Happy Mani Monday beautiful people! It’s the month of April (nobody freak out that we are already 4 months into the year) and I have a little treat for you guys today! I am telling you about the latest Essie collection and to kick away the Monday blues I am also giving it away (plus 2 other Essie treatment polishes). Is this a good way to start a Monday and a new month or what?

Nail polish is all good and fine with me, but every now and again I do want to take my plain colour a step further. Since I am no good at nail art (at all) I usually stick to the added nail polish effects like this new Essie LuxEffects collection. Featuring palettes of Essie’s signature metallic and iridescent glitters, the fringe luxeffects collection is a bubbly, confetti-fuelled party for nails. Fringed, frilled, flared and tasselled, these dazzling shades push the fashion envelope and add breath-taking drama in seconds! There are 4 colours in this collection, so let’s take a closer look!

I painted my nails with Urban Decays Gash (the deep red colour) and the Essie Liquorice as base colours. You can use the polishes on their own, but I think that they really come alive when paired with something as well.

Tassel Shaker

This is a copper-like shade with a hint of bronze infused for a lustrous look. I think this looks best over a polish like this (redish colour) because then the little tassels really come through. It’s not very overwhelming so that everyone will notice you have party nails, it’s still subtle enough to pass for an every-day kind of nail with an edge.

Frilling Me Softly

This charming blend of platinum and cobalt is my favourite from the whole collection and for a good reason! This luxeffects really turns your nails into a party, and while I do think that a nail like this is best suited for a New Year’s Eve party or a birthday, I had a fab time wearing this for 5 days! That’s right- 5 days! Another benefit of the luxeffects is that it really prolongs your polish wear, because you kind of like covering your colour with another layer of polish. Plus if it chips, you can quickly just cover the chip with some more of the luxeffects and no one will notice (just some time saving tips ;))

Fringe Factor

Mischievous mix of gunmetal and pink that livens up any manicure, it comes out as a light purple on your nails. This wasn’t my favourite shade but maybe also because I don’t think its optimal colour comes out on top of a red polish. Pair this with a white mani for the perfect Friday-night-out nail.

Fashion Flares

This is the colour I struggled with the most, which is why I couldn’t include a swatch of it. It’s a light maroon glitter, but it only shows up on a certain nail polish colour. It’s also not a colour that looks punchy enough on its own, so you really have to plan what polish you can wear under it. I would say maybe a light pink or a beige colour would be the best.

In terms of taking off the luxeffects, you need a tiny bit of patience. Because they are textured, you need to soak a piece of cotton wool in nail polish remover and then let it sit on your nail for about a minute or so. The polishes are available at select Dis-Chem, Clicks and Foschini stores for R125 each.

And as promised, all of these colours plus and Essie top coat and treatment are up for grabs today! Pop onto my twitter (@irinadoman) and RT my tweet with the nail polishes to win.