Manicure Monday: Essie Chinchilly
11:31 PM
Hey guys! Today I wanted to share a polish that I've loved for a long time and only recently purchased: Essie Chinchilly. In my opinion, Chinchilly was one of the first and most quintessential "greige" polishes out there that runs a perfect line between cool, warm, light, and dark. The neutral tones are classy and work-appropriate, but somehow still has an interesting, edgy look to it. The one downside (maybe) is that it changes colors over time. Check out what I mean below.
I picked up this polish from a recent Urban Outfitters (who also carry polishes from less-typical brands like Anna Sui, Paul & Joe, and Butter London) haul and was so excited since I remember lusting after it in drugstores before it disappeared for a period of time. Thankfully, Chinchilly seems to have made a comeback as a permanent polish in Essie's line which is much easier to obtain now than before.
As you can see here, the initial polish color runs quite true to the bottle color which is a beautiful milky cool grey which is flattering on my skintone. This is a base of Seche Clear, 3 coats of Essie Chinchilly, and Seche Vite top coat.
After several days of wearing this color, my friend Amy noticed her freshly painted Chinchilly nails looked different than mine. Sure enough, after comparing side-by-side, we saw they looked like completely different colors! It had significantly darkened and turned into a more chocolate milk-mink than before. Here, my index and ring fingers are my current nails while the middle and pinkie fingers have one coat of freshly painted polish.
Something about it reminds me of my university days playing with "warm grey" and "cool grey" Tria and Prismacolor markers in the dungeons of our design department. Any art students know what I'm talking about? It's not that I don't like the second-stage color, it's more that I really love the first color and wish it stayed that way for the entirety of wear. I've had this same effect happen with a blue-grey polish in the past and felt the exact same way.
Readers, have you had an unintentionally color-changing polish before? Which shade do you like better? Let me know in the comments!
34 comments
I love the color! Apparently grey is said to be one of the most inspiring colors so hopefully wearing this nail polish will bring you some positivity and inspiration!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Lexy
http://lexyinspired.wordpress.com
I have this and love!
ReplyDeletehttp://shopbycloset.blogspot.ca
love this colour!
ReplyDelete- keyta
this is one of my fave colours! I love that it has a tinge of purple :)
ReplyDeleteSteph // fun size beauty
I like the cool toned grey, the other one not so much. That's really bad that it changes colours, it shouldn't do that. Maybe it was a bad batch : / xx
ReplyDeleteThis has been one of my go-to shades for a very long time, and I've really never experienced the change in color. I always use Seche Vite top-coat, but have used various names for my base. Never tried it with Seche Clear tho...
ReplyDeleteThis happened to me with two of my Essie nail polishes too! From what I remember, I used to wear one of my Essie polishes without a base coat, and I remember that it didn't color change/oxidize on me. Perhaps it's the base coat that's causing the color to darken? I am currently in the process of figuring this out as well, ha.
ReplyDeleteThe colour looks really pretty and so versatile that you can match it with anything. A bit strange how it changed colours though... don't think that should happen and I've never experienced it before.
ReplyDeletedreamdustx
lovely colour! xxx
ReplyDeletehttp://leishaaxo.blogspot.com/
I do love the color but it is indeed disappointing to have turn into another color after a while :S
ReplyDeletei love Essie finishes so much. I prefer the freshly painted color more also : /
ReplyDeletewww.msjess.com
I've had a bottle of Chincilly for over a year now and it hasn't changed colors when I wore it. I wonder if it's reacting badly with your brand of topcoat.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how many guys are following this blog, but I declare myself your biggest guy fan... not so much on the products, well, not most of the time, but I like you a lot. Perhaps super superficial to say, since I just watched your film with WF Productions, but I like you. Keep up the good work, and looking forward to watching more of your videos. The makeup video with Victor was super hilarious. I busted out laughing and shaking in the library. Hope you read this.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, thank you so much! Don't worry, you are not the only male blog follower but I definitely appreciate the support and it's so amazing you found it from WFP! I love those guys. ^_^ Hope you continue enjoying it and I'll try to do more posts (like skincare maybe?) that guys can appreciate too!
DeleteThanks for the reply; you just made my day! Hope you are having a great one, too. -Your biggest fan, Stan, well... Shuo.
DeleteSkincare sounds good. How about outfit color combinations. Like what colors go well with each other. What you wear counts, but oftentimes, it's the color(s) (and patterns) that you are wearing that define(s) you as visually-enchanting or not. Ya know? But yea, WFP is amazing.
DeleteI think that is a really pretty grey. It's more on the warmer side.
ReplyDeleteI'm wearing this right now! Such a great neutral color, goes well with different looks, and Essie has such a great finish, in terms of gloss and staying power.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree! I forgot to mention that in the review but the polish itself has a wonderful glossy look to it which I was very impressed about. :)
DeleteReally love the color :)
ReplyDeletexx
http://the-astyle.blogspot.ca
Ooh such a gorgeous color! Weird that it changed colors though hahaa disappointing:(
ReplyDeleteI have had my eye on this color for awhile. It is so strange that it changes colors though. I like the freshly painted color much better. Hmmm...that discourages me a bit. I don't hate the browner tone though...
ReplyDeletehttp://laurenzie.com
My Essie Mint Candy Apple does that too. It gets darker after awhile (more blue-ish/darker and less minty/bright). It's a shame too since I loveeee mint.
ReplyDeleteAww that's a bummer! Mint Candy Apple was one I've been eyeing forever too. I'll have to see if this happens with my other minty polishes.
DeleteOh my gosh, I didn't even know you replied to my comment! Sorry!
DeleteEven though the color becomes a bit muted, I think you should definitely get it! Maybe it does have to do with the top coat like some people have been saying.
But anyways, it's such a pretty shade and by far my favorite shade of mint so I'd say it's a must! :)
BTW, Kohl's now carries Essie in store and online so if you love Essie you can get them for cheaper since Kohl's always has coupons! I saw the mint candy apple there too :)
Hm I've never had the colour-changing problem with my Chinchilly. I use a Sally Hansen top coat... maybe the top coat is the difference? Should do a post with different top coats on each nail to test out what actually changes the Chinchilly colour :)
ReplyDeleteAh, that's a great idea!
DeleteI don't think I've ever had the color change problem, but I don't have a lot of polishes so odds are I wouldn't. I see what you mean- the brown is okay but the grey is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI've been in love with this colour since I got it - sometimes I top it off with Essie's As Gold As It Gets which gives off a great effect. I haven't noticed any colour changes on mine, I usually leave it on for at least 3-5 days, but I don't put on a top coat over it. Maybe it could be the top coat or base coat that's changing the colour?
ReplyDeletel'oreal eiffel for you is an exact dupe of this! i have it and i think its only $6, plus in my experience it doesn't turn brown over time. this pic i found shows them both:
ReplyDeletehttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uPCuxglBIaQ/T6rukeGjb4I/AAAAAAAAAME/Ip-7nZcLO4A/s1600/Essie+Chinchilly+Dupe.jpg
Jen, I want to purchase chinchilly, can you use the polish alone and let me know if its changes color still? I would greatly appreciate it, your fan, Jenny :D.
ReplyDeleteI love polishing but it always make my turn on yellow after cleaning
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that my Mint Candy Apply, Marshmallow, Chinchilly and Adore-a-ball all by Essie have changed colour on me after about 3-4 days of wearing it. The most noticeable is the Marshmallow because it turns from a nice transparent white to a yellowish creamy colour. Thanks for posting this! I thought it was just me!
ReplyDeleteEssie Fiji from candy pink to whitesh pink
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