I have several Essie nail polishes in a variety of finishes. Most of them are iridescent or glittery finishes, as that is what I prefer, but I do have a couple in a gel-like, shiny finish.
Most Essie polishes come in clear, square glass bottles with white lids, although I do have one in a twisted glass bottle that looks really cool. The older Essie polishes that I own have quite small brushes that take a while to apply the polish. The newer bottles I own have wider, flat brushes that can cover my nails in 3 strokes, which I really like.
These polishes dry very fast. This is especially good for the gel-like finish ones which can look streaky with only one coat. The polishes layer well. I can apply up to three coats without the polishes looking heavy.
The other great thing about Essie polishes is that they take longer than other polishes to chip. They tend to last for several days before any signs of wear start to show, and that is without taking any special care and just performing day to day activities. They have a paint smell, like all polishes do, but it is not overpoweringly strong.
Altogether I think these are very good nail polishes and some of the best that you can buy from department stores.
I love my Essie polishes and would recommend them to anyone.
I find the shade range to be good but no better than other brands (OPI etc). I don't really notice any difference between chippage with different brands. The areas that Essie does way better than other brands is the brush and the consistency of the polish. For these reasons alone I'll continue to buy Essie over other similarly priced brands.
I think Essie brushes are a tiny bit smaller than other brushes which allows me way more control when I paint my nails. If I'm using a red or a dark colour, I'll only use Essie otherwise I spent more time cleaning up around my nail than actually painting.
I find that all of my other polish brands get "gluggy" far earlier than my Essie polishes do. I've some Essie polishes for years and the consistency in the bottle is still the same as when I first got the bottle.