I have another Trend Edition from essence to show you today! It's the TE called Rebels that is  in stores in April and May 2012.

This collection is made of 4 semi-matte nail polishes with a "latex effect" and 1 top coat.

I used 2 coats of polish for every shade except for 04 rebelizer for which I used 3 coats. Of course, I didn't use any top coat.

l-r: 01 mauve like a rockstar, 02 rebel delight, 03 peach punk and 04 rebelizer.

The first one is called 01 mauve like a rockstar. It's a dusty light chocolate brown with some purple in it. The color must be in fact a mixture of brown and purple. As you can see on the picture, it has a semi-matte finish. The overall look is matte but there is a shimmer/sparkles in the polish that prevents it from looking complete flat and matte.

Next one is 02 rebel delight. Again, it's a semi-matte polish. The color is a lighter brown than 01 mauve like a rockstar. I first thought it would be close in terms of color to OPI Did you ear' About Van Gogh? but it's darker and warmer. 

4 rebelizer is a toxic lime polish. The shimmer in this one is the most prononced from the 4 polishes. It's a green shimmer. It's really pretty. As its fellows, it dries to a semi-matte finish.

Finally, there is a rock top coat called 01 punk royal that is part of this collection. It's a rock coat polish, which means it gives a smokey finish to your base coat polish. Basically it's a very sheer black jelly that darkens your base color. essence and Catrice have really been into this type of top coat recently. Catrice just released No Smoke Without Fire as part of its Million styles collection. You can see it here. And essence released such a rock top coat back in October 2011 as part of its Re-mix your style TE. You can see swatches here. The particularity of 01 punk royal is that is also contains black glitters, medium black hex glitters! Here I used one coat of 01 punk royal over each color.

Final verdict: I really enjoy the 4 semi-matte polishes. For the moment, I've only worn 01 mauve like a rockstar as a full mani but I loved it so I think I'll wear it again. As I didn't have any beige semi-matte finish, I'm very pleased with 02 rebel delight as well.  I can't think of another beige matte polish...so it's a really unique polish!! And I must admit I wanted a toxic lime polish so I'm glad with 04 rebelizer! The only shade I like less is the peach one, 03 peach punk, because peach colors don't look the best with my skin tone, otherwise it's a nice polish. Application was easy, I used 2 coats for all except for 04 rebelizer. I used 3 coats for this polish. This polish was also a bit more difficult to work with but nothing unmanageable. I don't have many matte or semi-matte polish so I'm glad with this collection. I know some people don't like semi-matte polish because they are in between matte and creme polish. Personnally, I prefer semi-matte to matte polishes because fully matte polishes can look a bit flat and dull...So I'm super happy with these essence polishes.

However, the rock top coat is horrible. I'm sorry to say that but application was a nightmare! The polish is thick, goopy, and very difficult to work with. It's nearly impossible to polish an even coat. As it's a sheer black polish, if you can't use even coat, you will see it immediately. The glitters were also a bit difficult to pick out of the bottles. So I don't think I will use this polish again...or pehaps I'll fish for the glitters and apply just the glitters on the nails...That's too bad because the idea is so great! So essence, please fix this formulation issue and give us a great black glitter polish, please!

If you're looking for a nice smokey top coat, go for the Catrice one (No Smoke Without Fire) because it's great. Application of it is really easy and perfect! :D

Thanks for watching and reading and have a nice weekend!

Purchase info:
Essence nail polishes are sold in drugstores in Europe. If you live in Germany, Austria , Spain or Switzerland, you can search for a store that sells Essence polishes here.
Keep in mind, this is collection is a special edition that is on sale for just a short time (April 2012).

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