essie Starry Starry Night is BACK!! Get Ready for Retro Revival.
essie Retro Revival 35th Anniversary Collection
Amazing news, you guys! So good, I am giddy every time I think about it being true.
Let’s back up a sec. A few weeks ago I caught wind of essie releasing a collection to celebrate the iconic brand’s 35th Anniversary, Retro Revival. At the time, five past shades were named for resurrection. Then, during our last #NailGlossip chat (next one is this Sunday), Kellie Gonzo shared the rumor that Starry Starry Night(!!!) was the sixth mystery shade. I mean, could it really be true? That the sought-after shade was making a comeback? Well, late last week essie confirmed its revival to much fanfare.
If you aren’t familiar, keep reading to see why essie Starry Starry Night’s return has nail fanatics, worldwide, in a frenzy!
essie Starry Starry Night (Original) Swatch
Debuting in 1997, essie Starry Starry Night was ahead of its time. It paved the way for shades like Chanel Night Sky, Rescue Beauty Lounge Under the Stars, and CND Blue Blood, which are all rare and HTF. The reason… glittery blue nail polishes were not that common at the time. essie founder, Essie Weingarten, stepped outside her traditional color palette to give us one of the most beloved nail polish shades, ever. Any die-hard collector either owns this beauty or has it at the top of their wish list.
I was lucky enough to receive my bottle of SSN from a Makeup Alley friend, and even though it is almost 20 years old, it still applies like a freaking dream. Gah, how I miss all those bad chemicals. I know I’m not supposed to miss the pre-3-Free days, but polish was SO much better back then. I digress. Back to the matter at hand, Starry Starry Night!
essie Starry Starry Night (original)
essie Starry Starry Night is a midnight blue, with a jelly-ish base, packed with silver glitter that twinkles through the sea of blue like tiny stars. It’s the kind of night sky you can only see in the country. Because of the jellyish base, the glitter at lower levels takes on a blue appearance, adding so much depth and wonder to the overall look. It really is a spectacular shade. Even though there have been many blue glitters in its wake, SSN still stands out as special. We can only hope the revived version, in the current essie formula, does the original justice.
essie Starry Starry Night (original)
essie Starry Starry Night (original)
essie Starry Starry Night (original)
essie Retro Revival Collection
When I first heard about the essie Retro Revival collection, I was pretty meh about it until SSN was announced. For most of essie’s existence, the brand has catered to a very Upper East Side crowd, with a bevy of pinks, sheers and reds. Longtime readers of this site know that I was not essie’s biggest fan (the brand, not the amazing woman behind it), with the exception of a few old school gems, until more unique colors started entering the lineup in the late 2000′s.
Now, I’m a full-on essie fangirl, even though I wish there was some more color diversity in this collection. Hello, Dominica Green. Though thinking about it, what better way to celebrate the brand Essie Weingarten created than with classic, timeless shades that represent the heart of essie’s style?
The essie Retro Revival Collection includes: essie Birthday Suit (1981), essie Starry Starry Night (1997), essie Life of the Party (2002), essie Cabana Boy (2005), essie Sequin Sash (2005), Bikini with a Martini (2006). I only have SSN, so I’m looking forward to trying the rest, which are on their way to me (full review soon).
essie Birthday Suit – 1981
essie Life of the Party – 2002
essie Cabana Boy – 2005
essie Sequin Sash – 2005
essie Bikini with a Martini – 2006
essie will offer the Retro Revival collection for pre-sale on December 17th at essie.com. If you aren’t on the essie email list, hop to it so you’ll be notified when it goes live. I know I’ll be stalking the site all day to get backups of SSN. You should, too! The collection will arrive in US stores in January, so be on the lookout.
***CORRECTION: The collection is available for pre-sale on Beauty.com and Amazon.com.
Are you excited to see Starry Starry Night return? Do you plan to snag a bottle or two? Who else has an original SSN? What are some other essie shades you would like to see resurrected?
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Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
Nice color!
SOOOO AWESOME! Thanks for the shout out M! I am seriously so flippen stoked about this, I have been wishing for SSN since before I started blogging!
This is the best news ever!!!! I literally screamed while reading this lol! SSN has been on my wishlist for years! I will definitely be picking up a bottle or two or three!
I am so excited to see Starry Night return!!
SSN ist stunning but I have a feeling that I have got a close match from L’Oreal from the Nineties. I need to rummage through my Helmer. Blue with silver sparkles is right up my street – that’s why I am wearing OPI’s Give Me Space just now and SSN goes on my ever-growing wish list!
Oh, my goodness, I didn’t even know that this color existed, and now I need it desperately! Do you know if the re-release will be formulated 3-free, or will they use the original formula? Not necessarily a deal-breaker, but just curious.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention!
I believe it will be in the current essie formula. I’ll be sure to note that in my review.
I’m excited to try to snag SSN since I have heard SO MUCH about that color! I’m kind of meh about the other colors though, not my typical color selection, so I’ll likely pass since I have semi-similar colors in my collection already.
I still have my original bottle of Starry, Starry Night, and glad that I do. It still goes on smoothly, and is one of the best holiday shades yet!
ok i’m buying this just because of your rave.
Can’t wait to read your review of the collection!
I’m excited! I’ve already got the retro redo of SSN on it’s way to me!! I can’t wait to have it in my hands. The original has been a long time lemming of mine!
Will you be getting the new version of SSN to compare them both? I’m asking since your posts says you’re getting ‘the rest’ so I wasn’t sure.
Which version of the original do you have? Is it the first one or the reformulated version without the diamond dust?
Also, is the date of 1997 correct? Allure quoted Essie as saying that SSN launched in 1985 and was discontinued in 1997 – so I’m curious which is correct because I never thought SSN went back _that_ far! (to 1985) I’ve found it pretty much impossible to research and confirm which date is accurate.
Hi Jen! I thought it was 1997, but essie is saying 1985. My mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. They discontinued it due to the lack of access to diamond dust, which mine includes.
Thank you so much for clearing that up! I really thought it was not that old! You’re so lucky to have the original version, that is awesome! I hope you are getting the new ssn and maybe do a comparison for us? I’m excited, it’s been a long time lemming of mine – even if it’s not the same I think this will do nicely!
I’m seriously very confused as to the year it was discontinued. My first exposure to Starry, Starry Night was in 2004 when I was graduating high school at 15… it was the perfect nail polish to match my starry, starry, midnight blue grad dress. Needless to say, my night was magical, I felt like a princess, and SSN became my absolute favourite nail polish as my previous favourite, Imported Champagne, moved to second place. I still have my first SSN bottle and am BEYOND excited for this re-release, but how did I manage to get a bottle a full 7 years after they stopped producing it?
Yes!!! I just saw this and I’m so excited. Definitely going to pick up a bottle or three, even if it’s not a perfect match to the original.
I’m super excited to see SSN again but am so afraid I’m gonna miss out on it again!
I hope it gets added to the core collection at some point.
I need Starry Starry Night! The other colors don’t do much for me, but that one is gorgeous. My daughter says it reminds her of Zoya Dream but I haven’t looked at Dream for a while, so I don’t know how they’d compare. I, too, miss all the bad chemicals. I know, I know! We have to limit that stuff, but my nails used to be beautiful and now I can hardly get them to grow at all. I miss the days when ,my nails were too long and I had to take some length off. Now its a miracle if I have a free edge! Oh well, this polish will look fine on my shorties anyway(I hope!)
I want a bottle, won’t lie, but it doesn’t look the same in the swatches I’ve seen. That bums me out.
I saw the retro collection in person last week and did a double take! I took a good look at the SSN bottle, but it looks different than the original photos you have above. I am excited to see how it compares to the original, but think it will be more of silver glitter in a deep blue jelly base.
I’m actually surprised at a couple of the colors they picked, like Cabana Boy and Sequin Sash. Happy to see SSN though!
I am definitely going to try Starry, Starry Night! How gorgeous. I just got Indigo by Zoya this summer and now I also want SSN.
Hi. I checked Essie’s website today for the presale on these polishes. They do not appear to be available currently. Please advise. Thanks!
Hi Denise! I saw essie tweet that it’s available on Beauty.com and Amazon.com.
Hi. I missed out on those two sites. They were already sold out of Starry, Starry Night when I viewed them that day! So, I’m wondering if you know when it will be available again. Thank you!
Hi Denise! It’s available right now on ULTA.com
This was my go to color back in the day! I will be picking this one up.
Oh, no! SSN is already sold out on the essie website. Didn’t see it on amazon or beauty.com but I’ll keep checking…now of course I’m obsessed to find a bottle
Hi Mary! It’s available right now on ULTA.com
Darn! Looks like I missed it. By the time I had a chance to check the pre-sale, SSN was already sold out! Any idea if Essie will make more available?
Hey! As of this morning, it is available on ULTA.com
SSN is all out of stock. I think it’s going to be very hard to get.
Hi,
I have this polish on its way and I just can’t wait to try it!
I hope you do a comparison post on the original and the re-released version.
I just love your swatches!
Kisses from Brazil!