comparison | Vegan Claws

A vegan nail polish blog. A celebration of colour and light, as well as of justice for nonhuman animals.

Posts tagged ‘comparison’

Zoya Tracie, Meg and comparisons

Since October is Depression Awareness Month (yup, it’s not just for breast cancer!) and the depression awareness colour is green, I thought a green-heavy first post of the month would be appropriate.

So, I’ve got Zoya Tracie and Meg from the Beach and Surf collection, along with nail wheel comparisons with tons of other green shades!

This is Zoya Tracie, two coats. I love this colour, soft yellow-toned green creme base with subtle pearly silver shimmer.

The formula was a little tricky, thick yet threatening to drip down the brush stem, and I had to take care to let it dry between coats to prevent dragging. Worth it for such a great shade! The photos include base and top coat.

Meg is a medium green foil. I also had a little streaking and dragging with this one, but then I didn’t use a base coat for this swatch so that may have been the reason. This is two coats of Meg.

Really nice polish as well, but much less interesting than Tracie to me. Tracie is much more unique.

And now for the massive comparisons! The first photo shows the nail wheels in direct sunlight, and the second photo shows them under the Ott Lite. Clicking on the photos will bring up a bigger version where it’s easier to see the polishes (but then, the caption isn’t included, so the close-up polishes and their names aren’t visible together; sorry about that). Meg and Tracie are the polishes in the middle that are almost touching, one on each wheel.

Zoya Tracie & Meg green comparison wheels

Left wheel, clockwise from top: Color Club Mol-ten, Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe, Wet n Wild Jungle Fever, Cosmetic Arts You Sleigh Me, Zoya Meg, Kleancolor Metallic Green, Butter London Dosh, Finger Paints Comet’s Collar, NYX Girls Luscious Green, Zoya Midori, Nicole by OPI Make Mine Lime, Sparitual Greenhouse, Gosh Golden Dragon.
Right wheel, counterclockwise from gap in polishes: NYX (Salon line) Lime, Nicole by OPI My Favourite Gold, OPI Simply Smashing, Kleancolor Jazz Olive, Zoya Tangy, Misa Secrets, OPI Bikini Envy, Zoya Tracie, Milani Original, LA Girl Color Addict Urge, Soulstice Telluride, Misa Fountain of Youth, Milani Key Lime Shine, Nubar Baby Sprout, NYX (Salon line) Pastel Pistachio, Nubar Kiwi.

No exact dupes to these Zoyas, but Wet n Wild Jungle Fever is very close to Meg, and Cosmetic Arts You Sleigh Me (next to Meg) is also pretty similar. The base colour of the NYX Salon polish in Pastel Pistachio is pretty close to Tracie, but the NYX polish is just a plain creme without any shimmer. OPI Bikini Envy is the shimmery polish that I’d say is closest to Tracie, but the OPI is lighter, more sheer, and frostier. Actually, I’m thinking Tracie is pretty similar to what it would look like to mix NYX Pastel Pistachio and OPI Bikini Envy together!

A couple pairs of notable near-dupes in here: Color Club Mol-ten and Kiss Me Mistletoe (Mistletoe is scented, though); OPI Simply Smashing and Nicole by OPI My Favourite Gold (which I think is an odd name, my favourite gold is a green??).

Category:

Butter London, Color Club, Cosmetic Arts, GOSH, Kleancolor, LA Girl, Milani, Misa, Nicole by OPI, Nubar, NYX, OPI, Soulstice Spa, SpaRitual, Wet n Wild, Zoya

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Soulstice Monterey and comparisons

I’ve got another Soulstice polish to show you today; this one is an older shade that I purchased online from Nail Polish Canada.

Monterey is a medium dusty blue creme. In fact, on applying one coat, it looks like the base is sheer and milky, which gives the polish its soft, dusty look. I had a hard time capturing the true colour of this shade; in real life it seems a bit softer than some of these photos suggest.

Monterey covers pretty well in two coats, although the formula is slightly thin so if your nails have ridges like mine, it’s better at three coats, which is what I used for these photos. I didn’t have any base coat under this swatch, so a ridge filler probably would have helped too.

Monterey in the shade:

I have a comparison to some other blue polishes that are actually not very similar to Monterey at all! From left to right, Cult Nails Time Traveler, Monterey, Nails Inc Baker Street, and Sally Girl Epic which is like a lighter version of Baker Street. Monterey actually looks truer to colour in this photo.

Left to right: Cult Nails Time Traveler, Soulstice Monterey, Nails Inc. Baker St, Sally Girl Epic

After doing that comparison, I realized that I actually *did* have a polish that was much closer to Monterey than the others, Nubar Boyfriend Jeans. This photo makes these polishes look darker than they are, but it shows the two relative to each other.

Top to bottom: Nubar Boyfriend Jeans, Soulstice Monterey

Closer, but far from being a dupe; Boyfriend Jeans has a hint of teal in it in comparison.

I love Monterey; I love the milkiness and the way it builds up and the fact that it’s super glossy (no top coat in these photos). And as the comparisons show, it’s also a totally unique shade of blue in my polish stash!

Category:

Cult Nails, Nubar, Sally Girl, Soulstice Spa

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Zoya Myrta and Comparisons

Zoya Myrta is from their summer 2012 collection, Surf. I’m slowly but surely trying to do large nail wheel comparison posts for all of the Beach and Surf polishes. I like to see where shades fit into the colour spectrum of similar shades, and hopefully you do too, dear readers. 🙂

Myrta is an orange-red coral shade, with a finish somewhere between foil and glass fleck. This is two coats of Myrta, with two coats of Cult Nails Get it On base coat underneath as I’d heard this polish stains. The two coats of base coat did prevent staining, but did cause a bit of bubbling; not sure if I didn’t wait long enough between coats, or if Zoya just doesn’t play nicely with Cult Nails base coat…

Bright, shimmery, pretty!

Here are my nail wheel comparisons with Myrta! I used pretty much any polish in remotely the same colour family here, so the wheel is full! I realized afterward that I probably should have numbered or somehow indicated the start position on the wheel, but hopefully it’s not difficult to find Myrta as it’s pretty much at the top in both photos (more specifically, it’s the one right above the letter ‘L’ in the word ‘WHEEL’ that is on the centre of the wheel) and right next to it is the matte Manglaze polish (I applied topcoat to only half of this matte shade’s swatch). As usual, each swatch shows a progression of one, two and three coats of the given polish.

Like last time, I have to apologize again for the lack of appropriate lighting to properly and accurately show the nail wheel comparisons. Again, I did one photo in the sun and one under the Ott Lite. I’m waiting on a soft lightbox that I ordered, so hopefully soon I’ll be able to take better photos of these types of comparisons. Sun photo:

Clockwise from top: Zoya Myrta, Manglaze Butt Taco (matte, left side of swatch with topcoat), Color Club Feel the Beat, LA Colors Fiery Orange, Nubar Arencia, Milani Metal Gear, Orly Flicker, LA Girl Copper Alloy, No Miss Tamarack Tangerine, Soulstice Rio, LA Colors Coral Reef, Milani Glitzy Jam, Milani Just Peachy, Milani Melt With U, LA Colors Aztec Orange, Orly Emberstone, Milani Orange Burst, Milani Flashlight.

Ott Lite photo:

In terms of similarity, I’d say that Myrta is closest to LA Colors Aztec Orange (4th shade to the left of Myrta), although Aztec Orange has a sheerer base and more sparse shimmery flecks. As you can see, some of the shades on the wheel are dupes or near-dupes to one another, notably Milani Orange Burst and Flashlight, and the trio of LA Colors Fiery Orange, Nubar Arencia, and Milani Metal Gear.

Category:

Color Club, LA Colors, LA Girl, Manglaze, Milani, No Miss, Nubar, Orly, Soulstice Spa, Zoya

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Misa Epiphany, Taking Chances, and a comparison

Today I have my two picks from Misa’s Wanderlust collection for fall 2012 to show you.

First is Misa Epiphany, a light beigey mustard shade with gold shimmer. The finish is kind of like a creme with shimmer flecks in it. I used two thick coats; I found the formula to be thick but not a problem to work with if you use thick coats and don’t manipulate it too much.

I love this shade! It makes me think of a shimmery version of China Glaze’s Kalahari Kiss. The large version of this next photo gives a good view of the finish.

The second polish I got from this collection is Taking Chances, which has the same finish as Epiphany but in a coppery, dusty light orange with gold shimmer. Very appropriate for fall!

Formula was also similar to Epiphany, maybe a bit less thick. This was also two thick coats.

I really like this shade as well, but when I opened the package, I thought, “this looks familiar!”

Here is Taking Chances next to Sephora by OPI’s That’s What Fringe is For, from their spring 2012 collection.

Misa Taking Chances and Sephora by OPI It's all About the Fringe (Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI)

Left to right: Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI

They aren’t *exact* dupes, but, well, for all intents and purposes they are dupes. It’s really hard to see the differences, so I’m including several photos of the comparison. From index to ring are the Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI, two coats of each.

Left to right: Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI

The biggest difference is in the formula, since the OPI is much thinner (not runny though). It also seems that the Misa has slightly bigger shimmer particles, making it appear a tiny bit lighter at times with the added reflectivity. Just barely.

Left to right: Misa, SOPI, Misa, SOPI

Great colour, but if you have one of these two you probably don’t need the other! Unless you have the mini bottle of the Sephora version, like I do, and want the Misa as a backup!

Category:

Misa, Sephora by OPI

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Zoya Shelby and Comparisons

When I posted my Zoya Beach skittles, I promised swatches and comparisons of the Beach and Surf collection polishes, and the project is going slowly but I’ve finally got the first one ready: Zoya Shelby, a bubblegum pink creme.

I used three coats for this swatch because I was having issues with streaks and lumps, but I think I had just had too much coffee that day or something since I only needed two coats of Shelby when I did the skittles.

In shade:

These next two photos were taken the following day so they include top coat. I can’t remember what happened to my index finger to make it no longer presentable, I suppose probably a chip! As usual, the ridges on my ring finger are just the way the nail is, not the fault of the polish!

Now for some comparisons. Each swatch on the nail wheel progressively shows the polish at one, two and three coats from base to tip. These were taken in full sunlight which is probably not the best light for photographing nail wheels (diffused light would be better), so I’m including two photos at different angles.

Left to right: China Glaze Pink Underground, Wet n Wild Candylicious, Milani Tip Toe, Zoya Shelby, Gosh Bubblegum, Nubar Pink Creme, OPI Got a Date To-Knight, China Glaze Empowerment, OPI Pink Friday

I included one shimmer polish (Pink Underground) since the shimmer is subtle and the base colour is in the same family. I also included some popular darker (Candylicious) and lighter (Got a Date, Pink Friday, Empowerment) pinks to show where Shelby fits into the spectrum.

Left to right: China Glaze Pink Underground, Wet n Wild Candylicious, Milani Tip Toe, Zoya Shelby, Gosh Bubblegum, Nubar Pink Creme, OPI Got a Date To-Knight, China Glaze Empowerment, OPI Pink Friday

These last swatches are under the Ott Lite, showing just the polishes that are closest to Shelby.

Top to bottom: Nubar Pink Creme, Zoya Shelby, Gosh Bubblegum, Milani Tip Toe Pink

I’d say in one way that Gosh Bubblegum is the most similar of them since it also has a cool undertone while Tip Toe Pink and Pink Creme are slightly more warm. But Tip Toe Pink is the closest in terms of the depth of the shade, since the Gosh polish is definitely lighter!

Category:

China Glaze, GOSH, Milani, Nubar, OPI, Wet n Wild, Zoya

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Nubar Beguiling Carmine and China Glaze Sacred Heart

Like my previous post, these are some photos from a few months ago while I had my nails filed into claws.

First up is Nubar Beguiling Carmine (not made from actual beetle-derived carmine, of course!). I love this red! It’s a deep, brown-based red, not bright but not too dark.

Shown are two coats plus topcoat. There’s a little bit of cuticle drag so I probably should have added a third coat or waited longer in between coats.

Other than that no issues with the formula, it was quite smooth.

Beguiling Carmine is from the Polished Chic collection.

Next I’ve got China Glaze Sacred Heart, from the Ink collection. This is supposedly a neon, but it really doesn’t seem neon to me. The colour isn’t neon-bright, nor does it dry matte like most polishes with neon pigments do (no topcoat on this swatch).

But it is a nice jellyish candy-apple red that leans warm. Shown are three coats; no application issues with this polish.

In the bottle, Sacred Heart seems less bright and more brick-like than it does on the nail.

And here is a photo of both of these polishes together, showing the contrast between the depth of the two shades! …trying to remember now… I think I had the camera sitting on the table and took this photo with my chin! 😀

Category:

China Glaze, Nubar

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Comparison: Color Club’s Pure Energy and Wicked Sweet

As mentioned in my previous post, here is my comparison of Color Club’s two neon blue polishes with turquoise shimmer, Pure Energy and Wicked Sweet. These photos were taken several months ago, during a week when I had my nails filed into little claws. I’ve done this a couple of times, but it usually only lasts about a week before the points start breaking off and I file them down.

The photos show three coats of each polish. On my index and ring is Pure Energy from the Electro Candy collection; on my middle and pinkie is Wicked Sweet from the Wicked Sweet collection.

The formula was good on both of them, thin and smooth. They’re a little sheer, hence the three coats.

Wicked Sweet is a scented polish; it smells like blueberry candy.

Aside from the scent these two polishes are practically identical. The main difference is that Wicked Sweet dries a little glossier before topcoat. There’s no topcoat in the pictures, and in this last picture you can kind of see how Wicked Sweet is a little more reflective which brings out the shimmer a bit more. Being neons, neither of them is especially glossy before topcoat, though. I wonder if it’s the scented additive that also adds that slight bit of extra shine…

Category:

Color Club

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Misa Skinny Dipping and Comparison

Skinny Dipping is the second of two polishes I got from Misa’s Hot Summer collection for summer 2012. It’s a gorgeous neon aqua shade with blue shimmer!

The polish was fairly sheer; I think the sheerness helps add depth with the shimmer though. I used three coats here.

The consistency was a little thin on the first coat, but seemed less so by the third coat (that’s probably the effect of the humidity that day…).

The polish dries to a satin finish due to the neon pigment in it. I didn’t use any top coat for these photos, so as you can see it’s definitely not totally matte.

I really love the blue shimmer in this! In the shade:

This polish is quite unique, at least in my collection. I did a comparison to the most similar polish I have, Color Club Wicked Sweet (which itself is basically a dupe of Color Club Pure Energy; that reminds me I have some old posts still waiting in the archives that I should really get around to posting some day!). Left to right, Wicked Sweet, Skinny Dipping, Wicked Sweet, Skinny Dipping:

These two polishes are kind of like opposites – Wicked Sweet is blue with turquoise shimmer, and Skinny Dipping is turquoise with blue shimmer!

I also used three coats of Wicked Sweet, although it wasn’t quite as sheer as Skinny Dipping. This next photo really shows off the difference in the base colours:

Another big difference between the two is that Wicked Sweet is scented; it has a blueberry-candy scent to it.

I like how these two complement one another!

Category:

Color Club, Misa

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China Glaze Kalahari Kiss and I Herd That

Here are the other two On Safari polishes that I recently purchased. First up is Kalahari Kiss, a very yellow-toned beige creme (I love this colour!). Shown are two coats and I had no issues with the formula; it went on quite smoothly. Photos are in partially sunny and shady conditions.

I did a glitter-tipped gradient using I Herd That over Kalahari Kiss. I Herd That is an orange-toned bronzy glitter with holo glitter in it. It was quite easy to apply, I just brushed and dabbed it on to make the gradient. I did two coats of the glitter at the tips, receding to one coat further back on the nail, then added top coat. The glitter dries a bit rough (and matte) so a layer or two of topcoat is needed if you want to smooth out the texture and get it nice and shiny.

Under my Ott Lite:

This next photo features my beautiful girl Azrael!

Next I have two coats of I Herd That over bare nails (plus one coat of Poshe topcoat) to show how it looks on its own. As before, it was easy to apply, no need to “place” the glitter or anything like that.

Since a few people had expressed curiosity about how this one compares to last winter’s Ulta-exclusive China Glaze glitter polish, Fireside Glow, I decided to do a comparison. I compared it to Fireside Glow and Ulta-mate Holiday, the other Ulta-exclusive glitter in that same release, both of which I was able to obtain thanks to a helpful US-based nail polish enthusiast! 🙂

Left to right, Fireside Glow, I Herd That, Ulta-mate Holiday:

The swatches show two coats of each polish. I found the formula thinner on the Ulta exclusive shades; they were not quite as easy as I Herd That to get opaque in two coats without getting bald spots, but no big issues. Index to pinkie, Fireside Glow, I Herd That, Ulta-mate Holiday, I Herd That.

As you can see, Fireside Glow is not all that close to I Herd That after all; it’s much more of a pinkish copper shade. Ulta-mate Holiday is obviously much more yellow than the others and seems to have a higher concentration of holo glitter whereas the others also have copper and orange glitters mixed in respectively. I Herd That seems to have a little less holo glitter than Fireside Glow.

On the other hand I found I Herd That to be sparklier than the others in lower lighting situations, probably because of the greater amount of non-holo glitter, if I had to guess why!

Slightly blurred to show the holo sparkle in the sun:

Category:

China Glaze

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Misa Good to be Green and Comparisons

Good To Be Green is a new apple-green creme polish from Misa’s Hot Summer collection. Since I love this colour, I couldn’t pass it up, although I was sure I already owned a dupe. Turns out I was wrong!

I found the formula a little thin when I tried it; this is two coats, the second somewhat thick. I actually had some pooling due to the thinness of the polish, which is rare for me these days, but in the end it turned out fine, nice and opaque.

I thought this one would be the same as Orly Green Apple, but it turns out not to be. The Orly is on my index, the Misa on my middle finger. As you can see, the Misa is a deeper green; the Orly is several shades lighter. I also applied the Orly in two coats, the second being thick.

I included a couple of other polishes in the comparison to show that they’re basically in a different shade family – OPI Who the Shrek Are You? on my ring finger, and Zoya Mitzi on my pinkie, both much more yellow than Good to Be Green.

Who the Shrek Are You? was also a bit thin (everything seemed to be applying thin that day, and yet it was very hot and humid; I thought I might be in the Twilight Zone…) and I used three coats since it was on my ridgey ring finger.

A shade or two lighter than Who the Shrek Are You?, Zoya Mitzi is a very yellow-based neon lime matte polish; here I added topcoat to it for the sake of the comparison with the other glossy cremes. Mitzi was streaky to apply and prone to dragging, so I used three coats to cover some bald spots and streaks.

This is another comparison that would make a nice ombre mani! I love the progression of these bright green shades.

Category:

Misa, OPI, Orly, Zoya

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Vegan Claws

A vegan nail polish blog. A celebration of colour and light, as well as of justice for nonhuman animals.

Posts tagged ‘comparison’

Zoya Tracie, Meg and comparisons

Soulstice Monterey and comparisons

Zoya Myrta and Comparisons

Misa Epiphany, Taking Chances, and a comparison

Zoya Shelby and Comparisons

Nubar Beguiling Carmine and China Glaze Sacred Heart

Comparison: Color Club’s Pure Energy and Wicked Sweet

Misa Skinny Dipping and Comparison

China Glaze Kalahari Kiss and I Herd That

Misa Good to be Green and Comparisons

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