It’s time for swatches of Essie’s Crystal clear intentions trio! If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, the crystal clear intentions trio is an Ulta-exclusive collection released some time ago. The collection consists of three new Essie shades; two cremes, and one special effect topcoat. The collection is inspired by the healing properties of sparkling crystals (according to Essie). Sadly, this collection will only be available in the US for a limited time. But I’m very excited about it!
Essie Amethyst or that
Amethyst or that is an amethyst purple with red undertones. This color is absolutely amazing. It was so easy to apply and was completely opaque in one coat. I think this is a must-have for every purple-lover!
Essie is releasing a lot of light purple shades lately, so I definitely was curious to see how they compare. I expected that Essie Run Wildflower would be the closest, but it contains a lot more pink. The formula is not that amazing as Amethyst or that (but it still applies great). In pursuit of craftiness is a purple that contains a lot of blue compared to Amethyst or that. It’s not as close as I expected.
Lastly, I threw in OPI Achievement Unlocked. It’s actually the closest color I own to Amethyst or that. It’s a bit lighter, but that’s basically the only difference. If you don’t live in the United States, and you’re looking into buying something similar to Amethyst or that, I would definitely recommend OPI Achievement Unlocked!
Essie Jade it happen
The second creme of the collection is “Jade it happen”. According to Essie’s description, it’s a soft jade nail polish with blue undertones. Again, I absolutely love this color! It’s again very opaque. I was able to get opacity in one coat on some nails, but most needed a second coat. It’s definitely very nice!
I got a lot of questions when I swatched Dance till dessert about if I could compare it to Jade it happen. The problem is that Dance till dessert is a EU-only shade, and Jade it happen is a US-only shade. But as you can see, I managed to get them together and compare them. Dance till dessert and Jade it happen definitely are in the same color family, but Dance till dessert is a bit darker. Both are definitely absolutely amazing shades.
Essie Bon boy-age is the closest shade I own to Jade it happen. Bon boy-age is definitely a bit lighter and a bit dustier, but it’s a good alternative if you cannot find Jade it happen. I threw in Essie Flight of fantasy from Essie’s recent spring collection, but it contains too much blue to be a dupe.
Essie Crystal clear intentions topcoat
Then, last but not least, Essie Crystal clear intentions. Essie describes Crystal clear intentions as ‘an opalescent nail polish with chunky and refined multidimensional pearls’. What I see (and what I think they mean) is that the topcoat contains opalescent/iridescent microshimmer, but also larger iridescent flakes. You can see the entire rainbow in the bottle, but on the nails, you mainly see a blue to pink flash. I don’t think I have ever seen this before from a drugstore brand, but it’s pretty common in indie nail polish. Nevertheless, I am super impressed, and this is probably my favorite shade from the collection!
Above, you can see it over Amethyst or that, and it definitely enhances the polish!
Above, you see Essie Crystal clear intentions over Essie Jade it happen. I think I personally like Jade it happen better without the topcoat, but it’s very pretty if you want to spice up your look.
Finally, I wanted to experiment a bit more. I applied Crystal clear intentions over Essie Licorice, and the result is absolutely phenomenal! You can very clearly see the blue to pink to purple flash. I definitely didn’t think it would be this strong, but it’s absolutely amazing! You can also see the larger flakes a bit better than when you apply it over Jade it happen or Amethyst or that.
I still would like to try Crystal clear intentions over a ton of other colors, if I do, I will definitely report back!
Conclusion
If it wasn’t clear already, I’m really impressed by this collection. It’s definitely one of my favorite collections in a while (probably since last year’s Rumor jazz it collection). If you’re able to get your hands on this collection, I would definitely purchase it! If you missed out, I hope the shades that I propose will be good alternatives. If you want something similar to the topcoat, I would definitely recommend checking out some indie brands.
