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

Funky Fingers: Jawbreaker 

Retail Cost: $2 (or 3 for $5) 

KBShimmer: Oh Splat! 

Retail Cost: $4.50 to $8.75 

This one is a little bit different than the others because it's an indie I'm doing the dupe comparison on, and not a mainstream brand.  I got the KBShimmer from a friend awhile back and I really love it but it's a mini so I'm always worried about using it and running out!  I probably should just invest in a full sized version but when I spotted this Funky Fingers polish the other day at my Five Below I thought, why not?  I'll start by telling you that both of these are a milky white base with colored glitter. I have swatched each of them over Zoya Purity to save coats and product. Also because personally, I like the look over a stark white and wouldn't wear these on their own. The Oh! Splat! is on my middle and pinky finger and is two coats. The Jawbreaker is on the other two fingers and is one coat. 

The obvious difference here is the bar glitter which is not in the Oh Splat!  It's also pretty evident that the Jawbreaker is WAY more saturated than the Oh Splat! One coat of Jawbreaker was like a party on my nails! Two coats of the other is still a little sparse. For me though, I really prefer the more sparse look so the KBShimmer was a bit of a winner for me! 

 It's time for another edition of Dupes Up!  Today I have a set which I already KNOW are not dupes.  I know this because one contains glitter and the other does not. However, the purpose of today's dupes post is not to confirm or deny the dupiness of the two, rather, it's to determine if having both is needed.  One thing I'll point out to start is that this bottle shot is making the bL seem MUCH redder than it really is.  On with the post...

Contenders for today:

butter LONDON Scuppered from the 2012  Holiday Collection

Retail cost: $14

vs.

Barry M Copper

Retail cost: £2.99

Here's a close up shot of the two.  Again the butter London is photographing much more warm toned than it is in reality. It does seem to have a lot more red/pink shimmery bits in it than the Barry M which I think is what caused the problem.  Both have an overall copper tone to them and then green and pink bits throughout which catch the light for a super sparkly look.  They are nearly indistinguishable in person, even with the tiny green glitter bits in the butter London. You can see them in this picture (it's on the right). Despite them though, it's hard to tell the difference from a distance.

Here's a picture of them on the nail.  We have the Barry M on my middle and pinkie finger and the butter LONDON on the others.  You can see in this picture that the base on these is basically exactly the same and the difference lies instead in the green glitter in Scuppered. Honestly, while it's fairly obvious in this picture, even in bright lights it was hard for me to tell them apart in person on my nails. In low lights...it IS impossible. I avoided getting Scuppered for awhile because I already have both this Barry M, and his dupe-y USA counterpart, OPI's Warm & Fozzie.  But they're still both stunning polishes!

Here's a close-up sun shot for you. You can see that the polish bases are sort of different. The Barry M has larger flake type shimmer which is mostly coppery and gold.  The butter LONDON on the Other hand, has finer glitter and has a smoother appearance close up.  That said, with your naked eye: the effect is the same. 

Verdict: Close enough that you only need one!!  These are not dupes but you definitely don't need them both. That is...unless you're a crazy polish hoarder like me! :P

Availability: butterLONDON is a Seattle, WA based brand which can be purchased in high end retailers and at Ulta Beauty stores. Snag them online at Nordstrom.com or butterLONDON.com.  Barry M is a London based polish brand which can be purchased at Superdrug, Boots and BarryM.com.

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

China Glaze Rare & Radiant

Retail Cost: $5.99

vs.

OPI Just The Spotted Lizard

Retail Cost: $8.50

The other day my husband surprised me by purchasing the entire China Glaze Bohemian collection for me.  It was a nice gesture, though I have to say I'm fairly dissapointed in the collection as a whole.  That aside, when I got them swatched I realized that one of them was VERY similar to another polish I already have!  So I decided to swatch them together and see if I was right.  You can see that in the bottle the two look exactly the same, thought the China Glaze seems a bit more coppery owing to the bottle shape. So how do they look on the nails?

You guessed it: exactly the same.  The formula is very similar on these as well. The China Glaze was a hair thinner but the application was the same.  This is two coats of each.  Obviously the OPI has a larger brush and the China Glaze is a bit easier to obtain but other than those differences, these are exact dupes. Exact.  I'm not really sad about owning two of these because it's a lovely color and neither color is core so now I sort of have a back up!!  But if you were searching for the OPI you can now buy the China Glaze and save yourself the silly online prices or the hassle of hunting it down!

Verdict: Dupes.

Availability: OPI Just the Spotted Lizard was part of the SpiderMan collection and has limited availability at Ulta and drugstores where OPI is sold.  China Glaze Rare & Radiant is to be released in August at Sally Beauty locations nationwide and will also be available online and at Ulta.

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:

Barry M Silvery Lilac

Retail Cost: £2.99 (approximately $4.75)

vs.

OPI: Not Like the Movies

Retail Cost: $8.50

I just recently got this Barry M and a lot of people online have compared it to butterLONDON's Knackered which I have yet to snag.  When I got it though, I was more drawn to a different polish in my collection: Not Like the Movies.  Now, I'll start by saying there are TWO versions of the OPI color Not Like the Movies.  One is a duo chrome which was released with the original Katy Perry Collection.  The other is a silver version which came a bit later.  I have the duo chrome version and that's the one I'm comparing today.

Here is a close-up of the bottles.  Both have a silver base with a lilac/green duo chrome.  The OPI looks like it has MUCH more of a color change in this shot. You can clearly make out the purple as it shifts from green to silver.  The Barry M looks more of a silver/lilac without much change in between the two.  They both also have silver micro glitter throughout.

So here's the lowdown:  First of all, the Barry M had a much better formula, which is surprising given it's a drugstore brand vs. a salon brand.  I only needed two coats of the Barry M for coverage and I needed three of the OPI.  Both were still a smidgen sheer but I think that's just the way this polish is meant to be.  This photo was taken in natural light.  Both have a silver to lilac shift, shimmery silver flecks, and a slight greenish tinge at the edges.  I showed them to numerous people and none could tell a difference, not even my husband who is well trained in the art of differentiating polishes from one another!  The Barry M is on the index and ring finger, while the OPI is on the other two. The OPI looks a BIT darker in this photo but it's not really. If you blow this up (just click it!) you can see that they're the same.  You'll also notice the OPI is a bit streaky though it's not noticeable in person.  There is also a VERY slight shift more towards green on the OPI where the Barry M is more lilac than greenish.  But for all reasonable intents...these are the same in my book.

Verdict: Dupes. Yes there are some VERY SLIGHT differences (the streaks in the OPI, the TINY shift more towards green.)  but honestly, on the nails the differences are not noticeable at all. So I feel comfortable labeling these dupes.

Availability: Barry M Silvery Lilac is available at Boots, Superdrug, and BarryM.com.  OPI Not Like the Movies was part of the now defunct Katy Perry Collection and can no longer be purchased in stores.  It has limited availability online but there are TWO versions.

Wondering how these stack up against another silvery lilac duo chrome, Zoya Ki? Debbie has you covered over at The Crumpet!

Zoya: Edyta

Retail Cost: $8

vs.

Retail Cost: $14

Wallis is a polish I've been seeing 'dupes' of a lot over the past few months.  I bought Wallis the second it hit stores and I LOVE it.  The cost is the most common reason I hear from others as to why they haven't bought it yet.  It's so worth it and I'd love to find a dupe so that those of you who don't have $14 to drop on one polish can enjoy the subtle glory of it. But funny enough, when I swatch these polishes next to Wallis, even though they look SO similar in the bottle, I've yet to find one which looks anything similar on the nail. Odd how that happens, no?  So how did Edyta stack up? Well let's see...

Well here we go again.  Wallis is a green/gold color.  It reminds me of a golden apple.  It has a darker green base but a very noticeable olive/gold shimmer going through it.  While Edyta has the same dark green base, the gold shimmer in it is much less compact, much less large and much less noticeable.  It has an overall hunter green kind of appearance and while it shimmers in the sunlight and is very pretty, it just lacks the complexity of Wallis. 

 A close-up picture gives a better idea of what I'm talking about. Edyta is on the left in this picture and Wallis on the right.  If you blow the picture up (and please do!) you'll see that while the base color is very similar, the shimmer is less apparent and more true gold on the Edyta while it's more olive and much more noticeable on the Wallis.  

Retail Cost:$14.99

vs.

Retail Cost: $7.50

vs.

Retail Cost: £5 (approximately $8) 

I noticed while going through my collection recently, that I have quite a few of these shimmery greenish blue polishes.  Of course they are all gorgeous, but the real question is, are they different? In the bottle they all look very much the same.  The Illamasqua seems to have a bit more shimmer running through it and a bit more of a blue flash to it, but otherwise they seem more or less the same.

So let's check them out on the nail shall we?

Pretty much sums it up, no?  The index and little finger in this picture are the Models Own Peacock Green.  It was the only of the three that needed two coats for opacity but I did two coats of all of them anyway.  It's clearly much more blue toned than the other two and surprisingly so since in the bottle it looks VERY green.  It also lost some of it's shimmer when it went onto the nail.  In comparison, the Illamasqua seemed to get MORE shimmery and it's clearly a bit darker and a hair more blue than the Ulta Envy as well.  While it looks teal-ish in the bottle, the Ulta Envy is really more of a true green than the others.

 

 

A full sun picture seals the deal.  Of the three, I think the Illamasqua is my favorite.  It has this really amazing blue flash along with a shimmery greenish tint.  It feels and looks very luxe on the nail.  The shimmer in it was also FAR more apparent in person than with the other two.  Overall though, these all have nice finish and texture to them and even though I forgot to use a basecoat (bad me) none left stains on my nails either.  :)

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.

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

Deborah Lippmann: Here Comes the Queen from the Juicy Couture exclusive three pack

vs.

Essie: As Gold As it Gets from the Luxe Effects collection.

Retail Cost: $8

A close up shot of the bottle shows that the two are nearly identical.  They're both gold glitters in clear jelly bases and both have a coppery gold shimmer to them.  The glitter is not uniform and is almost a tiny flake type glitter rather than your standard round, square or hex shape.

 I swatched these over both black and white polish.  The effect over white is very subtle.  Even in person you don't get much gold from one coat though the subtle shimmer is nice.  This is one coat each over Hard Candy The End and Ulta Snow White.  You can already tell from the black swatches that that Lippmann glitter is much more compact.  One coat of it nearly covers the nail with flecky gold glitter while the Essie is a bit more sparse.  

Indoors the effect is a bit more pronounced but it's still apparent that the Lippmann has more oomph per swipe.

 A close up of the black swatch.  The Lippmann is on the left and the Essie on the right.

And the white.  Since the jelly base is clear it's really more of a glittery effect than an overall gold appearance.  I like the Essie but I think I like the Lippmann better.  It's more expensive, sure, but since you get double the effect in every coat it seems to me the cost is really roughly the same.  One thing is for certain, while they may not be EXACT dupes owing to the Lippman's more compact glitter you could certainly use two coats of Essie to achieve the same effect.  If you're looking for a flecky gold glitter this season, one of these two is sure to satisfy the want!

Essie As Gold As It Gets can be purchased at Ulta and drugstores nationwide. Deborah Lippmann Here Comes the Queen  is available exclusively through JuicyCouture.com.