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Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

A Blue Ravaged By Brush Strokes

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer ($8.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “jazzy blue metallic.” It’s a subdued bluish-silver with a frosted, metallic finish. The dry down is a shiny matte; it has a flat look, but it’s not truly matte and there’s a sheen there. Out of the blue nail polishes I’ve reviewed, I couldn’t find or think of a dupe.

Blue Rhapsody wasn’t thin, but it wasn’t so thick that it was goopy or difficult to use because of the consistency. What made it harder to apply was actually how quickly it dried down; it had a tendency to very nearly dry before you finished applying a single coat, and this is where streakiness and drag happened more readily. With the strong metallic finish, there are noticeable brushstrokes, and the worst part about them is that they look a bit raised, too.  It was opaque after two coats.

In regards to wear, this wore well on me. I tested it without a base/top coat (so just two coats of the polish itself), and it wore for seven days with minor tip wear (a little more than I see with Essie’s creams/shimmers but barely more) and no chipping. It was the same amount of wear with a base and top coat. However, it’s worth noting that some Temptalia readers had notable problems with wear when it came to Essie’s Mirror Metallics.

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer
Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer

13 Comments

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Jennifer Avatar

I just have to say that I have this and love it very much. I did experience drag when I first used it though. I’ve found that if I’m quick with it I don’t experience that at all. I also LOVE that it’s opaque in one coat! And I don’t mind brush strokes at all. I love the mirror metallics collections so much – I have every color except the silver and gold, but that’s only because I already have similar colors.

Wwendalynne Avatar

I’m not feeling these heavily frosted colours. They seem ‘too pretty’ for me. Right now, I’m leaning more towards saturated and deeper hues. Dior Glacier is one of my all time favs, but it is much paler and less ‘frosty’. I think it is the level of frost that turns me off along with the streaky finish.

Dominique Avatar

I love this Blue Rhapsody ( I have the 5 nail polishes ), I mostly wear them on my toes ( feet ), it’s great to wear them in the summer. I agree there are some brush strokes but it’s not so important in fact. It dries super fast and you need just one coat. The 5 ones are a bit thick but applies very easily. It’s a very pretty collection and no dupes so far I know ( ? )

Becca @ The Beauty Sample Avatar

Hm, that’s too bad. I have this one, Penny Talk (I think that’s what it’s called) and Nothing Else Metals from this collection but I haven’t tried them yet. I do experience that with many Essie polishes though–the quick drying so it drags and becomes lumpy and streaky. I guess that’s how it goes though. Some shades are INREDIBLY easy to work with and some just get really goopy really fast

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