It’s not day-after-day I get served a picture of glossed lips kissing somebody’s toes on Instagram, however apparently, at this time was that day. At first I assumed I used to be hacked or by some means logged right into a stranger’s burner account, however upon an extra inspection I discovered that it wasn’t a fetish web page placing toes on my feed. The supply was none apart from… Essie. Sure, that Essie—the 35-year-old nail polish model greatest identified for its demure, gentle pink shade, “Ballet Slippers.” Served to the model’s 2.1 million followers, the publish was made to advertise “Berry Naughty,” a deep purple shade. Apart from making it to the model’s important feed, the picture additionally seems to be the account’s new profile picture. They’re actually committing to the bit, huh?
Essie’s viewers is demonstrably confused by seeing a mouth so near a foot on a Tuesday morning. “Hey so that is loopy,” the account of Adore Magnificence, an Australian on-line magnificence retailer, commented. One other wrote, “You may nonetheless delete this.” Others posed completely legitimate questions, together with questioning whether or not or not it was April Idiot’s Day and “Is Quentin Tarantino operating your socials now?” I really feel notably related to the account that merely wrote, “HELLO???” However, after scrolling a bit, I made a decision I’m on Essie’s aspect right here. “Everybody on the market promoting and shopping for toes pics however right here y’all pretending to be grossed out,” one remark reads. And you realize what? They’re proper. The foot itself isn’t even offensive—the truth is, it’s completely pedicured. Possibly add it to your summer season 2026 imaginative and prescient board as an alternative of condemning it.
Now, why is Essie posting toes pics on important? Apart from the truth that it’s a nail polish model and we do, the truth is, put on nail polish on our toes, it seems that the corporate goes by means of a metamorphosis—not a mid-life disaster. This rebrand isn’t precisely information, although. On March 31, Instagram account @peaplebrandsandthings posted concerning the world revamp, which apparently will thrust Essie into a brand new period they’re calling “cheeky luxurious.” The publish included a sneak peek of the toe-kissing picture, and the commenters have been much more forgiving. “That is going to be GOOD,” one wrote, whereas Ouai founder Jen Atkin mentioned, “I really like a rebrand.”
Though this can be a departure from its earlier unassuming picture, we shouldn’t be shocked—danger appears to run deep within the model’s DNA. For its launch in 1981, founder Essie Weingarten flew to Las Vegas to adorn the nails of card sellers, cocktail waitresses, intercourse employees, and vacationers playing their wages in Sin Metropolis with shades like “Bordeaux” and “Child’s Breath.” And folks cherished it, too. “Along with being long-lasting, Essie’s lacquer shades are good,” a 2003 Attract article states. “Their reds are sexier, their shiny pinks are juicier, their sheer nudes are extra subtle.”
This seems to be part one in all Essie’s reinvention—extra titillating adverts can be posted to honor their basic shades, together with “Ballet Slippers,” and “Marshmallow.” In case you thought the foot picture was risqué, perhaps put together for what could possibly be in retailer for “Bikini So Teeny.”
