Dupe or No Dupe? Guest starring part of Cilucia's stash!

It started as an argument as to whether or not I can wear orange (Yes, you can! No, I can't!), a subject which will be addressed next, and ended with my friend Cilucia suggesting that we do a swatch swap, where we swap a given number of polishes with each other temporarily so that we could do comparisons, or just try out colors that we've always wanted to... or, she thinks, prove me wrong about whether or not I can wear orange. XD

One of the things I wanted to do was some comparisons, so that's what I'm going to share with you now. Enjoy!

First up, American Apparel African Violet. I really thought this one would be closer to CND Eclectic Purple than it is. It's actually pretty close to Celebutante though. I think I can leave this lemming be for now. =)

Next up, OPI What's With the Cattitude? I really, really though that Nicole by OPI Baby Blue was a dupe for this one. Turns out, I was wrong! I probably should have done three coats of WWTC, but still... these are not dupes. At all.

Then I compared WWTC to Color Club Factory Girl. Closer, but still no cigar. And Factory Girl has a terrible formula to boot. This is three coats, and it's STILL a streaky mess. I'm banishing Factory Girl from my stash, I think. Yuck. And I need to get my paws on What's With the Cattitude!

My next comparison is OPI Sparrow Me the Drama. I'm not normally a fan of pink, but I have had a bee in my bonnet about this shade ever since Cilucia posted her swatches. I went to Ulta specifically to buy it, and ended up walking out with this Ulta shade instead. In the bottle, they are very, VERY similar. They're even close on the nail, but again, not quite a dupe. I think I'm happy with the Ulta one, though. I think.

And lastly, OPI Planks a Lot. Sinful Colors put out a display called Adventure Island, which was a blatant rip off of the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection. This is the purple that corresponds with Planks a Lot, a lovely shade called Verbena. Again... not dupes. Verbena has a really great formula, especially for a polish that was only $1.99. But I may yet add Planks a Lot to my stash!

I have to say, this was a brilliant idea. I had so much fun playing around with this and picking out the colors to compare! Thanks for thinking of it, Jen! ♥

Trying to De-Dupe My Stash - A Bunch of Comparisons

I've been working on my stash a bit lately, getting rid of the things I'll never wear again, and my project tonight was to actually swatch some of the polishes I have that look so close to each other in the bottle. I found doing this really, really helpful, and I hope it helps you guys out too! =)

China Glaze Tree Hugger vs. China Glaze Entourage

My verdict:  They are close... very close. Tree Hugger has more straight out shimmer, while Entourage is more of a glass fleck. Entourage also has a little less yellow, so it's more flattering on me. It gets to stay.

CND Eclectic Purple vs. Zoya Kieko

My verdict:  I really struggled with this one trying to convince myself they're different enough to keep both. They're not. The CND stays.

OPI Jade is the New Black vs. Ulta The Jungle Look

My verdict:  These might as well be the same polish in different bottles. I'm leaning towards keeping the OPI, but I really do like Ulta's brushes more. I dunno. One is definitely going though.

OPI Malaga Wine vs. Zoya Stacy

My verdict:  I thought these were much closer than they actually are. They both get to stay.

China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise vs. Sinful Rise & Shine

My verdict:  I've seen a lot of people call these dupes, but in real life, they're actually not dead on dupes. The China Glaze is brighter with more shimmer. Having said that, though, they are too similar to keep both. Turned up Turquoise stays.

Orly Sapphire Silk vs. American Apparel Peacock

My verdict:  These are closer than I thought. Peacock is a little more vibrant, plus it's a one coat wonder, which makes it better for layering. It's hard to part with the Orly because I really love Orlys so much, but I really think Peacock is staying and Sapphire Silk is going.

OPI Yoga-ta Get this Blue vs. FingerPaints Artist's Sapphire

My verdict:  Much more different than I thought. They both get to stay. I'm sure they're thrilled. ^.^

China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic vs. Essie Dive Bar

My verdict:  I saved this one for last specifically to show how deceptive the bottle color can be. In the bottles, these look completely identical. They even both have the purple flash in the bottle that doesn't translate to the nail. But as you can see in the comparison, they are really not that close. Rodeo Fanatic stays for sure. I'm on the fence about Dive Bar. I think it's a smidgen too dark.

More Polish Jewelry!

I made some more earrings today! I love making these and I absolutely adore wearing them. The fruits of today's labors are:

Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal + American Apparel Peacock

Orly Royal Velvet

Clarins 230 + Orly Wild Wisteria

Clarins 230 + Orly Wild Wisteria

Clarins 230 + Orly Wild Wisteria

Completely. Addictive. Wow. ^_^

Nail Mail!

When I got back into town last night after two straight weeks with my sweet and amazing husband, I had four packages waiting for me. One was more jewelry supplies, yay! And the other three were awesome polish packages! They didn't make up for my sadness at being apart from my DH again, but they at least perked me up a little bit.

First up was an awesome RAOK (random act of kindness) from my friend Jen over at Spaz & Squee! Most of these have been on my wishlist for quite some time, and I'm sooo excited to have them in my grabby little hands! The nail polish world is not without its drama, but I will never stop being amazed and grateful for the kindness and generosity that most of us share with each other. Thank you, my Nail Bed Twin! *squish*

Then I had another swap package from my friend Aleksandra at Hedonism, Ltd., one of which was my NOTD that I posted earlier. I seriously love these Colour Alike polishes, and I will always jump on the chance to swap for more of them! Love, love, love!

And last but not least, my two Barielles that I ordered during the Haute Look promo a few weeks ago!

Hooray for Nail Mail! ^_^