Dopplegangers - Featuring Orly Lucky Duck

Another comparison post featuring Orly and OPI again. Lucky Duck and Jade is the new Black are medium green polishes with a grey, dustiness to them. I didn't even think to compare them originally but I had read on other blogs they were similar and wanted to see for myself. In the bottle they look different, but my OPI has had this weird yellowish haze to it since I purchased it. The polish if fine, just appears weird in the bottle.

If you compaire the tops of the bottle they look similar. Below are both polishes at one coat, left to right Orly and OPI. This shade of green is slightly more blue based and has a dusty quality to it. In this first coat Orly appears to be slightly more yellow, interesting.

Two coats...

This is where I stopped, both polished reached full opacity at 2 coats which is great, that is usually the norm for me. Here the swatches are again in natural sunlight. The colour shown in these photos outside really show the true shade.

 Different angle...

Although I hate to admit it, I must say that these are 99.99% dupes. It's pretty clear to see, in the photos and in person.

Underwater Sparkle

I finally tried out this gorgeous glitter after almost a year! Claire's Chunky Blue is a deep blue jelly saturated with blue micro glitter and silver hex glitter that appears blue under the jelly polish. The glitter suspended in the jelly base adds some great depth. I have many photos today to show you the depth this polish has. The two photos below are with my lamp light.

I thought I would have needed multiple coats to reach full opacity but only two were needed. The formula was pretty easy to work with considering there were decent sized pieces of hex glitter.

This looks soo cool, it remindes me of Deboraph Lippmann's Across the Universe but I can assure you that they are definitely not dupes. The main difference being the hex glitter colour and base colour being darker.

Removal wasn't too bad considering it's packed with glitter. I attempted to remove manually, but half way decided to finish of with the foil method. I had done some house cleaning the day before removal and it just destroyed the polish! cracks and chips everywhere. Other than that it did last on my nails without chipping for a good amount of time, probably just under a week!

I actually purchased 2 of these, Claire's was having their 10 for $10 promo and I needed a couple of extra polishes to equal 10. I have the magenta version of this as well, also never worn. Do you own any of these glitters from Claire's?

Inked

Today I have a pretty well known polish from OPI, Ink. I don't know exactly when it was released, but I know it has been around for a while. My boyfriend got me this for Christmas last year :) This was my first time wearing it and it was perfect.

Lately I have been so indecisive with picking a polish to wear, but I just picked this one up and started polishing away!

Ink has a deep purple base that shifts to indigo at certain angles, AKA, duochrome. It also has glitter flecks that change along with it, it adds a lot of depth.

I haven't worn anything this dark in a while, and I really appreciated it. I was thinking of doing some stamping, maybe with black, or a lace pattern, something subtle that will add to the vampiness of the polish it's self.

Do you own Ink?

Doppelgängers! Featuring China Glaze Strawberry Fields

Oops, accidentally posted this for 9:30 PM, not AM, just realized now. Sigh... long day today! here's my post anyways!

Today I have another installment of Doppelgängers! I purchased this next polish specifically because it reminded me of China Glazes Strawberry Fields, but I didn't realize how close they really were until I swatched them side by side.

I found this Sally Hansen polish at a liquidation warehouse type store a couple of years ago, so I'm not sure how readily available it is now, but it's called Tip Toe Tulip. Since you all know what Strawberry Fields Looks like, let me describe Tip Toe Tulip for you; it has a deep pink/magenta base with a golden sheen of micro shimmer. Although they are not glass flecks, they are still very pretty. Here they both are in the bottle.

Now let's see some closeups! First is Strawberry Fields.

Next we have Tip Toe Tulip. Both of these bottle shots were taken in direct sunlight.

Here they both are again at 1 coat. Left to right, Strawberry Fields and Tip Toe Tulip.

2 coats,

And 3 coats.

I think it's easy to see the differences in these polishes. Although very similar, the glass flecks sets them apart from one another. Tip Toe Tulip's shimmer is also not as prominent as Strawberry Feilds.

I wonder when this polish was first released, it's in the old insta-dri bottle, I can't remember when exactly they switched over. Such a great shade, either polish!

A Very Blingy Review! Design Glassware Nail File

I received some products to review recently from a design glassware company based in the Czech Republic called Design Glassware by Mont Blue Ltd.. They specialize in an assortment of cosmetic tools, accessories, jewellery and compact mirrors which are decorated with gorgeous Swarovski crystals!

I was sent two products for review, a glass nail file and a hair pin. I'll start off with the nail file since this is a nail blog.

This is no ordinary nail file. Not only is glass but it is decked out whit some Swarovski crystals :) I own a couple of glass nail files, some cheap, some higher end. A favorite of mine is The Perfect Formula mini travel glass nail file.

First, let me show you the other glass files that compare to this one. I have a no name dollar store one and the Perfect Formula one. The dollar store one is pretty weak, after multiple uses it has worn down quite a bit. I hardly use it anymore. The Perfect Formula file is great for smoothing out the tip of the nail after major filing from a harder grit file and shaping.

I feel like this file is most similar to the Perfect Formula one. It feels like a slightly stronger grit while still being smooth on my nail, plus it is so pretty! You do feel the jewels on your fingers when holding the file, but they don't get in the way. I found the best ways to use this file is with a softer touch, I also preferred to use it for shaping. I do own another nail file I purchased at Sally's that is a way stronger grit that I usually use to file my nails down, I don't think I would use this nail file for that. More for after they have been filed down for shaping and getting rid of any layers of nail that have frayed at the edge.

Moving on now to the hair pin, At first I was a bit confused as to how I would go about writing a review, but after wearing it for a day I have a lot to say!

I decided I would wear it in my hair to hold a side poof at the front of my head. I've been rocking the poof since before I knew what a Snookie was, so don't judge, I had it first anyways!

I was impressed with how well it held the poof tall and strong all day! AND it looked super cute. I also wore it another day the same way, but with the rest of my hair down (in these photos the rest of my hair is clipped back.) I have pretty long hair, it actually touches my ribs! I don't wear my hair down often, it is usually clipped back during the day, and when I'm at home it's clipped up in a bun. It kept a good amount of hair out of my face while shopping, I didn't even realize I had my hair down!

I'm not sure what the actual pin is made out of but it is silver in colour and very stiff, I had to get the hang of prying it open and sticking it in as I'm not used to using hair pins in this way. It held strong all day and kept my poof perfect. The best part was I didn't even feel it in my hair. I really love how this looked in my hair, total thumbs up :)

My boyfriend actually thought that they were 2 pins or clips because of the double crystals. I love how it adds just the perfect amount of sparkle that can be used every day.

Some more information on Design Glassware by Mont Blu Ltd. taken from their website:

Mont Bleu Ltd Company is one of the world leading suppliers of glass nail files. Our glass nail files are made of high quality Czech glass; they are decorated by patterns, or by Swarovski crystals. At present our company is growing, and we became one of the main producers of the accessories decorated with original Swarovski crystals in Europe.

Mont Bleu delivers its products all over the world, that is why clients from USA, Canada, Israel, CIS countries, Asia and from all over the EU are buying our products with great pleasure.

Our company offers to your attention only quality production approved with quality certificates of Czech Republic, Russia and EU. Our glass nail files were tested and approved by Czech institute of health.

Our assortment of cosmetic and office accessories is permanently supplemented. Most of the designs were created in our design-studio SIS-Luxury Glass Fashion in Prague. This means that you can order products a la carte, with your own designs.

We have opened an Internet-shop which allows purchasing our products online. It can also be an option for our wholesale retailers.

You can use ordinary way of shopping- contact with our sole offices, or with central office in Prague.

The site www.design-glassware.com was especially created for those who admire luxury accessories, and for those who have an eye for exclusive presents and expensive hand made accessories.

Prices and more information on their products can be found on their website.

*This product was sent to me for an honest review, all views expressed are my own honest option.

Royal

I actually purchased this unintentionally, I meant to pick up Cameo Blue instead! Oh well, I must have liked Mount Royal enough in the store to buy it, right? Mount Royal is a dusty royal blue cream, simple as that. It applied fantastic in one coat, it has a thicker consistency that most of my other polishes but applies nice and smoothly.

To finish this look off I applied a coat of NYC's quick dry top coat. Mount Royal dried pretty quick on it's own, but the top coat added the perfect amount of gloss. And wouldn't you know it, I forgot to take a photo :(

That is before I did some fauxnading. I used Bundle Monster plate BM-224. I used two opiates to stamp with to create a gradient effect. I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue and Color Club's Take Me To Your Chateau.

I really like the effect, tone on tone with the gradient gave it some depth.

Floral Chrome

After a couple of days wearing Mannequin I got some weird peeling at the edges. Not sure if this was the polishes fault or mine, I had done a good buff, clean and moisturize before polishing and may have made the nail too smooth lol. It has never happened with the base before (NailTek Foundation II), so may have been my fault.

To cover up the chips and seal the polish back to the nail, I did some fauxnading with my Bundle Monster plates. The full nail floral pattern used is from plate BM-205. I missed stamping so much, I feel like I haven't done it in forever. Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup, Amber Chrome which is a soft, peachy chrome, was used for stamping for a tone on tone look.
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I really like this design. At first it looked too young for me, but it's super cute and subtle, especially with the colour combo. It just looks so delicate and girly :)

Mannequin Hands?

Today I have a polish I purchased from American Apparel, Mannequin. I'm pretty sure it's apart of the latest shades released, although I'm not sure when exactly it was released.

I would describe this shade as a nude cream with yellow undertones. The yellow undertone is was made me need this polish. Most nudes look pink on me and I thought this one would mesh better with my skin colour.

Overall application sucked for an AA polish. Every other one I own applies like butter, usually in one coat and is greatly pigmented. Mannequin applied very streaky and thick the first coat, I thought I got a bad bottle or something. Sure enough after searching around other blogs, they had the same to say.

That being said, with a little bit of thinner two coats worked fine for me. Seche Vite also helped to smooth everything out and add a glossy finish.

Overall I really liked this polish on my nails and think it would even work well in the summer time when I have a bit of a tan. It would be the perfect light peach for my skin tone.

Doppelgängers! Featuring OPI Merry Midnight

A festive comparison today, Orly's Fowl Play vs. OPI's Merry Midnight. I was shocked when I saw that Orly's had released this polish, I mean, come on! Why are there not more dupes for amazing hard to find discontinued polishes?

I would describe both of these polishes as a purple jelly base with irregular duochome flakies, tiny blue shimmer and random pieces of opalescent blue glitter.

I swatches these both side by side to show you just how they compare to one another. The photo below shows 1 coat, left to right Orly and OPI.

At one coat I could see a difference right away, the base of FP is more blue than MM, which is more red. It is a slight difference, but noticeable to me I'm so glad it shows in the photo! Sometimes when I do comparisons the differences are more apparent in person.

Other than the slight base colour difference, I also noticed that the flakie size differed. MM has larger chunks where as FP has smaller flecks.

Here they both are again at two coats...

And three coats.

Different angle from the light to see the base shade better. Top to bottom, Orly, OPI

Left to right, OPI, Orly

Natural sunlight, left to right, OPI, Orly

The verdict
These differ slightly from one another so I wouldn't say that they are dead on dupes. However, if you couldn't get your hands on Merry Midnight when it was available, Fowl Play is a great substitute!

Flakies

Happy Friday! To celebrate I have an abundance of flakies!

Flakie polishes, they have been around for a while but are starting to get big again. I got in the flakie mood the other day so I layered Maybelline Coloramas Pink Piñata over Zoya's Neeka for a quick refresh. I decided to also take this opportunity to show you my flakie collection!

First off let's start with my mani, this is one coat of Pink Piñata over Neeka, this flakie is very similar to Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure, the only differences are the base colour and overall density of the flakes. The colour shift is pretty much dead on.

I love how the shimmer in Neeka plays with the flakies, it actually turned out much better that I thought it would.

Now on to the flakies I own. I have some older Coloramas, left to right Ruby Rays and Pink Piñata. They are basically the same with different sheer bases, I prefer Pink Piñata for layering since the base is pretty transparent. Ruby Rays would be better suited for layering over a similar colour such as pink, red or orange. I kind of want to try this one on it's own to see how many coats are needed to build it up.

I also have these older L'Oreal's that are referred to on the bottle as "Crystal" shades. Two of them are pretty much the same as the Coloramas with different bases. The bases are pretty sheer for the most part so they all have the same colour shift.

Left to right, L'Oreal Jet-Set Shine in Rock On and Raise the Roof.

The other 2 I thought were pretty interesting when I first found them. Crushed Opal which is a multi coloured flakie very similar to Twisted by Finger Paints, and I deep blue flakie with a purple shift, Life of the Party.

I also have some NYX ones which were a bit of a disappointment because the flakes are not dense enough in the base and do not show very well in one coat. I actually forgot to take pictures of them, just a couple of the "Ave." colours (Blue, and 2 versions of purple).

Lastly I have my Finger paints, but I know you have seen enough of those by now! The only dupe I found in my collection out of all my flakies was  Crushed Opal  and Twisted. Asylum can be recreated with any of the "Hidden Treasure" flakie polishes and Life of the Party blue flakies layered.

Are you in to the revival of flakies lately? Did you own any in the past? What's your favorite?