Essie’s “Marshmallow” is described by essie as a cloudy sheer white, perfect for a french manicure. Not at all. While essie promotes this shade as sheer, it is milky, streaky and extremely difficult to apply uniformly for a french manicure. However at 3 coats, its completely opaque and perfect.

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Full Review

I like to use companies’ official descriptions for nail polishes because its easy to dissect what is fact and what is fiction. Essie describes Marshmallow as “sugary, soft and sweet. this lovely nail color is just totally irresistible. for french manicures, cloudy sheer white lacquer is confection perfection.”  It is definitely sugary, soft and sweet but its not for french manicures.

One application (or 1 coat) of essie marshmallow is milky, streaky and blotchy. You know when you are moving “color” around to try to make it uniform on the entire nail? Even with the lightest of coats, you will find yourself moving “deposits” of the nail polish around to try to get a even coverage. French Manicures look simple but they are tough! They require a steady hand, even coverage, and just enough sheer to let your own nail pads come out and shine. You can try to use this color for the nails’ “tips outline”, but you will hit the same blotchy problem.

At 2 coats, Marshmallow starts to correct itself. It becomes more uniform, it starts to hide the imperfection of unevenness. At 3 coats, the results is a complete opaque shade of brilliant white (though you may have some sheerness expose if your coats are not that uniform). You will waste a lot of polish getting the finished look, but its gorgeous, and I think, well worth it.

I used a top coat and I had good coverage (up to a week which was amazing!). Also no staining though white nail polishes typically do not stain.

Coverage: 3 Coats

Limited Edition: No

Dupes: OPI Funny Bunny

Coverage: You can get a full week with a good top coat.

Staining: None

Availability: Amazon, Ulta, Walgreens and any other similar drugstores

xoxo,

Emmy