The Day in Beauty Vol. 21: Pancakes and Painting Paws With Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish

16 of 42 shades in the Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish Collection ($11.50 each)

Hey, dear friend. Sweet and lovely greetings to you on this summer Saturday.

With so many unsettling things in the news this week, makeup seems extra frivolous…but we all need a break from real life sometimes. And to be honest, that’s one of the reasons I like makeup and beauty. Right now I’m soothing my spirit sitting by the windows and playing with these bottles of Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish ($11.50 each).

Did you just do a double-take? I did the first time I saw these twisty bottles (inspired by twirling runway dresses). For a second there I thought that Essie went and lost her mind with a bottle redesign, because I love those classic square Essie bottles, but no, these are a completely new, additional collection available now in Essie’s permanent line.

There are 42 shades, and they work a lot like gel polishes. You don’t have to use them with a base coat. You just apply however many coats you want, then add a layer of the special topcoat that comes with the collection (it’s supposed to be the one that comes with the collection, so not any old topcoat).

There’s a wide range of colors from semi-sheer pastels, like the pinks and beiges Essie is famous for, along with quite a few fiercer colors like dark blues and fun greens.

I like gel nail polishes like these because of how incredibly fast they dry, and these are no joke! When I do two layers and the top coat, they’re completely bone dry — like, I can type, fiddle with my hair, whatever — in 10 minutes. That is SO fast.

But what I REALLY like about these polishes is the brush. Essie calls it a “swirl stem brush,” and it’s flat, wide and tapers down from the edges to a rounded point in the center, so that when you press the brush down on the nail, it spreads to evenly cover a wide surface area as you draw the brush from the base of the nail to the tip.

It works.

It seems like quite a few gel polishes boast of a super long (almost obscenely long) wear time, some as high as 14 days. This one does too, and I’m like, “Fo’ reals? Is the person wearing this polish also wearing gloves 24/7? Does she never do dishes or button buttons or zip zippers?”

These definitely don’t last 14 days for me, but they do look poi-fect for seven. After that, though, chips start to appear, and pretty soon I look like I’ve been gnawing on my nails.

In other news…

Pancakes.

Because they remind me of my childhood.

Both of my parents worked out of the house when I was growing up and had to start their commutes early, so during the school week I was responsible for making my breakfast every morning.

I’d always make something easy…like cereal, but then on Saturdays my folks would make something delicious, and when that delicious breakfast included pancakes, it always felt like I’d won the lottery or something, LOL! I felt cared for, loved and protected, and the world felt like a sweet and wonderful place.

I looooove me some pancakes…

This seems like a good day for pancakes.

Take care of yourself, will ya? I hope the sunshine finds you.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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The post, “The Day in Beauty Vol. 21: Pancakes and Painting Paws With Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish,” first appeared on Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup.

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