It's time for another edition of Dupes Up! Today's contenders:

Barry M Copper

Retail Cost: £2.99 (approximately $4.75)

vs.

OPI: Warm & Fozzie

Retail Cost: $8.50

Another of the new Barry M collection and yet another discontinued OPI!  Coincidence?  Well...OK probably...maybe...it's likely!  I couldn't help but notice how similar Barry M Copper was to my already acquired Warm & Fozzie when I got it in the mail recently.  It looks a BIT more sparkly and seems to have a more overall copper tone in the bottle, but as I learned with the previous Barry M vs. OPI dupe...it's mostly down to the bottle shape.  Here's a close up of the two:

You should be able to see more what I'm talking about here.  the OPI has an overall more deep goldish green look in the bottle while the Barry M has more of an overall copper tone.  BUT, see that coppery streak down the middle of the OPI  bottle?  You'll also notice the green-gold halo around the edge of the Barry M  bottle.  It's the same tones just displayed in different ways.  Simply the way the light reflects off the bottle. On the nails?  Different story:

See?  If you can tell the difference between these than kudos to you.  This is taken in natural light.  The shift on the nails is the same.  They're both sort of a warm mahogany jelly, jam packed with tiny flakes of green, copper, and gold.  The Barry M is on the index and ring finger, while the OPI is on the middle and pinky.  There is literally no difference in the formula on these either.  I didn't notice any additional wear on one versus the other and both require a minimum of three coats for full opacity.  Here's another comparison for good measure:

This is the same lighting but a different angle.  In the other picture the OPI looked a hair darker but here you can see they're the same.  I will say the Barry M had a slightly better finish. It seemed more sparkly when it dried and more shiny.  A quick top coat of Seche Vite evened them out but it seems strange that the OPI finish would be sub-par.  Personally, even though Barry M is a drugstore brand, I prefer it to a lot of salon brands because I think it has a great formula!  These new colors are really making me love them even more!! 

Verdict: Dupes.  These are definitely the same in my book. Same color, same formula, slightly different on the finish but with a topcoat they are indistinguishable.

Availability:  Barry M Copper is available at Boots, Superdrug, and BarryM.com. OPI Warm & Fozzie is no longer available in stores but can be had for a reasonable price at many e-tailers including Amazon.com. 

It's time for another edition of Dupes Up! This weeks contenders:

 Essie: Pure Pearlfection from the LuxeEffects collection

Retail Cost: $8

vs.

Orly: Twilight  from the Holiday Top Coats Collection

I know what you're thinking. She's crazy, right? These look nothing alike.  I would agree with you at first glance...but there's more to these two than meet the eye. 

I apologize first for the awkward angle of my index finger in this picture.  It was the only way I could get the shimmer to show.  These are both swatched over Hard Candy The End and Ulta Snow White as per ususal.  I'm sure you've already noticed why I'm 'dupe testing' these.  They are both multi-tonal shimmers packed into jelly bases.  Yes, the Orly is packed into a lilac base while the Essie is in a clear one.  But tell me, do YOU see a difference?

Naturally I assumed that on a white base it would be blatently obvious which was the Essie and which was the Orly.  Not so.  The lilac base in the Orly didn't even show on white after THREE coats.  After which point I stopped trying.   To my eyes they look exactly alike.   In this picture, the Orly looks a bit murkier but I can assure you that this is mostly due to the lighting and the shadow in the picture.  It also seems that over white, they lose a lot of their multi-tonal effect and show mostly as a white-ish, silvery shimmer rather than a colorful one.

 Over black they look exactly the same as well.  The colorful shimmer is easier to see here than it is on the white but again, the murky lilac base of the Orly Twilight makes no appearance here.  From what I can tell, these polishes are essentially the same.

Verdict: Close enough for spades.

I know the price difference on these two isn't much BUT if you weren't lucky enough to snag the Essie LuxeEffects polishes you may have been able to score the Orly at Sally during their winter clearance sale for just $1.67.  Yes, you read that correctly. One dollar and sixty-seven cents.  Orly's do also contain a SMIDGE more product than their polish counterparts.  The Essie is a 15mL while the Orly is 18mL.

Where to buy: Both of these are from 'limited edition' collections this winter.  The Essie was available at Ulta and select drugstores nationwide.  Orly can be purchased at Ulta and Sally Beauty Supply stores.

Rematch!!

Essie Pure Pearlfection 

vs.

Retail Cost: 4.99

It's time for another edition of Dupes Up! This weeks contenders:

Nails Inc: The Wyndham Top Coat from the Special Effects Sets

Retail Cost: $10 (set of two with Kensington Teal for $20 at Sephora.com)

vs.

Finger Paints: Flecked  from the Special Effects Collection

I'll start by saying these were incredibly hard to photograph in the bottle.  I tried in artificial light, natural light, sunlight...it just wasn't working.  This didn't make it any easier:

Everytime I bring polish out Aoife just HAS to come investigate.  She's made off with more than one polish while my back was turned.   At any rate they are both green flakies which flash blue in certain lights.  The basic appearance of them in the bottle is the same but the Nails Inc. is a bit clearer where the Finger Paints is in an almost yellowish base. (It reminds me of the glow in the dark polishes.)

This is the result of them on the nails. Can you tell the difference?  

Much like the Essie and Deborah Lippmann gold glitters, the only real difference here is that the Nails Inc. flakie has a little more coverage on the first go than the Finger Paint version.

A closer look at them in the sun.  You can see better in this picture that the Nails Inc Wyndham top coat has much better coverage.  I thought it also had a better formula.  The flakies spread easier on the nail and the brush is MUCH superior to the flimsy, thin Finger Paints version.  However, Finger Paints doesn't require you to purchase their flakies in a two pack and they're more widely available and HALF the cost.  So like the Lippmann before it, you could easily use two coats of the Finger Paint to get the same coverage and thus have an actual dupe. There is also a blue/purple leaning flakie in the Finger Paints special effects collection which I'll be swatching next to another Nails Inc top coat. So stay tuned for that!  

Verdict: Close enough for spades. :)  

Where to buy:  Nails Inc. Special Effects two packs can be purchased at Sephora.com for $20 and at Sephora.co.uk for £20 each.  Finger Paints Special Effect polishes are available at Sally's locations nationwide on January 1, 2012.