Over the last seven or eight years, it's become a tradition for me to count down the days 'til Christmas Day with a beauty Advent calendar. I love the ritual of opening a cardboard window or drawer each morning in December and finding a new nail polish, fragrance, or hand cream inside; it makes every day of Advent feel like Christmas morning.
In the past, I've enjoyed beauty Advent calendars from brands like L'Occitane, OPI, The Body Shop, and Selfridges. This year, I decided I wanted a nail polish calendar to help rebuild my collection after my recent clear out, and narrowed down my favourites to the Essie and Ciaté Advent calendars. After weeks of deliberating, I found I couldn't choose between them, and since one was on promotion with £20 off the RRP, what was a girl to do but treat herself to both? It would've been rude not to, right?
I'll be reviewing the Ciaté Advent calendar for you later this week, but today I'm going to give you the low-down on the Essie calendar, with full spoilers of the contents.
So... nail care favourite Essie have returned with a brand new Advent calendar for Christmas 2019, and it's packed full of Essie nail polishes, treatments, and gifts to keep your nails looking their best throughout the festive season, and beyond.
This year's calendar comes presented in a large white cardboard box, dotted with a flurry of metallic silver polka dots (representing falling snow), plus illustrations of giant blue and silver snowflakes and Essie nail polishes fanned out in the shape of, you've guessed it, even more snowflakes. Cut in to the design on the front of the box are twenty-four cardboard windows of various sizes in ice blue and white, with the numbers clearly marked in large modern fonts to make finding the right window each day a piece of cake- perfect for anyone with terrible eyesight, like me! The design of the calendar is modern, festive, and attractive, and will look lovely on display with your Christmas decorations this Christmas.
The calendar includes eight full size nail polishes, nine mini nail polishes, one mini nail polish remover, and six Essie surprises (which includes one sheet of nail stickers, two felt Christmas tree decorations, an emery board, heart-shaped post it notes, Essie hair tie, and a bracelet).
Here's the full list of what you'll find inside the Essie Advent calendar this year.
♥ Make Me Happy nail polish 13.5ml- a dark berry red.
♥ Lovie Dovie nail polish 13.5ml- a flamingo pink.
♥ Mademoiselle nail polish 13.5ml- a sheer pastel pink.
♥ Russian Roulette nail polish 13.5ml- a classic bright red with orange undertones.
♥ Chinchilly nail polish 13.5ml- a sleek granite grey.
♥ Mrs Always Right mini nail polish 5ml- a fierce terracotta rose.
♥ Buy Me A Cameo mini nail polish 5ml- a frosted satin mocha.
♥ Mint Candy Apple mini nail polish 5ml- a crème de menthe mint green.
♥ Sugar Daddy mini nail polish 5ml- a sheer sweet pink.
♥ Apres-Chic mini nail polish 5ml- a metallic glitter grey.
♥ Glow Your Own Way mini nail polish 5ml- a luxe gold glitter.
♥ Bubbles Only Gel Couture nail polish 13.5ml- a classic burgundy red gel polish.
♥ Top Coat Gel Couture 13.5ml- a quick dry top coat that seals, protects, and gives a glossy finish.
♥ Apricot Cuticle Oil mini 5ml- a nourishing, quick absorbing cuticle oil.
♥ Speed Setter 13.5ml- a high-shine and quick drying top coat.
♥ Strong Start 5ml- a nail treatment to strengthen, reinforce and harden nails.
♥ Get It Bright 5ml- a base coat infused with lemon extract to prime nails and neutralise discolouration.
♥ Mini Nail Polish Remover 25ml- a purifying nail polish remover than removes even the darkest nail shades without stripping the nail bed of essential hydration.
♥ Small set of white nail stickers.
♥ A mini Essie emery board nail file.
♥ Red Essie print hair tie.
♥ Red heart bracelet.
♥ Pink heart-shaped post it notes.
♥ Two felt snowflake Christmas tree decorations- one white, one forest green.
There are a great selection of nail shades included in the calendar. There are delicate pinks, classic reds, glittery golds, sophisticated nudes, and much more. The colours are classic nail shades that should appeal to the masses, but the selection of colours is pretty tame. If you're hoping for a whole spectrum of bold nail colours, neon brights, or anything revolutionary, you're not going to find them in this calendar. This may be good or bad news depending on the nail colours you like to wear. I personally love wearing the whole rainbow on my nails, and I love the look of the colours in this calendar- especially the reds, 'Make Me Happy', 'Russian Roulette', and 'Bubbles Only', and the gold glitter shade, 'Glow Your Own Way'. I haven't worn or swatched any of the polishes yet as I'm saving that pleasure for December, but they all look dreamy.
Besides nail colours, the calendar also gives you everything you need to prep and finish your nails from base coats and top coats, to cuticle oil and nail treatments, so Essie really have thought of everything to help us get our nails looking beautiful in time for Christmas.
I'm impressed that the calendar includes so many full-sized polishes- not just one or two but eight of them. Most nail polish Advent calendars are filled with miniature nail polishes, with one full-sized bottle for Christmas Eve, if you're lucky, so to get eight full size bottles in one calendar from a quality brand is rare and pretty special. Essie nail polishes retail between £8-£10 each, so these eight polishes alone are worth more than the £60 the calendar retails for. It's excellent value for money- especially considering you also get nine mini polishes, a mini nail polish remover, and accessories, too! And the mini polishes are actually a decent size at 5ml each, so you're getting lots of product for your money. It's the perfect way to try lots of different Essie nail colours and treatments without breaking the bank.
I'll admit, I'm disappointed that the calendar isn't entirely filled with nail polishes. I personally would've preferred more nail colours instead of the cheap 'gifts' like nail stickers and decorations, which have clearly been added to bulk out the calendar while keeping the cost down. The quality of these little gifts is pretty shocking, and they're unlikely to wow anybody. Nobody is going to want an Essie-print hair tie or cheap felt snowflake decorations. (Although, I might utilise them as present toppers to save them from going straight to landfill). And I doubt anybody will be impressed by a thin red-cord friendship bracelet with a faux-silver heart that breaks the moment you try to extend it to fit your wrist. The gifts are basically cheap tat that will leave most people disappointed when they find them inside, and I'm sure most of them will ultimately end up in the bin.
However, despite these disappointing extras, I am still more than satisfied with the rest of the contents and the calendar overall, so don't let the cheap accessories put you off. The seventeen nail polishes and treatments, and nail polish remover more than make up for it. The shades are gorgeous, they're generously-sized, fantastic quality, and worth much more than the calendar retails for- which is especially good as I managed to snag it for just £40 on promo from Ocado- £20 cheaper than the RRP!! (It's currently back on promotion for Black Friday, so snap it up here). Would I have been as happy to look past the disappointing surprises had I paid full price? Probably not, but as I saved £20 I know I grabbed a bargain, and am willing to overlook them for the cache of beautiful nail polishes. I rarely treat myself to Essie polishes as they're quite pricey, so this is a lovely treat from me to myself for the festive season that I fully intend to and can't wait to enjoy in December!
I'll be sharing what I find inside my calendar on Instagram each day during Advent, with swatches of the polishes, so make sure you're following me on Instagram here if you'd like to follow along and get a closer look at the nail colours from December 1st.
Essie's Advent calendar retails for £60 and is still available to buy from Amazon, Ocado, and Sephora. It would make a lovely treat for yourself or a loved one this Christmas, and is sure to keep your nails looking their best throught the festive season. Don't just take my word for it; find out for yourself!
How are you counting down the days 'til Christmas this year?
P.S. Look out for my review of this year's Ciaté Mini Mani Month nail polish Advent calendar coming to the blog later this week!
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