Essie Fall 2013, "For The Twill Of It"

The days are getting shorter and the weather's getting cooler, so you know what that means...time for summer brights to give way to deep, sophisticated fall hues.  Essie, no slouch when it comes to collections - so far in 2013 we've seen Spring, Summer, Bridal, Resort, and "Best Of" - has released their Fall 2013 Collection, a clothing-themed group called For the Twill of It.

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the complete collection - haven't been able to find the display at any of my usual haunts.  For the Twill of It includes six colors: Twin Sweater Set, a classic dark red creme; The Lace Is On, a lustrous magenta shimmer; After School Boy Blazer, a deep midnight blue creme verging on black; Cashmere Bathrobe, a charcoal gray with silver shimmer; Vested Interest, a slate-blue creme; and For the Twill of It, a gray-green duochrome.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this collection; it wasn't especially ground-breaking.  After School Boy Blazer is so dark it will probably read black on most people.  The Lace Is On is pretty but unoriginal, and Twin Sweater Set is something we've all seen a bazillion times before.  Three of the polishes did grab my attention, though: Cashmere Bathrobe, Vested Interest, and the collection's namesake, For the Twill of It.

Left to right: Cashmere Bathrobe, For the Twill of It, Vested Interest

Vested Interest is a murky slate-blue creme with no hint of shimmer.  There's a slight greenish tone to it, so it's not a "true" blue.  The formula went on smoothly and self-leveled well.  Shown is two coats and one coat of Nutra Nail High Gloss Top Coat.

Cashmere Bathrobe is a deep charcoal gray with tiny, very subtle silver flakes.  This is becoming a signature finish for Essie; we've seen it in just about every collection this year, and Summer 2013's Naughty Nautical collection was made up almost entirely of silver-fleck shades.  The shimmer shows up better in the bottle than it does on the nail, but on the nail it's just visible enough to keep this from being a boring gray creme.  Again, the formula was very good and was opaque in two coats.

 

And here we have the centerpiece of the collection, For the Twill of It.  Essie describes this as a "rich maple with reflective olive shimmer", but to me it was more of a grayish green with a blue and fuchsia duochrome flash and the faintest shading of brown.  However you describe it, it's a beauty.  It's also an exact dupe for Peace & Love & OPI from OPI's Fall 2013 San Francisco collection, so if you have one you really don't need the other.  I don't own the OPI version so I can't say how the formulas compare, but I did like the Essie - it was opaque in two coats and not very brushstroke-y as so many metallics are.

What will you be wearing on your nails this fall?

*All polishes were purchased by me; all opinions are my own.