Oh. Hallo Essie Neon 2014 (aka the Too Taboo Essie Neon Collection 2014). You’re very happy vibrant bottles and I’ve been waiting all winter for you. Now that I have you, I'ma get to swatchin’ so all my friends can see you.

essie neon 2014: done right = guaranteed smiles

So before we really get to lookin’, let me tell you what I did. I swatched the entire 6-shade Essie Neon 2014 collection. And then I swatched it again with an addition. Why? Because neon shades only pop when you put ‘em over white – I got your proof right here, yo.

essie neon 2014 vices versa

essie neon 2014 vices versa over white

essie neon 2014 serial shopper

essie neon 2014 serial shopper over white

I should mention the Essie Neon polish in every single swatch except for Essie Chills & Thrills needed three coats each. Three coats of colour, even over the white. The polish itself is rather thin and you’ll want to wait a decent interval between coats. When you see that it’s turning a little matte, it’s time for the next coat.

I tell ya what, it adds up to a lot of coats to get the perfect neon pop -- but it’s worth it for the in-yer-face-ness of these vibrant summer shades.

essie neon 2014 sittin' pretty

essie neon 2014 sittin pretty over white

The finish on all proper neon shades is matte-ish so do yourself and your manicure a favour and use your best shiny top coat. Again, you’ll want to wait until your polish is mostly dry before going ahead with top coat so you don’t pull up all the coats you worked so hard on underneath. Be patient otherwise you'll end up throwing these little pretties against the wall in a fit of rage. (All images except the second Too Taboo shot are without top coat to show you the matte-ish finish.)

essie neon 2014 i’m addicted

essie neon 2014 i’m addicted over white

A bunch of words about application: do your best to use quick, sure strokes – that will help eliminate balding (pulling up the coat underneath) and will give you your best chance at even coverage. Because the formulas are super-thin, Essie Neon dries fairly quickly and the self-level is pretty much non-existent (read: extraordinarily tricky to use and get perfect results). There’s not a lot of time to push this stuff around with your brush, get it even and exactly where you want it. Try to be as precise as you can, as quickly as you can. Sometimes, it's just not simple to use these polishes. But I have yet to find a neon that's easy to apply.

essie neon 2014 chills & thrills  

That’s one coat there! It’s a OCW!!! But is it meant to be that way? My press sample bottle was a little gloopy – not sure if the retail version will be less so but, on account of the gloop, it went on thick and in one single coat. It was tricky to maneuver around and not particularly neon-y but there you are. Because of the irritating gloop factor, I couldn’t bring myself to do that one last swatch over white. Judging from the consistency and color, my guess is it wouldn’t have looked any different. I've done a lot of polishing with a lot of formulas but this one was, um, bad.

essie neon 2014 too taboo

essie neon 2014 too taboo over white with topcoat

essie neon 2014 application words to the wise

After all that looking, you should now have proof that neons show more like neons when painted over white. It’s a tricky thing to do perfectly so please excuse the bits of white hanging out around the cuticle areas and side walls. The shades are okay without the base and are slightly easier to use on bare nail but if you're buying for the neon-ness, you'll have to put in the time, use all your patience, and do the work. You've been warned.

You might also want to read this Essie Neon 2014 review by LittleBottlesofLove.com. Let's just say she's less than impressed, and straightforward with a side of funny in her assessment.

Now, the real question. Even though I’ve just spent a hugely gigantic amount of time sitting here at my desk playing with the Essie Too Taboo Neons, would I buy them? You bet (but not Chills & Thrills). I mean, you’ve seen the pictures, right? They won't be easy to replicate unless you bring out your unflappable, even-tempered side. But if you're prepared, I'm betting your neons will make you smile.

Reader Request: Cynamin, here's a quick Essie Serial Shopper/Essie Resort Fling comparison for you! I'd say they're really far apart on the shade spectrum and once out of the bottle and on the nails, not similar at all.

Essie Neon 2014 Too Taboo Collection ($9.99 per) hits Canadian shelves May 6th . Essie Wedding 2014 (swatches here in this built-in linky thing) hits May 1st, and somewhere around that time we’ll be talking Essie Summer 2014. Oh yeah, and Essie Spring 2014 Hide & Go Chic. There’s that too. For all the other Essie news you can handle, we direct you to essie.ca

Manicures and photos by Karen Falcon (my apple pie box is SO Essie Neon 2014 Vices Versa) ©2014 BEAUTYGEEKS/imabeautygeek.com