NOTD: essie "lapiz of luxury"

I start school tomorrow which is always a little bittersweet; gone are the days of lounging on my bum (simultaneously watching TV and surfing the web, as you do) with Galileo and back are the times of creation and bickering with the pompous contemporary art community (which, mind you, is a small portion of those I come face-to-face with but they're there nonetheless and my Gemini innards have no problem telling them if they're being arrogant a**holes).

So, to calm my mind and nerves (and pretend I'm not still fighting off the remnants of my Summer cold), I'm marathoning Restaurant Impossible (which never fails to remind me that as much as I hate working retail, waitressing was so much worse) and also painting my nails with one of the most perfect colors I've run across in a long time: essie's "lapiz of luxury".

I feel like it was near the beginning of this Summer that O.P.I.'s "You're Such A Budapest!" started making its rounds throughout the beauty community. Everywhere I turned there seemed to be some sort of a mention about the beautiful pale periwinkle lilac polish but, having a polish collection that fills me to brim with both pride and embarrassment, I held off (good girl) on adding another shade to my stash (sad girl).

Luck struck my mailbox a couple of weeks ago though in the form of a coupon booklet for Walgreens; it was full of cosmetics offers (clearly they know me well...) like a dollar off certain brands of lipsticks, BOGO deals, and, the most exciting of the bunch, a $2 off coupon for the full line of essie polishes. Two bucks really doesn't sound like much but knocking an $8 brand that doesn't have the best track record in my book (the formula varies far too much from polish to polish to justify trying anything new) down to $6 was enough reason for me to take the plunge and nab any shade I desired. 

I think I stood in front of the essie wall for five or ten minutes (two different employees came over to ask me if I needed help or if anything was wrong hahaha), idling and grumbling over which shade I wanted the most. Finally my eyes settled on "lapiz of luxury", a shade I hadn't heard of but a color that screamed "You're Such A Budapest!"-dupe-possibility, and my decision was swiftly made; "lapiz of luxury" went straight to the register and onto my nails the minute I got home.

Looking at swatches of the O.P.I. contender online, I don't think this is a perfect dupe by any stretch of the means ("You're Such A Budapest!" is far more pale/pastel and pink/lilac based) but it is still beautiful in every way shape and form. The formula is a delight which is something I find essie consistently struggles with; it's got a crelly (mix between a creme and jelly finish) feel, is thick but not cumbersome, and only needs two coats for full opacity. It also dries astoundingly quickly so you don't have to worry too much about bubbling between coats.

Look at how plush and glossy this stuff is!!! Seriously, I am SO impressed and can see myself wearing this polish on a monthly basis (which may not seem like much but, with a collection upwards of 100 polishes, it actually speaks volumes as to how much I love it). I fully stand behind essie's "lapiz of luxury" and would recommend it anyone; periwinkles like this one are flattering on so many different skin colors and are a touch of pretty whimsy on anyone's finger tips.

Have you tried essie's "lapiz of luxury"?

Love it as much as I do?

What nail polish is currently gracing your fingers?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie