Fair warning: Buckle up, kiddies, it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.
I would like to begin with something that I saw online and when I saw it, it made me lose my shit. This made me absolutely sick when I read it and saw the images. This is not fashion, it is not chic and it is certainly not art. It is just disgusting.
Care to take a gander at a new Essie polish? This is Camera from the new Poppy*Razzi Collection. Essie Camera is a bright orange toned pink neon jelly. Holy monkey this polish is pretty. It is eye popping bright, squishy and juicy. I love this colour.
Too bad I don't feel that way about the formula.
I'll talk more about that, after the photographs. For this swatch, I applied three coats and used top coat. Photos were shot in the sun.
This polish freaked my camera out. That poor thing just about cracked in half trying to capture this polish. It did a pretty craptastic job. The colour is more accurate in the bottle in the first photograph. The polish on my nails pulled more to the orange side of things. I know that others have shown this polish to much better advantage and I considered skipping this post but I needed to talk about the formula.
Oh. The formula.
Essie, what the high holy hell is going on? Why the beautiful colours and the terrible formulas? The formula on this polish was an epic pain in my ass. Coat one: Nasty. Streaky. Uneven, wanted to run. I tried to apply a thinner coat than I usually do and it dragged and pulled bald spots. Coat two: Started applying a little thicker and it went on a little more smooth but it started bubbling like a mo-fo. Coat three, finally opaque and smooth, if still bubbly as anything. I applied Seche Vite to melt and kill the bubbles and thankfully, it did it's job and I was able to take photographs of this polish. One good thing about this stuff was the dry time. Like most neons, this stuff dries faster and a bit satin matte, to get it squishy and shiny, a good top coat is needed.
If this polish is indicative of the rest of this collection, I will be passing on it. You know, I just don't grok what Essie thinks they are doing, here. Lately, the majority of the polishes I have purchased from them have been, for lack of a better word, crap. Granted, I don't own a huge ton of Essie polishes, maybe I am just loving and buying the few duds? I don't know. I mean, others seem to love this brand with an almost slavish devotion. There is a lot I like about Essie; the stellar rep as a high end polish, the beautiful colour palette, the soft, ladylike quality of their polishes, even the darker and "edgier" colours have that quality. Hell, I even like the bottles. I'm not in love with the brushes; those skinny little things, I need a lot of strokes to cover my not petite nails. But I can live with them.
I can't live with the nasty, difficult formulas. I just can't. Essie is a hot shot brand, revered, loved. Expensive. For eight dollars bottle, I don't think that I am asking too much in wanting a polish to have a flawless, easily applied formula that doesn't drive me utterly insane and make me work so frakking hard to get it looking decent. I have one and two dollar polishes that I like better; they have great colours and the formula on them is terrific. So much for "this expensive, chi-chi salon brand is better". It certainly isn't here.
Is it me? Does Essie polish just hate me? Does anyone else have as much trouble with this brand as I do? Am I over reacting? Please, if I am doing something wrong, if I am not applying them right, showing them the proper respect, zap me with a clue so that I can do better because I want to love this brand. I want to so much. But at this point, I have become so disgusted and frustrated with Essie that I just can't. I have one more Essie to review then I may have to wash my hands of this brand. I can't afford to keep buying eight dollar polishes hoping that the next one will surely have the fabulous formula that I am dreaming of, the fabulous formula everyone else seems to get but I don't.
Do you have good luck with Essie? Not so much? Does this brand slap you around as hard as it does me? Does it love you? Please do share your feelings about Essie polish with me as I would really love to hear how others get along with (or don't), this brand.
Thank you so much for popping in and reading my long, whine fest. Have a fantastic Friday and may your polish never bubble.
I have such bad luck with the formula of Essie too:( It's so sad because I love the packaging and the color selection. They look so creamy and opaque and then you put them on your nails and wtf??? I must say, after all the mess, the end result is often very pretty - but it's so annoying going through all that work:( Great swatches though!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Essie has gorgeous colors but the process is just too hard to get right! I have been unhappy with some of the bottle-to-nail changes too!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful nails. Love the shape.Never tried essie because some say the formula is too difficult to work with.
ReplyDeleteOK I NEVER click on links in other's posts. I'm just too damn lazy. For some reason, I clicked on yours and now am having nightmares! That's just f**king messed up right there. For someone to think that is ok and art and beauty has a severe issue and needs to be locked away.
ReplyDeleteThat link was so disturbing. What a fucked up editorial. I see how that might see reasonable if it were say, for a horror film but certainly not for a "beauty" spread. That said, I do not find this reasonable or acceptable in any form. But that is more a discussion about the portrayal of women in media and art and how it is often dehumanizing and objectifying.
ReplyDeleteMoving on to the polish. The color is great but I have always found Essie's formula to be hit or miss. I have a color from the new Summer collection that is pretty but the formula made me so angry. I have a handful of Essies and two have formulas I cannot abide. The rest are okay and only one is perfection. So, yeah. You take your chances with Essie.
Oh no! I've heard such rave reviews about Essie, it seems every NOTD post is either Essie or OPI. Thanks for the honest review on the formula though, that is my biggest selling point if I'm looking for a new polish, I can't stand thin nail varnishes!
ReplyDeleteAlice
http://SecretsOfAWannabeCharlotte.blogspot.co.uk
This colour gives me the feeling of summer! :)
ReplyDeleteHey! I, too, have problems with essie. I love their colors but am nearly always disappointed with the formula. I find it streaky and watery and uneven in color. I usually have to use 3-4 coats!
ReplyDeleteHi, working licensed nail tech here. : ) Yes, Essie's formula has gone to the dogs over the last 1 1/2 years or so. It is my favorite, I love the brush, but I cringe in the Salon when I'm asked to use one of their cremes-it's sudden death: Streaky, bald spots, and the danged gumminess and bubbling! Sigh..:/
ReplyDeleteI've been lucky I guess and like the formula of the Essie's that I have in my stash. Have not tried this color yet, but bummer that the formula sucks, it's such an awesome color!
ReplyDeleteAnd the images of the models are just disturbing.. I understand the idea behind "battered women can still be beautiful", but why put that crap on display? Sick =(
I see that I am not the only one. I agree, if you can make the polish work, the end result is pretty fantastic but man! Who wants to work that hard?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your input. :)
To be fair, in this case, the bottle to nail wasn't the fault of the polish, as I said in my post, my camera had a tough time accurately portraying the colour. In person, the colour on the nail is just as pretty as it is in the bottle. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your input on this brand. :)
Thank you so much for your kind compliment. :D
ReplyDeleteNot every Essie I have met is a problem but the majority of the Essie polishes I personally own have given me more than their fair share of grief.
Yes. That layout was completely over the line. When I saw it I wanted to reach through my computer screen to the editors of 12 Magazine and strangle someone. WTF??? How can anyone think that portraying battered and acid burned women can in any way shape or form be acceptable?
ReplyDeleteMy ghast is flabbered by that layout.
To be fair, not every Essie polish is a problem child, tho it does seem that a lot of them that I have purchased in the last bit more than a year have been difficult for me to handle. I do know that a lot of people adore Essie and the formula, we have to remember that our mileage may vary. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your input. :D
Me too. It is so warm and bright and pretty. :)
ReplyDeleteThose are some of the same problems I have with this brand, as well. I just don't grok how something so pretty can be so mean. lol
ReplyDeleteThank you for telling me your experience. :)
I am so happy to hear from a working nail tech, someone who works with this brand and a wide variety of shades and finishes from this brand. I am a wide brush girl, myself but I can make the more petite Essie brush work. :) Oh, the cremes... I have a handful of beautiful Essie cremes that just send me into a lather and it is such a shame because I want to love them!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your input on this subject, I really appreciate it. :)
You seem to have a much different experience with Essie than I have. I know that a lot of Essie fans don't have so much trouble with the formula. Products work different for different people. I'm glad that you have had an overall much more positive result. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your experience.
I agree, using images of battered women is not beauty. It isn't something to be taken so lightly, to be used as a fashion layout. It is just so wrong on so many levels.
You said that so much better than I ever could and I completely agree with you. This struck me as so horrific on a gut level.
ReplyDeleteHit or miss is a good way to describe it. I feel as if I am rolling the dice every time I buy an Essie polish, and for that price, I can't afford to continue to gamble on them.
Thank you so much for your input. :D
I guess I'm in the minority here because I'm a licensed nail tech and I love the Poppyrazzi collection. I think the formula is flawless- flows on the nail with practically zero clean up. And the colors are gorgeous! I just wore Lights as a mani for 7 days with no chips! Definitely my favorite collection so far this summer.
ReplyDeleteSo in other words, Essie's formula has gone down the drain since they were bought by L'Oreal? Color me unsurprised--L'Oreal does some nice product, but their polishes pretty much all suck.
ReplyDeleteThat might explain a lot, come to think of it. I haven't had much luck with Loreal polishes and if Essie is under their umbrella, maybe they are blending the formulas. That probably happened just as I started buying Essie. Just my luck... lol
ReplyDeleteThis is such a stunning color!!
ReplyDeleteI won't even comment on that disgusting editorial; if I say what I want to say, I'll just get worked up and not be able to sleep, let alone think of anything else. But thank you, Erica, for bringing this crap to light. It just might help the way certain people see women in general. Sick.
ReplyDeleteI've purchased several Essie polishes about a year or year and a half ago, and although they required 2-3 coats, the formula and finish was fine. However, I also purchased two in the past 2 or 3 months, and from what I hear you say, I am concerned they, too, will be crappy. But I think I still have my receipts and will return them if so. But damn it, they are soo pretty. I think if I want (read: can afford)a higher end polish, it will be Zoya.
I've never had any problems with Essie, in fact it was Mademoiselle that got me into the brand because for a sheer pink polish it was so streak-free and beautiful to apply. I've not tried any of Essie's neons so I can't really comment. But I have nearly 20 or so Essies and though I've not tried all of them yet there's none that I've had difficulties with formula. Perhaps it's the neon thing? It looks beautiful on you despite all the issues you had in applying it:)
ReplyDeleteKate, you seem to have the same experience that a lot of Essie fans have, great formula, easy to use. :) Unfortunately, it isn't just neons, I have had difficulty with cremes even jellies, as well. Maybe Essie polish just doesn't like me. lol I am glad that Essie works so well for you. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your input and sharing your experience. :D
It is stunning. :D
ReplyDeleteYour experience with Essie might be very different from mine, so don't give up on them until you try them. :D
ReplyDeleteZoya is good, too. :D
To be honest, Essie isn't the perfect brand, which isn't entirely acceptable for $8 a bottle ($15 in Australia!!) but I've tried about 5 now and the creme's are the hardest to apply, but the red colour i have which is quite jelly like was really easy to apply! Great colour on you though!
ReplyDeleteThis. My old Essie's all had nice to great formulas. I don't buy L'Oreal anything anymore.
ReplyDeleteThey say that those horrible pix aren't meant to represent 'domestic' abuse. WTF??? So it's OK if a stranger slits a woman's throat from ear to ear? The mind that generated these images belongs in an institution were he can't hurt anyone, because I guarantee, I this is the kind of stuff he fantasizes about (which he obviously does) it's just a matter of time before they start finding bodies...if they haven't already and just haven't figured out it's him yet.
ReplyDeleteI've never had good luck with Essie's polish formulas and don't understand why they're popular. I do like the bottle shape and size and many of their colors, though. I've had problems with Essie polishes before L'Oreal bought them.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the Essie polishes. I fell in love with Caliente but couldn't bring myself to spend that much on polish. So after a couple visits to the store looking at it I finally bought it. But before I had a chance to try it I also bought two other colors with a coupon so I could do my nails the color of my favorite hockey team. Anyway, I now have tried all 3 and they are all horrible. I love the colors but trying to put them on is a pain which makes me so sad since I love looking at all their colors when I go in the store. I'll stick to my Sinful Colors!
ReplyDeleteIn light of all the cannibalism going in the news as of late, that "beauty" campaign is totally off the mark. Distasteful, disgusting and just not appropriate. However...I do love this polish. Too bad the formula was such crap. I am always in the market for new jellies and I had my eye on this until I read the formula trouble. Good to know. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI picked up several on Amazon when the news came out that the company had been sold, but I don't know how you'd verify that they were old Essies rather than the L'Oreal knock offs. Maybe someplace like Head2Toe would be willing to tell?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I have no idea how to find out if the Essie polishes you purchased were made before or after Essie was acquired by Loreal. The Essies made after the merger are still "real" Essies. It does seem that the original formula may have been tweaked, but they are still genuine Essie. :)
ReplyDeleteI guess. :D
Amen on all counts, Sister.
ReplyDeleteThank you. From the input I have received, I am not the only one. I really love Essie's colours, I just wish that they would tighten up their stuff when it comes to some of their formulas. :)
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