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!

Retail Cost: $1.99 to $2.99

vs.

OPI: Teenage Dream from the now discontinued Katy Perry line

Retail Cost: $8.50

First I want to say, please excuse the 'noisy' pictures.  My camera setting got stuck and now the camera is dead so I can't retake them. :(  But the color is accurate and that's 90% of the point so I'm still going to post!  The new Jordana glitters are here (in some places) and when I saw this one I knew I had to swatch it.  I love my OPI Teenage Dream and as you can see in the pic, it's starting to get a little low. :P  I thought if they were similar then I'd have a cheap back-up since the Katy Perry colors are discontinued and are slowly dwindling from retailers.  So let's break it down, shall we?

A close up of the bottles pretty much says it all.  They're both micro pink glitter with larger, round holo glitter in a clear jelly base.  I was thinking the Jordana would likely be thicker and have a sub par brush (OPI famously has wide brushes).  But that was not the case.  The Jordana brush is quite thick and I actually found it a bit easier to work with than the OPI brush.  And both formula's were a bit thicker than normal polish but not so much so that they were hard to use. 

There was an ice storm here last night and try as I did to take pictures outside in the natural light, all I got was flash or shadowy pics.  So this is an indoor shot.  There is definitely more pink to these in person, the glitter looks less sparse and it's sort of a foil-y pink effect with larger hex chunks in it.  Either way the fact remains that there is zero difference between these on the nail.  The coverage is the same, the color is the same, the spacing of the glitter is the same.  If I had to guess I'd say the wear time on the OPI is longer, but otherwise...exactly the same.

A macro shot of the glitter confirms it.  For some reason, on this particular nail the holo glitter in the Jordana sort of all ended up in one place near the free edge.  But the application was the same for each.  These are not like Lippmann's which require a certain touch to get the glitter to apply evenly.  It's fairly simple to get an evenly sparkly nail!  

Verdict: Dupes.  These two are the same color and density.  In my personal opinion, there is no difference between the two other than the label and the brush.

Availability:OPI Teenage Dream was part of the now discontinued Katy Perry collection.  It still has limited availability at Ulta stores and all retailers where OPI is sold nationwide. Jordana polishes can be purchased at Kmart stores nationwide and online at Jordana.com.