Chalky looking nails anyone? (Essie Nail Varnish)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	Essie Nail Varnish
Date:	20/09/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Long lasting

Disadvantages: expensive, some polishes give strange matte/chalky finish

Essie is a brand I only heard of a year or two ago, however it was one that I seemed to see more and more of in magazines and online. Me being me, and wanting to try everything out there, I added it to my mental wish list and finally about three or four months ago I purchased myself a few bottles.

The Essie polishes come in squarish bottles with white lids an the Essie logo is imprinted into the glass. The bottles are OK, but I think they look as though they are catered to a younger audience, by which I mean, they look fun rather than sophisticated.

When applying the polish I have found that it goes on really smoothly. The brush is just the right size - neither too wide nor too skinny - and the bristles do not come loose or splay at all. The main problem I have found during application, is that it can go on a little streaky. This means applying more than one coat is almost essential or the polish can end up looking messy and unfinished.

With two coats the polish looked smooth enough and there was no visible streaks on my nails. Also I've found that the polish dries really quickly and I rarely have need to use a nail dry spray over the top.

I think my main criticism of the polishes would be that I wasn't keen on the finishes they gave. The colours look vibrant and glossy in the bottles, but when applied, although the colour stays strong and true to the shade in the bottle, the glossiness is a different matter. With two of the three Essie polishes I purchased, the colours, rather than being glossy, dried with an unusual matte finish. In fact, strange as it may sound, the finish actually looked a little bit powdery.

As I say, this only happened with two of the three polishes, so perhaps I was unlucky with my choice of colours. Although I did still wear the polish I wasn't hugely thrilled with this matte finish, and at one point even applied a glossy top coat over one of the polishes.

I will say that the one colour I bought which did have a glossy finish (shade flirty fuchsia) did look nice on the nails and gave the high shine look I love.

The polishes did seem to be long lasting, and I found they lasted several days without chipping which was great for me as I hate applying nail polish and find it a real chore, so the longer a manicure (or pedicure for that matter) lasts, the better in my opinion.

These are not the cheapest nail polishes on the market, retailing at £8.95 each from Debenhams. I had heard they were similar to OPI polishes which are a similar price and a brand I use quite regularly (although also one that has its faults), but I personally don't think these are anywhere near the standard of OPI.

So overall, I found myself being quite disappointed with these and will not buy them again. The main reason I suppose was the matte, chalky look I got from two of the three polishes, and I think if I did buy more, I'd need to test the colour in store first to see if it's a glossy or matte finish as you cannot tell just by looking at the bottle how the polish will dry.

Summary: Way overpriced for what they are