about essie
America's nail salon expert, essie is the go-to nail brand for salon professionals, beauty junkies, industry insiders, celebrities and fashion icons around the world. essie remains center stage on runways around the world, offering highly anticipated color collections that drive trends season after season. the salon-quality formulas and catchy, whimsical names have led to the creation of thousands of shades across various products, including original, gel couture, expressie, LOVE by essie and essie care.
for more than 40 years, essie has been a color authority and leader in nail luxury. founded in 1981 by our namesake Essie Weingarten, essie continues to delight the color-obsessed with a love shared all over the world.
OUR MISSION:
essie connects the world through color and its infinite storytelling possibilities.
from fashion runways to airport runways, we believe inspiration comes from everywhere. and if there’s a color worth obsessing over, count on us to capture it.
OUR COMMITMENT:
for every product and service we create, we have an obsession: to offer the very best. our objective is to provide our consumers with ingredients, products and services of the very best quality, efficacy, and safety, and to demonstrate responsibility in everything we do. we select performance-based nail polish ingredients that meet the highest standards and consistently deliver the impeccable color, outstanding wear and salon quality formulas you have come to expect from essie.
as a leader in the nail industry, essie formulates our full portfolio as 100% vegan – no animal derived ingredients. essie also remains committed to no animal testing.
1981
vegas baby!
our founder, Essie Weingarten, in pursuit of one goal – “to help women feel special and to give them the perfect manicure,” jets off to Vegas with her first 12 unconventional nail polish colors. Her originals included ‘blanc,’ ‘bordeaux’ and ‘baby's breath’ – timeless shades still in the collection today.
1982
seal the deal
essie’s first top coat and base coat launch, with a steady introduction of additional treatments and solutions to follow.
1983
our first celebrity crush
celebrated actress, comedian and Tonight Show host Joan Rivers announces she is wearing ‘jelly apple.’
1985
it’s hip to be square
the iconic essie square bottle makes its debut, housing some of the most coveted polish shades.
1989
a royal blessing
the Queen of England’s hairdresser sends Essie a letter requesting 'ballet slippers' - the only color Her Majesty would wear.
1996
first of many
Allure Magazine's first "Best of Beauty Awards" recognizes essie for Best Nail Polish Colors. essie continues to garner prestigious industry, fashion and beauty awards worldwide.
1999
the whole package
born in the salon and with a professional spa equity, essie expands into a line of essiespa treatments lotions and nail care systems.
2008
partner up
essie partners for some unique nail polishes with Universal Studios, J Crew, Rock & Republic, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Judith Ripka.
2011
fit for a princess
The classically sheer ‘allure’ polish is chosen for the soon-to-be royal nuptials in the United Kingdom.
2012
world expansion
essie continues to expand worldwide into retailers and salons, beginning with its launch in Europe.
2013
small suit. big hit.
‘bikini so teeny’ becomes the number one selling trend nail color of all time.
2015
a colorful collaboration
essie welcomes fashion designer, Rebecca Minkoff as the nail brand’s Global Color Designer.
2016
out of the vault
celebrating 35 years of essie, the brand opens its color vault by reintroducing six cult favorite shades, including ‘starry starry night.’
2016
a twist on a classic
essie introduces its award-winning gel couture collection. with a full palette of longwear shades, gel couture is an easy 2-step system of color + top coat for gel-like shine and lust-worthy color.
2016
a look on the inside
ever wonder who names your favorite essie shades? essie introduces “the naming department at essie” YouTube series, giving an inside glimpse into the magic behind our witty polishes.
2017
essie brings some TLC to the category
essie breaks into the color + care category with its new TREAT, LOVE & COLOR shades. the brand’s first 1-step advanced care system in perfect essie shades strengthens nails in just 1 week.