Comparison: For Audrey v. Aquadelic v. Bella's Choice

Ok, first off, forgive the dry cuticles, please.  I did this comp in a rush Friday night because I just had to prove a point.  If you can't locate H&M's Bella's Choice anywhere near you, you can live with China Glaze's Aquadelic... and I'll show you how. 

It's no secret that blues, especially ones like these, are popular.  They're great Spring/Summer shades, so pretty, and very flattering colors on most skintones.  Win, win!  So when I received Aquadelic from China Glaze I kept staring at it, then Lissi stole it from me for a weekend or three, and then I decided to wear Bella's Choice by H&M.  As usual, it's a shade I cant stop staring at, but it reminded me of Aquadelic.... so..... here's a comp. 

(Sunlight)

(Indoors)

When I look at them, For Audrey by China Glaze appears dustier... less aqua with less of the green undertone, but Aquadelic  has just the tiniest bit of more green to it than Bella's Choice.  Bloggers like us and blog-followers would see the difference, but to the common man... really?  can you tell?  I think not.  :)

Happy Polishing!

Zoya's Skylar v. OPI's I Have A Herring Problem

Hey Ladies! As promised, I did a comparison between Zoya's Skylar and I Have a Herring Problem by OPI. Just like my last comparison post, I didn't understand why a little voice in my head was telling me not to get I Have a Herring Problem. Why was I debating a beautiful color? Simple! Because it reminded me of Skylar. I just didn't realize it at the time. *sigh* A bottle to bottle comparison lets you know that the two colors aren't exact dupes... But when you are standing in a store that doesn't sell both OPI and Zoya, you can easily think they are identical based off of your memory. So here is the comparison for those of you that might be debating the similarities:

Skylar is a medium steel blue with a softened, dusty look and speckled by visible gold and silver shimmer flecks. (Zoya's words.. Not mine!) I Have a Herring Problem is like a dusty medium blue with the same gold and silver shimmer. Both were opaque in 2 coats (no base coat and no topcoat). The formula and application was great for Skylar. I Have a Herring Problem did the same thing it did to me the first time I used it. It pulled a bit of the color from the first coat while I was applying the second coat.

So are they dupes? Nope. They are similar enough to maybe be more like half-sisters. LOL! Skylar is bluer while I Have a Herring Problem is more grayish and/or more muted. In the end, I would recommend Skylar over OPI because of the formula and application difference. I also love that Skylar is more on the blue side. I love OPI's brush but I wouldn't have bought this color if I had remembered about Skylar while I was at the store.

Hope this helps some of you in making your purchasing decision. Happy Polishing!

Zoya's Tru vs. OPI's Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI

Hey Ladies! So I figured out why I really liked Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI by (obviously) OPI... Because it's pretty much identical to Zoya's Tru. I've been head-over-heels in love with Tru ever since it came out. *sigh* I knew I shouldn't have bought Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI when I was debating which colors to get from the Holland Collection. At that moment I just couldn't figure out why a voice in my head was saying: "Don't get it!" But I was hypnotized by the beautiful color. And of course it was because I technically was already in love with the color. LOL! 

Tru is a saturated, red-toned grape purple with speckled shimmer that reflects gold, orange and red. OPI is described as a plum purple and has the same gold, orange, and red shimmer. Both were opaque with just 2 coats and both had a perfect formula. There was a moment when I thought one was darker than the other but I think it was the light. In the bottle, Tru seems to have more shimmer but on the nail they have the same amount. In my opinion, I think we have an official dupe! I really don't see how to justifying purchasing both (unless you're a dork like me and don't remember already owning the color). I think in the end it will come down to which brand you love more or which brand you have more access to.

My heart was always with OPI... But ever since Zoya came into my life my loyalty has changed.
<3 Zoya


So which one would you buy?


Happy Polishing!

Polish Battle: Tempest vs. Grape Going

Hey! I have a comparison for you guys that I did a super long time ago. As a matter of fact, I've had the draft of this post saved for a year now. Horrible, I know! You can tell it's old because it doesn't follow our usual photo format (and my nails are much longer then). So sorry about that! I didn't want to waste the swatches so decided to post it anyways.

This is China Glaze's Tempest with Sally Hansen's Grape Going. However, I'll probably do this comparison again one day since we now have RBL's Scrangie and I want to compare that with Grape Going. I've heard they are extremely similar.

All of these swatches were done with no base coat or top coat.

Tempest - This is a blue/purple douchrome.

Grape Going - This is a purple with bluish shimmer.

Application: These were all 3 coats. I liked the application of Tempest better than Grape Going. But that is only because I don't like the brush shape for this line of Sally Hansen polishes. The brushes are way too fat and uncomfortable!

Verdict: No dupes. Tempest is clearly darker than Grape Going. It's much more noticeable in the sunlight pictures.

Zoya's Bevin vs. OPI's Mermaid's Tears

Hey Ladies!

So I've read a few comments from people on the internet wondering how Bevin and Mermaid's Tears compare with one another. So I decided to do a comparison! I thought they were identical when looking at them in the bottles but that isn't the case on the nail. Swatches were done with no base coat and no topcoat.

Zoya describes Bevin as a dusty medium sage green with teal tones and a creamy opaque finish. OPI's Mermaid's Tears is like a dusty turquoise sea green. No dupe. Bevin is darker. And the tones are different. There is more blue in Mermaid's Tears. What you don't see is the difference in the formula. The swatches above have 2 coats. Bevin is much more opaque with just 1 coat. Mermaid's Tears seemed so much more watery. It was weird. You get the same result with 2 coats in the end but I didn't like the watery formula too much.

They're clearly different but I don't think the difference is crazy enough to "need" both (if you're on a budget). If you love green as much as I love blue, you'll probably want both. LOL! If I had to pick one, I'd go for Zoya's Bevin. The formula is just so much better on this one!

Happy Polishing!

Polish Battle: Bella's Choice vs. For Audrey vs. Flyin' High

Hey! So this is a comparison I did a while back. I had been lemming H&M's "Bella's Choice" for a really long time. I finally got my hands on it after doing an international swap with a fellow blogger. I noticed it was similar to some colors I already owned while I was organizing them in my helmer. So I figured I could try out a comparison and see if "Bella's Choice" was close enough to something that was easily obtainable in the US for those that can't do a swap. So here goes... All swatches are without top coat or base coat.

Flyin' High - A bluish aqua creme.

Bella's Choice - A turquoise creme.

For Audrey - A Tiffany Blue creme.

Applications: All colors are 2 coats. Flyin' High was the only one that was almost opaque in just 1 coat.

Verdict: No dupes. The closest colors were Bella's Choice and For Audrey... but clearly not identical. Bella's Choice is a little more vibrant and bright than For Audrey.

Polish Battle: Blue's Brother vs. Teal The Cows Come Home

Hey Ladies! It's been a long while since I've posted! Horrible, I know. What can I say... School is evil and I'm trying to win my love back! (Mari will probably step in now and comment on my corniness!)

I've had this post semi-saved for a while and I figured it was time to put it out there.

This is a comparison of Catrice's "Blue's Brother" and OPI's "Teal The Cows Come Home." I know it's not easy to get Catrice in the US. I had to get mine through a swap with a lovely blogger. So it's nice when you can find a dupe or a similar color for something you can't get.

I did 3 coats of each polish. No base coat and no topcoat.

In my simple mind these are both an aqua type teal blue with shimmer. It's funny because I couldn't tell them apart in person... Yet in pictures you can see a slight difference. Blue's Brother is slightly darker than Teal The Cows Come Home.

Application was great for both and I felt that they had the same consistency. 

End result: If you aren't really picky, you could use Teal The Cows Come Home to feed that need if you can't get your hands on Blue's Brothers.

Hope you gals enjoy! I hope to be back with more soon!

Comparison: Purple/Green Duochrome (you'd think)

Talk about deceiving... I lie not! When you stand these bottles side-by-side, they look practically like triplets (fraternal, not identical). But alas, once on the nail? Au contraire, mon frère. Quite different, don't you agree?

I did three coats on each. The Zoya was quite nice. That's gonna be a staple for Fall. And the Nubar? Well, I've loved that one since I saw it on Miss "Must Get My Hands Insured" Michèle when she posted about it here. The Lippman? Pretty good too considering purples are my favorite and that's what this one flashes most.

Hope the comparison is useful...Happy Polishing!