1. Base Coat
Apply 1 coat to bare nails to prime for color while strengthening.
Original Nail Polish Frequently Asked Questions:
Discover essie's original professional nail polish
As the color authority since 1981, all essie original nail polishes offer vivid, streak-free color. Get saturated payoff and shine in every coat with our billion pigment formula and patented camel-stem brush for precise, controlled application.
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2. Color
Apply 2 coats for optimal opacity.
3. Top Coat
Apply 1 coat for up to 7-day wear.
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"essie original color is iconic. I love the brush, the hundreds of colors to choose from, and the fact that it was my first favorite." - Rita Remark, essie Global Brand Ambassador
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1 to 8 of 67 reviews .
1 – 8 of 67 reviews
most recent
2 out of 5 stars.
Opacity issues
2 months ago
Needs so many layers to be opaque… too bad, because the colour is gorgeous! Poor quality in comparison to the gel couture.
Q: goes great with this shade
A: Top coat
favorite essie color family?reds
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
no, I do not recommend this product.
helpful?
response from essie:
a month ago
Consumer Care Center
HI Sosoof, thank you so much for sharing your feedback with us! We completely agree—Lilacism is such a dreamy, gorgeous pastel lilac, but we are so sorry to hear that the application has been patchy and frustrating for you. Like all of our nail enamels, your color should be perfect by the second coat. Even in your pic the color does not look as smooth as it should be. Your bottle may not be up to standard. If you would like to speak to us directly about your recent purchase, give us a call @ 866-313-7845 M-F 9 am-5:30 pm ET
5 out of 5 stars.
Essie Nail Polish purple
a year ago
Love it!!!💜💜💜 Beautiful color and lasts a long time!!
type of nail polish userregular/average
helpful?
2 out of 5 stars.
Confused about color
2 years ago
Just bought this color from target today and decided to visit the website to look at similar colors to discover mine is not the color it’s supposed to be. Very confused but it still looks good on so it’s fine
favorite essie color family?nudes
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
yes, I recommend this product.
helpful?
response from essie:
2 years ago
Consumer Care Center
Hello skboyd! Thank you for sharing your experience and picture of your bottle of 'lilacism'. Well that's definitely not what this soft lilac should look like! We will be sure to share your comments with the team as we are always looking for ways to improve. We hope you will find more colors you love!
5 out of 5 stars.
Beautiful Lavender!
3 years ago
I love this color! It’s a beautiful spring color, but I can wear it anytime for a nice pop to cheer me up. It is smooth, opaque after two coats, and very shiny. I was buying it to match an iPhone 12 in purple originally, and while it doesn’t match perfectly, it is a nice similarity. I would say the iPhone 12 purple is closer to blue/periwinkle/lavender, and the Essie polish is closer to true purple on the pink side, like a neutral or warm tone (you can tell it matches the pink and red in my hand and doesn’t turn blue or grey looking in shadow). I love that it is saturated just enough for a bright color, but not so much that it is aggressively vibrant. It’s a beautiful in between of perfect soft lilac! 💜
favorite essie color family?nudes
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
yes, I recommend this product.
helpful?
4 out of 5 stars.
Pink/purple
4 years ago
This shade photographs pale purple, but irl it goes on with a definite pink tint. By day two, it's hard to tell if it's pink or purple. I don't dislike the color – it's very 90's in a way – but I was surprised it wasn't more purple. So I got on here to see if I'm totally off base and nope, it looks like a fairly common recent experience! Anyway, very nice if you're fine with a pinky purple and less of a lilac.
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
yes, I recommend this product.
helpful?
1 out of 5 stars.
NOOOO
4 years ago
I went to buy my favorite shade lilacism yesterday and I've noticed the color has changed. Why? The shade before was perfect before. Now it's more of pink shade instead of the blueish lilac I loved.
favorite essie color family?sheers
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
helpful?
response from essie:
4 years ago
consumer care center
Hi there! We consider the color ‘lilacism’ soft satiny smooth lilac in a cream finish, we place it in our selection of PURPLE colors. Aging of polish ingredients may cause color to fade, yellow, or shift over time—The production of our iconic shades has also advanced over the years – higher quality standards, pure color pigments, and new innovative ingredients allow for a better, more consistent product, but also can result in some color variation from the past.
1 out of 5 stars.
Wrong Label?
4 years ago
Lilacism has been my favorite shade for many years. I recently bought a bottle and was disappointed that the color has changed! It looked pink in the bottle and so I checked the label. The label was indeed Lilacism. I was skeptical but bought it anyway. When I used it, it was pink - definitely not the pale lilac I love! I’m disappointed! Was the product change or was the bottle mislabeled?
favorite essie color family?purples
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
no, I do not recommend this product.
helpful?
response from essie:
4 years ago
consumer care center
Hi there! We want to understand what happened just as much as you do. The color ‘lilacism’ should be a whisper-soft lilac nail polish. If you would like to speak to us directly about your recent purchase, give us a call @ 866-313-7845
5 out of 5 stars.
Lovely pastel purple
5 years ago
I love essie nail polish, and this is one of my fav’s! It’s a great lilac color (not too pink, but not too blue) and is perfect for spring.
favorite essie color family?nudes
type of nail polish userregular/average
great to wear foreveryday
yes, I recommend this product.
helpful?
1 – 8 of 67 reviews