Review of Essie Nail Polish - Your Manicurist Knows for Sure That This Stuff is Great!

All polishes are not created equal. I've traditionally been the cheap sort and bought the inexpensive brands whenever I felt so inclined. You know, Sally Hansen, Revlon, all the others like those two... I was stupid. I began noticing that whenever I went to two of my favorite manicurists in the US, the nail polish lasted like twice as long as anywhere else, or as compared to when I do my own nails. The common factor turned out to be Essie Nail Polish.

Both of these gals happen to be in salons in the Miami area, but I am fairly certain that the Essie line can be found easily at just about any nice salon in the US. The Essie website show 9 pages with 32 colors per page of just the polish alone, so they do have a very large selection. My two salons offer about 30 of those colors each. Personally, I think reds should be reserved for dress-up nights out on the town, but Lars loves the reds, so I keep bottles of the Capri and Fifth Avenue reds for him. Men. My personal favorite though is called Expose Your Toes and is a really pretty light pink.

Essie nail polishes run about $6 each at the salons for 1.5ml (.5oz) and it is a bargain at that price. The Essie website lists them at $8 each. I would gladly pay that if I didn't know I could get it cheaper elsewhere. This nail polish is sooo worth it.

The main thing is that the Essie polish goes on oh so smooth. I have experienced no streaking or running with any of my purchases. Two coats is all it takes for a perfectly even color. Drying time is on par with all other polishes at about 10-15 minutes if you don't use a drying agent on top of it. The only polish I have found that dries faster in Nivea's Sea Extract Manicure line, but you'll pay twice as much for it, too.

As far as lastibility goes, Essie will last me a full week before it starts to chip... even longer with a good clear top coat. That is amazing. The cheaper polishes are lucky to last 2-3 days.

Another factor which brings Essie above the competition is breathability. Some polishes just feel like they are smothering your nails. Not so with this one. I can hardly even feel it is there. Nice, that.