Essie Starry Starry Night (Retro Revival) – Swatch & Review

Essie Starry Starry Night

I’ve been trying to track down Essie’s re-release of Starry Starry Night from their latest Retro Revival collection for about a month, maybe even more. I’ve been checking and re-checking my local Essie stand in Boots and it’s always the one shade which is sold out. Finally I got my hands on Essie Starry Starry Night and I immediately began trying it out to review and swatch for you!

essie-retro-revival-starry-starry-night-review-swatch

I already knew heading in that this wasn’t an exact re-release of a lusted after classic but never-the-less I wanted it regardless. With much chunkier glitter the original looked much more like a twinkling night sky but the larger more obtrusive glitter in this does change the look almost completely for me. Despite that it’s still a shade that I’d be likely to have picked up from an Essie Collection, even without the coveted name which came attached to it. I do have to wonder though, why release a half way there shade, why not release the whole exact thing people want to get their hands on?!

The base is a deep blackened navy blue with a thick jellyish formula. I’m having a hard time deciding whether the glitter in here is deep blues and silver, or whether it’s a the jelly textured base that means the glitter can be one colour or another. Personally I think it’s the jelly base rather than different coloured glitters.

essie-starry-starry-night-retro-revival-consistency

My good friend stashy has ‘lovingly’ renamed this polish tarry-tarry night due to it’s consistency, but mine doesn’t actually seem that bad. It’s thick due to a heavy amount of glitter and needs a steady hand to get a mess free application but I’ve certainly worked with a lot worse, slow and steady wins the race with this polish, but despite needing to take your time you can almost get away with just one coat as it’s nice and opaque from the offset. A second just deepens the look of the glitter and makes it all the more interesting from being double layered.

essie-starry-starry-night-retro-revival-swatch

 
In terms of finish this does need a topcoat for me, the way it dries down is somewhere between a matte and a gloss and that kind of finish never shows of a polish in it’s best light. Where it lets itself down, as stashy already warned me was wear time, I’ve reworn this a few times over the past week and I’ve managed to get 12 hours chip free to a maximum of two days chip free. Sadly it won’t be one that I’ll reach for all that often because of that, but I can see me reaching for this for special evening ocassions when I can cope with the chore of repainting my nails the next day.

 
If you’re wanting to get your hands on this version of Essie Starry Starry Night because you want the original, then I wouldn’t bother unless you’re aware you’re getting a knock off version from the same brand. But if you’re happy with a similar stand in and you don’t mind abysmal wear time for a pretty polish every now and again go for it.

rachael

Instagram: @helplesswhilstdrying  |  Twitter: @helplessdrying

Pinterest: Helpless Whilst Drying

Helpless Whilst Drying

Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com

Follow:
Share:

5 Comments

  1. April 12, 2016 / 1:20 pm

    Sorry I spoiled this for you! 😛 But I’m glad the formula on yours wasn’t as tarry… I wish Essie would have done a true re-release of the original! Not this impostor!
    I’ve read online that there are a few dupes for the original, including a Zoya, called Dream:
    https://misshollyberries.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/img_8000.jpg
    The shimmers are a lot smaller and more dense.

    • April 12, 2016 / 1:28 pm

      Ooh dream looks dreamy! It seems holo though and I don’t think original SSN had holo did it? Either way it is pretty and is now on my notes list of polishes I want!

  2. April 13, 2016 / 3:33 am

    I bought this a few months ago and couldn’t wait to try it out. It was SO disappointing! The formula was absolutely crappy – mine was super gloopy and impossible to work with. On top of that it chipped the next day. Glad you got yours to work for you though – it is super pretty! 🙂

    • April 13, 2016 / 8:08 am

      Yeah the formula of mine was okay – not brilliant but at least workable. Did chip as quick as yours did though which is disappointing, especially when a polish needs extra application time because it’s so awkward! xx

  3. April 13, 2016 / 3:57 pm

    I didn’t even know there was an original but I love the colour! I chip all nail polish within a day anyway so I might get it because I love the colour, I can deal with the chipping haha!

    Kimberley // thecolourchronicles.com

Leave a Reply and Let's Have a Chat