Essie Nail Polish | Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polish Review

Thanks to Essie Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polish I no longer have to wait an eternity for my nails to dry, and most importantly, I never fall asleep thinking my nails are dry and wake up with smudged or chipped nails. Even when I go to the salon, I opt for gel nails because I leave the salon certain that my nails are fully dry. Because even professional nail techs have told me my regular polish nails were dry yet they would end up smudged a few hours later. 

For a while, I completely gave up on painting my nails at home or even getting a manicure for less than $40.00. Until one day, when I was aimlessly strolling around Target. I was definitely in the mood to spend because I ended up buying nail polish after almost three years of only getting gel nails at salons. 

I’m not sure what enticed me to buy nail polish, because like I mentioned, I had not done my own nails in years and hate regular polish drying times. Even quick dry nail polishes in the past have failed me.  

As I remember about this experience, I  think the only reason I bought this nail polish is because of the packaging. The Expressies come in a more rectangular version of the classic Essie Nail Polishes, it also feels like a mini version. If you know me in real life, you have seen me freak out about adorable packaging, especially in miniature versions. Unlike other products, I feel lucky to have been lured by the simple yet cute packaging. Now I can achieve a gel manicure look for less money and time. I currently only own one of the Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polishes. I have the shade Bolt and be Bold. 
But there are over 40 shades in the range and I am definitely looking to expand my collection. The next colors I want to get are Binge-Worthy (Soft Gray)  and Precious Cargo-Go! (Dusty Olive Green). What shade would you get? I love that the shade range is so big because, now that I have improved at painting my nails using my non-dominant hand, I am willing to try funkier nail polish styles like the ones below.

NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE IN-DEPTH REVIEW

I’ve made it clear that the drying time is quick. I have never timed the drying process, but I have picked up a technique to make sure the process is always fast. USE THIN COATS. I have always known Essie for their thick formulas. Because their colors are so pigmented, one thick coat is enough, but if you want a quick drying time use two thin coats and wait between coats. The brush, which I talk about later in the review, helps you easily control this. 

GET THE GEL LOOK

Even if you use thin coats, it’s still possible to get the gel look. All you have to do is use a thick-layer of a clear top-coat. This will make the polish look thick and shiny just like when you get UV gel nails at the salon. Also, I’m not sure why, but I always feel that no matter the brand or layers of polish, clear polish dries faster. 

DOES IT CHIP?

According to the website, Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polishes are made with clean and vegan ingredients. I have heard from beauty and lifestyle bloggers that other clean and vegan nail polishes tend to chip quickly. Actually, chipping might be an understatement. These clean and vegan polishes tend to completely peel off the nail in one piece. I only experienced this once with the Expressie polish, but that was because I used a lousy base coat. To begin with, the base coat was the type of nail polish where you could completely peel off the coat, of course, anything I would layer on top would do the same. Since then, I haven't used a base coat, simply because I have been too lazy to look into a well formulated clear coat. If you have any recommendations definitely leave them in the comments. 

BENEFITS OF AN ANGLED BRUSH

From the moment I passed the first swipe of polish on my nails. It felt so easy. I barely got polish on my cuticles, but the real test took place when I had to paint using my non-dominant hand. Now I didn’t expect to breeze through painting my dominant hand with zero practice (I’m using my non-dominant hand after all), but it was much easier than I expected. Most nail polish companies don't make painting with your non-dominant hand any easier. Instead, nail polish bottles have long and thin brush handles for aesthetic purposes. Expressie Quick Dry Nail Polish on the other hand has a short and sturdy handle, but my favorite part is the angled brush. 

Honestly, I didn’t know the brush was angled until I looked up the specific product specifications, but I definitely knew something was different, and as a result, made painting my left hand so much easier. I can do each nail in two thin swipes and cover my full nail. Most importantly, the angled brush helps me get as close as possible to the edge of my nail where it meets the skin. 

With other nail polishes, I felt as if I had to calculate how much pressure to put so the brush spreads the right amount, but because of the long brush, it’s hard to control. With the Expressie, the brush is short so I know I can just brush down from the middle using the same amount of pressure and each stroke will perfectly cover half of my nail. This extra feeling of control means I don't get a crazy amount of nail polish on my cuticles or nails. Before I would have to use 3-4 Q-tips to clean my nails, now I just use one to make sure they look perfect but it's not really necessary. 

In my opinion, the Expressie Quick Dry Polish is a must have! There are over 40 colors so you’re bound to find something you like whether it's an everyday shade statement color like my favorite. This product is available at most drugstores but you can also order them online. I provided links below:

WHERE TO BUY: They retail for $9.00 at all locations

Amazon 

Target 

Walmart 

Ulta - They have the full-color range available and they have lots of sales, so I recommend getting them from here.

If you don’t want to wait for shipping time use the availability feature for the Ulta, Target or Walmart closest to you. 

Let me know what color you’d want to buy!!