essie lacquered up

this past week in nyc, i was craving a super shiny tomato red manicure  inspired by butter london’s opaque and fiery ladybird, created exclusively for fashion week. knowing that i’d be visiting my favorite manicure spot in the city and that they exclusively stock essie, i reached out to the brand on twitter for a recommendation. the speedy response came back with really red or lacquered up – i was on the case. when i checked them out in person, really red was a rich and gorgeous cherry (a little bluer than i wanted), but lacquered up had exactly the heat that i was looking for.

five days later, my manicure is still glossy and chip free, just two of the reasons why i love essie so much. the stuff wears like iron (hello – who needs gel?), but it goes on smooth and comes off without a ton of effort. while some of this is probably attributed to the professional process at the salon, i find that essie’s manicures wear the longest when i diy them as well. they’re just the best, and you cannot beat the color options.

if your collection is calling for a go-to crimson, i’m giving this one top marks – but just for kicks (and because, who says you only need one red polish?), what’s your favorite classic red?

essie lacquered up, $8.50 >