I’ve very shortly talked about the Handmade with love collection before. The collection has been released in the UK as a three-piece collection. This is going to be a six-piece collection in the rest of Europe and will likely be released in May. It is going to be a nine-piece collection in the US, and is going to be released on the 15th of May. I was able to get my hand son the six European shades!
There is not a lot of information released yet, but it clearly has a DIY/Etsy theme. I think it is a very cute collection, but I was quite surprised to see it so soon after the Summer 2022 collection already!
Anyway, I got my hands on the six colors that are released in Europe; piece of work (a lime green creme), Pencil me in (a magenta creme), Handmade with love (a bright coral red creme), In pursuit if Craftiness (the light purple), and To DIY for (the orange), and Crochet away (the brown). Let’s checkout the swatches!
Essie Piece of work
Piece of work is described as a lime green with yellow undertones. Definitely spot on, if you ask me. I was very surprised to see this color. It’s very yellow, yet not in a ‘gross’ way. It’s nice and summery.
The formula is extremely good, covering in two easy coats.
When I had purchased Piece of work, I was afraid it would be too close to Essie Come on clover. However, Come on clover is actually a lot darker and doesn’t contain as much yellow as Piece of work. Essie Have a ball is too yellow to be a dupe and Doubles trouble doesn’t contain enough yellow to be a dupe.
I did not realize that Essie Piece of work would be so close to OPI’s Pear-adise cove. Pear-adise cove is slightly darker, but it is very difficult to see, even in real life. OPI Pear-adise cove has a slightly thinner formula than Essie Piece of work. I prefer Essie Piece of work, but it might depend on your own preferences. However, in my opinion, if you already own OPI Pear-adise cove, you definitely won’t need Essie piece of work.
Essie Pencil me in
Essie Pencil me in is a magenta creme. It is super pretty and a summer staple! I do think Essie is giving us a lot of magenta cremes lately, but I’m also kind of into it, so I’m not mad about it.
This one has again an extremely good formula, covering in two easy coats, so you can’t go wrong!
Essie Too taboo and Essie Pencil me in are pretty much dupes. Too taboo dries matte and has a slightly jelly formula, but that’s the only difference I could find. Pencil me in is slightly more purple than Essie Isle see you later. Swoon in the lagoon is darker and contains more purple than Pencil me in.
Essie Handmade with Love
Finally, we have the namesake of the collection, Handmade with love. The official description of this shade is ‘a bright coral red’. Originally, I was the least excited about this shade, because it seems like a very general red. However, I quickly noticed that it contains a lot more orange than my other reds. It gives this shade a very summery, fiery vibe, and I’m definitely into it.
The formula was again very nice, covering in two easy coats.
I was afraid that Handmade with love would be very similar to some other recently released reds. However, Handmade with love is definitely different. Out of all reds above, it is clearly the one that contains the most orange. I’m almost certain that Handmade with love will become one of my new favorite reds for summer (I’m sorry Fifth avenue).
Essie In Pursuit of craftiness
From the start Essie In pursuit of craftiness was the shade that I really wanted to own. It’s a gorgeous blue-leaning light purple. That covers in two coat. I’m absolutely in love with this shade!
You can pretty much say that In pursuit of craftiness is the slightly darker and greyed out version of Essie Sk8 with destiny. Both are very nice shade, and I’m happy to own them both. Essie Full steam ahead contains more pink, and Essie Nice is nice is a lot lighter.
Essie’s Make a splash contains a lot more grey and blue as compared to In pursuit of craftiness. Essie Pic-nic of time is a bit lighter and bluer but is probably one of the closest shades I own to In pursuit of craftiness (no dupes, however). Essie Press pause is much lighter.
My final set of comparisons for In pursuit of craftiness. Virgin snow is probably the closest shade in this set. However, Virgin snow is much lighter. Saltwater happy is bluer and lighter. Essie Ciao effect contains more pink and is a lot darker than In pursuit of craftiness. No dupes here!
Essie To DIY for
The last one I was able to find is Essie To DIY for. It’s a beautiful orange, that is slightly dusty. I’m going to admit that I wasn’t sure about this shade when I first saw it, but I was too curious to leave it in the store. I had to get used to it for a bit on my nails, but I ended up liking it more than I was expecting.
Again, the formula was amazing and the shade covered in two easy coats.
In this comparison you can see that Essie to DIY for is a bit in between the bright oranges like Essie Tangerine tease and the true dusty oranges like Essie Yes I canyon and Essie Playing koi.
Also in this comparison I don’t have any dupes. Essie Movin’ and Groovin’ is lighter and brighter. My Italian is a little rusty and OPI Have your panettone and eat it too are both rustier.
Essie Crochet away
Essie Crochet away is a mid-tone greyed-out brown. I really wasn’t sure about whether I should get this one or not. I can honestly tell you now that I’m glad I got it. It has an amazing formula and it’s not too light or too dark. Since Crochet away is quite greyed out, I find it pretty easy to wear.
I don’t own that many browns in this shade range. I have to admit that I often skip browns when they are released, although I quite enjoy the colors. Essie All checked out is probably the closest color I own to Essie Crochet away. All checked out is much darker, however. Essie Clothing optional contains a lot of pink compared to Crochet away. OPI Berlin there done that is too greyed out to be a dup.
Conclusion & availability
Although I actually do like all these shades individually, I’m not sure about the collection if I look at all the shades together. It feels not really cohesive, and it does remind me a lot of Essie’s Swoon in the lagoon collection. If I had to pick one favorite, it would be In pursuit of craftiness. I definitely feel like that one is that standout of this collection.
I purchased these shades myself from Feelunique.com and Notino. The shades are also available on Amazon Germany over here (affiliate link). This is going to be a nine-piece collection in the US, and is going to be released on the 15th of May. The shades are already available here on Amazon US (affiliate link).
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Where doni find handmade with love collection and isle see ya later collection ?
It depends on where you live! In the US you can find the Isle see you later collection on Amazon. In Europe, I have found it at DM in Germany but it is available on Feelunique.com (they ship worldwide). I have purchased the Handmade with love shades also from Feelunique, but it is also available on Amazon France. If you want to purchase it from a US retailer you might have to be patient, because the collection is not released in the US yet.