Comparison: Black Tie Optional vs. Hard Edged

In my post about Rimmel Hard Edged, I wondered how close it was to OPI Black Tie Optional. I did some comparison swatches and now I see that they are fairly close. Check out these photos and see if you can tell which is which. Ring and index finger have one shade and middle and pinky have another.

Shade:


Indoors:







Sunlight:





Can you tell? I'll tell you; BTO is on the index and ring fingers, and Hard Edged is on the middle and pinky fingers. In the shade, BTO is darker and more purple. Hard Edged looks to be lighter and more red.

Indoors, I can barely tell them apart. Both flash green, purple, and brown. The only difference I can see is that the demarcation between the colors is clearer with BTO. With Hard Edged, the colors seem to blend more.

In the sunlight, they look completely different to me. BTO looks like a blackened purple, while Hard Edged looks like a blackened reddish-brown.

Formula wise, BTO is the clear winner. I only needed two coats for opacity, while Hard Edged needed three coats.

Final verdict: Both polishes are beautiful, but they aren't dupes. That said, Hard Edged is a pretty good substitute for BTO.

Happy painting!