Essie Play Date

This is my first Essie purchase. I know! How have I been a nail polish junkie for so long, and never bought an Essie?

Well, I'll tell you. It's been pretty easy. I'm drawn to super-bright, sparkly, shimmery, metallic, or dark colors. In short, everything a lot of Essie's colors are not. When I look at the Essie display at my local Walgreen's, I feel like I've stepped into The Gap. Fourteen shades of beige, you know? I always miss the brights, which are lower in the display, and end up distracted by a neighboring glitter. Ooh, shiny!


Play Date was the first Essie color to catch my attention in the sea of white, tan, and soft, sweet pink. A bright lilac creme, very eye catching in the display. And right at eye level. Those marketing people know how to hit me where I live! I picked up the same bottle of Play Date, the last one in the display, on probably a dozen different visits...and put it down every time. There was always something else I wanted more. Something bolder, louder, more...me. And then one day I picked up the Play Date, and it came home with me.

Essie Play Date

You guys, what a gorgeous color this is. Both brighter and darker than it appears in the bottle. When I first put it on, in the aftermath of the oil slicked Ludurana water marble, I was vaguely disappointed. It was plain. Pretty, yes, but...where's the glitter? Where's the oomph? What can I do to jazz it up, I thought. French tips in a darker purple, maybe? A sparkly top coat? No time, as I had to get ready for work. Then something funny happened.

I fell in love.

Indoors, cloudy day, with flash

Inside, sunny day, indirect light

Full sun. Yay sun!!

This color. It's so good. It goes on like a dream, smooth and easy.  It was completely opaque in two coats. I used a fast-drying top coat because I needed the speed, but I think it would have been just as shiny without any top coat at all. And while I really thought this should have been a color meant for spring, full of hopeful flowers and windy days (also explaining some of my hesitation), turns out it's perfect for a rainy, blustery, cold fall afternoon. It's like a happy little drop of purple sunshine for your fingers.