I got Baptiste as a gift from my very dear friend and loved it instantly. Essie Sexy Divide has been one of my favorite purples for a long time. How do they compare?
Let's see:
Very different in the bottle: Baptiste has a distinctive red undertone; and Essie features a strong blue one.
Let's look on the nails now, shall we?
/don't forget you can click to enlarge/
Not so different, huh?
I have SD on my pointer and ring fingers; Illamasqua on middle and pinky.
They are definitely not dupes; but Essie is a very acceptable substitute, even by mine "buy-all-dark-purples-ever-released" standards.
I prefer Baptiste application-wise. Other than that, they are really close. Difference? Illamasqua has this strong, dense glow to it; Essie shows more of a sparse, star-like sparkle.
PS: Please excuse my deformed pointer. I had a bad cooking accident back in September, when I chopped off a big part of the nail bed; it's still in recovery.
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Finally got a glimpse of sun today, so here are the swatches I've promised:
Icy Iris is on the left. Wait, it's on the right! No, left. No right! Well, you got the idea. Please click to enlarge - more obvious this way.
Sorry, not the best swatches ever; but it's the best I could do - weather is not swatch-friendly at all.
PS: Funny, I know they are dupes; and I still want the OPI - badly. Some addicts are hopeless.
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They are dupes. Duuuupes. I will post nail wheel swatches tomorrow (if sun cooperates).
Dixi
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Wow. Wow-wow-wow. I have no idea that "nonconformist" is a new word for "ass-kicking"; but this certainly is the case with Finger Paints 2009 Holiday collection. It's truly stunning and not exactly traditional color-wise.
Let's start with nonconformist part. Seriously, who includes pink in a Christmas collection? Finger Paints does; and this pink is absolutely dazzling, living up to its name, Decked with Dazzle:
I don't like pink at all, and even I must admit - this is a stunner. Foily finish, multicolor sparkles (it seriously sparks); opaque in three coats. The only problem this it was the smell - for some reason, Decked with Dazzle reeks. Weird chemical smell, not at all like a "normal" polish smell.
It works great with a matte top coat. Here I used Essie Matte About You:
Now, another gem of this collection is Evergreen Dream:
It's very close to both Nubar Greener and legendary Emerald Sparkle by China Glaze. Evergreen Dream has the same velvety depth as Greener features; but it sparks almost as intensely as Emerald Sparkle does. This is an absolute must for those of you who love green. It's just... I don't know... OMGOMGOMG it's so gorgeous. One coat was enough; but I did two out of habit.
A little comparison pic, Greener and ED; Greener on the left:
As you can see, ED's texture is a bit rougher than Greener's - this is because ED has more prominent shimmer, or, rather, golden sparkles.
Last, but certainly not least - Icy Iris. Purple lover's dream comes true.
Eggplant purple, loaded with unbelievable multicolor shimmer/spark. It's breathtaking. Instant top 1 in my vast collection of purples.
Please click on the pics to look at this wonderful, magical, I-can-stare-at-this-forever shimmer. Yes, I'm drooling with Barbie-pink drool. Just wait till you see this color on your nails and then judge me.
Icy Iris formula is opaque in one thick coat; unfortunately, it stinks as badly as Decked with Dazzle does.
This collection also features a pale sparkly silver and two reds: one with multicolor shimmer and one with a distinctive gold hue. I didn't care for either one of them; so no pics of these three will follow.
Finger Paints Holiday collection is available at selected Sally's. Good luck finding it!
PS: Special thanks to my friend Hanna who made this post possible.
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There been rumors circulating in a polish world about Strawberry Fields being a possible dupe of much coveted and long-discontinued Vincenza Raspberry. Sorry, guys, they are not the same.
They do look deceptively similar in a bottle: /Don't forget to click on the pic to enlarge it!/
On the nail - not so much. Left to right: VR, SF, VR, SF.
VR has a different base color - it's a bit colder and has kinda milky quality to it.
Also, glitter is very different as well. VR has much bigger, even chunkier flecks of gold; while SF glitter is denser and more...infusable (it's certainly not a word).
Here, another pic to show the difference:
...And one more:
You see - chunks in VR and smooth golden infusion in SF.
Sorry to be a bearer of bed news for those who are on a quest for VR dupe.
/Do not tell anybody, but I prefer China Glaze - color-wise, it works better with my skin tone./
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Don't ask me what's my favorite Misa polish; unless you want to hear tiny "bop-bop-bop", accompanying my brain exploding. I do know, thou, what is Misa signature - it's duochromes. Duochrome in a nail world means color-changing polish. One can see two - or more - different colors under different angles, depending on lighting. Change can be rather dramatic (from lilac to green, for instance) or within the same color range (from a pale pink to a dark pink).
Haute Hippie is a part of a great Misa duochrome collection. Not the best example, in my humble opinion. Beige color is very anemic, or should I say boring and non-flattering?
Pink face of this polish is OK...yeh, just OK:
/I'm biased - I hate three-coaters and this one is really, really sheer. 4 coats to achieve the bottle color./
Bojangles, on the other hand, (no pun intended) is one of my summer favorites. Flashing from a very wearable metallic orange to a hot pink. Epitome of a fun summer color.
Wearable, right? And orange is difficult to pull off - for me at least.
And for desert today - beautiful Foxy and Folksy. From a colder lilac to spectacular golden amber. Can you believe this is the same polish?
Bonus: it's a dupe of hard to find OPI Merryberry Mauve. I have them both, and like Misa better. Not that I'm biased...
To be continued.
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Misa Fall Love Bite is indeed very dupable .
I thought it would be a twin of Essie Clutch Me If You Can, but I was wrong. Love Bite is almost an exact copy of Misa's older creation - Stiletto.
See for yourself! Thumb to pinky: Love Bite, Clutch me if you can, Love Bite, Stiletto and OPI Hollywood and Wine.
Love Bite has more bright red, almost magenta, in its base, while Stiletto's base is on a brownish side. Essie is completely different from Misa, they are cousins at best. By the way - as much as I adore this Essie's color, I have to admit that this is an epitome of bad application. I mean, it's really, really bad.
And I have good news for those who have been coveting hard to find OPI oldie Hollywood and Wine. Get yourself either Love Bite ot Stiletto. Or both, for that matter.
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First comparison - by reader request, for Gymnastgirly - Misa A Sin Worth Committing and OPI Yogo-Ta Get This Blue.
Honestly, you have to be a nail polish fanatic to spot the difference.
Misa is a tad deeper and has less shimmer to it; and shimmer is aqua. YGGTB has more purple and shimmer in it is more teal than aqua.
Both pics, thumb to pinky: SWC, Orly Witch's Blue, SWC, OPI YGGTB, Misa Blueberry Glaze.
Even if you already have OPI, I would recommend SWC, for brush is so much better.
Second set is for my own pleasure: Zoya Jasmeen and Forbidden Lust.
I have to admit, while they are definitely sisters, Jasmeen is a more complex shade, thanks to amazing golden-bronze shimmer. But they do look very much alike (both pics - thumb FL, index - J middle - FL, ring - J, pinky - FL):
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One of many reasons to love Misa is uniqueness of their colors. In spite of that, there are some dupes around.
The first one I want to talk about is a lovely pair: Girl Next Door and Pink-Rox-e by China Glaze.
Comparison Pic:
GND has a salmon hue in its base, while PR is a pure pink. Also, PR has a more obvious golden shimmer; shimmer in GND is very subtle, it's more of gold infusion than shimmer.
Bottles close-up (this is ChG mani):
As much as I love Misa, I have to admit that PR formula is much better. No streaks, even application, bottle color achived in 2 coats.
Pink-Rox-e is discontinued color. If you want a readily available alternative - get yourself Girl Next Door.
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Very different in the bottle: Baptiste has a distinctive red undertone; and Essie features a strong blue one.
/don't forget you can click to enlarge/
I have SD on my pointer and ring fingers; Illamasqua on middle and pinky.
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