The Lilacism phenomenon - that weird thing with Essie's lavenders

Guess what? The polish I'm wearing and the bottle in this photo are BOTH Essie Lilacism.

I was talking with my friend J, another polish enthusiast, about how Lilacism has slowly changed shades, so that older Lilacisms seem more blue than newer ones, or at least that seems to be the trend that we see. Out of curiosity, I wore my Lilacism from a few years ago and went to a store to compare it to a new bottle. Sure enough, it's like a different shade! Mine is noticeably bluer than the new standard.

Proof that I'm actually holding Lilacism

I also compared Lilacism to Essie Go Ginza, the next closest lavender in the main line, because I feel like the new and old versions of Lilacism are actually AS or even MORE different in tone than Lilacism and Go Ginza are. Don't you think?

 

Side by side, it's really like 3 different tones. You can kinda see in the above photo comparing to my nails, but it's easier to see the progression below.

I personally prefer the bluer version - newer Lilacism seems to me like the standard lavender, while the older one feels more like a unique shade closer to the blue-lavender of actual lilac flowers. On the other hand, maybe they were trying to make it more of a go-to lavender? It certainly is that, but I feel also that you can get that shade anywhere, plus Go Ginza is pretty much a slightly pinker version of the "standard lavender" you would want.

But honestly, I think at the Essie factory the color shifted over the years just a little pinker, until it became a different shade - it's easy to do, and I can think of other examples of polishes with slight variances in color, especially over time.*

How to get the "old" Lilacism though? I'd say your best bet is wholesalers on Ebay - they tend to have older bottles - it's where I got mine. Also mine was a salon version (the ones with the white E cap instead of the sticker with the name on the top) not sure if that makes a difference but also probably where you'd find older polishes that people are reselling.

*Sinful Colors Nirvana comes to mind - I shall have to do a post on that someday.