Essie Fiji 0.5 oz - #348

I loveeeed the color

Fiji is a beautiful happy candy pink creme. I am in love with this color. This polish makes me happy when I look at it. It's not just a pink. It is soft but not a pastel, this pops on me. I have a lot of polish and not a single dupe for it in my collection. Pink Smart by Sinful Colors is very similar and also Pink Sugar from the Kandee Johnson collection (which I have on my toes) IS a dead on color dupe, but it is a textured polish so not a finish dupe. So this remains unique to my collection. The formula on this is streaky and it does not self level. It does tend to bald easily so once you swipe down the center, be cautious with the sideswipes as it will drag the polish that is starting to set and leave a bald spot. Not helping in application is that thin Essie brush. This polish takes a bit of work to apply and it also takes 3-4 thin coats so get it all completely evened out and cover visible nail line. Once this is on, it's so pretty and I love this sweet candy colored creme. I just bought this spring 2017 and have worn it 5 times now and it has very poor wear time. I can only get a day from this and then it chips like crazy. I've tried this with long nails and again with very short nails and still it has has poor wear time. If I had been able to get decent wear from this, and by decent wear I mean 4 days worth, I would have said yes, I'd repurchase. I love this color that much on me. When you look at your nails and think 'this makes me happy', that is a good polish, when it doesn't last that is disappointing, and much more so for a $9 polish! I don't like having to deal with all the issues this comes with, so I won't buy it again no matter how much I love this happy pink on me.

I have the newer version of this shade. It's a brightened baby pink creme, just a little warmer toned than most, which makes it wearable for me. It's an optimal hybrid of the icy pale lilacs I crave and the warm pinks that don't make me look ill. Fiji is one of those candy pastels that seem fairly unique to Essie.You'll notice I didn't say that Essie does them well. Like my other favorite Essie pastels, Blossom Dandy and Bikini So Teeny, Fiji requires three thick yet streaky coats to even out and be opaque. You really have to want it on your nails. For my part, Fiji is such a great conservative but not boring shade that I'm willing to cope.

I should note that Fiji has been reformulated, and my review is for the newer version. It's less white, more opaque and leans way more toward a pastel pink than a nude.This polish confuses me. It's on the thicker side and slightly difficult to work with, but not impossibly so, and Essie's brush saves it from being too much trouble to bother with. It's not quite bright, but it isn't a full pastel, either; the undertone is definitely lavender, which seems to wash out my pale hands in a very unflattering way.I don't think it's awful, by any means, and is worth getting to coordinate with an outfit, but I wouldn't say it's an Essie staple.

Had I read the reviews here first I wouldn't have bought Fiji but it turned out lovely. The very light almost white-ish pink looks incredibly chic. Despite the exotic name I find it very ''parisian'' looking. I want to wear light pink silk scarves, dainty jewelry, understated makeup, hair in a chignon and a blazer to match with it. The first coat is indeed streaky but looks even when applying the second one. Wear time isn't phenomenal but that's an issue I have practically with every nail polish so I won't blame Fiji for that. I'll wear it a lot this spring for sure.