Essie Bridal 2016 - Mrs. Always Right Collection Review & Comparisons

I'm really late to the party on swatching and reviewing this 2016 Wedding Collection. I'm pretty sure this came out in April and even though I liked the overall look and feel of this collection, I looked at it and thought I had dupes of all of these. I decided to save my money and skip out on this collection all together. Then as the months went on and I was all unexcited about upcoming collections, I realized this Wedding Collection offered me everything I wanted. I LOVE pastels! I LOVE neutrals! Honestly, that's all I've been wearing for months on end now, so I decided to just go for it. I hope you still find the review interesting and useful, especially since I added in the comparisons.

I actually swatched this collection back in June but hated the photos. It had been a cloudy day and my swatches were dull and dark and a bunch of the swatches looked really streaky. So every time I went to work on this post, I would cringe looking at the photos and just shut my computer. This time around I made sure to use  Fill the Gap and Essie Ridge Filling Base to avoid streaking as much as I could. I also made sure it was a sunny day. So let's get into it!

Coming Together 

What a pretty, sheer, pale candy pink! I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one, but I totally love it.  This polish is sheer and STREAKY though. I've swatched it twice and worn it once and the best application is with Fill the Gap as your base plus three coats of polish. You kind of need to put on thicker coats and just float the brush over the nail to avoid streaks. Just to see the difference a base made, I used Fill the Gap on my pointer and Essie Ridge Filling base on the others. Where there's Ridge Filling base on my ring finger you can see the streaks still (even after base and three coats). Despite the streaks, I honestly love the way it looks once it's on. The sheer candy pink gets me!

Coming Together vs. Fiji vs. Tying the Knotie vs. Vanity Fairest

In my entire collection, I have no other colour like Coming Together. I grabbed the closest looking sheer pinks (Tying the Knotie and Vanity Fairest) but they are so pale in comparison.

Left to Right: Vanity Fairest, Tying the Knotie, Fiji (U.S. version) and Coming Together

I thought the new U.S. version of Fiji might be kinda close in colour (even though its opaque, not sheer) but it doesn't compare to the level of pink saturation Coming Together has. So despite the streaks (I can work around that), I really love this polish. It's unique to my collection and I love the way it looks on.

Steal His Name 

When I swatched this colour the first time I noted that the formula was exactly the same as Coming Together, but this time around I noticed it's a bit more pigmented. After 2 coats I thought it looked great and was able to take a picture, although my ring finger was streaky and needed a third coat. So I  do think this formula was slightly superior to Coming Together. While you can't really see my nail line in these photos, in person it is there slightly, so you may not like this one or Coming Together if you aren't into sheer polishes. But it's another one I love!

Steal His Name vs. Van D'Go vs. Groove Is In the Heart vs. Got Engaged!

Look at the bottle shots! I thought for sure I would be finding a very similar polish in this bunch, especially how Steal His Name and Van D'Go look almost identical in the bottle.

Left to Right: Got Engaged!, Steal His Name, Van D'Go and Groove Is In the Heart 

But nope. Van D'Go is much more saturated and brightly pigmented, whereas Steal His Name has a subdued nudeness to it like Got Engaged. It's much more peach than Got Engaged though. And Groove Is In the Heart isn't even close. It's way too bright and pink. 

Between the Seats

This is the kind of polish I love. A beautiful light neutral that goes with everything! Between the Seats has a nice formula and is easy to apply. It mostly self-levels but gets a teeny bit ridgey. No biggie though, your top coat would smooth that right out. It's opaque in 2 coats.

Between the Seats vs. Urban Jungle vs. Take It Outside vs. Master Plan

All of these polishes I compared to Between the Seats were requested by a reader, so lets take a closer look. 

Left to Right: Urban Jungle, Between the Seats, Take It Outside and Master Plan

The two grey shades aren't even close, but Urban Jungle and Between the Seats; those are the two I'VE been dying to know if they are dupes or not. But there actually seems to be a slight variation between the two!

Urban Jungle is a tad brighter with a hint of blush to it, while Between the Seats has a touch more greyish beige. I think if you do an entire mani with each, they would take on a bit of a different look. So no (exact) dupes here, but yep, they are super close. Oh, and I should also mention that Between the Seats had a more opaque formula. I got it opaque in 2 coats whereas Urban Jungle needed 3.

Groom Service

 

I love the way this one looks in photos, but I'm not as sure how I feel about it once it's on me. It has a nice formula, is fairly easy to apply and is opaque in 2 coats. Don't put too much polish on your brush or you will flood your cuticles.

Groom Service vs. Lilacism vs. Full Steam Ahead vs. Bond With Whomever

From the bottle shots we can see that Groom Service is more cool toned and blue-based so Bond With Whomever is sticking out like a sore thumb with it's pink undertones.  

Left to Right: Lilacism, Bond With Whomever, Full Steam Ahead and Groom Service. 

Lilacism is much paler and Bond With Whomever is too pink, so Full Steam Ahead is the closest. It has fine shimmer in it, isn't as opaque and is lighter than Groom Service, but it's still pretty close.

Passport to Happiness 

This one surprised me! I DID NOT expect to like it. All the pics I had seen of it online, I was like "oh great. ANOTHER mint. I have a bunch of those" and while it is unique because of the very fine pearly shimmer finish, I just was not a fan of that either. But then I put it on my nails and I totally liked it! It's a mint that isn't so bright. It's toned down a bit and really nice and wearable. I really liked it on my skin tone. And the formula surprised me too! I had read that it didn't self-level nicely and gave ridges, but my bottle didn't at all. It applied nicely, levelled nicely and was opaque in 2 coats. With Fill the Gap on my pointer it was opaque in one! No complaints here!

Passport to Happiness vs. Mint Candy Apple vs. Fashion Playground

Passport to Happiness (in the middle) has a touch of grey or something to make it a more subdued mint than the other two. 

Left to Right: Mint Candy Apple (green version), Passport to Happiness and Fashion Playground

Mint Candy Apple (green version) is much brighter and more green than Passport to Happiness. Fashion Playground is a bit more green as well, but with the tiny bit of shimmer in it, they are closer. Passport to Happiness has a much different finish though,  since it's laced with a ton of fine mint shimmer, giving it almost a pearlescent finish. I love what a different mint Passport to Happiness is, and it may actually be my favourite mint polish ever!

Mrs. Always Right 

I may have kinda, sorta swore when I applied this and said "HOLY S***!" (blushes). This raspberry rose shade is totally opaque in one coat and not thick and goopy.  Just friggin' fantastic and easy to apply and self-level. 100% perfection.

Mrs. Always Right vs. In Stitches vs. Angora Cardi vs. Island Hopping

I thought I might be finding a dupe between Mrs. Always Right and In Stitches...

....but they are a tad different. Angora Cardi and Island Hopping are much more purple based and not even close.

But Mrs. Always Right and In Stitches are very close. The formula of Mrs. Alway Right was much better as it's so opaque and creamy and buttery. In Stitches was thinner and I needed 3 coats for opaqueness. Mrs. Always right is a bit brighter with a touch more pink and In Stitches seemed to have a touch of brown and a drop of orange compared to Mrs. Always Right. If you are choosing between the two, Mrs. Always Right is better.

Alright I admit it. I made a mistake not ordering this collection months ago! I really love these colours and I thought the formulas were pretty good on most of these. I wish for a non-streaky Coming Together but other than that, I'm in love with this collection! Between the Seats, Coming Together, Steal His Name and Passport to Happiness are new faves and the fantastic formula and colour of Mrs. Always Right is on point. 

I'm also happy to point out that any polishes I thought were going to be dupes are just different enough for me to justify them ;).

Did you pick up any polishes from this collection? Which were your favourites?