Essie Bikini so Teeny

I'll start by writing that I had Morgan Taylor Best Ballgown Ever, which was a gorgeous lilac-tinged periwinkle with gold microshimmer, a lovely, lovely color. Unfortunately, it always chipped, no matter how I used my hands or how I applied. When it didn't chip, it wore badly at the nail edge. Wish it had a better formula, but I have so little time to do manicures, I am not going to waste it on polish that does not last. I was looking for OPI Show Me Your Tips, a near-dupe (IMO) to the MT polish, but not to be had. Saw Essie's Bikini So Teeny, shot through with microshimmer, and it was mine.

This is a lovely periwinkle blue color, perfect for spring and summer. I bought to wear with a blue outfit for a wedding and think it will be a summer staple. It looks good against my NW15/fair-porcelain skin tone.

The shimmer in the bottle doesn't appear on the nail but the color has a high shine; I suspect that's due to the microshimmer particles. It's a lovely finish for the color. One lippie off for being slightly runny (1st coat streaky but 2nd coat went on fine) and for having an ever-so-slightly too narrow brush. The wear has been good-- 4 days and 1 small edge chip because I use my nails to pry something (which I should not do!). I type all day for work, and it's holding up quite well. For the record, I use Jessica Rejuvenate base coat and Orly Glosser (I like high shine) top coat. The drying time was pleasantly quick, always a plus in a cream polish. Added-- aside from 2 small chip (from prying and typing), it held up very well for a week. Now that I know it's runny, I can get a decent 1st coat by adjusting how I apply. I put a special top coat like Northern Lights on 1 coat for a different effect. Really, I can't stop looking at my nails this way.

As with all thing nail polish, whether the color suits you depends on your taste. I like rich pastels, and wouldn't care for a more intense color. Sinful Colors Sail La Vie is similar but too deep for the look I want, though I do like SC as a polish line. The Essie set me back about $6.50 at my local store (they send coupons all the time), so I think it's pretty inexpensive for a salon-brand polish.

Gorgeous colour... but the formula is so painful it's not worth it!! Applies unevenly, 4 coats to alleviate streaks and patches ... then it's too thick to dry! Will look for an opi dupe

Bikini so Teeny was my first Essie polish. I bought it from a local Rite-Aid near me.

My first impression was ok, but I grew to love it so much, especially when it's paired with other colors. It's a nice sky blue which has a little bit of shimmer to it. The brush is also the perfect size. Not too big, not too small, you can apply the nail polish on every side of your nail without having to worry about getting excess polish on your fingers.

The polish is not too milky or too thick, but the perfect combination.
It doesn't chip easily, that's for sure. I say it lasts for about a week before the chipping comes in.

It takes about 2-3 coats for it to get fully opaque but if you apply just the right amount, you might be able to get away with 1.

Ever though this color was made for the summer time, I wear it all year round!

This Essie formula runs a little thinner than the others. Normally I find that Essie formulas are superior because they apply really easily, they have a sort of viscosity that minimises the mistakes. But for me this one doesn't get rolled out very often as it seems to turn a bit violet under seche vite.

This nail Polish is a beautiful color. It is especially gorgeous for spring and summer. I love Essie's nail polishes and how long they stay on your nails!

I soo wanted to love this nail polish, because it is so popular and raved about. I just need to learn that what works for some, or most, usually does not work for me.

I love and tend to favor cool toned polishes. This looks quite pretty in the bottle. However, this looks just terrible on my nails. Applies unevenly (I can see the brush strokes, no matter what tricks I try) and once on my nails, to me, this just looks like a little kid color. I am not opposed to fun shades and I even like blue shades (I ended up picking up Morgan Taylor's Nautically Inclined, a much better shade and formula ime....also, Morgan Taylor's Water Baby is also in the same color family, and is lovely!! Much more 'grown up' and adult looking). But this just looks little garish on me (and always applies uneven/patchy).

Add in the fact that this chips like crazy on me (Essie is so hit and miss with me formula-wise, not just this one), and this is a no re-purchase.

Maybe I got a bad bottle as far as the formula looking streaky, but the color itself just does not work out on me......I ended up giving this to my friend's teenage daughter.

This color is absolutely beautiful, although the silver shimmer is more apparent in the bottle than on the nail. However, the formula is awful. You would expect a pastel to be streaky on the first coat, but this took 4 coats to alleviate the patchiness and reach full bottle color. I love this in the summer on tanned toes, so I don't have to see the patchy spots and spots where it didn't self-level. If I put it on my fingers, I would be constantly aggravated by imperfections in the application. For that reason, I probably would not repurchase.

I love this color for my toes and my nails, but the formula is very streaky and thin. I always use at least three coats, which is annoying. Would not repurchase, as I see there are so many dupes that have come out like Sally Hansen Babe Blue.

I ended up liking this color a lot more than I thought I would. I bought it in a pack with the gel topcoat, which is what I really was going for, but the store I was at wasn't carrying any of the single topcoats. They only came in a pack with one of the Essie colors, and Bikini So Teeny was literally the ONLY option they were carrying at the time. Anyway, it turned out to be a very flattering blue for my pale skin, and I received lots of compliments on it. The formula is a bit streaky on the first coat because it's a pale color, but two coats does the trick, and it didn't chip on me until about day 5. Nail polishes typically chip on me after a day or two, so overall I'm really satisfied.

One of my favorite summer colors, and my favorite nail polish in blue (for summer).
Easy application, two coats. Love it. I get many compliments when I wear this color.