A big part of me is relieved that my interview with Essie Weingarten was over the phone and not in person. As founder and president of nail polish titan Essie Cosmetics, I doubt she’d appreciate my chewed cuticles. When I fill her in on my dirty little secret, she unexpectedly laughs and says, “We got David Letterman to stop chewing his cuticles, we’ll help you too.”
The course of our interview was punctuated with laughs and light-hearted comments; even though she’s the head of one of the world’s most recognizable cosmetics companies, Weingarten isn’t above providing nail tips to eager young journalists. Since 1981, Essie has graced the fingertips of everyone from Lady Gaga to Suri Cruise (who loves the shade Sugar Daddy, no surprise there). Even the Royal Family are fans.
“I got a call while I was watching Kate and Will’s wedding,” says Weingarten. “It was a friend in Germany telling me that I nailed it with Kate’s polish. Apparently she was wearing Allure. It was a dream come true.”
Just in time for this season’s ubiquitous colour blocking trend, Weingarten released a spring 2012 collection full of brilliant shades (think fuschia, foamy green, and lilac) with theme of financial security. Cheeky names like Tour de Finance and To Buy or Not To Buy are Essie hallmarks. As you can imagine, brainstorming polish names is a fun endeavor for the Essie crew.
“We get silly, laugh a lot, and from all of that we end up with the best new names,” says Weingarten. “It’s a never-ending saga. I’m constantly jotting down ideas around a theme that resonates with me. For this collection, all the names had something to do with a positive spin on the financial crisis. I thought it was fun and relevant.”
“Relevant” is the perfect word choice considering the brand has remained the prize of nail lovers for over three decades. In 2010, L’Oréal acquired the company and distributed it to even more countries around the globe. As Essie’s reach grows, so does its line of imitators. Weingarten tells me she’s flattered by copycats, but does maintain that she was at the forefront of some the most prevalent nail fads– trends that she and her team plan out almost a year in advance.
But just how does Essie know which colours women (and even men) are craving?
“My background is completely different than everyone else’s in the nail business,” says Weingarten. “I worked at Bendel’s many, many years ago when it was on 57th street. So what I bring to the table is this innate ability to pick colours. I’m a woman, so I know what women are looking for. It’s very exciting because no one can do what I can and that’s what keeps me relevant, new, and exciting.”
With a client base that defies age like no other (customers range in age from 2 to 102), Essie’s focus groups are a little different than most. Rather than setting up formal focus experiements, Weingarten brings new shades to her office each day and lets her employees tell her what they like and don’t like.
“I like to see their reaction,” she says. “When they start wearing it immediately, you know you’ve got a winner. It’s so much fun. They change their colour up to twenty times a day sometimes.”
Regardless of her success and celebrity, Weingarten is exactly as down-to-earth as you’d want someone in her position to be. She even admits to frequently stopping women on the street if she overhears them talking about Essie. A true people-pleaser, she takes the time to ask what they want in her next collection.
“It’s all about putting a smile on the customer’s face and a great colour on their nails.”
____
Bianca Teixeira writes about style for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @BeeLauraTee.
For more, follow us on Twitter @TorontoStandard and subscribe to our newsletter.
