Butter London - The Old Bill and Chanel - Delight: Review and Comparison

I love golden, coppery polish, especially for fall (I can't wait for fall nail polish season!).  Here are a couple awesome ones:

butter LONDON - The Old Bill

The Old Bill is a copper shimmer. It's not quite a metallic, not quite a foil. It almost comes across as a shiny nude color. Very nice at two easy coats.

Chanel - Delight

Delight, on me, looks like a shiny nude foil. It matches my skin tone wonderfully but isn't your typical "dull" nude (I actually happen to like nude polishes, but mostly when they have some pizzazz). It looks nice at both one and two coats, but it's hard to describe the difference.  Very elegant and eye catching!

Delight was actually a gift from one of my awesome readers.  Thank you so so SO much!

Here are a couple comparisons:

This one shows how similar The Old Bill and Delight are in terms of base color. Delight is a little lighter, but it could be just because of the intense foil shine.

These are all of the copper foils in my collection.  No dupes for delight.  Orly Rage is much more of a rose gold (pink toned) and a bit lighter, and Copper Penny is a more saturated orange-y copper.  I like Copper Penny on my toes, but I still prefer the nude foil look of Delight on my fingers.

The Old Bill can be purchased on butter LONDON's website, or at Ulta (and Ulta.com).  Chanel Delight is available from the Chanel website.

(The Old Bill was provided for review.  Delight was gifted by a friend.)

Chrome Nail Comparison

I was looking for the perfect design to do on my nails for my Disneyland trip this weekend when I broke my middle fingernail... dang! The break was so far down is was barely even on the free edge, so I decided to try out some chrome false nails I got from Dashing Diva a while back. So while I'm doing the wear test on the falsie to see whether it will last for my vacation, I figured I'd do a little comparison of various "chrome" nail looks.

Chrome Nail Comparison

Obviously, the fake nail has the smoothest, brightest shine and the most "true" mirror-like finish, but it also has some drawbacks: it's thicker and less natural than the others, and the wear time on it is next to nothing since it just has the adhesive tab on the back. There's an another brand at Sally's that comes with adhesive tabs but you can also use glue (that may last a bit longer).

The silver foil (ring finger) actually looks more like the Dashing Diva chrome from a short distance. The wrinkles are not as prominent if you're not viewing it as an extreme close up. If my nail hadn't broken, I'd probably be opting for this method this weekend. It provides an ALMOST mirror finish and the foils are relatively inexpensive while enough to do MANY manicures.  A lot of the "flaws" that appear here are my own fault for not waiting for the foil glue to dry enough before sticking it on, btw.  The part towards the cuticle is more of an accurate representation of the shine.  I think this is my favorite of the four pictured.

It amazes me how dull the two polishes (China Glaze Millennium and Zoya Trixie) look compared to both the foil and the fake nail. Neither actually has a "mirror" appearance at all, but they both have the ease of regular nail polish.


The false nails are from Dashing Diva, but I don't see the silver chrome on their site right now. Like I said, there's an alternative available at Sally's by a brand called Nail Bliss (though it doesn't appear to be on their site).

The silver foil I bought at Dollar Nail Art. They have a $25 minimum purchase online (or you can order by mail with a check), but they have so many awesome foils, beads, glitter, etc. it was easy for me to find plenty that I wanted!

Zoya Trixie can be ordered from their website, and I'm not sure if China Glaze Millennium can be found easily anymore (it was from their Khrome collection a couple years ago).

Some Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolors

Here are my picks from the Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolors collection. I find myself buying a LOT of glitters lately, and I'm actually WEARING them all, despite the dreaded removal. (If I'm completely honest...  I peel glitter off a lot of times.  I know it's not good, but it actually doesn't seem do do much damage at all, or I wouldn't keep doing it).

Nicole by OPI - Kendall on the Katwalk (over Khloe Had...)

What an awesome blend of glitters! How had someone not done this combo before (that I've seen)?! I used to think glitters were best on their own (built up to be opaque), but lately I think that they seem to have more depth over a similar base color. Plus they're easier to remove that way. This is stunning in person. Super shiny and eye catching!

Nicole by OPI - Disco Dolls

We all know how much I LOVE gold glitter, and this is no exception. The multicolor glitter in this and it's bronze-gold glitter base just set this one apart. This is two easy coats and it's perfectly opaque. My favorite here, and I knew it would be. *swoon*

Nicole by OPI - Follow Me on Glitter

Seems to be the same formula as Disco Dolls, but with pewter color glitter instead of gold. And somehow, the colors seem to be a little "lost" in this. It is still an awesome color (along with every other charcoal grey glitter), but just not as showy as Disco Dolls. This was two coats on it's own.

Nicole by OPI - Follow Me on Glitter & Wet'n'Wild Diamond in the Rough

I managed to compare this to Diamond in the Rough before I took it off the other day. I think this is the reason I feel that Follow Me is a bit... dull. The holo glitter amongst the grey is just so much more flashy than the colored glitter. Diamond in the Rough also had a slightly bluer base glitter.

Nicole by OPI - Khloe Had a Little Lam Lam

Not sure why I liked this one so much to get it, but it's an awesome teal. Smooth and glossy on it's own, and just plain pretty. Two easy coats.

Nicole by OPI - Khloe Had..., OCC Blackboard, and RBL Teal

I thought I might have a dupe in my collection, but I don't. The two closest I had were Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Blackboard and Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal. Blackboard is obviously much lighter and much greener. Teal looked like a dupe in the bottle, but on the nail it is obviously a tad bit lighter (hard to tell here) and more blue. The funny thing was that Khloe got darker and greener when it dried than when it was first applied. Both Blackboard and Khloe had more of a jelly formula than Teal, which is a very opaque creme. I think my favorite of them was Khloe, because I like green base tones with the darker shade.

Which were your favorites from the Kardashian Kolors?


If you haven't already, be sure to enter my giveaway here to win Essence Nail Art Twins Bonnie and Clyde!

Revlon Rain Forest & China Glaze Glittering Garland Comparison

When I saw Revlon Rain Forest in the new displays at Walgreens, my first thought was "Ooooh!" but my second thought was "I bet it's a dupe for Glittering Garland." I was kinda right. They ARE very similar, but have a couple little differences:

Revlon Rain Forest (index and ring) and China Glaze Glittering Garland (middle and pinkie)

First off, both have very nice formulas and cover very well in two coats, so I suggest getting whichever looks better to you. They both have slightly duochrome gold glass fleck glitter, but the base color is where they differ the most. Rain Forest has a darker, more yellow-toned base than Glittering Garland's emerald green. For this reason, the glitter seems to "pop" just a tad more in Rain Forest, but it shows up more densely in Glittering Garland.

Overall, I say they are similar but not dupes, and it's up to you whether you want both. I like different aspects of each of them, so I don't think I have a favorite of the two.

Revlon Rain Forest is now available in most places that carry Revlon like Walgreens, Walmart, Target, and Ulta.  Glittering Garland was part of the China Glaze Holiday 2011 collection and is still available on some sites like Trans Design.

On a side note, I was super excited when I realized that the sparkles in these appeared to be duochrome in the bottle (I can even see blue and purple!), but sadly, it really doesn't translate at all on the nail.  Oh well.

Jessica Cosmetics Peacock Queen Collection (Chanel dupes!)

Jessica Iridescent Eye

Chanel Peridot (index and ring) and Jessica Iridescent Eye (middle and pinky)

I had been starting to panic just a little recently because I was wondering if anybody really WOULD be duping Chanel Peridot, and I hadn't gotten a backup bottle (I'm reluctant to buy ONE bottle of $25 nail polish, but Peridot was just so special to me...). So when I saw this comparison over on Body and Soul, I was SO thrilled, hopped right on the Jessica Cosmetics site and ordered them all!

I would pretty much call Iridescent Eye a dupe for Peridot. If I didn't KNOW I had two different polishes on, then I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sometimes in particular light I think that Peridot might be the tiniest bit more vibrant than Iridescent Eye, but then I think it might be my eyes playing tricks on me or my mind trying to justify the $25 for Peridot, haha. Either way, if there IS any difference, it's NOT worth the $17.50 difference (AND the fact that the Chanel bottle contains less volume). I'm SOOOO happy to have my Peridot backup!! Here's another pic to remind you of the awesome color shift in this one:

Next up is Smoky Feather:

Jessica Smoky Feather

Chanel Graphite (index and ring) and Jessica Smoky Feather (middle and pinky)

Now this one I see a tiny bit more difference. To me, Graphite seems a little bit more sparkly or mirror-like, while the foil effect on Smoky Feather seems just the tiniest bit dulled. Not TOO noticeable, but I would probably be able to tell which was which pretty easily on a "blind" test. Still, is it worth the $17.50 difference? I don't really think so.

Jessica Bronze Tailed

Last up is Bronze Tailed. I don't have Chanel Quartz to compare it to because I was never even remotely interested in it from the swatches I saw. Now I've sort of changed my mind, and I'm REALLY happy I ended up ordering Bronze Tailed. Let's get this straight first: I HATE frosty finishes, but I LOVE pearl finishes (provided the brushstrokes aren't horrendous), and there is a fine line between the two. I would call this a pearl finish, and in my opinion, it's gorgeous if you can keep the brushstrokes to a minimum. I'm not sure why I didn't like any swatches I saw of it - maybe I thought it was more of a pink-brown? I dunno, but it reminds me of another favorite of mine that I should re-swatch: Misbehaving Mistress.

These all had nice formula, covering in two thin coats, although they seemed to be a bit more thick that their Chanel counterparts.

All three of these can be purchased on Jessica Cosmetics' site here, and I'm not sure if they are limited edition.

Did you get any of the Chanel Fall 2011 Collection? Will you be picking these up instead?

Butter London West End Wonderland and Milani Gold Glitz

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Loreto, Mexico for a vacation with Chief and his family, and I'm going to try and see if my 24 Karats Incoco strips will live up to the 10-day wear test (which is how long we'll be there). But before I took off West End Wonderland, I wanted to compare it with Milani Gold Glitz since they seem very similar. Here they are:

Butter London West End Wonderland (index and ring) and Milani Gold Glitz (middle and pinky)

The Milani is definitely more orange/coppery while WEW is more traditional warm gold. Both look wonderful on my skin which has yellow base tones. They both take two easy coats, though I applied the Milani a little unevenly because I was impatient. Also, the Milani is shown with only one coat of Seche Vite on top, but I had put two coats (which sunk in a little over time) on WEW since it was a full manicure. Both are mostly smooth with two coats of SV.

Honestly, I don't know which I like better! They are most certainly not dupes, and they both have excellent formula (and of course, both are a pain to remove). I'll probably be wearing both this holiday season, along with all my other festive reds, greens, whites, and glitters!

For Nihrida: OPI Ink and Finger Paints It's an Original

Here's a comparison for my dear Nihrida <3

OPI Ink and Finger Paints It's an Original:

OPI Ink (index and ring) and Finger Paints It's an Original (middle and pinky)

The finish is obviously different, with Ink having a slightly duochrome glass fleck thing going on, and Original is just a straight blue-purple shimmer. To me in person, the flecks in Ink make it look a bit more blue, which doesn't show in the picture. Both only take two coats.

And to refresh your memory, here is how Finger Paints looks alone (except a bit too blue, but this picture shows the vibrancy quite well... maybe it's because it has a top coat).

Finger Paints It's an Original