Comparison: Corals with Gold Shimmer

Today I am comparing Essence What Do U Think? and Pure Ice Twinkle. Both polishes have a coral base with gold shimmer. The base colors are very similar, but these are not dupes.

I have to apologize for the swatch quality. I had originally swatched these three days ago, but my camera would not pick up the true color indoors and we didn't get any real sun here until yesterday. By then, my nails had scuffs and nicks.

Anyway, here are some bottle pics:







As you can see, the shimmer in Twinkle is a lot finer than that of WDUT?

This is two coats of WDUT? on my middle and pinky, and three coats of Twinkle on my index and ring fingers.





As you can see, the shimmer in WDUT? is barely detectable on the nail, which was a disappointment because I prefer the larger shimmer particles.

Formula wise, WDUT? was superior; it was opaque in two coats. Twinkle wasn't bad, it's just a tad on the sheer side and needs three coats. Both applied well.

Even with the shimmer tease factor, I prefer WDUT?.

What Do U Think? lol

Happy painting!

Comparison: Shimmery Pinks

Today I have a comparison between Sally Hansen Bubblegum Pink, OPI Japanese Rose Garden, and Revlon Temptress. Each of these polishes are pink with fine silver shimmer. You can tell by looking at the bottles that they aren't dupes, but let's see how they compare to each other.




This is two coats of Bubblegum Pink on the pointer finger, two coats of Japanese Rose Garden on the middle and pinky, and two coats of Temptress on the ring finger (no topcoat on any):

Indoors shot; the shimmer in each of these is so fine that it all but disappears in indoor lighting:



Sunlight: there's the shimmer!





Bubblegum Pink is the...barbiest, for lack of a better word. Japanese Rose Garden has a tad bit of dustiness that makes it intersting, and Temptress is the lightest and most neutral of the three.

Formula wise, JRG won, but Temptress wasn't too far behind. BP was a little chalky and hard to work with.

Which do you like best?

Happy painting!

Comparison: OPI DS Extravagance vs. Ulta Material Girl

Today I have two burgundy polishes with rainbow holographic glitter. They look very close in the bottle and close on the nail, but there are a couple of differences.




This is two coats of Extravagance on the pointer and ring fingers, and two coats of Material Girl on the middle and pinky fingers. No topcoat on either:



Extravagance is a little more rich and vivid.



Also notice how glossy Extravagance is compared to Material Girl, which is dull and gritty to the touch. The scattered holo is pretty much the same, but Material Girl doesn't have that faint orange flash to it like Extravagance does(my camera never picks up the orange, but it's definitely there).





Formula wise, Extravagance is superior. Both go on smoothly, but Extravagance dries to a gloss. Material Girl definitely needs a topcoat for shine and a smooth finish.

If I had to pick one, it would be Extravagance, but Material Girl is a fine substitute. They aren't dupes, but they're close enough that you don't need both.

ETA: Material Girl removes like a glitter polish. In other words, you might want to use the foil method. Extravagance removes like any other non-glitter polish.

Happy painting!

Comparison: Maybelline Banana Puddin' and Revlon Sunshine Sparkle

Today I have two pale yellow polishes to compare. Banana Puddin' is a creme, and it's one of those discontinued shades that's fairly easy to find (try Dollar Tree). Sunshine Sparkle is from Revlon's new summer line, and it's a shimmer.



In the bottle, the base colors look quite close (sorry about the crappy bottle pics). Let's look at them on the nail. This is three coats of Banana Puddin' on the pointer and ring fingers, and three coats of Sunshine Sparkle on the middle and pinky fingers. No topcoat on either:



Sunlight:



As you can see, the base colors are not identical. SS is a shade darker and a little more vivid; BP is very pale.

Formula wise, SS wins for me. Yellows are notoriously difficult to apply, and these two were no exception. Even so, SS was completely even in three coats while BP was still a little patchy (you can see it on my pointer finger in the pic above).

If I could only choose one to keep in my stash, it would definitely be Sunshine Sparkle. The shimmer is really pretty and it's a tad easier to apply.

You don't need both. In indoor lighting, the shimmer in SS isn't noticeable unless you're specifically looking for it. I had a dinner to attend the day I swatched these so I painted my left hand with SS and left the right hand as it is in the pics. I couldn't tell the difference between the two in the restaurant.

Do you own either of these? Which do you prefer?

Happy painting!

Comparison: Pure Ice Purple Reign vs. OPI Catherine the Grape

Today I'm comparing two smoky purples. I originally thought these two shades were close, but after reviewing them side-by-side, it's clear that they are not.



This is two coats of Catherine the Grape on the pointer and ring fingers, and three coats of Purple Reign on the middle and pinky fingers (no topcoat on either):



As you can see, Purple Reign has a cool base while Catherine the Grape is more warm and red-based. The gold shimmer is also different; PR has large shimmer particles while CtG has ribbons of gold microshimmer.





Formula wise, CtG wins. It was perfectly opaque in two coats, while PR was still a little patchy after the second coat. Both were easy to apply and had good consistency.

Final Verdict: I originally called PR the more outgoing sister of CTG, but now I'm going to change that and call PR a second cousin LOL. They aren't even close to being dupes and if you love purple, you probably need both.

I'm going to be doing comparisons all week.

Happy painting!

Grudge Match: Sinful vs. China Glaze

Today I have Sinful Colors Rise and Shine, as well as a comparison between Rise and Shine and China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise.

Rise and Shine has a blue-leaning green base with fine tonal shimmer. It's absolutely gorgeous. I wore this for five days and got tons of compliments, including one from my son's classmate who ran up to me and said, "Jaylen's Mommy! I love your fingernails!" That made my day :).

Two coats, Revlon Colorstay topcoat:







The formula was pretty darn good for a Sinful. It went on nicely and was opaque in two coats. It also wore well, with only minor tipwear after five days. The only setback is that it dries matte, so topcoat is definitely needed.

I decided to compare this to Turned Up Turquoise, a shade that was previously in my top ten polishes. I say previously because Rise and Shine has now taken its spot.





Two coats of TUT on index and ring, two coats of RAS with topcoat on middle and pinky:





RAS on top finger, TUT on bottom:




As you can see, these aren't dupes at all. The base colors are similar, but TUT leans a little more blue and has lighter, frostier, more prominent shimmer. I prefer the shimmer in RAS, which is why it has replaced TAT on my list.

RAS actually wins the formula battle as well. TUT is a little less opaque, and if you look closely, you can see a little bit of VNL under TUT. TUT dries to a satin finish, so topcoat is needed for shine on that one as well.

I apologize for the quality of these photos. I got these to about 90% color accuracy, but both of these shades were simply impossible to photograph correctly.

Anyway, I'd love to know what you guys think. Which do you prefer?

Happy painting!

Comparison: OPI Yes...I Can Can! vs. NYPD Beet

Yesterday I showed you some burgundy polishes. I noticed that two of them, YICC! and NYPDB, looked fairly similar in natural light and I wanted to compare them side by side. Index and ring finger have YICC! (three coats no topcoat); middle and pinky have NYPDB (two coats, no topcoat).

Natural light:



Indoor lighting:





As you can see, the shimmer in YICC! is far more pronounced than that of NYPDB, which is why it wins the battle for me. I think the base colors on both are very close, but the obvious shimmer in YICC! makes it lean toward the warm side of the spectrum.

I don't like that YICC! needs three coats, but it also dried very quickly so I can get over that.

I'm headed to Ross to get the new Color Club collection (Starry Temptress). I also have some stash pics coming up. Let's just say it might be time for a helmer. :)

Happy painting!

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!