Essie -- Fiji (plus how to score great nail polish deals on eBay)

Why do some of the prettiest colors have to be so damn difficult to work with? Such is the case of Essie's Fiji. Is it gorgeous? Yes. Is it a pain in the ass to apply? Oh, yes. Is it worth the struggle? Probably. Okay, yes, it's worth the struggle. 

Essie -- Blossom Dandy

Blossom Dandy was the big hit of the Essie 2015 Spring Flowerista collection; it was the shade that everyone was raving about and me being obsessed with mint things meant that I just had to own it. As usual, I hunted for a good deal. I won this bottle on eBay for $3.36 (plus $1.65 in shipping), so all in all I paid $5.01. I usually hate paying for shipping, but since this was from a current collection and my winning bid was so low I didn't mind too much.

Essie's website describes Blossom Dandy as a "mint creme hydrangea... an eye catching light blue with a hint of spring mint green" and that really is spot on. When I had it on last week I had a girl tell me that she felt like the color was very relaxing, and I thought that was a pretty cool observation. 

Blossom Dandy

Essie -- Bikini So Teeny

I blame a lot of my nail polish obsession on Essie. Those cute square bottles in all of those fabulous shades just make my little heart flutter. Sadly, they retail for way more than I'd willingly fork over ($8.50), even for **gorgeous** nail polish. Enter eBay, and my new (bad) habit. I scored Bikini So Teeny, along with Romper Room, Sand Tropez, and Mint Candy Apple together as a lot of four for $14.95, with free shipping. That's roughly $3.74 each, and now I am constantly on the hunt for sweet deals. On my ring finger in this picture is Essie's Lilacism, which I also got on eBay for $4.67 (the polish was $1.99, plus $2.68 shipping). 

Essie's Bikini So Teeny and Lilacism

But back to Bikini So Teeny... I love the color blue, especially pastel shades, but wasn't so sure I'd like it on my nails. My only other experience with blue nail polish had been with shades of navy, and I absolutely HATE the way that color looks on my nails. So I was very pleasantly surprised with how beautiful Bikini So Teeny was, and the fact that I didn't want to take it off immediately, screaming (which is how I've felt with the before mentioned shades of blue). This shade is an absolute dream, and I really think it should be a must-have for all nail polish lovers. 

[L-R] Mint Candy Apple, Romper Room, Sand Tropez, Bikini So Teeny, Lilacism, Splash of Grenadine

This was my Essie Collection as of last month. I've doubled my collection since then. The first four shades were from the lot of four mentioned above, and the last one is Splash of Grenadine, which a friend found at TJ Maxx for me for $4.99. That's the most I've spent (so far) on Essie, and the only reason I even paid that much is that I was absolutely DYING for that damn shade! It's divine!