Essie says that as a little girl, she was not the most feminine, but she really loved getting her nails done. As she got older she realized that there were only a limited amount of nail polish colors. So, in 1981,with $10,000 and big dreams Essie knew that if she could create a polish that went on easily and looked wet even after it dried she would have something, especially if she could create really different colors. She found a chemist and gave him colors hoping that he could copy them. She had one copied after a velvet pin cushion she loved that was burgundy. That was over 32 years ago, and some of the colors around today have been in existence from the beginning.
Cleverly, she thought that she should market her product to an area that had women with disposable income and who liked to dress up. So, off to Las Vegas she went from New York, taking her nail polishes around door to door to different salons. She got every salon in every hotel by the time she left. Her rise in popularity came rapidly. By 1982, she was selling Internationally. The nail polish line later expanded into every product you can think of for manicures and pedicures, including; lotions, cuticle creams, and even “facials for hands” As of recently, the line grew to over 11,000 shades and over 50 shades of top coats! Everyone from Joan Rivers to the Queen Elizabeth II has worn her polish.
In 2010 she sold the company to L’Oreal for who knows how much. New colors and new styles are continually hitting the market. In fact, as of 2014, there are nail gels, nail shellacs, and products for helping the polish dry faster. Women are also wearing different colors of polish on each finger and manicurists are drawing pretty pictures and other designs on finger nails.. Rhinestones, and other adornments are also applied. Today, the sky is the limit. Nail polish and its variations are hotter than ever, and to think it started with just a small investment with a BIG dream!!
April, 2013 BAZAAR Nicolene Richards says:Nice to meet you in my circle! FF |
