Hello lovelies & happy Sunday! Hope everyone’s weekend is off to a lovely start. Today I have a fun swatch post that was a spur of the moment polish buy — Essie Cacti on the Prize from the Spring 2021 collection!
I found this shade on $2 clearance during a late night Shoppers trip. I had been eyeing it when it first popped up, since the name made me so happy, but didn’t end up getting around to buying it. But when I saw it sitting all lonely with the rest of the clearance cosmetics (& at only $2) I knew it needed to be mine!
2 coats + Essie Speed Setter Top Coat
First off, formula on this shade is actually pretty stellar. 2 coats builds a creamy, glossy base that has no patchiness what-so-ever. I was very, very impressed! Plus the new wider Essie brush means you very easily get the whole nail in minimal swipes. Always a very good thing in my books!
The shade itself is this beautiful muted green, with a bit of yellow undertones. You can definitely feel the desert vibes this shade (& collection) was going for. It’s not a super lush green, but oh man am I absolutely in love with it. In the bottle, I was a little unsure about whether or not I would love the colour on me… but as soon as I put it on I realized I’d been missing out!
I feel like lately I’ve been falling more & more in love with green polish. It used to be “out of my comfort zone”, but I’ve been choosing it more & more lately. Maybe it turns out, I’m a green nail polish girl after all!
What do you think about Essie Cacti on the Prize? Have you ever bought a nail polish strictly for the name? Let me know down in the comments below!
Coffee & Nail Polish 
I’m shocked you found this shade on clearance! I had the impression it was pretty popular.
I was pretty shocked too! This is a pretty small store though, so I think when it comes to collections like this, they have to make room quickly for the newer collections.
That is really cute 😀
Thanks! It’s a great colour. I’m definitely digging it.