BEAUTY REVIEW: Essie in Fiji and A Cut Above

SOURCE:  Essie website

I am back with another nail polish review. I polished my nails in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I think everyone has known someone close to them that have been afflicted with breast cancer. One of the secretaries at work was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago. She is married with two sons and courageously and successfully beat it. She is now in remission and grateful. She proudly pins a pink ribbon to her blouse every day this month as a badge of courage and a statement of strength.

Pink is the color for breast cancer awareness and many have been donning pink this month to show their support towards finding a cure. I've noticed NFL and MLB players with pink gloves, socks, or shoes. Just a little touch of pink to show their support.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. notes the following:

• One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women.
• Each year it is estimated that over 220,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.
• Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,150 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 410 will die each year.

I was tweeting with a follower the other week who loves makeup and nail polish as much as I do. She told me that OPI has a special nail polish set for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The set includes a bottle of pink polish and a bottle of pink glitter polish. The pictures were beautiful and I was so tempted to get the set, but the little shopping angel on my shoulder gently reminded me about the constantly growing stash of nail polish I own. And then I remembered that I own a bunch of pink nail polish as well as a pink glitter polish from Essie. I decided to save $16 and use what I already had on hand to duplicate the look that OPI created.

Essie's Fiji with Essie's A Cut Above

I used Essie's Fiji with Essie's Lux Effects line in A Cut Above. What do you think? When I posted this picture on Twitter, a follower loved it and suggested that the next time, I apply the glitter overlay with a ombre effect. Good idea...now, just to figure out how to apply an ombre look. Hmm...

THE PROS:

• APPLICATION:  Fiji is opaque and creamy with a glossy finish. I only needed to apply two coats. The polish did not streak upon application either. A Cut Above consists of small and medium flecks of pink glitter. I only applied a single coat of the glitter overlay polish over Fiji. For application of A Cut Above, see Cons below.
• AVAILABILITY:  Fiji is a popular polish shade that is part of Essie's permanent line of polishes available at most major drug stores.
• AFFORDABILITY:  Essie polishes are not cheap, but they are not crazy expensive either. For the quality, you get a solid product at a reasonable price.

THE CONS:

• APPLICATION:  The first nail I applied A Cut Above to, had more glitter than the subsequent nails I painted because there was more glitter on the brush from sitting in the bottle. Thus, my index finger of my left hand appears to way more glitter than my ring finger, as seen in the picture.

I really like this look. So much so that I ended up buying the OPI glitter nail polish. I know... I'm a hopeless nail polish addict. Sigh...