essie®

 
ESSIE WEINGARTEN, a beauty industry icon and founder of Essie Cosmetics, Ltd. is a savvy businesswoman with a keen eye for color and a flair for names. Driven by her passion for a perfect manicure, Essie polish has become the brand of choice in fine salons and spas worldwide. Most people associate Essie with the ever-popular Ballet Slippers, a cult classic (pinkiest pink with white undertones) and a beauty blockbuster in every sense of the word.

As you may expect, the history behind this phenomenon has its roots in Essie 's own life story. Essie was reared by a strong mother who held both the family and the family business together after the untimely death of Essie's father. Forced at an early age to learn the rudiments of running a business, Essie was a quick learner and an invaluable asset to her family. Once out on her own, she began her career in the retail industry as a buyer for Henri Bendel's. Her passion for color, however, led her into the world of beauty and nail care.

Essie has always been fascinated with well-groomed hands. "As long as your nails are beautifully manicured, you are always in fashion. Your hands are the most expressive part of your body... they do the talking for you," she explains. Given her obsession with well-groomed nails, Essie was always on the lookout for the perfect manicure. Her search led her to an important discovery: not one of the salons at that time carried a full range of nail polish shades. All of the best colors went to department stores, leaving a paltry selection for the nail tech and her client. Essie was struck by the irony. Why was the woman most interested in nail care and grooming, such as the manicure client, not offered more of a selection in polish shades? Essie knew that she could service this market, and set out to do just that.

Armed with 12 initial colors, Essie visited all the hotel salons in Las Vegas, knowing she could spark significant interest in that market. It didn' t take long before nail techs and clients were praising Essie polish. The rest is history; Essie quickly became recognized for its original winning chip-resistant formula. Essie polish soon became available in all major U.S. markets.

When nail salons first burst onto the scene circa 1983, Essie's polish found its true niche. Nail techs praised the range of fashion forward shades, along with Essie's outstanding durability, chip-resistant formula and whimsical names. These qualities appealed not only to the cosmetic professional but also to consumers. Essie's first celebrity clients included Barbara Streisand and Joan Rivers. Since then the A-list has grown to include: Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Britney Spears, Sandra Bullock, Sharon Stone, Renee Zellweger and Naomi Campbell among others.

The line's first international distribution was in Japan, and is now carried throughout Europe, the Far East, North and South America, and Australia. Essie is also available in some of the most exclusive spas nationwide such as Bliss, Canyon Ranch, Golden Door, and La Costa Resort and Spa.

Essie's wardrobe of color has always been inspired by the runways of Paris, Milan, London and New York. Additionally, many Essie shades (Pachinko Pale, Allure, Bashful Beige, Ballet Slippers and Waltz) have graced the Paris Haute Couture catwalks due to the colors ever elegant, and simply chic presence.

Essie's color trends and seasonal collections are based upon her intuition and inspirations surrounding every new fashion season. A true businesswoman at heart, Essie keeps a pulse on her clients needs by visiting salons worldwide on a regular basis. With her busy travel schedule, Essie makes time to speak with her customers, often developing innovative new products to satisfy their ever-changing needs.

Essie has always been committed to simple, classic elegance and her products continue to grace the pages of top fashion magazines. The media outside of the beauty world has also taken notice of Essie Cosmetics. Essie appeared on CNN when the "SE" (Stock Exchange) Collection debuted with names such Bonds Beige, Options Pink, Futures French, and T-Bills Putty.

When asked about the inspiration for her truly unforgettable shade names (Hotsee Totsee, Chocolate Kisses, Scarlett O'Hara and Chips No Potatoes), Essie simply replies, "I want the name to be descriptive, but not just of a color. I want to give you something that you'll remember so that just the name itself will evoke a certain time in your life... and make you smile."

Since 2000, the Essie logo has been elegantly etched on the trademarked square glass bottle, which Essie designed herself. It is only fitting for Essie, the name behind the nails finally steps into the spotlight.