From Man-days to Mani-days…how the mighty have fallen.

As a self-proclaimed cynic, I’m still one to take things as signs rather than sheer coincidence, and the name of this polish tied with the promised (threatened?) cold snap on its way seemed as good a reason as any to apply it for the second time in a row. Now, I’m always a little shy of posting photos of my nails because after a childhood of biting and a lifetime of nervous picking, they are an embarrassment. It’s getting to the point where I may or may not have seriously considered faking them, and it’s been only the upkeep and the TOWIE overtones that have stopped me. It seemed only fair to write about this polish though, as I mentioned it months ago and it really does merit further comment.

It’s the first Essie polish I’ve bought, and I can’t find a full ingredients list even online (bad), but the website assures me that the polish is free of DBP, Toluene and Formaldehyde so…yay?

It’s an Essie bottle, so pretty minimalist and not at all “showy”. The lid is shiny, which doesn’t necessarily make for the firmest of grips, and nor is the brush all that thick. Those are minor quibbles, though, and veer dangerously close to an outright “OPI vs. Essie” comparison which I am simply not qualified or disposed to make.

The polish itself applies smoothly, covered in a couple of coats – perfectly then, really. In terms of the formula, it feels a bit…watery? milky?…but I assume that’s the colour as much as anything because I can’t fault the application, really, nor the drying time. Last time I applied this, I used a base coat on top as I was rushing out of the door. Never do that. This time, I’m doing things correctly and using Nail Envy for my poor, long-suffering nails, with another topcoat if I can unearth one. If not, Nail Envy, unlike Nails Inc, will actually do in a pinch.

Assuming that you don’t make the very, very silly mistake I did, however, it lasts about a week before it’s so wrecked you have to remove it. When you do remove it, it’s easy as pie – has anyone else ever found that Essie polishes virtually peel themselves off? So odd, but it certainly makes it a lot easier!

*

This costs £7.99 at Boots and Superdrug – cheaper than its closest competitor that I can think of, OPI, but as I think OPI have bigger bottles, I’d have to work out the price per ml to confirm whether it is actually cheaper and nobody has time for that sort of pedantry. It’s hardly going to break the bank, and as evidenced by my using it twice in a row (!), will see a fair amount of use.

All in all…on paper, there’s nothing wrong with this. It performs well and looks good, but I can’t rave about it. It’s a very “safe” colour as manicures go – fine by me – and is never going to set the world on fire- mine, at least. I don’t expect every polish to by any means, but it’s a staple if nothing else, rather than a standout of anyone’s collection.

8/10