Essie Bikini So Teeny is from the Summer 2012 Collection, and I would say its definitely a very summer-y color.

I’m tempted to say its summer-y in the “summer teeth” sense, but the wordplay wouldn’t quite work seamlessly enough.  That does, however, make for a nice segue into the less-than seamless finish I ended up with after applying this color.

Bikini So Teeny is a less saturated (almost pastel, but not quite) sky blue with a subtle purple dimension.  This purple is more evident in lower light conditions, but in normal lighting it pushes this color close to periwinkle.

There’s also an extremely subtle shimmer mixed in, but it’s so subtle it might as well not even be there.  I have to wonder if the decision to go so very subtle with the shimmer was born out of an artistic motive, or simply out of a profit motive…

I just want to make sure I’m on the record saying that I hate the color name “periwinkle.”  It sounds so medieval in the worst sense – like in the ‘we’re-so-diseased-we-can’t-even-drink-plain-water’ sense.

Alright, anyway – check out my swatch photos, which are followed at the bottom with the review and rating.

 

 

 

Review and Rating

Let’s start with the bad and end with the good, shall we?

Bad:  This was a streaky/drippy shade to apply, leaving some streaks even after three coats.  These streaks are probably evident in my swatch photos to the trained eye.  In addition, the Essie brush and handle combo were not very helpful in mitigating the shortcomings of this formula. Additionally, the shimmer was less-than-impressive, and not really even visible, on the nails.

Good:  Its a nice color, and it definitely feels like it belongs in the summertime.

My verdict – if you like sheers and are good at applying them evenly, get this creme.  Or, if you don’t have a lot of concern with the way your nails look extremely close up, try this stuff out.  All other nail people could probably do better elsewhere.