look horrendous in Macro photos. I lost a lot of patience dealing with this polish. This is one that you need to be prepared for. Because Nice is Nice was from the same collection and the formula was fine there, I was really hoping it would be great here, too. Nope. It followed in the footsteps of Mint Candy Apple (which I was prepared to deal with having worn it plenty of times, so it wasn't that bad) and joins with the application of Topless & Barefoot, also from the same collection.
Please don't get me wrong. Don't let the application deter you from this polish. Just be aware that it requires some babying and it won't be a quick out-the-door polish.

The color on the other hand, is gorgeous, and is why you really shouldn't be so weary of the formula. It's a cool-toned pastel pink that gets totally opaque, looks beautifully creamy, and has a brightness to it that doesn't make your hands look dead. It's a creme that keeps me staring at my nails. I've found some lighter pinks can look messy and childish. This is not one of them. It's so gorgeous. I love the contrast of the cool-toned polish with my warm/olive/yellow skintone. I think it's so lovely and as of now, will be my go-to baby pink. I would also say that it is in the realm of being one of those perfect Barbie pinks, just the light version as opposed to the bright, fun version that is Orly Fancy Fuchsia.

Bonus!!
My amazing little pup dog, Paisley, chillin' in the sunshine!! Caught this photo mid-sniff lol. She was lying out while I was taking photos this morning. Her nickname is Small Dog.