Essie Really Red Swatch and Review

Hello, nail polish lovers! Today I have a swatch and a review to share with you. It's of Essie's Really Red.

This is a red crelly polish. A crelly is a semi-creme, semi-jelly polish. Refer to my Jelly Sandwich Manicure Tutorial for more information on jellies. (FYI: In case you don't know, creme polishes are basic ones that you probably make up most of your collection. They are pretty opaque, and have no special effects, such as shimmers.) So crellies are essentially cremes, but with a hint of transparency. As you can see in the bottle, it's a little sheer.

I purchased this at Harmon for $7.79.

This is what it looks like on my nails! This is actually a pretty standard red. I can't really decide whether it's cool or warm. Maybe it's universal! Excuse me while I go on Essie's site to check and see what they say about it...

...Here's what Essie says about it: classic. bold. pure. the perfect shade of truly rich red lacquer – universally flattering in winter, spring, summer & fall. brush it on and paint the town fabulous. 

There we go: "universally flattering in winter, spring, summer & fall." I was right! 

This polish is shiny and pretty, and virtually opaque in just one coat. However, I used two coats. Now here's where the jelliness comes in: On one finger I can almost see the visible nail line, but I really can't... if that makes any sense. So part of me thinks it's opaque, the other part thinks it's more jellyish. I guess that's where the "crelly" comes in. Weird!

Application was pretty easy. I'll admit, I do have some trouble with some of Essie's polishes in that area (for example, Mint Candy Apple is kind of streaky and hard to apply) but this one is great! It glides on with ease. The application is similar to that of Essie Mod Square, but not quite as easy-peasy. But still very nice! 

This red is great if you don't have much experience with reds (like me!). It's not to bright, but not too muted; not really warm or cool (if you're not sure of what undertones you have); not too dark, not too light. You should definitely add this polish to your collection, as red polishes are one of the bare essentials of a nail polish collection. Also! If you have one, I would highly recommend using a base coat with this polish. Granted, I haven't tried to remove it yet, but since reds tend to stain, wear a base coat to avoid such problems. 

That's it for this post! I'll see you when I see you!

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XOXO

Is

Jelly Sandwich Manicure Tutorial

HELLO EVERYBODY!! I'm feeling pretty peppy right now! Anyone else? Today was just a good day. And it's Friday! It's a bonus!

So! Onto the manicure!

You're probably scratching your heads and wondering what a jelly sandwich is. First, let's start out with the basics: What is a jelly nail polish? This type of polish is sheer, with a gooey, shiny finish. Here are two of the best descriptions I've seen so far: "Imagine applying a thin layer of red jello to your nail. That's what a red jelly polish sort of looks like! Some describe this as 'squishy,' meaning that it looks like you could squish a jelly polish (like jello)." -Nouveaucheap.blogspot.com. "...jellies are like lip gloss for nails while cremes are like lipstick." -blog.birchbox.com. So there you have it! Now, a jelly sandwich is a manicure technique in which you sandwich a layer of glitter polish between a jelly polish. This makes the glitter look suspended in the polish, similar to the look of fruit trapped in a gelatin mold.

So here we have a diagram of a jelly sandwich. As you can see, the bottom layer is jelly polish, the middle is glitter, and the top is jelly.

And now, onto the tutorial.

STEP ONE: GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES

The first thing you will need to do is gather your supplies. If you are giving yourself a full-on manicure, get whatever materials you need for that. (I might do a post on my mani routine at some other point in time.) For this nail design, here's what you'll need: A base coat of choice (I use Essie Grow Stronger), your jelly polish (I will be using Essie Bouncer It's Me), your glitter polish (I will be using Essie Set In Stones), and your top coat of choice (I use Milani Quick Dry Topcoat). Note: For your manicure to come out looking right, choose a glitter polish with fairly large glitters and a clear base. It's okay if there are tiny glitters mixed in as well, just make sure that there are some big ones in there. A cool alternative to the regular square or hex glitter is to choose a polish will shapes in it, like stars, hearts, or other shapes.

STEP TWO: PREPARE THE NAILS

If you are giving yourself a full-on, luxurious mani, go ahead do so. You might want to cut and/or file your nails, push back your cuticles, etc. Once you do this, apply your base coat.

STEP THREE: ADD TWO COATS OF JELLY POLISH

 Paint your nails with two coats of your jelly nail polish. This will be the first layer of your jelly sandwich.

STEP FOUR: ADD GLITTER POLISH

This glitter will be the middle layer of your jelly sandwich. Depending on the density or "glitter payoff" of your chosen glitter polish, you may want to do one or two coats. The polish I used is the right amount of glitter for me, so I just did one coat.

STEP FIVE: ADD ONE COAT OF JELLY POLISH

This will create the "sandwiched" effect. Pretty cool, huh?

STEP SIX: ADD A TOPCOAT

A glossy shine is just what this mani needs to give it even more depth.

That's it! You're done!

I absolutely LOVE this manicure, and I will definitely be trying it out again soon. Just for fun, I added a satin (semi-matte) topcoat on it later.

 Ehh. It kinda took away the depth. I wouldn't recommend it. 

One more quick tip: If you haven't heard of jelly polishes before, take a look through your collection and see if you have any sheer polishes. They may be jellies, and you never even knew! I had about three jellies in my collection already that I wasn't even aware of! 

That's it for this post. I hope this tutorial was helpful. Good luck with your jelly sandwich manicures!

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XOXO

Is