So here we are at day two of the Digit-al Dozen Halloween week challenge!!  I don't know why, maybe it's the new chill in the weather but I was super into the grey/black thing for the first few days of this challenge!! Here again we have a sort of monotone manicure. I really love greys and I hardly use them it seems like so Halloween is a great time to drag them out! But don't worry, I got more lively as it went on!!  So here is an interpretation of bats in a cave.  Obviously I could have used a different color for the inside of the cave but I thought yellow would be  too much and if I had used black for the inside and grey for the out I couldn't  figure how to get the bats on! I still really liked it though and I think the effect  is there!  I did a standard ruffian mani using Zoya Kristen and Wet & Wild Black Out to start this and then I used more of the black to add the bats in with a stamp. Easy peasy.  I love it when mani's look more complex than they are!! Also I free handed the ruffian but if you can't get it just right there are tons of tutorials on how to use various stickers, forms, and even office supplies to get it just  right!  Don't forget to check out how my fellow Halloweeners are doing!!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I love dressing up and being crazy and all the scary things that go along with it.  So I don't know why I've had such a hard time getting motivated to do Halloween themed nails.  I've seen this mummy design on a hundred other blogger's sites and this is my THIRD attempt at it.  I still don't love it but it didn't come out nearly as bad as the other two attempts!! It's much harder than it looks!  I used my Models Own black nail art pen to do the lines for that and the spider web and let me just say, I. LOVE. THIS. PEN.  It's SO easy to use and you can really get some tiny lines with it.  The spider web is my favorite part of this mani.  Oh...and the fact that it glows in the dark! I used the glow in the dark polish UNDER the nail art pen and then again over the white on the eyes so that the design would appear in the dark.  It worked great although it wouldn't photograph for anything! :/  I hope you enjoy the nails and hope everyone is having a great Halloween!! (One more creepy design is on the way :P)

Thanks for following! 

Base is: OPI Skull & Glossbones

Topped that with China Glaze Ghoulish Glow

Black is: Models Own Nail Art Pen in Black

Eyes are: Ulta Snow White

Centers are: butterLONDON La Moss

Then coated the non-designed nails with: Wet & Wild Tangled In My Web

I've been going through my polish collection lately trying to catalogue everything and also get everything swatched so it's easier to find and get to.  Going through I've realized that I have quite a few possible dupes, so I thought I'd take some time and swatch them together and see what really is and isn't the same!  My camera skills are not great yet (though I'm working on it!) so I'll try to provide links of swatches other, more talented swatchers have done! But I think you'll get the idea! 

Left to right: Bluey, Halley's Comet, Teal of Fortune. Shown in natural light.

Contestants: 

butterLONDON Bluey from the Fall/Winter 2011 collection

Retail cost:$14

vs.

Orly Halley's Comet from the Cosmic FX Collection

Retail cost: $10

vs.

Retail cost: $1.99

Left to right: Bluey, Halley's Comet, Teal of Fortune. Shown with flash.

Round 1: Bottle Color

It's pretty obvious from this picture that Teal of Fortune and Halley's Comet are very similar in color.  Though they look the same at a distance, Bluey looks much darker and the glitter much smaller when you put them up next to one another.  The Halley's Comet seems to have a more concentrated gold glitter than the Teal of Fortune, but still the two are very similar.

Left to right: Bluey, Halleys Comet, Teal of Fortune.  Shown in sunlight.

Round 2: Application and Nail Color

As I expected, the Bluey had the nicest formula.  It was streak free, opaque in two coats and had a wonderful smooth, shiny finish. I fully expected the Halley's Comet to be the next in line at application but I was surprised at the sheerness of the first coat.  It was three coats (four probably would have been better) to opacity and the color still could have been more intense.  The Wet & Wild was pleasantly surprising with a nice opacity in two coats and a fairly smooth formula.  (I didn't wear these to test longevity).

Halleys Comet on the left and Teal of Fortune on the right. Shown in natural light.

Round 3:  The verdict

 Bluey was out of the running for dupes quite quickly.  It's darker and the shimmer more compact than the other two.  However, the Teal of Fortune and the Halley's Comet are strikingly similar.  These pictures don't show it as well as in person, but there IS a difference in color.  The Halley's Comet has a more intense gold glitter, almost like a foil while the Teal of Fortune is more of a glitter than a foil and doesn't have the same gold flash. That said, they're similar enough that you could certainly save yourself the $8 by purchasing the Teal of Fortune and no one but the most trained eye would ever know the difference. What do you think?

Left to right: Halleys Comet, Teal of Fortune. Picture taken in sunlight.