Collection: Essie 2015 Fall
Essie describes Bell-Bottom Blues (936) as an “intense midnight indigo”. It’s a deep blue shimmer with a hint of teal, and, only in the bottle, an amazing purple iridescence! It’s a total shame that the purple doesn’t flash on the nail. Still, it’s a pretty gorgeous deep blue that I’d say is just about vampy, but it easily reads as blue, not black.
The formula is a bit Jekyll-and-Hyde for me. On one hand, it’s almost a one-coat wonder! Not quite, but it’s highly-pigmented. Coverage is generally smooth and even. What I don’t like about the formula is that it somehow manages to pool up against the cuticles if you’re not careful—and this is really strange considering the formula is not watery. It also has a tendency not to stick to itself, which is just totally weird. I had to go over a tip or two again just because the polish didn’t want to adhere to its own first coat.
The finish is also not quite as shiny as I’d like, so I’d definitely recommend a glossy top coat over this, as well.
Overall, though, it’s a very pretty shade of deep blue, and I’d say it’s worth the slight effort required to make it look sharp. It’s the perfect blue shimmer for a wintery evening.
One last note: this polish is, as I mentioned, highly-pigmented. Coupled with the fact that it’s a deep blue, be aware that this stains like crazy. I wore it last week and it left such a blue stain on my nails and fingertips! It took a day or so to wash off completely.
Essie Nail Polish retails for US$8.50 / CA$9.99–$10.99 and is 0.46 US fl oz / 13.5 mL. The polish is free of toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). It is made in the USA.
Essie Cosmetics, founded in 1981, is based in Westfield NJ, USA. In 2010, Essie was acquired by the L’Oréal Group.
fivezero 
It stained even with a base coat on? It’s a pretty colour but the formula sounds weird.
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Ah, I forgot to say I didn’t use a base coat last week. But I have gotten staining even with base coat on, with other shades. Maybe I just have nails that stain easily :p And yeah, the formula is one of the stranger ones I’ve tried!
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Wow jinx, I just saw this blog post:
http://dorotheabeauty.com/2015/12/02/nail-polish-essie-bell-bottom-blues/
Posted on the same day! 😮
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LOL! What a coincidence.
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Did it stain with or without base coat? The color is absolutely gorgeous, I don’t own many blue shades yet.
Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking
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It was without base coat, sorry I forgot to mention it. It would probably stain less with base coat, for sure! Thanks for visiting!
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I am so worried about something staining my nails, I wear a bisect religiously. But some polishes do stain no matter what you do.
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It’s hard! I tend to get staining a lot since I like to wear dark shades. (What’s a bisect, btw? Or did basecoat just get autocorrected, haha?)
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Haha, yes, autocorrect! I like dark shades too this season, but so far I never had much trouble with staining.
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Oh this one is gorgeous! I find that blue and green polishes tend to stain my nails worse than black polish (even with a base coat).
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ITA, it must be something about the pigments (maybe it’s a blue pigment in both?). Even reds aren’t usually bad!
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Such a gorgeous blue– I really wish the purple transferred to the nails!
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Another rocking shade from essie and I love those gorgeous glossy, cobalt-ink blue finish. Plus, the name bell bottoms reminds me of those floor touching flared trousers from the 70’s.
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I love this color! Someone else just posted about this polish, I wanna say it was Jodi. Anyways I’m picking this one up! 🙂
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Dorothea Beauty did, as well! So funny 🙂 You’ll love this one!
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That is definitely a mesmerizing color! 🙂 Did you get anything else from Essie 2015 collection? I have completely fallen in love with Essie Leggy Legend from the same collection – such a gorgeous golden bronze shade ! 😉
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I also got Leggy Legend! It’s my fave from that collection – so stunning! I also got Frock ‘n Roll (meh) and With the Band (very nice).
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I also got the With The Band one – it is so pretty for the season! ❤
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Looks amazing. I can imagine it would stain awfully without a base coat, these deep pigmented colors always do…but we still love them.
xx Anne
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