Essie’s New Y2K-Inspired Collection Will Bring Back So Many Memories

Sarah Midkiff
·2 min read

We may still be spending most of our time at home for a while, but that doesn’t mean we have to let our manicure game slide. Essie just released a new Y2K-inspired collection that's perfect for wearing alone, mixed and matched, or paired with trendy indie nail art — and if the colors themselves don’t make you nostalgic for the early 2000s, their names certainly will.

The Dial It Up collection includes ten shades in total, ranging from a bright, creamy yellow to a translucent bubblegum pink, and even a a Microsoft Windows '98-inspired teal. Each one brings us right back to the days of AOL Instant Messenger, hanging out with our friends at the mall, and being too young to understand why everyone was so freaked out about Y2K.

This line is part of the brand’s Expressie franchise, available now at Ulta. The quick-drying formula promises a rock-solid, completely dry manicure in a matter of minutes, all for $9 a bottle. Ahead, we’ve included some of our favorite colors from the collection. We’d suggest jumping on them fast, because cute shades like this don’t stay on the shelves for long.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

<h3>In The Modem</h3><br>This <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/best-gray-nail-polish" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:light gray" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">light gray</a> with blue undertones has a creamy finish that feels like a sophisticated nod to <em>Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century</em>.<br><br><strong>Essie</strong> Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=30283X879131&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ulta.com%2Fexpressie-quick-dry-nail-polish-dial-it-up-collection%3FproductId%3Dpimprod2021041" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ulta Beauty" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Ulta Beauty</a>

In The Modem


This light gray with blue undertones has a creamy finish that feels like a sophisticated nod to Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.

Essie Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at Ulta Beauty
<h3>Mall Crawler</h3><br>We can see it now: This translucent, muted <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/light-pink-nail-polish" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:pink" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">pink</a> is <em>the</em> shade you would have worn as you browsed <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/04/229478/claires-children-ear-piercing-age-backlash-employee-quits" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Claire's" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Claire's</a> with your friends and thought rhinestones were the height of fashion.<br><br><strong>Essie</strong> Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=30283X879131&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ulta.com%2Fexpressie-quick-dry-nail-polish-dial-it-up-collection%3FproductId%3Dpimprod2021041" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ulta Beauty" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Ulta Beauty</a>

Mall Crawler


We can see it now: This translucent, muted pink is the shade you would have worn as you browsed Claire's with your friends and thought rhinestones were the height of fashion.

Essie Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at Ulta Beauty
<h3>We Don't Mesh</h3><br>We can say confidently that if you rocked up to Orange Julius with this green-yellow shade on your fingertips, you'd get at least one person asking you about it.<br><br><strong>Essie</strong> Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=30283X879131&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ulta.com%2Fexpressie-quick-dry-nail-polish-dial-it-up-collection%3FproductId%3Dpimprod2021041" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ulta Beauty" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Ulta Beauty</a>

We Don't Mesh


We can say confidently that if you rocked up to Orange Julius with this green-yellow shade on your fingertips, you'd get at least one person asking you about it.

Essie Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at Ulta Beauty
<h3>Skip The Track</h3><br>There's no such thing as a skip track on our mix CDs, and this translucent <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/09/8482931/lavender-nail-polish" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:lavender" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">lavender</a> gray is equally unmissable.<br><br><strong>Essie</strong> Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=30283X879131&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ulta.com%2Fexpressie-quick-dry-nail-polish-dial-it-up-collection%3FproductId%3Dpimprod2021041" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ulta Beauty" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Ulta Beauty</a>

Skip The Track


There's no such thing as a skip track on our mix CDs, and this translucent lavender gray is equally unmissable.

Essie Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at Ulta Beauty
<h3>Up Up & Away Message</h3><br>If this <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/08/240293/teal-nail-polish" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:teal" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">teal</a> tone were an away message, it would be "in ur top 8 without even trying." We know that's true because we already wish it was our current manicure.<br><br><strong>Essie</strong> Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at <a href="https://go.skimresources.com/?id=30283X879131&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ulta.com%2Fexpressie-quick-dry-nail-polish-dial-it-up-collection%3FproductId%3Dpimprod2021041" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Ulta Beauty" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Ulta Beauty</a>

Up Up & Away Message


If this teal tone were an away message, it would be "in ur top 8 without even trying." We know that's true because we already wish it was our current manicure.

Essie Essie Expressie Quick-Dry Nail Polish Dial It Up, $, available at Ulta Beauty

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

This $10 Nail Primer Made My Lazy-Girl Manicure LA

Pinterest Search For "Indie Nails" Is Up 21%

The 5 Biggest Nail Trends We're Tracking In 2021

Latest Stories

  • The 8 Best Color-changing Nail Polishes for a Striking Manicure

    Spice up your manicure with these innovative thermal polishes from Cirque Colors, Del Sol and more.

  • 7 Quick-Dry Nail Polishes That Are Good-to-Go In Under a Minute

    Ain't nobody got time for regular polish to dry.

  • If You Made a New Year's Resolution to Exercise More, Use This Chart as Your Instant Inspiration

    If 2020 was a challenging year for you, and exercising regularly didn't quite happen because your gym was closed or you were too upset, unwell, or unmotivated to work out, use 2021 as a clean slate! If this is the year you made a commitment to yourself to exercise more, here's some instant inspiration for you.

  • 5 Things to Know Before You Drop That Hard-Earned Cash on a Dip Powder Manicure

    Want to spend as little time at the nail salon as possible? You might want to consider a dip powder manicure, which takes about as long as a gel manicure, but lasts much longer. As someone who indulges in a manicure every few months, I was curious about the craze surrounding this new magical dipping powder. I had heard that it lasts longer than acrylic or gel, but what sold me over was that it doesn't require UV light like other manicure types. I decided to see what it was all about and made an appointment with my nail technician. I'm overall pleased with the results, and I have a few words of wisdom to impart for those considering taking the powdery plunge. Related: Bright! Exciting! Fun! These Are the 5 Buzzy Nail-Color Trends to Try in 2021

  • Sephora Collection's New Best Skin Ever Foundation Is as Good as It Says - and Only $20

    Like many others, I've pared down my beauty routine significantly in the past 10 months or so. It's not that all my makeup is collecting dust - it's just with essentially no plans, putting on a pretty eyeshadow or lipstick is saved for virtual meetings or a rare socially distanced outing when the weather's warm. And, while I've gone all in on my self-care regimen, foundation is one item I rarely reach for anymore. It doesn't help that my dry skin gets even worse in winter, so I usually stick to tinted moisturizer to give my face extra hydration and just a hint of color when I'm adding any base makeup at all. Still, when I first learned about Sephora Collection's new Best Skin Ever foundation , I was intrigued by the ingredient list. Hyaluronic acid and algae extract are infused in the formula? That sounded more like skin care than makeup, and I was excited to give this product a whirl. Luckily, the product exceeded my high expectations, and there's a reason why I've been reaching past my tinted moisturizer for this ever since I got my hands on it. Learn more - and see what it looks like on my skin - ahead.

  • Ulta Beauty Names New Makeup Merchant

    Changes on the merchandising team come after strong headwinds in makeup sales.

  • How one woman’s depression inspired her multi-million dollar fitness line

    Jaz Jackson, founder and CEO of fitness apparel brand JSculpt Fitness discusses how depression inspired her multi-million dollar fitness line.

  • This $10 Nail Primer Made My Lazy-Girl Manicure LAST

    I’ll admit, even as a self-professed lover of DIY manicures, I’m a little lazy when it comes to nail prep. Choosing a shade? See you in ten minutes. Carefully sealing my finished work in a glossy top coat? Ensure no surface is unvarnished. It’s the pre-painting step that I tend to rush through — but, just as foreplay is key in any good hookup, a properly primed nail canvas is essential in any good manicure. This brings me right to Olive & June‘s newest launch: Nail Primer. Not to be mistaken for a base coat, this product is a pre-polish step that (much like a makeup primer) works to properly prep the nail plate for polish. Yeah, yeah, but is this a thing I *really* need? my inner monologue queried. In the name of beauty journalism and great nails everywhere, I put Olive & June’s new primer to the test IRL — below, behold my first-hand (!) findings. DashDividers_1_500x100 What does a nail primer do? “My goal in all of our products is that your mani lasts as long as you want it to last,” Olive & June founder Sarah Gibson Tuttle told me via Zoom. “Our inspiration is to always give people a salon-perfect manicure [at home], and hopefully, a salon one would last longer than one you do yourself — but now you can get those same results at home.” Enter, Nail Primer: A dehydrating liquid that has existed in salons for years, but is an industry secret no longer. “This is really, mani insurance,” explains Gibson Tuttle, adding that the extra step has the power to boost wear time up to three days. Challenge accepted. DashDividers_1_500x100 How do you use a nail primer? Unlike a base coat, Nail Primer (which has bonders and ethyl acetate, found in many removers, as a star ingredient) dries out the nail surface to ensure that no oil is left behind — which can affect how the polish adheres (or doesn’t); it’s the same reason most manicurists will apply a polish remover to your nails before going in with color. Since O&J’s polish has a built-in base coat, Gibson Tuttle recommends using Nail Primer as an additional prep step (after using remover) to really stretch your manicure’s life span. However: IF you want to prevent any staining, then she recommends using one coat of sheer polish sandwiched between primer and your color of choice. DashDividers_1_500x100 How I applied Olive & June’s Nail Primer… Some people may be reluctant to add another step to their home manicure kit. I, personally, find doing my nails to be one of the most mentally soothing activities there is (second only to watching The Great British Baking Show) and don’t mind an extra step — especially if it’ll keep my nails looking cuter, for longer. O&J stans will notice that while the rose gold bottle bears a resemblance to the chrome topcoat, the brush itself is shorter and denser. This is on purpose: according to Gibson Tuttle, since Nail Primer has the consistency of alcohol, it can easily run or evaporate before it hits the nail. A smaller brush really made applying it onto my nails easier and quicker, and I appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into that. O&J: 1. I applied one coat of primer to my left hand (my right would be the experiment’s control), let it dry (which took all of 10 seconds), and went in with two coats of KMC (the darling pistachio hue pictured here). The nail primer didn’t noticeably affect how the polish applied, and I followed my usual steps of topcoat and Dry Drops as I watched The Bachelor. And then, I waited. DashDividers_1_500x100 The End Results… Sure enough, a few days later, I noticed a chip on my right ring finger. My left hand, on the other hand (heh) was flawless, my dear. “While we might sell fewer bottles of polish, we strive to create products that make your manicures last as long as possible,” Gibson Tuttle tells us. “That’s why we answer every DM, do masterclasses and [Instagram] Lives. We want to be a platform for a community where nails are making them feel good.” I imagine the 13.5mL bottle of Nail Primer will last me a very long time (or forever) since you only need a thin veil of it to do its job — AND since I don’t anticipate returning to the nail salon anytime soon. It’s certainly $10 well spent. At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

  • The Adidas Chinese New Year Collection Features New-Look Versions of Iconic Shoes and Modern Favorites

    Shop the looks here.

  • PSK Collective Kicks Off Walmart.com Launch

    Walmart.com will carry World Rugby Hall of Famer Phaidra Knight’s PSK Collective’s activewear line.

  • I Dry-Brushed My Entire Body Every Day for a Month—Here's What Happened

    Hello, softer skin.

  • Omega-3s and other vitamins may improve dry eye - here's what the research says

    The research on vitamins and dry eye disease is still inconclusive. But doctors say taking omega-3s won't cause harm and could improve eye health.

  • The Insanely Viral Pan That Replaces 8 Common Kitchen Tools Comes In A Limited-Edition Color

    Your kitchen NEEDS this pan.

  • All the Best Drinks for Dry January

    Nonalcoholic booze has come a long way.

  • Bandier Partners With Life Camp on Capsule Collection

    One-hundred percent of proceeds will go toward Life Camp in support of the organization's ongoing efforts.

  • Dry January Is About the Journey, Not the Destination

    Quitting alcohol for a month won't overhaul your health—but it could help you learn some lessons about your relationship to drinking.

  • Le Creuset Unveiled a New Collection With a Moody Colorway and You Can Already Find It on Sale

    It's a beautiful blend of the brand’s deep teal and indigo colors. 😍