Essie Gel Couture 2017 Gala Bolds : PR Stunt & Beau-Tie

Good Morning Essie Lovers!

If you watched my Insta stories last week, you would've saw that I went out and bought a little polish birthday present for myself. The Gala Bolds Gel Couture Collection was finally released in Canada and I found the 6 piece collection at Superstore. 12 polishes were released in the U.S. but these were the colour choices here in Canada:

I had been eyeing up the purple one called Beau-Tie since I saw Mani Geek (Karen) post swatches of them back in May. I knew that one would be coming home with me but I had also wanted the shimmery blue that wasn't released in Canada! Eventually, more and more swatches of this collection came out on Instagram and PR Stunt became the polish that I started lusting after. In the end, those were the only two I went for. But I have swatches and comparisons for you of those ones! So let's jump in.

PR Stunt

K you guys, I'm OBSESSED with this colour! It looks sooooooo good. I love it even more in person than I did seeing it online. It's a soft pink that also leans a bit lavender as well. It also has a gorgeous golden sheen. It's not super noticeable on the nail, but it does catch the light at times and gives this polish a candlelit glow. The formula was thin and streaky but not difficult to work with. It was easy to control and apply and took 3 coats to become opaque. My nails are quite ridgey and peeling so I did 4 coats for the photos because that's how they looked best up close, but 3 would've been fine for in person. I'm so glad I picked this one up! Definitely a great birthday present to myself ;)

PR Stunt vs. French Affair vs. Go Ginza vs. Backseat Besties vs. Splash of Grenadine

Okay, this explains why I love it so much. It's really close to French Affair which I adore. French Affair is a bit different as it's paler and PR Stunt is a bit more saturated and more lavender toned. Also the golden sheen adds a different dimension that French Affair doesn't have. I compared the more pink version of Go Ginza and it was much paler than PR Stunt. Backseat Besties looked very bubblegum pink in comparison and Splash of Grenadine was super dark.

Beau-Tie

Beau-Tie actually really surprised me when I got it on the nail! It's a lot more purple than I imagined. I thought it was going to be darker and more blue toned (a "blurple") but it's really purple! Yes it does lean a bit blue but not strongly. Someone would never mistake this for a blue on your nails (whereas that's happened to me tons of times with No More Film). It has an amazing buttery formula that applies in 2 easy coats. It dries so shiny too!

Beau-Tie vs. No More Film vs. Sexy Divide vs. Turn 'n' Pose

Do you see how different Beau-Tie is compared to No More Film? In comparison, No More Film looks like a dark navy! Beau-Tie is actually quite unique in my collection because the more purple polishes I have like Sexy Divide and Turn 'n' Pose are completely different tones of purple. I'm liking Beau-Tie for it's uniqueness in my collection. It's a little dark for me to wear now in summer but I'll love this come Winter.

I'm so happy with the two polishes I picked up! Especially PR Stunt. I can see myself wearing that one so much. When I say I'm obsessed, I'm legit OBSESSED.

If I were in the U.S. I would have also picked up Front Page Worthy (the blue) and Wearing Hue (the lightest pink). Have you picked up any of the Gala Bolds? Which ones did you go with?

Also, Essie released a new top coat with this collection called "Platinum Grade Finish". I haven't found this one in Canada yet, but I've received word that the regular Gel Couture top coat is going to be phased out and replaced with the Platinum Grade one. This is actually so sad for me!! I absolutely LOVE the regular Gel Couture top coat and wear it over regular polish aaaaallllllll the time. Pretty much for the last year. I have my fingers crossed that the Platinum Grade top coat is just as good or better, but like I said, I haven't found it here yet. I have a review and wear test of Speed Setter coming up and was going to do the Gel Couture top coat next to show you how good it is over regular polish. Would you still want to see that? All the regular Gel Couture top coats won't be gone from the store immediately, so you still have time to try it before Platinum Grade replaces it. Let me know!