It’s not every single day I get served a picture of glossed lips kissing somebody’s toes on Instagram, however apparently, in the present day was that day. At first I believed I used to be hacked or in some way 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 aside 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 submit was made to advertise “Berry Naughty,” a deep pink shade. Moreover making it to the model’s primary feed, the picture additionally seems to be the account’s new profile photograph. 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 working 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 facet 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 time 2026 imaginative and prescient board as an alternative of condemning it.
Now, why is Essie posting toes pics on primary? Aside 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 way 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 submit included a sneak peek of the toe-kissing picture, and the commenters had been much more forgiving. “That is going to be GOOD,” one wrote, whereas Ouai founder Jen Atkin stated, “I like a rebrand.”
Though this can be a departure from its earlier unassuming picture, we shouldn’t be shocked—threat 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 excellent,” a 2003 Attract article states. “Their reds are sexier, their brilliant pinks are juicier, their sheer nudes are extra subtle.”
This seems to be section considered one of Essie’s reinvention—extra titillating advertisements will likely be posted to honor their basic shades, together with “Ballet Slippers,” and “Marshmallow.” If you happen to thought the foot photograph was risqué, possibly put together for what could possibly be in retailer for “Bikini So Teeny.”
