Essie Master Plan

Master Plan is part of Essie's core line and is officially described as a "mischievous soft gray." Subtle tones of cement grey, pinkish brown, lilac and white come together to make this pale putty-colored creme, each taking predominance in turn as the viewing circumstances change. It's a soft creamy shade and quite lovely on the nail. Rachel of stuff I swatched says Master Plan is a hair darker and warmer than Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas, but they look very very close in her comparison post. I've been lemming Waking Up in Vegas for ages, so I count that lemming slain.

Application was blissful. The consistency of Master Plan is what I consider classic Essie, very fluid, thin and light, almost but not quite runny. It needs only the lightest touch with the brush to manipulate and likes to go on in thin to medium coats. Pigmentation is very good. You can achieve a wearable opacity in two coats, although that left my ridges a little more noticeable than I would have liked for the photos so I applied one more coat and was quite happy with that. For a whitened color, I did not find this to be at all chalky or streaky. Cleanup is easy and straightforward. Master Plan dries naturally in very good time to a glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Master Plan with a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Essie Master Plan

Although this is not apparent in my photo, Master Plan dries down to a color that's less pink and more gray than the way it looks in the bottle. Against my pinkage in person, it's a pale cement/putty color with hints of lilac, but I've seen it pull way more grey against other skin tones in swatches online. In most of the photos above, it has a pale mauvey taupe look to my eye. In my opinion, the second photo is the truest to how it is in person. It's a soft, pleasant, graceful color with an excellent formula and one of your basic neutrals that are great to have on hand for any occasion.

love,
Liz