The very few times that I’ve met celebrities in person (Maestro Fresh Wes at Hero Burgers, Avril Lavigne during her early free-mall-tour days, etc.), I’ve always managed to keep my cool. However, when it comes to nail polish, I get starstruck with the drop of a hat. 😉 *Squeals*

This was certainly the case with Essie Starry Starry Night, which is from the upcoming Essie Retro Revival Collection that officially launches in January 2016! (Click on that link to see the Quick Look post I did a few days ago.)

Like Gloria Swanson, Essie Starry Starry Night approached me and said, “I’m ready for my close-up!” However, unlike the fictitious, fading star from Sunset Boulevard, even after all these years, its light still shines brightly.

Essie Starry Starry Night was originally launched in 1997, and it has reached cult status. After extending a poll for beauty enthusiasts to weigh in and vote for their favourite shade to be resurrected, it was no surprise that the twinkling blue wonder named after the heavenly bodies rose to the top of the wish list!

Over the years, if you’ve ever taken a peek on eBay, the going price was around $700 CAD – obviously a price point that only a slim margin of people could splurge on.

I’ve been waiting for the re-release of this colour for the longest time and am ecstatic that now it will not only be available again, but for a reasonable price. Love it when nail polish can be enjoyed by more people!

Since I’ve never owned the original Essie Starry Starry Night, I can’t compare it to see if the colour, sparkle, or formulation is a dead-on match. Nevertheless, it is one of my cherished nail polishes, and I’m thrilled to have it in my collection!

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Essie Fringe Factor is one of the four new additions to the Luxeffects Collection, and it provides a simple way to add a festive sparkle to an existing manicure.

Since I was already wearing Essie Peak Show, I decided to layer Essie Fringe Factor to add some glitz to an otherwise simple nail look.

I’m a fan of bar glitter, but not all are created equal. Some are scratchy or tend to hang over the free edge of your nails. Then, there are some that lift off the nails over time.

This is one of the better performing bar glitters out there, so if you’re in the mood to add some funk to your next manicure, give this one a go!

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Essie Peak Show from the Winter 2015 Collection is what I imagine a snowman looks like when he blushes. Or maybe this is the colour of snowwomen…because you know, they exist!

Although my heart races like Usain Bolt for green, my favourite colour, I’m still game for test-driving every shade in the nail-polish rainbow.

Essie Peak Show is like a strawberry milkshake that’s heavy on the dairy and light on the berry. (Hey, Dr. Seuss, that rhymed!) It’s the most innocent of pale pinks with close ties to the Snow Queen.

Although pinks and white-based polishes aren’t usually my jam, I gave it a go, wore it as a full manicure, and compiled my thoughts that I’ll share with you in the rest of this blog post.

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Essie Haute Tub from the Winter 2015 Collection is a jet black with amethyst shimmer, and when I look at it, the first thing that comes to mind is an alley cat.

No, cats aren’t purple. (Too bad, right?) The reason why this popped into my head is because when I was little, my brother used to play with marbles at school (before it was banned after a reckless kid decided to throw marbles at someone’s head and a new school policy went into effect because marbles were considered ‘weapons.’).

My brother borrowed a few marbles from his friends, and with perhaps just three small marbles, he was so good at the recess competitions that he ended up winning an entire collection of them – several huge tubs full of marbles!

I was so proud of him because he won a wide variety of marbles at the games including boulders that looked like pearls, gigantic ones they called ‘King Kong,’ Beach Balls, Salt & Pepper, and many more, including the kind that I think were called Alley Cats or Cat’s Eyes.

I specifically remember him having a large version of this obsidian-like marble with a rich-purple middle. Although it wasn’t the rarest one in his collection, it caught my attention because it looked like the type of toy that had a mysterious story buried in its history.

P.S. My friends and I played with marbles when it was popular. My brother gave me a few of his least valuable ones, and for good reason. Haha, I was terrible at the game, and yes, I lost them all. Apparently he was the marble champion, and that was A-okay with me, because I loved cheering him onto victory. 🙂 You don’t always have to be the star to be happy!

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