Essie Nail Colour in Avenue Maintain

When Essie's Spring collection, Madison Ave-Hue, started rolling out in stores last month, it didn't 'wow' me as a whole. For some reason, pinks and lavenders and lilacs, while pretty, don't excite me that much this time of year, maybe because every brand comes out with a version of them for Spring. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love those pink and purple pastel shades, but once you have two or three, that's all you really need because they all end up looking the same. But blues? Blues always excite me. I can't help it. I'm obsessed, and I can never have enough. So when I saw the displayer at my local Loblaws, I knew that I had to get Avenue Maintain.

Avenue Maintain is a medium brightened cornflower blue in a cream finish. It has a fluid consistency without being too thick or too runny. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has high pigmentation and will reach opacity in one medium-thick coat or two thin-medium coats. It is much less purple than Essie's Lapis of Luxury, lighter and less purple than Illamasqua's Cameo, slightly darker and more purple than Joe Fresh's Blueberry, and darker than Topshop's Celestial. This is honestly one of the best Essie shades I've ever worked with. Applies incredibly smooth with amazing colour pay-off and is completely self-levelling. It goes on the way Illamasqua or Julep nail lacquers do (which is to say, phenomenally). The shade itself somehow manages to be unique, too, because all the dupes I could think of are either lighter or darker, and more purple or less purple. This is one of those widely flattering blues that can be worn all year round and by pretty much anybody of any age and any skintone because it's not too bright or loud, but not too pastel or dainty, either. To me, there's something very "classy Euro" about this shade, reminding me of boat rides down the French Riviera and Van Gogh paintings (particularly "Irises" and "Bedroom in Arles").