It’s not every day I get served an image of glossed lips kissing someone’s toes on Instagram, but apparently, today was that day. At first I thought I was hacked or somehow logged into a stranger’s burner account, but upon a further inspection I found that it wasn’t a fetish page putting feet on my feed. The source was none other than… Essie. Yes, that Essie—the 35-year-old nail polish brand best known for its demure, light pink shade, “Ballet Slippers.” Served to the brand’s 2.1 million followers, the post was made to promote “Berry Naughty,” a deep red shade. Besides making it to the brand’s main feed, the image also appears to be the account’s new profile photo. They’re really committing to the bit, huh?
Essie’s audience is demonstrably confused by seeing a mouth so close to a foot on a Tuesday morning. “Hey so this is crazy,” the account of Adore Beauty, an Australian online beauty store, commented. Another wrote, “You can still delete this.” Others posed perfectly valid questions, including wondering whether or not it was April Fool’s Day and “Is Quentin Tarantino running your socials now?” I feel particularly connected to the account that simply wrote, “HELLO???” But, after scrolling a bit, I decided I’m on Essie’s side here. “Everyone out there selling and buying feet pics but here y’all pretending to be grossed out,” one comment reads. And you know what? They’re right. The foot itself isn’t even offensive—in fact, it’s perfectly pedicured. Maybe add it to your summer 2026 vision board instead of condemning it.
Now, why is Essie posting feet pics on main? Other than the fact that it’s a nail polish brand and we do, in fact, wear nail polish on our toes, it appears that the company is going through a metamorphosis—not a mid-life crisis. This rebrand isn’t exactly news, though. On March 31, Instagram account @peaplebrandsandthings posted about the global revamp, which apparently will thrust Essie into a new era they’re calling “cheeky luxury.” The post included a sneak peek of the toe-kissing image, and the commenters were far more forgiving. “This is going to be GOOD,” one wrote, while Ouai founder Jen Atkin said, “I love a rebrand.”
Although this is a departure from its previous unassuming image, we shouldn’t be surprised—risk seems to run deep in the brand’s DNA. For its launch in 1981, founder Essie Weingarten flew to Las Vegas to adorn the nails of card dealers, cocktail waitresses, sex workers, and tourists gambling their wages in Sin City with shades like “Bordeaux” and “Baby’s Breath.” And people loved it, too. “In addition to being long-lasting, Essie’s lacquer shades are perfect,” a 2003 Allure article states. “Their reds are sexier, their bright pinks are juicier, their sheer nudes are more sophisticated.”
This appears to be phase one of Essie’s reinvention—more titillating ads will be posted to honor their classic shades, including “Ballet Slippers,” and “Marshmallow.” If you thought the foot photo was risqué, maybe prepare for what could be in store for “Bikini So Teeny.”
