Dupe Attack: Zoya Pinta versus Essie No More Film

We have a Clone Attack provided by Christina of the Lacquer Clones Swatching group on Facebook: Zoya Pinta and Essie No More Film.
As indicated on the photo: Pinta is on the left, and No More Film is on the right. Both are swatched with two coats with flash.

To my eye, Pinta looks ever so slightly darker and bluer-- not enough to own both. I prefer Pinta-- what about you?

Dupe Attack: Butter London Disco Biscuit, Maybelline Crushed Candy

Lisa from Cosmetic Sanctuary has a pretty neat Clone Attack/dupe comparison to share today: Butter London Disco Biscuit and Maybelline Crushed Candy.


Crushed Candy (middle finger) is on the left; Disco Biscuit (pointer) is on the right.

(photo provided by Lisa of Cosmetic Sanctuary)  

Says Lisa:

"Butter London Disco Biscuit is on my pointer finger and Maybelline Crushed Candy is on my middle finger. Disco Biscuit needed 3 coats (and still sheerish), Crushed Candy need 2 (for this pic). Base color is almost exact, the only big difference is the Disco Biscuit has chunkier iridescent glitter while Crushed Candy has more of a fine "shimmer" in the same iridescent glitter color. " 

If you would like to see more from Lisa, feel free to check out her amazing beauty blog and follow her on Facebook.

Dupe Attack: A-England Avalon, Pure Ice No Means No, A-England Order of the Garter, and Zoya Song

Guess what I got?! Dupe comparisons for two A Englands: one with a budget-priced Wal-Mart polish, and *another* up against Zoya Song from the new Fall 2012 Diva collection!

Swatch photos are courtesy of Rebecca, a friendly face who I know via Facebook's Zoya Nail Polish Exchange Group.

From left to right:A-England Avalon, Pure Ice No Means No, A-England Order of the Garter, and Zoya Song.




Rebecca reports that

"I was just swatching [Order of the Garter] to compare to Zoya Song... and remembered again how BAD it is! It goes on kind of clumpy and take like 3 or 4 coats! So unlike my other smooth as butter 1 or 2 coater A-Englands!"

Only speaking for myself: these photos personally make me want to buy a Pure Ice and a Zoya. This isn't to say that I have no love for A England: I do love my St. George!

Comparison posts on The Girlie Tomboy!

One of the swatchy-ladies working with me on this project is Janna, who runs The Girlie Tomboy. The Girlie Tomboy is a Facebook blog that is, as she writes in the About section, " A smorgasbord of nail related goodies. " Yep, I like that! And even better, to a dupe-obsessed chicky?! She has a few comparisons on her blog, too. She's got:

• Zoya Akyra and Essie Trophy Wife
• Julep Kate and Orly Au Champagne
• Zoya Rekha and Zoya Sooki
• Zoya Bevin and OPI Mermaid Tears
• Cult Nails Iconic and Barielle Elle's Spell
• Sinful Colors Kissy and Zoya Charla (you can see more Charla dupes in a Clone Attack post right here).

Wanna see her comparison photos? Then come over here! Several of these posts have either inspired upcoming Clone Attack posts for this blog, or they are just super-reminiscent of what is to come. YEA!

From Fresh Air & Fashion: Zoya Pandora, Julep Pippa, Zoya Avery; plus teals at her blog!

Today I have some swatches from Sophie over at Fresh Air and Fashion . Sophie is one of sixty-three ladies who are agreeing to swatch polishes on sticks and mail them back to me for this big, collaborative dupe-finding mission! By the way: the first shipment of one hundred swatch sticks just went out to fifteen ladies this very morning. Pins and needles! ANYWAY. Sophie has developed a delightful post comparing three classy neutral cremes: Zoya Pandora, Julep Pippa, and Zoya Avery (seen below). This post also provides side-by-side stick swatches comparing Julep Daphne, Zoya Wednesday, and China Glaze For Audrey. (photo provided by Sophie of Fresh Air & Fashion) Pandora reminds me a bit of my favorite neutral: OPI Dulce de Leche. Very pretty, don't you think?

Guest Dupe Attack from mylifeinpolish: Essie Mesmerize, Orly Shockwave, Pure Ice French Kiss, China Glaze First Mate

I'm glad to share my first-ever guest post from Sara of http://www.mylifeinpolish.blogspot.com ! Here it is: Hey, fellow lacquer lovers! I'm really excited to be here today comparing one of my favorite nail colors, blue. So lets get right to it. Starting with my pointer finger we have Essie Mesmerize, Orly Shockwave, Pure Ice French Kiss and China Glaze First Mate. This is two coats of each with topcoat. I wasn't going to topcoat them but I have little kids and I had to get them dry so I could make snacks :)

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As you can tell, the China Glaze is more navy than the others. I knew that before I started but I have four fingers and really wanted to add another blue. Orly Shockwave looks a tad darker in the pictures but really isn't noticeable, especially indoors. First Mate and French Kiss had the easiest formula to work with. If you exclude First Mate my pick would be French Kiss. Best part is it's only $2. I love inexpensive dupes that have a good quality. I hope this comparison helps some of you out on your quest for the perfect blue. You can find me over at mylifeinpolish.blogspot.com. Stop by and say hi.

Added to the blogroll: The Polish Jinx!

I'd love to share our newest addition to the blogroll, The Polish Jinx! This blog is run by Shayna, who has made several informative and useful dupe comparison posts in the past.

Here are a few of them:

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The Polish Jinx: The Polish Jinx: HEAD TO HEAD MATCH - Girly Bits Shift Happens VS Clarins 230

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The Polish Jinx: Deborah Lippmann Dont Tell Mama VS Illamasqua Viridian

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The Polish Jinx: How Do You Orange?

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Credit for all photos goes solely to Shayna of The Polish Jinx.

I hope that everyone is looking forward to what's coming up for Lacquer Clones! As of now, we have plans underway to compile swatch sticks comparing blacks, whites, reds, blues, light aquamarines/teals/light blues, medium teals, corals, and several other shades. All in all, we have sixty-five ladies in Facebook's Lacquer Clones Swatching group offering to swatch shades from their collections and send them back to me. Nearly 200 colors have been offered so far!

From Pinch of Pretty: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard and Chanel Peridot

There's a lot going on behind the scenes at Lacquer Clones right now. Lots of us in the Lacquer Clones Swatching group on Facebook are compiling lists of polishes to swatch. These swatches will be used for future dupe comparison posts. It's exciting, and I cannot wait to share what's coming next! Feel free to join us, if you haven't already. One of the people helping with this project is Sarah, who runs http://www.pinchofpretty.com/. Sarah put together a great comparison post showing just how similar OPI Just Spotted The Lizard (from OPI's Spiderman collection) and Chanel Peridot (from Chanel's Fall 2011 collection) are. Both are just the same type of green-gold metallic duochrome. (photo courtesy of Sarah at http://www.pinchofpretty.com) Sometime in the future, we'll work on providing a new Peridot comparison post including at least one other dupeish polish. :)

Great Dupe Polish List at forum.purseblog.com!

A huge compilation of nail polish dupes. I'm checking it out right now, looking for post inspiration. You can find it at this link.

From Raindownonmebeauty: Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop vs. Claire's Candy Shop

amiablerain over at http://raindownonmebeauty.blogspot.com/ posted a wonderful dupe comparison post for Deborah Lippmann's Candy Shop and Claire's Boutiques' version of the same name, Claire's Candy Shop. (photo courtesy of http://raindownonmebeauty.blogspot.com/) You can find it here.

Dupe Post at Legendary Lacquers!

I've just added Legendary Lacquers to my blogroll. Karly, who runs Legendary Lacquers, recently posted an excellent dupe-comparison post with the following:

• OPI Funky Dunky and Sinful Colors Amethyst
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away and Zoya Robyn
• OPI Thanks A Windmillion and Zoya Bevin
• OPI Glitzerland and Finger Paints Key to My Art

You can find this post by clicking this link. Karly has some excellent swatches here. You should check them out!

Dupe Attack: Jesse's Girl Wild Thing and Zoya Charisma

Another dupe attack for you today, provided by Roxanne! Jesse's Girl Wild Thing and Zoya Charisma. Roxanne has provided this comparison shot: each nubbined swatch has two coats. Roxanne tells me that even in person, these two are "dead on dupes, even down to the finish." She says that Zoya Charisma, while it may not show in the photo, dries matte, just like Jesse's Girl Wild Thing.

Dupe Attack: Two Pink Holo Comparisons

I'm giving you a two-in-one today! There are two dupe matchups here, both for pink holographic polishes. On the left, you'll see two Sally Hansen Nail Prisms with the exact same name: Blush Diamond. On the right? That's Nfu-Oh 63 and Color Club Fashion Addict. Even in the bottle, you can tell that the first two share a name but not an exact hue. The Nfu-Oh and Color Club, however, look pretty friggin' similar. The difference, however, becomes a little more apparent in swatches. About the two Sally Hansen Prisms: Both are equally holographic, but what differs is the hue. The one on the top, which came from the shorter, stouter bottle, is more of a standard, deep rose pink holographic. The second one, which came out of the taller, skinnier bottle, is a bit lighter and orangey. Both are gorgeous! As for the Nfu-Oh and the Color Club: When I got the Nfu-Oh as a gift, I was initially worried that it would look too much like Fashion Addict. And they definitely do look similar. Both are a lavender color. The Nfu-Oh, though, it is definitely more holo! This is even though I got a newer batch, which is supposedly less holographic than they used to be, back in the day. Of course, Fashion Addict (which cost me $6, including shipping, online) is quite a bit cheaper than Nfu-Oh (which was about $15, including shipping, online), so you get what you pay for. I wouldn't recommend owning both unless you are a serious holo addict. One more thing about these last two swatch sticks: Nfu-Oh 63 is a little more pink, and Fashion Addict is a bit more purple. You can see all of this a bit better in this close-up shot: Thanks for looking! Which one is your favorite?

Collaboration with The Jedi Wife!

I'm going to be working with Jen Sky Walker from Musings from the Wife of a Jedi, a blog dedicated to nail polish and other things here and there. You can see her blog post about our collaboration here. Jen is a super neat lady with a wonderful blog. I am thrilled to have her as a dupe-finding compatriot!

Dupe Attack: Charla Clones

Here's a first dupe post: dupes of Zoya Charla. Here, I have Essence Colour & Go in Choose Me!, Wet 'n' Wild Fast Dry in Teal of Fortune, and Sinful Colors Kissy. (Other dupes of this color include OPI Catch Me In Your Net, Orly Halley's Comet, NYX Girls Sea of Cortez, and Jesse's Girl Glee. If you know more, let me know!) They look nearly identical while posing outside in the 90-plus degree heat. On swatch sticks, however, there are some slight differences:
Essence Choose Me! on the left, Wet 'n' Wild Teal of Fortune in the center, and Sinful Colors Kissy on the right. Each are with two coats.

I was surprised to notice that, despite the Teal-y name, Teal of Fortune was the least green of the bunch. Kissy has a deeper pigment than the others, and Choose Me! is ever so slightly less opaque. My personal favorite is Sinful Colors Kissy, although I would warn that it did leave slight stains on the edges of my nails. I assume it stained where I had missed base coat. Edit: JulieG Mermaid's Tale is also a Charla dupe. Props to Roxanne Lee Tornyi for this info! She has also provided me a photo of Jesse's Girl Glee and Zoya Charla, both in the bottle and on nubbined swatch sticks (two coats):  
Also, if you would like to contribute to this blog in any way, let me know. Maybe you want to make a guest post. Perhaps you'd prefer to cross-promote by sharing a dupe-alert post on your own blog. Even a contribution of dupe photos (maybe you have other Charla dupes!) would be useful. Drop me a comment!

Plans.

I don't see myself as a blogger. But I am a Googler. An info-checker. Before I buy a bottle of nail polish, I search for reviews, figure out details. And, like many lacqueristas, I'd prefer not to buy a dupe of something I own. But dupe-searching can be a massive pain in the butt. If you're reading this, I probably don't even have to explain: hoping that someone made a blog post comparing swatches. Worst case scenario, you put two different swatch photos side-by-side and pray that the lighting isn't deceiving. I don't have enough polish, nor enough dupes, to solve this issue entirely. But I can help. In a week or two, I'll be getting some swatch sticks I ordered on eBay. I'll swatch my entire collection. Over time, I'll make posts compiling any nail polish dupes and near-dupes. I'll post bottle shots, swatch-stick shots. Note to self: here are some that could work:

• OPI DS Sapphire and Layla Holographic Effect Mermaid Spell
• Nfu-Oh 63 and Color Club Fashion Addict
• Essence Colour & Go Let's Get Lost and Sinful Colors Why Not
• Julep Rachel and Zoya Cheryl
• Ulta Socialite and Zoya Juicy
• Wet'n'Wild Teal of Fortune, essence Choose Me!, and Sinful Colors Kissy
• Mavala Las Vegas and OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ
• Julep Megan and Revlon Fast Dry Ocean
• Finger Paints To-Teally Hot and Sinful Colors Rise and Shine
• China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Nubar Ruby, and Maybelline Wet Shine Diamonds Love Buzz
• The two shades of Sally Hansen Prisms Blush Diamond
• Essence Colour & Go Ultimate Pink and Rimmel Lycra Wear Pink Punk
• Zoya Laney and love & beauty light grey (shimmer version)
• Sally Girl neon orange mini and Sinful Colors Summer Peach

But this is a drop in the polish-dupe bucket. Thankfully, I have lots of polish-addict friends. Some are bloggers, and some aren't. For the former, I'd love to link to their dupe comparison posts. For the latter, I'll be hosting guest bloggers, allowing them to share their own dupe finds and comparisons. Until the swatch sticks arrive, though, I'll just be waiting.