365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
In December we talked about Essie entering the mass retail market with an edited selection of their core collection colors and new retail exclusives. “Retail exclusives” made my ears perk up so I was curious to see what kind of colors the mass consumer would get versus what Essie offers to salons.
To be honest when the L’oreal buyout of Essie became public I was skeptical of how this type of change would be received. Unlike a lot of salon brands that have ended up filtering into mass retailers via the gray market, Essie was one that I rarely came across. At least in my tiny piece of the universe. But I have yet to hear a big uproar from the salon community about L’oreal bringing Essie to the mass crowd.
Nails Of The Day: Negative Space Glitter Manicure
Anywho, as soon as I spotted my first Essie retail display I zeroed in on the blues and greens and came home with Dive Bar and Trophy Wife. Of course I rush to buy these colors and where do they end up? Good question. This past weekend I was cleaning out a drawer looking for receipts (oh joyous tax season) when I found the polishes still in the drugstore bag. I must have hid them in a fit of de-cluttering before they made their way to the polish room. I decided to give Essie Dive Bar a whirl first.
Formula & Application: Essie nail polishes (including the retail line) are 3-Free. The formula hasn’t changed even though the packaging has. The bottle still includes the Essie molded logo on two sides but there is now a clear sticker with white lettering on one of the smooth sides. Also, the cap doesn’t include the embossed “e” on top. Everything else seems the same with the exception of the volume of polish. Salon Essie bottles list the volume as .5oz and the Retail Essie bottles say .46oz. Even though the bottles look the same size there a difference of 1.5mL. Hmm…
***UPDATE: I was informed by a representative for Essie that there is no difference in the fill amount between Retail and Salon packaging. Due to a change in regulations brands are now required to list fill levels using 2-digits instead of rounding to a single digit. Essie bottles have always contained .46oz of polish and the bottles stating .5oz are being phased out.
Essie Nail Lacquer In Dive Bar
Dive Bar had that somewhat watery feel that I’ve come to expect from Essie. It kind of slides on the nail and feels a bit squishy but, not to worry, the pigmentation is all there. It’s an easy two coater.
Essie Dive Bar has an oil spill-esque look to it in the bottle. The tinge of purple on the edge of the bottle is a great indicator that there’s more going on in this party than one would expect. At its core, Dive Bar is a blackened teal with metallic shimmer. It teeters on “almost black” territory but I’d say it’s
Light enough to avoid that moniker. I love that it can lean either blue or green depending on the light. And that hint of purple, you can see it hovering around the edges of the nail like a frame.
Essie Nail Polish \\
Bottom Line: I’m a bit puzzled by the polish volume discrepancy between the salon and retail bottles but that’s not enough to turn me off. I rarely go through a bottle of polish so the 1.5mL isn’t a deal breaker but I think there should be consistency in size if the price is the same at both the retail and salon level. Outside of that, I’m loving that there are some shades, like Dive Bar, in the Retail Exclusives that appeal to my more adventurous sense of color.
Essie Dive Bar is part of the Essie Retail Exclusives that can be found at mass retailers nationwide. Essie nail polishes retail for $8/ea for a .46 oz bottle.
Are you loving or hating Dive Bar? Who else picked up a bottle? Which of the other Retail Exclusive shades have you tried? I’d love to hear your thoughts on them and the whole Essie Retail concept.I'm sure you will have noticed that I bought a new nail polish this month as I have mentioned it in a couple of posts already (here and here) I thought it might be nice to give you a bit more info as several of you commented on it, so here it is ... my first NOTD post! Apologies for the poor photo, I'm sure they'll get better! This one was taken two days after application so there is a bit of tip wear
Essie Dive Bar Nail Polish Holiday 2011 Collection Rare 95008001005
I saw this polish on Louise's blog Sprinkle Of Glitter and loved it straightaway. I usually keep my nails fairly neutral as I think it looksclassy and formal for work, but I tend to wear darker colours as the weather turns colder and this looked really intriguing
In the bottle it looks a dark green with shimmer, as you turn it in the light it looksblue and even purple. I imagined it would be like this on the nails, a kind of holographic effect which has become quite mainstream now
However, I was wrong - this polish is really different. When I first put it on it was very definitely dark green. I twisted and turned my hand to try to get the other colours but ... nothing. Nada.
Essie “dive Bar” On Short Nails
The next day I looked at my hands as I was driving and noticed that the polish was blue. A dark navy with shimmer. Really nice! Again I tried moving my hand about to see a different colour but couldn't. I must have looked a bit crackers as I drove along!
The next day it was blue again in natural light outside. Then under the hob light as I was cooking dinner, it was green. It never looked purple at all, only green, blue or variations of the two (I'd describe them as petrol and teal) butthe colours were really lovely, deep and jewel-like
This is my first Essie polish (I'm a die-hard Ciate and OPI fan) and I was really impressed with it. The formulation was great, perfectly opaque in two coats and the brush was really easy to use. I find that dark colours can sometimes be messy to apply but this was a breeze and I think the brush is the reason why. I always use OPI Nail Envy as a base coat and Seche Vite top coat. With these two, this polish lasted four days before starting to chip, which I think is pretty good for a dark polishOver the festive period, I was lucky enough to be invited to quite a few Christmas parties – so I felt it only right to put
Essie: 'dive Bar' Us Exclusive (swatches & Review)
For Christmas party number one, I went with Essie Dive Bar, an inky blackened teal – very cool, very rock n’ roll, but darkly sophisticated with it. It’s one of those intriguing polish colours that looks black from far away, but reveals glittering depths on closer inspection. It’s super easy to use; like most Essie polishes, it flows onto the nail beautifully and is pretty much opaque in one coat (although I always seem to do two out of habit). I did find it dried a little dull for my tastes though, so I added a slick of top coat to give it a glossier finish. Amazingly enough for a polish this dark, it doesn’t stain either so well done Essie.
Of course, being a fickle sort of lacquerhead, I was already bored of this by the time Christmas party number two rolled round – plus it was starting to chip. Time to bring in the big guns… and my big, I mean shimmering glimmering flakie fabulousness!
After fixing up the chips, I layered on a coat of Essie’s Shine Of The Times – instant nail revamp ahoy! I have been holding onto this twinkling treasure ever since it was first released as part of Essie’s 2011 Holiday Luxeffects Collection; like all the most covetable make-up, it’s now discontinued but if you ever see anything of its ilk, I suggest you snap it up quicker than you can say Seche Vite as it’s awesome.
Essie 775 Dive Bar Nail Polish
If you’re wondering what the hell flakies are, the short answer is amazing; the slightly longer answer is opalescent flakes suspended in a polish, which produce a showstopping iridescent, almost rainbow-like effect as they hit the light in different ways. Layered over dark colours especially, I really do think flakies look like a magic spell spilt over your nails, something straight out of a Hogwarts chemistry lesson.
For those of you like me who cannot be arsed with nail art or marbling or the myriad of other complicated manicure techniques out there and want in on the pretty but for the minimum of effort, a top coat like this is the perfect way to get a dose of instant glamour on your nails… and
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