Today I have again an oldie for you, Essie- Smokin’ hot. This Essie was released for Winter 2010, way before I even was into nail polish. I found this one in the discount section of a local drugtstore. I believe however that this one is still in Essie’s permanent collection, so it should still be easy to find (Check it out here on Amazon for example, affiliate link).
Essie Smokin’ hot is what I would call a greyed out purple. I really love the color! It kind of looks like a normal neutral grey polish, but because of the purple it has something special. I love dark colors so I was immediately in love. Although being dark, the color never looks black. I found this shade edgy but very wearable at the same time. Still when I look at these pictures I want to directly apply it again.
The formula however was not that great. I’ve heard that “old” Essie shades have a very thin formula, and this one definitely has! It definitely needed three coats to get the color of the bottle, which I found very strange for such a dark color. The formula was also really runny and it got into my sidewalls despite me being super careful. I guess this will solve itself when the polish becomes thicker.
Despite of the formula, I really love the color. I’ve looked through my stash and I couldn’t find any dupes for Smokin’ hot. One polish that I immediately thought of was Essie Kimono over (check it out here on Amazon, affiliate link), however this one is definitely not as grey as Smokin’ hot.
EDIT May 2020: There is also a “remixed” version of this shade available now in a special limited edition called below zero, for swatches see the instagram post below, and to read more about this collection click here.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I bought all these products myself.
