Women of a certain age remember the iron-clad grip that Essie’s Clambake had on our manicures in 2016 and 2017. I was one of those millennials, obsessed with the orange-red polish that somehow looked great with everything, along with Alison Roman and the editors of Into the Gloss and PopSugar. But in 2017, the color was discontinued, and thus began my five-year hunt for a replacement.
I thought I’d found the perfect dupe in Chanel Espadrilles, but it was seasonal and then also discontinued. And though I kept the last of the Espadrilles in my fridge for as long as possible, the time came when I needed a replacement.
Since then, I’ve tried more than ten formulas of all kinds and have struggled to find the right dupe. I leaned on tips from friends on Instagram to widen my search. In order to judge each polish objectively, I was careful to use a base coat and the same top coat with each contender. As I worked my way through my list of options, none of them was quite right. I loved the color of Palette Polish in Clementine, but it chipped within a day or two. All of the Zoya options were too pink. The New Black by Aila was lovely, but too orange to wear outside of summer. A Red-vival City by OPI was the most opaque but a little too creamy.
When Essie announced in 2021 that they were bringing back Clambake, I texted my whole family to check their local CVS stores for me. To my disappointment, the new formula was not what I remembered it being. It’s more of a sheer-ish jelly polish that chips quickly if you’re a hands-on kind of person. As my hunt continued, and I’d taken a break from the color entirely, I was visiting London when a friend came to meet me for dinner with a fresh red-orange manicure. The color was Juicy by a French ten-free nail-polish brand called Kure Bazaar. I couldn’t find it in-store in NYC, so I ordered a bottle online and hoped for the best. And as it turns out, the best is what I got. Juicy is a vibrant, dense red-orange that only requires two coats for total opacity and is free of the nasty things often found in nail polish. When applied with a good base coat and top coat, it can last a whole week. Even so, Juicy doesn’t really chip, so I can just paint the tips and add another layer of top coat for a quick day-five refresh.
As I’ve pursued this hunt over the years, I’ve continuously asked myself why this is so important to me in the first place. Couldn’t I try something new? Was I using this very specific color as a way to hold on to a period in my life that was carefree, experimental, and exciting? Is it the hunt itself I’d grown to crave? The power I feel from going through my day with fiery talons is reason enough to pursue just the right tool with which to maintain them. It’s become more than just something to dress up my hand to pose for Instagram. Instead, it’s the way I signal to the small world I exist within that I’ve got work to do with these manicured hands.
Editor’s note: If Kure Bazaar doesn’t ship to your location, sign up for restock notifications at Beautyhabit, which also sells the polish but is currently sold out.
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
