Nail polish and yoga are both high up on my list of favorite things, so a yoga-themed polish collection from Essie would be perfection, right? Yoga and fitness apparel generally come in vibrant colors, so I expected brights from this collection. Surprisingly, Essie has gone an entirely different route. Take a look…
The first color I tried was Yogaga, the namesake of the collection. Essie describes it as “creamy, icy taupe,” which is fairly accurate. I wanted to love the yoga color, but I’m pretty indifferent to this one.
It’s not particularly flattering on my skin tone, but it did apply nicely in two smooth coats. For me, the worst part of this shade is its name. Yogaga? What does that even mean? Like…gaga for yoga?
Next up is Spinning Again, which Essie calls a “nuanced, neutral brick.” I prefer a bright candy apple red on my skin tone, but this dustier shade has its place and I don’t have a polish quite like it in my collection right now.
Gym Dandy is a brown/grey creme with a slightly watery formula that required more clean-up than the rest of this collection.
Perhaps this color would be better on olive-toned or darker skin, but it just doesn’t work for me. It makes my skin look really pink.
I love pale lavenders and lilacs, so I was happy to see Pilates Hottie. Essie describes it as a “subdued, pinky, taupy lilac.” It can look quite pink or completely purple depending on the light.
I’m not sure how a dusty rose polish invokes thoughts of running a marathon, but this polish is called Marathin. When I think of marathons I see strong, powerful colors, and this doesn’t quite fit the bill.
Dusty rose is a pretty common and slightly dated nail polish shade, but it is pretty and would be well suited for the office or a formal event.
Last but not least, my favorite polish in this collection, Boxer Shorts. It’s a “cool yet classic purple,” though I’d describe it more as a blurple. It reads very blue in these photos, but is a touch more purple in real life.
Boxer Shorts applied really smoothly and has a great glossy finish. I’ll be wearing this one a lot this summer, and I’m excited to try it on my toes.
Verdict: I’m not crazy about this collection, but I do really like Boxer Shorts, and will probably get some use out of Pilates Hottie, too. For colors inspired by fitness, I’m surprised that these shades are so soft and muted. They all have a classic Essie creme formula, so that’s definitely a plus. I used two coats for each, plus one coat of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Shellac’d top coat.
The Yogaga Collection will be available nationwide in August, though a few bloggers have spotted it in stores already. Will you be picking up anything from this collection?
Wait, one more thing! Congrats to Tara Lea, the winner of my bigRuby nail tattoo giveaway! Thank you to everyone who entered!
I received these samples for review, but all opinions are my own.
