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essie Salon-Quality Nail Polish, Sugar Daddy

Curated from 133 real Reddit conversations

Refreshed on: November 28, 2024

essie Salon-Quality Nail Polish, Sugar Daddy

Brand: essie
Price: $9
Snoop Score:
5.5
Sentiment
4.8
Popularity
5.3
Technical
5.6

Snoop's Take

Essie Salon-Quality Nail Polish, Sugar Daddy is a sheer light pink, 8-Free vegan nail polish designed to deliver a salon-worthy shine. It promises even, professional application with a specially designed easy glide brush and a formula that aims to cover flawlessly with just one or two coats. Consumers have been divided in their verdicts – some laud the lavish color options and finish, with one user remarking, “It took me 4 coats but it was worth it btw the nail polish is 8 dollars 🤐”, while others grumble about streaky application and rapid chipping. The debates are as colorful as the shades themselves, with praise for its glossy finish and vegan credentials juxtaposed against criticisms of slow drying and inconsistent wear. The prevailing sentiment shows a tug-of-war between quality and durability. In our expert view, while Sugar Daddy offers an appealing color and a formula that many find impressive for at-home manicures, its reliability in durability leaves something to be desired. For those who prioritize innovative color and a vegan promise over long-wearing resilience, this polish can be a solid pick, though pros might want to keep that top coat handy.

Not for you? Check out our other rated Nail Polish

It took me 4 coats but it was worth it btw the nail polish is 8 dollars 🤐

Positive Feedback

I feel like for the price point you can do better.

Negative Feedback
Product
5.5
essie Salon-Quality Nail Polish, Sugar Daddy
DIY Manicures
1 / 10
Special Occasion Styling
1 / 10
Professional Salon Use
6 / 10
Gift and Trend Setting
6 / 10
See how this compares to all Nail Polish

What it does well!

Key strengths users can’t stop talking about.
Beautiful color options
It took me 4 coats but it was worth it btw the nail polish is 8 dollars 🤐
They do have some pretty shades so I still buy a few lol.
That's a beautiful job you've done there and the colour is great on you!
Good overall quality
Still a little shaky near the cuticles but feels good to paint em again!
Love Essie for being THIN to apply in texture, not a thick topcoat or basecoats!
Variety of color options
Essie = streaks city baby!
Glossy finish
This color definitely needed three coats but I love it!
Gorgeous color range
Such a shame because their range of colors are actually gorgeous.. Every time I look for pastel colors I gravitate towards Essie.
I love Essie and it lasts the longest for me.
Consistent formula for some users
Essie works well for me but I've never had a good experience with OPI!
They are one of my favorites and their formulas are consistently good.
Durable gel couture line
They still look great. I'm just being incredibly lazy to change it, think I need a new color for motivation 😂
Flawless application with easy glide brush
The sheer ones are definitely harder to work with.
Beautiful formula allows for one coat application
It has a beautiful formula that you can get away with one coat in a pinch.
Love for specific shades like Bordeaux and Fairy Tailor
Bordeaux, it's kinda crelly. It's vampy. I love it.
Nice shine from Gel Setter
This dries quickly and has decent shine, but isn’t plump enough to smooth out textured polish.
I consider it my holy grail top coat.
Quick drying time for Gel Setter
For me the GS dries quickly too, in that I can go back to normal activities and not worry about denting or smudging.
Lasts well with base and top coat
I can get two weeks usually.
A week and this is with base and top coat.
Sugar Daddy offers better application than Ballet Slippers
Sugar Daddy is much better, in my experience.
Quick drying with Gel Setter
Yep, honestly just the Essie gel setter top coat is incredible.
Reporting back: Essie is incredible!!!!!! I can’t believe how good they look and no crinkles!
Flawless application with Gel Couture range
Literally looks like a gel manicure from the salon. No chips for like a week!
Good quality overall
I really like Essie, it’s good quality.
I’m a fan of Essie.
Love for specific shades like Sugar Daddy
Sugar Daddy is one of my most worn colors.
I feel like it just won't dry.
Improved brush design for application
I think Essie really nails delicate shades, especially after improving their brush.
Gorgeous color options
I really love some of the colors I’ve seen of Essie and want to expand my collection.
Consistent formula
I think they're reasonably similar to OPI, with a formula more consistent than Orly.
Easy to apply and dries quickly
I really love the finish, it's so shiny and it lasts for at least a week.
I usually do my nails while watching a show/film or before I read because I know they'll take a while to dry.
Gel-like finish without UV light confusion
It's easy to tell from the transparent bottle, gel has to be in an opaque bottle or it would set before it made it to the store.
They call it gel. But it’s not gel, at all.
Quick drying time
I love essie. I have the expressie which is quick drying and the treat love color.
Good variety of colors
Just came to ask for confirmation before i blow money buying loads of their different colours.

Where it needs some work!

Areas to watch—feedback on possible improvements.
Overpriced for the quality
I feel like for the price point you can do better.
Inconsistent formula quality
Both times I've used it, I immediately wiped it off because I didn't like the color.
Takes a long time to dry
All my polishes (other than top and base coat) take F O R E V E R to dry.
the formula just never dries down on my nails!
Chips easily
Essie chips real fast for me.
Chipping issues
I hate Essie. The polish cracks, bubbles, shrinks, chips, all of it.
I love Essie and they are one of my fav brands, but I do agree I've had issues with some of their polishes having bubbles/ chips.
Formula inconsistencies
Chips instantly no matter what I do.
Chips easily without proper care
I can barely go three days without chipping and shrinking!
I typically get about 3 days before I see chipping.
Essie polish for me with 2 layers and a top coat will usually last 3-4 days before chipping.
Poor quality for the price
It’s driving me bananas.
I find them very poor quality for the price and avoid them.
Essie was great 15yrs ago, not anymore.
Streaky application with sheer polishes
I was hoping for a sheer-ish, more translucent look, but it’s pretty streaky.
This polish honestly has like the worst formula ever.
streakiness is something I’ve experienced with some of Essie’s other sheer polishes.
Polish flakes off easily
It just flakes off the next day. What am I doing wrong?
Requires base and top coat for best results
a top coat is a must. Essie and OPI have some good ones.
I use the Essie gel top coat, but still not difference.
Slow drying time
I have had issues with slow drying time (bad dents after 6+ hours, even with Seche Vite) on a few of their polishes.
Polish chips easily
i have to paint my nails 3 times a week for them to stay pretty :(
By doing this I'm able to keep my nails going for at least 2 full weeks.
Personally I prefer the gel as a base because it lasts a few weeks before it needs to be redone.
I still don’t have any issues with chipping even though I am typing for over 8 hours on a regular shift.
Streaky application and thin coverage
Is Essie crap polish that just has pretty colors?
I find them streaky and thin as well.
Chipping issues within 24 hours
Some people have good luck with Essie but I'm not one of them.

Compare On All Talked About Dimensions

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Core Power Plays

The specs and strengths that make it shine.
Preference for other brands
I love OPI, but Essie doesn’t work for me.
Discussion about drying times for nail polish
took forever to dry and ended up clumpy due to me bumping it after I thought it was dry enough.
Nail polish thinner can improve consistency.
You might not want to use it for a day or two to let the bubbles settle.
You don't necessarily need to wait the full hour, but I prefer it to reduce the risk of bubbles and to let the thinner work.

Hidden Hero Hacks

Unexpected tricks and side‑door uses you’ll love.
Using white polish as a base for sheer colors
Makes the colour on top pop more.
Oooh! Good tip!
What I do find difficult, though, is covering the white fully.
Essentially leave the 1mm gap then cover that gap with your intended colour.
Using top coat while color is wet prevents shrinkage
Apparently you're not supposed to wait till the colour is dry to put on the top coat.
Tip for reducing streakiness with matte topcoat
I hear that layering a matte topcoat between coats helps hide streaks.
Using a matte top coat can help when applying white polish.
The most manageable white I've found so far is OPI Alpine White, but it is still hard to work with for me.

Buyer’s Cheat Sheet

What to check before you click ‘Add to Cart.’
Preference for buying on clearance
Essie is amazing but I only get mine on clearance.
Comparison to other brands
Both of those formulas peel off my nails.
I’m much more likely to have an issue with the brush a brand uses than their formulas.
Preference for buying from specific stores for better quality
I love my “Gel” (not really gel ha) sheer ones.
Discussion on nail care and techniques
Some people have oily nail beds which interferes with how well a manicure or pedicure holds up.
Seche Vite top coat was the only thing that locked in my polish and made it last for more than a few days.
Preference for indie polishes
You will never go back!
I can now see myself spending all I would save on professional manicures on new nail polishes.
Consumer preference for other brands like Mooncat and Cirque
I do love my essie polishes though, especially Mrs always right, Butler please, muchi muchi, and matter of fiction.
Confusion over gel vs regular polish
what is the difference, are my hands gonna fall off or something lol?
Was it the Gel Couture line? Those are not actual gel, they are regular polish with a gel-like finish.
you should be be alright to use it, but increase your curing time to be safe as un-cured gel can be dangerous.

Cautionary Callouts

Know the pitfalls before they catch you off guard.
Gel effect nail polishes are confusing consumers
Pretty unfair to the business.
i blame the “gel effect” nail polishes for confusing people tbh.
Body chemistry affects polish performance
I think it has to do with your body chemistry and the characteristics of your nailbeds.
Essie is consistently a fave for me and OPI is... bad.
I always wondered if maybe it was just external factors like climate and humidity, never thought that nails could be so different like skin.
for me essie gel couture is the most durable nail polish.
Discussion about formaldehyde content in essie nail polish
I’ve seen information stating it doesn't, however i have also seen that it contain oxymethylene copolymer.
If you have a health concern, I would put it out of your mind, it is in a polymerized form and the amounts are very very tiny.
But if you're that concerned about it, just don't use Essie.
A formeldahyde-like component is present as a copolymer but it is not dangerous at normal exposure levels and use application of nail polish.
White polishes are notoriously difficult to work with.
I love the effect but I’m really frustrated.
White polishes are notoriously difficult to work with and I find even with high quality brands their whites still need to be thinned out pretty often.

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