Searching for a dupe

I love the movie The Breakfast Club. I have seen it many times. And every single time I do, at the end, when they do a close up of Claire's (aka Molly Ringwald) hands, I think "boy, I really love her nail polish."

So although I own a whole rainbow collection of polishes, every once in awhile, namely whenever I watch the movie, or it comes up in a conversation,  I think "I wish I owned Claire's polish."  (Also - who the hell gives away diamond earrings like that?! I might be slightly obsessed with those too.)

I actually saw the movie on TV a few weeks ago, and once again became fixated. It just looks like such a nice lady-like shade, flattering, and not too pink. (I'm really not a big fan of pink.) I thought, now is the time: I need to start actively looking for this polish.

Although what was used in the film was probably some Wet N Wild polish discontinued in 1987 or something, whenever I have actively tried to look, I have never come across what looks like a dupe. It's not something I look for every time I'm buying polish or anything, but it is something I become fixated with every now and again - always without success. Whenever I find something, it's either too sheer, too frosted, too pink, too mauve...basically, NOT the right thing.

So after having seen the movie twice in the span of a few weeks, I had the polish on the back of my mind, and coincidentally Zoya, one of my favorite polish brands, had a promotion a few weeks back that involved getting free things, and they had this one new polish, called Brigitte, that looked very promising, in terms of being that long searched for dupe. So I ordered it, along with a few others. Unfortunately, although a perfectly lovely shade, it turned out to be not quite what I was looking for - too mauve, not pink enough. So here I was, once again fixated, with no success.

BUT THEN - on a random trip to the drugstore on Friday to buy other things, I decided to look for something that might match. And I came across an Essie polish called Eternal Optimist. I think I have FINALLY added a polish to the collection that I think may come close to duping this shade I have never owned, and have had my eye on for over 20 years.

Now all I need is a pink shirt, brown pencil skirt and brown boots, and I can finally dress up like Claire for Halloween. (But I'm keeping both of my "diamond" earrings.)