Essie Nail Polish Review

I'm not usually the sort to rush into posting a review, in fact I didn't even think 10 days would be long enough to trial a polish that claims to have a chip-resistant formula but after 3 days I think I have seen everything I need to see.

I usually go for bright coloured polish but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and see if I liked wearing a darker colour, and who doesn't love the chance to try out a new brand, as I personally haven't used Essie before. I wasn't too sure on the darker colour at first, but it has really grown on me!

My first thought, was I loved the brush! But the consistency was a little different to my other polishes. I found it went on quite thin but it wasn't very smooth going on, at least it was different to the polishes I usually use. It dried really quickly which is always good! After a few more coats I found it wasn't going very smoothly at all and it was coming out a bit patchy. It took four coats to get it to look like the rich chocolate colour I had pictured, before the fourth coat it was a dark burgundy colour and noticeably patchy. From a distance they look great, but up close I can see lighter patches even after four coats, but maybe that's just cause I know it's there. I didn't add a top coat over because I didn't want it to effect my experience with the polish, and it also has a nice shine without a topcoat so I didn't think it was necessary.

I had painted my nails about lunch time and by 7pm I already had minor chipping on both thumbs and a decent chip on my middle fingernail, which was very disappointing to see from a polish with a "chip-resistant" formula. But since then they don't seem to have chipped much more.

It's hard to give a product like nail polish a fair review after one use, there could have been many factors that caused chipping to happen so early on, maybe I was just too rough on them with my busy day! So I will definitely give this polish another try, just to be fair. My friend (also a BR member) loves the colour so I will be asking her to try it out and post her own review, hopefully she gets better results than I did!

So to sum it all up here's the Pros and Cons from my first use of this product;

PROS - Loved the shape of the brush - It dried quickly - Nice rich colour - Has a nice shine without a topcoat

CONS - Took 4 coats to get the full colour - Went on quite patchy - Chipping began quickly

Essie nail polish comes in a small glass bottle with a white top. It has a sticker on the handle that contains the ingredients and tells you a little about the product information. A circular white sticker on the top of the handle has the shade name. Made in France, this 13,5ml bottle has glass embossing on two sides of the bottle. The handle is 3cm the bottle is 4cm. For appearance I would give it a 5/5 it is an attractive and informative little package.

The brush is very wide and offered great coverage to the nail, two strokes covered the entire width of the nail. Whilst I did not seem to mind this a few friends who tried the nail polish found the brush too wide. One commented that had it been a fraction narrower you would perhaps get more even coverage. For the size of the brush and the length of the handle (3cm) I would give it a 3/5.

One coat was not enough to offer even coverage and I found that even after two coats I had break through patches - I did not find that I was able to get an even colour coverage. I was a little disappointed with this. For the coverage I would give it a 2/5.

The colour is amazing and I was offered plenty of compliments on the stunning shade of cornflower blue. My daughters said they thought it looked like a colour that had come from Frozen. So needless to say it is a hit with people of all ages. The colour would get a 5/5 from me. A firm new favourite of mine.

I have shorter nails at the moment - and found that the nail polish lasted just on 7 days. It did not chip or peel however it did wear off from the tip up. It left a good mm of nail exposed slowly over the week. For wear and tear I would offer is 3/5.

The price is a little expensive and disappointing at $22.99 so for this I would give it a 2/5 I love finding a bargain and don't feel that for the price and results that this is one of those miracle, bargain, must have polishes.

Over all this is an average polish but an amazing colour. If I found a cheaper product in the same colour I would be tempted to try that - although a cheaper product you risk worse results. If I was gifted this product I would gratefully except and enjoy using it but I wouldn't rush out to purchase this make again unless it was on sale.

Again the colour made this nail polish for me.

ok ok, so I wanted this colour so, so very badly, I even considered selling my soul to be chosen for the trial, but that didn't work. I'd seen this polish talked about by sooo many beauty gurus, and I had to have it. But when I went to buy it, the price was around $25 for a very small looking bottle of nail polish. I don't care how much I wanted it, I really didn't want to spend that much on it. SO I went on the hunt for dupes but none of them were as great in colour. So I gave in, and decided to treat myself. Boy did I do a good job!

I love it! It's everything I wanted and more. I've never used and Essie polish before so it was very exciting. I can say that the quality, is probably better than OPI.

I love the packaging, it's very simple, very elegant, sitting on a dresser with a bunch of Essie nail polishes, I can imagine how beautiful it will look. The bottle looks small yes, but at closer look, I noticed it has the same amount of polish as any other nail polish in it. √√

I LOVE the brush. It's very thick and wide, without being too over the top. It's controllable and one stroke covers my entire nail, except my thumb which needs a stroke and a half. I can say that is amazing, especially when you are in a rush and need nails done in a flash. But in saying that, there is so much excess polish on the brush. I wiped away before painting the nail, but as you go to put it back in the bottle, more polish is trickling down from the top of the brush. So it's one you have to be careful with, although I can't say I had any difficulty with that. It also comes off the skin really easily, if you tend to paint your skin, like I do.

Two coats of this product is perfect and opaque. Bright, gorgeous pastel blue colour. And can I just say, any type of top coat you put over it, it will look just as good. I tried this with white glitter, gold glitter and black star glitter. Uhhh I can't get enough. It has so many looks, and is so versatile.

The only complaint I have about it, is how long it lasts. While I got to wear it for a good 6 days without any chipping, I notice that around the edges of the nail, the colour starts to slowly fade, so you're left with white tips.

Bottom line, would I use this again- Yes for colour, no for brand. I love everything that Essie has to offer, except the price. I would definitely buy Bikini so Teeny again though.

I've tried plenty of nail polishes in my time, and for something that retails at $22.99.. I am not disappointed with Essie Bikini So Teeny.. but nor am I impressed with it.

I've got to say, there were several things that I loved about this.. The applicator, for example, is one of the things that I love about this product.. It's wide enough to cover your nail in one stroke unlike majority of other nailpolish brands which have a thinner brush. Makes it so much easier and cleaner for each application.

The colour was another thing I loved.. It's such a super pigmented cornflower blue that cheers you up completely! I've seen many bloggers wearing this product and I've been so completely jealous. It would range a whole different variations of complexions which is fabulous. The colour looks 100% better on and in real life than it does in the bottle or on videos/photos/etc.

The final thing I adored about this product is the packaging.. I mean it's nothing to rave about but I have always found that the packaging for Essie is absolutely fabulous, simple and very clean. It's not over complicated by huge logos or bright colours covering the real sweetness inside.

Although I did love the colour, the brush and the bottle.. There were a few things I wasn't too happy about with Bikini So Teeny..

The first being that it dried streaky.. No matter how many coats I did there was always something sneaking through. It was incredibly patchy unlike other Essie polishes I've tried.

The second thing that I wasn't too pleased about was how long it lasted without a base or top coat.. Now I do know you are meant to do both of these things so I did one hand with and one hand without to see how long it would last.. Without the base and top coat they only lasted 3-4 days but with a full base and top coat it brought it out to a week. I have other nail polishes that last maybe 2 weeks so this wasn't the best.

As I said earlier.. I'm not pleased with Essie Bikini So Teeny but it is a pretty polish. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone, but I am keen to find a dupe to trial against it!

I absolutely love this Essie Nailpolish! This light blue shade is my absolute favourite colour, and it took me a long time to find a nailpolish which reflected what I was looking for. I found other brands like OPI would often have more green or purple undertones, but this Essie polish is a lovely blue. It goes on smoothly and evenly like all Essie polishes. However I found that at least two coats are required to give the full colour as you see in the bottle. It has great durability and I found it stayed on for up to a week without peeling or chipping with a good base and top coats. I would definitely recommend this to others if you are as crazy about pastel blue as I am!

I have a large collection of Essie Nail Polishes! At the moment I have 15 but that can change at any point as I find more colours I love. My original love was OPI but since I found Essie I haven't looked back. I love the small square bottles on these. The new bottles have the name on the top so if you are obsessive as I am you know what polish it is from the the top, and the little bit of colour peeking around the sides. The brush is great, on the new bottles it is quite flat and rounded so extremely easy to get the whole nail in one pass. The older bottles have quite a skinny brush but still lovely. I love most of these polishes for their great fashionable colours, and their ability for these to stay for 4+ days. Most of the time I purchase these off candygirl.co.nz for a great selection and occasionally fantastic sales.

I'm going to split this review into two lists, the ones I love, and the ones I don't love as much.

THE LOVES; Mint Candy Apple, the perfect mint summer shade. Jazz, a beige that is perfect for everyday in the office. Bahama Mama, that ox-blood red everyone talks about in winter. Angora Cardi, a muted version of Bahama Mama that I almost love more. Dive Bar, a metallic greeny-blue that looks stunning in every light. Penny Talk, the shade I searched for for so long and ended up buying off fishpond for far too much money. A golden light bronze metallic that I don't end up wearing nearly enough.

THE LIKES; Minimalistic, a pale pale washed out pink. French Affair, a pastel light pink. The reason these aren't loves are both the same. The number of coats it takes to get a full opaque finish is just stupid. You can do over four coats and still find streaks. I just don't reach for these because I can't be bothered.

Just got this in the mail and tried it straight away. It was okay, def nothing fabulous but a fantastic colour. Will see in a few days whether it holds up well, so far it seems okay, except for the fact that even after two coats its not really popping much.

I really like this product! Thanks for selecting me to try BR!

The packaging is really nice, clean and simple. Features the name of the shade on the lid of it, which is handy for me because i shore all of my polishes facing up in a draw, so this way you just have to select your shade.

The brush is wonderful! so wide, I was able to paint my nails with 3 brushstrokes each! So easy! It does hold a lot of product so be sure to brush it along the neck of the bottle to remove some.

This nail polish wears well, currently as I am wearing this, I am up to the 4th day and the only wear/chipping I have is along the corners which you cannot actually see. Unless you are up really close. The color has stayed really vibrant!

I noticed as soon as i got this product it has tiny sparkles in it, however on your nails this is a little hard to notice.

All in all, this color of this nail polish is absolutely wonderful, which I intend on using again and again. The formula, bottle and brush are some of the best i have ever used. Definitely will be recommending this!

Thanks BR!

I cannot get enough of this colour, it's by far my favourite new nail polish and I can't stop looking at my nails! I've never used an Essie polish before, but had heard good things, and I can see why. I was a bit surprised when I first started using it, as the brush is quite wide, so you do have to be a bit careful not to have too much polish on the brush, but once I got used to it, it was great. The colour is just beautiful, a soft, feminine cornflower blue with the tiniest hint of a sparkle to it. Coverage is really good, two coats gave a a complete and lasting coverage which only started to chip about 5 days later, even without a top coat. It's the perfect colour for this time of year, when winter is ALMOST at an end, and I'm dreaming of warmer sunnier days. Looking at my beautiful nails makes me want to drink a cocktail in the sunshine! Cannot recommend highly enough.

I don't wear nude natural looking shades like this on a regular basis, but, after hearing about this polish and how gorgeous it was I had to step out of my routine and give it a try.

I found the formula of this polish was good and easy to apply. It is a sheerer polish than what I am used to, but, that is the look it is made for I believe. I still use 3 coats to get the look I desire though. To me it gives the look of french manicured nails without the white tip (although you could easy add that). It dries in normal time and lasts me a couple of days before a chip occurs...but, I have weak nails and am not exactly kind to my hands (always doing dishes, washing, picking things etc). The formula is nice and not gluggy or difficult to work with so if this sort of shade is up your alley I would recommend it.

I ended up passing this onto a friend as I didn't wear it enough, but, I did like the shade it just wasn't a favourite.