Essie calls ‘Aperitif’ an ‘ appetizing creamy red polish‘. I had no clue what to expect. They don’t mention anything about undertones, or whether it is a dark or lighter shade of red. Now that I have actually seen this shade and worn it, I can tell you that it is a slightly cooler toned red creme, that covers in two coats. It is a bit darker than Russian Roulette and Really red, but not a lot. The shade was opaque in two coats, but it also has a jelly formula, so if you have longer nails you might have to use three. The shade was originally released around the year 2000 in a drink-themed collection. Based on the number this color used to have in the US (362), I estimate that this color is from the Winter 1999 collection, which is indeed the drink-themed collection called ‘The Essie Vineyard’. Other shades in the collection all had drink-inspired names such as Cognac and Vermouth.

From left to right: Essie Fifth avenue, Essie Lieblingsmensch, Essie Forever yummy, Essie Ballet slippers, Essie Lady like, Essie Sugar daddy, Essie Mrs Always-right, Essie Chinchilly, Essie Wire-less is mroe, Essie Licorice Thoughts & Availability Essie Fifth avenue is described in Essie’s description as a ‘red-orange’. In the bottle, I definitely agreed. But on my nails, it is a lot redder. It’s definitely a warmer shade of red, but it is not super orange. I’m super impressed by its formula. At one super easy coat Fifth avenue is almost opaque, but I did two in the pictures. Comparisons You can clearly see in this picture that Handmade with love contains a lot more orange than Fifth avenue, Geranium, and Lacquered up. Geranium and Fifth avenue are both described as orange-reds by Essie, but Geranium is slightly more orange. Although I love both Geranium and Fifth avenue, you definitely won’t need them both unless you’re really into orange reds. Lacquered up is a warm-toned red, but compared to Geranium and Fifth avenue, it’s more of a classic red. Comparison of Essie Fifth avenue, Essie Too too hot, Essie Russian Roulette and Essie Really red With the holiday season around the corner, I always feel attracted to red nail polish. There were 11 Essie red cremes in my drugstore’s Essie display, and then I’m not even counting the reds in the Gel couture and Expressie displays! I decided that it was time to do the ultimate Essie red creme comparison. At home, I was able to find out that there are even more red cremes in Essie’s core collection! The core collection differs a bit between North America and Europe, but they are mostly the same. It also differs a bit between stores. Essie calls Geranium an orange-red. In terms of orangeness, it sits between Fifth avenue and Handmade with love, but it leans more towards Fifth avenue. I would argue that if you own either Fifth avenue or Geranium, you probably won’t need the other, unless you’re really into red-oranges. Geranium’s formula is truly amazing. It’s already opaque in one coat if you’re painting carefully (but of course I did two for the pictures).Essie’s official description of Fifth avenue is: ‘ a creamy red orange blend lacquer’. If I keep Handmade with love and Fifth avenue next to each other, Handmade with love is definitely much more orange. Compared to Geranium, I would say it is almost the same shade. Maybe Fifth avenue is a bit more red than orange, but that’s about the difference. The formula of Fifth avenue is amazing. It has a very nice creamy formula and is pretty much opaque in one coat on shorter nails (although I’m wearing two). It’s definitely time that I buy a larger bottle of this! The shade is actually already an oldie, because it was first released as part of Essie’s Spring 2003 ‘Central park’ collection (you can find my swatches of that collection over here). Essie takes you on a spring time tour of one of the world’s most famous parks, with the spring 2003 Central park collection. Explore the unique landscapes as you enter her enchanted turf… and share her adventure in spring colors.” -Essie 2 Feb. 2003 [ https://web.archive.org/web/20030202120628/http://www.essie.com:80/whatsnew/index.php?sub=collections] (retrieved on 23 Oct. 2021) p> 

essie nail colour product benefits:

• extensive colour palette with hundreds of shades 
• high, glossy shine finish 
• provides flawless coverage along with outstanding durability 
• brush fits every nail size for streak-free application