Essie Mirror Metallic dupes…from Primark?!

So, I recently kinda missed the old bandwagon on the Essie Metallic collection – I spotted it in the High Street Kensington Store roughly two days before it was replaced by the Summer collection (including the frankly gorgeous ‘Bikini Oh So Teeny’ – which I have posted a picture of on my Instagram and will post on very soon). But before I get ahead of myself, back to the metallic prettiness.

I knew they were coming, and already had my eye on Penny Talk (which I have caved and purchased FYI) but loved the look of the rest of them – but at £7.99 a pop I had to prioritise… so went to check them out in store. Of course by the time I did this, only the dregs were left… sad times.

But then I spotted these little gems when on a bit of a Primark spree… and whilst I can’t 100% compare them as I don’t own all the Essie Shades, I feel pretty confident in saying that three of the four shades are pretty darn good dupes of the Essie collection – and for £2 for the lot, I don’t care if they aren’t exact. They’re a bargain.

Now of course, if you are more careful with what chemicals etc you use then stay clear of these – they stink to high heavens, which isn’t generally a good thing. They most certainly are not ‘three free’, but they are pretty colours – if you like a metallic finish and aren’t fussy about the brand, definitely check them out. So far I have tried the blue (pictured) and the gold (on my toes, so not pictured) and they are impressively pigmented – one coat does a good job, two is totally covered. They do take a bit longer than most metallic shades to dry – but a top coat sorts that out. Brush wise, they’re OK – the blue one had a few random errant strands but the gold was fine. Oh, and the finish does tend to have visible brush strokes – but I’m yet to find a metallic that doesn’t and I kinda like the look anyway?!

Flash

Natural Light

 Again, for £2 – no complaining from me. I’m happy I gave these a chance – whilst I do love Essie and have no doubt the polishes are generally better all around, this little set has prevented me from spending unnecessarily on a range of shades that I don’t need. But none of them can match the prettiness of Penny Talk… post to come, but heads-up – it’s gorgeous!

I haven’t yet tried the crazy green/shimmer/duo chrome one or the purple/pinky one – but if people are interested to see swatches let me know and I’ll make sure I do nail of the day posts on these soon. Same with the gold, as soon as I use it somewhere other than my feet…happy to share!

Bought by me.