Monday, September 2, 2013

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

22 comments:

  1. I think I might like this color better than "You're Such a Budapest!" :)

    www.chaoticyetchic.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is such a pretty blue! I'm also wearing an essie shade right now, it's called "ladylike" and it's the perfect balance between grey and lilac!
    Amber
    Lovely Notions

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it lovely?? And ooo yes I hear about "ladylike" ALL the time and have been tempted on multiple occasions to buy it! Maybe the next time I get a coupon ;)

      Delete
  3. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love a good creamy blue polish and this is perfect! Also, it's even better when bought with coupons!! Thanks for the Boston rec, I really, really appreciate it! Can't wait to visit Harvard and have a nice lobster roll! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhhh yes these kinds of blues really are the best; so calming ^__^ And no problem, I hope you have a great time while you're here!! LOBSTER ROLLS FOR ALL <3

      Delete
  4. Lovely colour! So girly yet simple, definitely wanna try it out x

    http://yourteendiaries.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You described it beautifully; I hope you give it a try! :)

      Delete
  5. This is a gorgeous colour! Essie consistently puts out such pretty shades :) I know what you mean about the hype about "You're Such A Budapest!" - at first I wasn't really attracted to it, but being exposed to it over and over again made me reevaluate it, and soon enough, I was tempted to buy it. But OPI is so expensive here ($20 a pop) so I wasn't sure I could justify the purchase considering I probably have similar colours already :p Boo to the end of your break and going back to school!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Essie really DOES put out the best shades; I would absolutely buy their polishes exclusively if they just figured out how to make a consistently good formula!! Yarg. And blech, I really can't believe how much they charge you for cosmetics in general over in Oz... my makeup soul weeps for you at a constant T__T

      Delete
  6. It looks gorgeous. It's quite similar to 'Bikini So Teeny'.

    LittleMissFashion xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it is!! It's "bikini so teeny"'s deeper, richer, and less sparkly cousin :p

      Delete
  7. I'm loving the color! I've actually been looking for one similar to this so thanks for sharing ♥

    http://bigbeautybag.blogspot.com/
    HUGE new Sephora Haul on my blog, take a look :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yay I'm so happy!! I hope you love it in person too ^__^

      Delete
  8. I'm not an artist, although I love color (as my make up and polish collections would tell you). I am not up on what is currently considered Contemporary Art. I am however a voracious reader, of nearly any and all subjects, and I've had decades to read. (Part of the reason I so love computer technology is that it puts knowledge of any kind right there at your fingertips to find. Leads to more than a few, 'OMG, it's 5am!!!' episodes, but fortunately I am in a situation where that doesn't matter). It seems to me that since...always, regardless of what school of human endeavor you examine, Art, Science, Literature, Mathematics...there is always a 'Contemporary' group that wants to bash the past as being outdated at best, irrelevant, unimportant, having nothing to offer 'modern' practitioners. They are fortunately, pretty much doomed by their own rigidity and insecure insistence on their own superiority. Progress is unstoppable, and the wise of all schools learn from their past and present to create the future. While I know they're driving you mugwump crazy, you are part of the future.

    This paragraph of pompous blithering brought to you courtesy of red, red wine. ;) Feel free to delete it if you find it too nausea inducing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad for the red wine induced paragraph; thank you for that :)

      Delete
  9. Oh, China Glaze Raspberry Festival, one of my top 5 of all time and a gorgeous summer polish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And that looks like a GORGEOUS polish, thanks for recommending it :D

      Delete

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!! I read and appreciate each one :)
However, please refrain from leaving "follow for follow" comments, contest links, etc. as I will delete them. If you want me to check out your blog though just leave a link and I'd be happy to take a look!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...