Essie Toggle to the Top

Toggle to the Top was released by Essie as part of the Shearling Darling collection for winter 2013. Officially described as a "sparkling crushed garnet red," it has a very deep vampy cool-toned red -- almost burgundy -- jelly base bearing dark pinkish red microglitters. The effect is almost like a raspberry jam with the seeds in it, that is, if raspberry seeds were highly reflective and square-shaped. The microglitters sparkle like tiny rubies through the layers of darkened red, giving this polish an opulent glamor that is especially fetching in low light, where it has a twinkling effect. Very pretty!

Application was ok. Being a jelly, Toggle to the Top has a fluid consistency with a certain sticky gel-like quality to it that made me want to add polish thinner to it, and in retrospect I wish I had because I believe this polish would be at its best in multiple thin coats. As it was, Toggle to the Top was very nearly opaque with one coat, but I used two for this manicure. I've read reviews where folks have required three coats for opacity, but this polish is very well-pigmented for a jelly and builds to opacity quite easily. There was a bit of glitter tumbling and stacking during application that made it difficult for me to get a crisp even line around the cuticle. Cleanup requires a little effort if you get any of those microglitters on cuticle or skin; they like to stick and are the devil to remove if they become lodged beneath a cuticle or in the sidewall of the nail. The base is well-pigmented, so watch for lingering wisps of red. Toggle to the Top dries naturally in good time to a shiny finish with a bit of distracting visual texture to it from the microglitters. It isn't what I would call gritty, but it's topcoat hungry. I smoothed the surface with a coat of Essie First Base before I added topcoat. Topcoat is a must with this polish for it to look its best.

Photos show two coats of Toggle to the Top over treatment and basecoat with a surface-leveling coat of Essie First Base followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

Essie Toggle to the Top

You can kind of see where the surface texture is again starting to show through the layers of First Base and Seche Vite. It's been a couple of hours now and it's not developed any further than what the photos show, but I'm kind of surprised that this glitter jelly wants more than just a layer of topcoat for a glossy finish.

When it came out last year, Toggle to the Top was quickly linked to another glittery red Essie, Leading Lady, for comparison. These two are similar in that they are cool-toned reds with microglitter -- they're kind of like kissing cousins that way. But as much as they are alike, they're also quite different. Leading Lady is a lighter, brighter red and has a greater glitter to base ratio that Toggle to the Top, which to my mind is a bit more moody and dramatic. 

I showed this to Fuzzy, who said "Cruella de Vil!" She says this about almost any vampy color I bring her. My feeling is that Cruella would not wear glitter polish. She'd be all about the creme. Besides, doesn't she always wear gloves? "Well then it's her daughter, Cruelita," says Fuzz. *lol*

love,
Liz