Essie • Shine of the Times • Polishes

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*TOP REVIEWER* SparkleBunny37 on 6/14/2013 3:30:00 PM more reviews by SparkleBunny37

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair, Cool   Hair: Red, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Essie's Shine of the Times is one of the coveted nail polishes on the drugstore level. I'm, not even sure if this was limited edition, discontinued, or just rare. This polish is a flaky glitter top coat meant for layering. Essie describes Shine of the Times as a "scintillating opalescent aura". Damn, Essie, look at that vocabulary. I'm not very familiar with Essie polishes, this is actually my very first one, sent to me in a swap with my friend Stephanie. Essie polishes are DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde free. Essie nail lacquers contain 13.5 ml (.46 oz) and retail for between $5-9, depending on where you buy them. I'm unsure if Essie is cruelty free or not, I see a lot of conflicting information, so please do your own research before buying.
Essie nail lacquers come in a square glass bottle topped with a white plastic cap. The Essie logo is embossed on two sides of the bottle. The logo makes a third appearance on the label, along with the product name. It's a weird thing to mention, but the two ball bearings in this polish's bottle seem twice the size of the ones in your average polish. I've always been partial to Essie's packaging. The brush is pretty average in length, flat, with no splayed bristles.
Shine of the Times is a pretty thin nail polish, which surprised me because it's completely packed with glitter. I was kinda doubtful about this polish, I've previously had a bad experience with flaky polishes. The other one I tried was awful,I had to fish out each glitter flake, which didn't lay flat on the nail and eventually fell off. Shine of the Times applies very smoothly, the glitters are plentiful in each coat and they stick to the nail. Shine of the Times dries in about a minute, maybe a little less. This polish suffers from shrinkage, so it doesn't wear quite as long as I'd like.
Essie's Luxe Effect in Shine of the Times is kinda beautiful. Essie hit the nail on the head when they called it "scintillating" and "opalescent". Each flake of the multi-chromatic glitter catches the light so well. Shine of the Times looks different over every polish it's layered over and in every angle its viewed from. The flakes in Shine of the Times (the base is clear by the way), mainly flash red and gold, but it'll also show green, pink, orange, and blue. This reflective top coat looks best over dark colors with cream finishes, but let's be honest, a polish this prismatic looks beautiful no matter how its used.
I love Essie's Shine of the Times! This truly is the most gorgeous of all glitter polishes. I urge Essie to put this shade back on the shelves. I'm kinda rationing my bottle, hoping to find another somewhere. If I could repurchase it this polish, I would without question. I can't recommend Shine of the Times enough, if you see it, you have to get it! I imagine most fans of flaky polishes already have it; it definitely changed my mind about flakies. I would pair this top coat with any polish in my collection.

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ajallday on 3/26/2013 9:42:00 PM more reviews by ajallday

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

This top coat is so cool! I've only used it over yellow, and I'm excited to try it over other colors. I call this my phoenix polish because it reminds me of fire :)

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Shaz809 on 3/25/2013 4:22:00 PM more reviews by Shaz809

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

My friend has this...was going to get it but found a dupe by Essence called 'Night in Vegas' which is great quality at a fraction of the cost. Google the two side by side and you will see. xx

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8erica8 on 12/31/2012 10:24:00 AM more reviews by 8erica8

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Looks magnificent layered over black!

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*TOP REVIEWER* TimeAndBlame on 11/15/2012 5:58:00 PM more reviews by TimeAndBlame

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I found the colours red, orange and green, to be the most dominant in this flakie polish. The formula is easy to work with, considerably easy to remove, and the amount of flakies to be dense enough for one coat over other polishes. It looks especially pretty over dark colours like black, but lighter colors as well! I would repurchase.

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Morganox on 10/28/2012 6:09:00 PM more reviews by Morganox

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I really love this polish. It looks so amazing over black polish! It makes it look like the dying embers of a fire and looks great for halloween or just fall. It stays on well and distributes evenly.

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TheCritics on 10/24/2012 3:49:00 PM more reviews by TheCritics

Age: Unknown   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

a pretty, glittery fall shine

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brinel on 10/21/2012 7:21:00 PM more reviews by brinel

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

Walked into Harmon and this polish turned my head. Didn't intend to buy polish, but couldn't control myself (thx to other MUA reviewers and my iPhone). Put on OPI DS Classic and layered this polish over it. It blinded me with awesomeness. Super sparkly, gritless, red-orange-green glow. So happy.

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sandyatthebeach1 on 10/10/2012 10:05:00 PM more reviews by sandyatthebeach1

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I thought this looked so beautiful when I saw it in the store- the polish looked absolutely stunning, with its iridescent green/orange flakes. However, I expected this to be more... even, I guess. Whenever I put this on, it literally just looks like orange glitter flakes; I was hoping it would have more green/blue instead of red/orange. I put it over a navy nail polish, hoping it would look like opals, and I put it over white after the blue just made it look orange... and it disappointed me again. I've tried it over so many colors just because I refused to believe this gorgeous polish wouldn't transfer well to my nails, and not once have I really adored the results. The flakes don't have that color-changing quality they have in the bottle; once on your nails, they really just look like garish orange flakes. Not a big fan. The formula is nice, though- the glitter/flakes are very dense, and it doesn't chip easily, and it's pretty easy to take off (unlike a lot of glitter polishes). Still, I wouldn't recommend it.

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Hariette on 10/3/2012 4:16:00 PM more reviews by Hariette

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Grey, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Grey    

I have used this over a variety of essie colors -- over "sew psyched" it gives the effect of dragon skin, or what I assume dragon skin would look like. Using "over the knee" it is reminiscent of an autumnal tree with the cream brown base of OTK and the red, orange, and green flashes of the flakies. The clear base polish is on the thicker side, but it has amazing staying power. I have worn this over "all tied up" for 10 days with minimal wear. (Full disclosure -- my index finger chipped on day 11 because I pried off the back of my phone.) Why this was discontinued, I have no idea. If you run across this in a store or online PURCHASE IT! You will not be disappointed.

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mizzmexxi on 9/29/2012 9:05:00 PM more reviews by mizzmexxi

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Beautiful! its looks amazing and dark navy blue and dark colors. I have yet to try it with lighter shades but i love this!

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*TOP REVIEWER* cheeky on 9/16/2012 7:06:00 AM more reviews by cheeky

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I use this constantly over any polish, and it makes it look so pretty. It's super glittery and shimmery, but smooth. I can't even explain how great this polish is, but it's super pretty and unique looking, it also looks nice on its own. Love.

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amsiemonster on 9/10/2012 10:23:00 PM more reviews by amsiemonster

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

This is by and far one of my favorite polishes in my collection! My only complaint is that Essie tends to be a bit pricey for my budget and this polish is impossible to find. If I could, I would stockpile this stuff!

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makeuplovely22 on 9/9/2012 8:38:00 AM more reviews by makeuplovely22

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

Very beautiful flakie that looks great on top of just about any base color! It is absolutely stunning & it is packed with glitter- you don't have to "fish around' with the brush to grab more flakies. Love, love, love this- a MUST HAVE in your collection if you enjoy flakie/glittery style polishes!!

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KatKoll on 8/29/2012 10:25:00 PM more reviews by KatKoll

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I really love this!! It is one of my all time favorites!! I like to put it on top of black and other dark colors the most.

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LolaStar on 8/23/2012 10:27:00 PM more reviews by LolaStar

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I am in love! I was looking at nail polish blogs after having bought a few new polishes earlier that day, and I saw frequent mentions to Shine of the Times. I had to run to the store later that night to get some things, and I was looking at the sale rack and what do you know, two bottles of this polish for only $3 each! I snatched up both and will give one to my mom who will love it too.

I am quite new to nail polish... Well, I've been wearing it since I was about 5, but up until recently I never knew how to properly apply it, or wrap the tips, or ever wore a base and top coat. But now I am learning, and even though my polish collection is small, this gem is sure to make any of those colours look gorgeous!

I took off a lippie because Essie tests on animals, and I would love for that not to be the case.

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Karowin on 8/22/2012 7:38:00 PM more reviews by Karowin

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Red, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Hazel    

I absolutely love this sparkle overcoat, it looks different for every color you put it on! Black is definitely my favourite to put it over, and I get many compliments as to what nail polish it is when I wear it.
While I have tons of nail polish, this stands out to be one of my favourites. I found that after 4-5 months of owning this, the polish has become a little bit thicker (which is common for me at least with sparkle polishes), but I fixed it using nail polish thinner :)

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handfulofgoo on 8/18/2012 9:54:00 PM more reviews by handfulofgoo

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I first saw this nail polish on MUA and was excited because it looked so colorful, so I went out and bought one for myself.
At first I was not impressed. The polish was thick, gloppy, and did not dry fast enough for me.
Also, the beautiful colors I saw on other girls with this polish did not happen for me.
Recently I have started using it again..and what do you know? I LOVE IT NOW!
I learned how to use it and paired it with Essie's "Boat House" polish which is like a coral-ish color. They look wonderful together!

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jamielee983 on 7/18/2012 12:17:00 PM more reviews by jamielee983

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

A fool-proof way to spice up ANY manicure! Shine of the Times is what's known as a "flakie" polish. There are multi colored irregular shaped flakes within a semi-sheer base. The flakes flash different colors in different lighting, and also changes depending on what polish you layer it over!
This flakie flashes gold, orange, yellow, and sometimes hints of other colors, but mostly the warmer tones.
It lays flat (nothing poking out of your nails!) and is sure to get compliments. I like it best over really dark colors or over very light colors.

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*TOP REVIEWER* melangerehab on 7/11/2012 9:54:00 PM more reviews by melangerehab

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I'm pretty new to nailpolish so I don't have many to choose from, but I layer this on EVERYTHING. I love how it looks. Even when I wear it with no other colors and just on top of a strengthening base coat, it looks really pretty and fun. My boyfriend doesn't really care or notice my nails much, but he saw this and complimented it. Don't get me wrong, I'd wear it whether he liked it or not, but it definitely stands out without looking garish. Would recommend to anyone, nail polish junkie or beginner.

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