Zoya Flame Collection - Crystal - swatches & comparison

Zoya Flame Collection

Zoya's latest collection brings us six new metallic colors. You might have heard of the Zoya Fire & Ice collection, well, this is the same thing! They changed it into the Flame collection, rumor has it that it's because of Revlon, who trademarked the Fire & Ice phrase ages ago. Anyway, today I'll be showing you one of the prettiest polishes in this collection: Crystal, a frosty blue sparkling metallic.

Crystal

I'm not sure what to think of polishes who get named after women's names. I think it's lacking originality and it's a bit too easy as well. Thankfully, it's just a name. Crystal is a gorgeous cold, medium blue frosty polish with a bunch of golden flecks to spice it up.

As you can see the golden sparks in Crystal really compliment the icy, snowy blue color. For me this is the ultimate winter color. This may sound ridiculous to you, but this polish reminds me of winter fairies with golden locks. I know, right?

Application

Most Zoya polishes don't dry that well one me. Crystal does dry rather quickly, so yay for that. The formula was spot on, not too thick or thin, and completely opaque in three coats. Two coats would be quite okay already though.

Crystal versus Reflecting Pool

From the moment the first promoshots rolled in, I knew it had to be similar to OPI's Reflecting Pool. Reflecting Pool is quite hard to get since it was exclusively sold in certain European countries. Nowadays you'll usually find it on eBay for ridiculous prices.

Well, I did suspect both colors would be similar, but I was surprised to see they're dead on dupes! The formulas are very alike as well, so if you couldn't get your hands on Reflecting Pool, this is your chance!

Where to buy

You can get Zoya nail lacquers from their website: www.zoya.com and eBay. Zoya Crystal costs $7 for 15ml.

Chanel Paradoxal Dupes?

Chanel Paradoxal

A while ago I bought Chanel's Paradoxal, from the moment I saw pictures, I just knew I had to have it. And I still don't regret splurging the $$$, because I have a thing for this purple taupe with its secret shimmer. The wear has been great on me and I actually wear this every now and then.

Dupe?

What exactly is considered a dupe anyway? According to the dictionary a dupe is a version identically copied from an original. So when you compare these colors, they have to be fairly identical before you can label them as dupes. This is why I don't consider Models Own's Purple Grey and MNY's #549 exact dupes of Paradoxal. Their base colors are definitely similar, but they're lacking any type of shimmer. MNY tests on animals anyway, therefore it's not even an option for me.

the fun without the $$$

While I love Chanel, I have to admit: it is kinda pricey. Thankfully I've come across some cheaper alternatives: Barry M's Dusky Mauve and number 509 by Hollywood Nails (they even share the same number!). If you look at this comparison you'll notice how close Barry M and Chanel are! They have the same base color and pretty much the same amount of shimmer. The camera shows more blue in Barry M's shimmer, but I looked very hard and didn't notice this myself. #509 by Hollywood Nails is pretty close too, but the shimmer is different: the particles are smaller and more evenly distributed throughout the polish.

Application

The application of Dusky Mauve and Paradoxal is also quite similar, they both need 2 layers and they go on very nicely. #509 by Hollywood Nails is almost a once coater, win!

Chanel Paradoxal costs $23.00 for 13ml, Hollywood Nails #509 costs $4,25 for 15ml and Barry M's Dusky Mauve costs $4,75 for 10ml.

So, if you fell in love with this color too, but you don't want to hurt your wallet, I'd definitely recommend Dusky Mauve by Barry M, I actually consider this a dupe and it's not expensive at all! Yes, the one by Hollywood Nails is relatively cheaper and has better coverage, but I still don't know where you can buy it as it's mostly a salon brand.

Where to buy

You can buy Barry M products directly from their website or from Alice and Jo's Havesentials.

Beauty Salon Dimensions 2010 & A dupe for Chanel Paradoxal?

Beauty Salon Dimensions Event

Hi guys! Today Daphne and me went to an event called Beauty Salon Dimensions. This fair is visited by cosmeticians and nail techs mostly, but everyone is welcome there. A lot of awesome brands were present, showcasing their beautiful products. Nailwise, you could visit stands with brands like China Glaze, OPI, CND, Herome, Trind, Nfu Oh, and the list goes on.
The Netherlands is a bit behind when it comes to new collections, so unfortunately I won't be able to present hot scoops to you, but I do have some eyecandy for you to see. Read More after the jump!

Trind Cosmetics

Dutch brand Trind Cosmetics gives us a sneak peak of their newest collection for this winter. Pretty huh? The representative told me Trind adds four new colors to their selection every winter and summer, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for those!

Nfu Oh

Nfu Oh Nederland was there as well. I've never seen so many Nfu Oh's Together. Heaven! I've added a lot of these to my ever-growing wish list.

OPI

OPI had such a beautiful and impressive stand. Their entire range of products were beautifully showcased. The products were selling so fast they had to keep restocking non stop. I was really hoping to catch a glimpse of the Burlesques, but as I mentioned before, Holland is a tad slow.

OPI's current Designer Series Collection. The two new shades Magic and Radiance were also there. DS Magic looked insanely close to my manicure of the day: ORLY's Lunar Eclipse! Dupe alert?

OPI Swiss Collection swatches, how convenient!

I also took this picture of the Go Goth! collection. They sold these mini packs as well, too bad I couldn't purchase anything since I'm just a consumer.

Hollywood Nails

I LOVE discovering (new to) me brands. Hollywood Nails is a German brand, but their products are available in 12 European countries. I picked up four polishes here, 3 of them cost 2.99 EUR and one of them cost only 0.99 EUR! I hope I will be able to swatch these soon, they're absolute stunners. Further down in this post you will see #509 compared to a high end nail polish..

Aren't these pretty?! From this collection I bought #04 and #509.

ProNailFoil

ProNailFoil is a company that specializes in foils for nails. Appliques seem to be hotter than ever! They gave a nice demo and they looked really cool. I didn't really like the designs that much, but they did have a huuuge selection to choose from.

Chanel versus Hollywood Nails

Woah look at that! The colors in this picture aren't true to life AT ALL, but it shows the similarities very well. The base color and even the shimmer is practically the same! The shimmer in Paradoxal is a little bit bigger, but damn, it's close. I'd say this is closer to being a dupe than Models Own's Purple Grey! And it only cost me 3 euros.

Overall

I had a great time today! I absolutely loved oogling all the pretty polishes and makeup. I've bought some awesome polishes by Hollywood Nails and the new fall colors by CND. Score! Me and Daphne had a really nice talk with one of CND's representatives from BeautyXL and she told us CND will be releasing a gorgeous deep navy blue polish this winter. Can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed this little report of our day, thanks so much for stopping by!
- With love, Michèle

Models Own vs. Chanel

Models Own Car Key Collection

After Chanel's Paradoxal, Models Own figured out how to gain success by duping another brand. They already had Purple Grey which is a close dupe to Paradoxal (minus the shimmer) but it only started selling like crazy after Chanel's release.

Obviously they're not stupid because in October Models Own will be releasing the Car Key (get it? haha!) collection. It's quite clear they're duping the Les Khakis de Chanel collection over here. Haha, I love this. These shades go by the names: Grace Green, Becca's Brown and Purple Ash. I'm not sure whether they're exact dupes (judging from this pic I don't think so) but who knows!

Release date: 6 October at Boots and on the site as well. Models Own polishes cost £5 each.

Edit:

BritishBeautyBlogger already did a comparison of these polishes versus the real deal. Just like I expected, they're not THAT dupey, too bad!

source & image credit: britishbeautyblogger.com

Catrice Ultimate Nail LACQUER vs. Chanel

Hi guys! Happy Easter!! I'm not really celebrating, besides eating too much chocolate of course, so I have some time to show you a few new polishes I'm really excited about.

Catrice, a European brand, released an entire new collection for this spring and summer. This brand normally is releasing pretty conservative colors, but now they really managed to surprise me! This 'Ultimate Nail LACQUER' collection consists out of 32 (!) trendy new colors. Catrice says they were inspired by the new trends that we've seen on the catwalk this year. Sooo of course I had to indulge and buy some of their polishes. 3 of those I'll be discussing today, and they have such an exciting thing in common: they look a lot like some of Chanel's best selling polishes!

Catrice - Sold Out Forever

First off, let me show you Sold Out Forever (lol), which funnily enough, sold out almost everywhere I've been haha. At the moment, this is said to be the closest dupe of Chanel's Jade. Yes, even closer than Claire's Dream Catcher or Charlotte Russe's Jade! Whoa. It even has the legendary shimmer. Unfortunately I don't own any of Chanel's polishes so I can't compare the two :-(. I had a really hard time to get this color accurate, the close up on the left is best to be trusted. I'm really digging the color, eventhough shades like these always manage to create the infamous lobster hands.

Catrice - Lost In Mud

Next up we have Lost In Mud, a color very close to Particulière, I've found a comparison photo here, what do you think? I think Lost in Mud is a tad darker. Either way, it sure is pretty! I don't find Particulière that exciting to pay that amount of money for, so Lost In Mud is a good enough option for me. I enjoy colors like these a lot, they're just so timeless.

Catrice - I Scream Peach!

Last but not least: I Scream Peach! This one is almost identical (a teeny tiny bit darker and more vibrant) to 'What Do U Think' by Essence, which is also known for being a dupe for Chanel's Orange Fizz! (If you haven't yet, please check out this wicked comparison by Megan Chair from Little Music Boxes!) So in theory, this one should be rather similar as well. I just love Catrice for being so trendy ;-). I was surprised to see how much I liked this color, I think this is a beautiful shade of coral.

Note: I want to add that I'm not saying all of these are exact dupes because I haven't compared them myself (yet?), but they are pretty similar in the least!

I'm not head over heels with the formula though. These were all 3 coaters, and all on the thick side, so I had to add thinner to all three. The brush is a bit too short for my liking but other than that everything was fine. Drying time was ok and no bubbling or anything. I have to admit I haven't tried the other polishes from this line yet, so this applies to the 3 above. And I have to say: these polishes are cheap! Only 2.49 euros a piece, so you won't hear me complaining.

Picture is property of catrice.eu

For more information and a complete color overview you can check out their website: www.catrice.eu. Catrice is also releasing The Oceana Collection this summer including four other new shades, 2 of them being mattes! Check it out.

Well, this was it for today! I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend, don't eat too much chocolate! Thanks for stopping by and till next time :-).

Comparison: Art de Lautrec

Daph wilde graag weten hoe Art de Lautrec #25 was vergeleken met Essie Angora Cardi dus ik heb een snelle vergelijking gemaakt. Sorry voor de toestand van mijn nagelriemen, ik was aan het swatchen en aceton droogt behoorlijk uit.

Daph wanted to know how Art de Lautrec #25 compared to Essie Angora Cardi so I made a quick comparison. Sorry about the state of my cuticles, I was swatching and acetone is pretty drying.

Van links naar rechts:

From left to right:

Misa Runway Diva, Essence Spot On, Art de Lautrec #25, Essie Angora Cardi.

Op mijn nagels in dezelfde volgorde, allemaal met drie laagjes en een topcoat:

On my nails in the same order, all with three coats and a topcoat:




Zoals je kunt zien is Angora Cardi donkerder en meer paars en Misa Runway Diva is rozer en wat meer helder maar Essence Spot On komt wel heel dicht in de buurt!
Spot On heeft iets meer grijs en is wat stoffiger maar ze liggen zo dicht bij elkaar dat je ze naar mijn mening niet beide hoeft te hebben als je niet heel erg van dit soort kleuren houdt.

As you can see Angora Cardi is darker and more purple and Misa Runway is more pink and a bit brighter but Essence Spot on is really close! Spot On has a bit more grey and is a little more dusty but they are so close I don't think you need both unless you really lose these colours.




Beide zijn goed dekkend in drie dunne laagjes maar de Essence lakt toch net iets prettiger vind ik zelf. Daarnaast is prijs natuurlijk ook belangrijk. Art de Lautrec is met €3,05 absoluut niet duur maar Essence is toch nog flink goedkoper en bovendien komen er geen bezorgkosten overheen. Bij twijfel tussen deze twee zou ik dus voor de Essence gaan.
Nog een foto van de flesjes naast elkaar om het verschil te laten zien:

Both are opaque in three thin coats but the Essence applies just a little bit better in my opinion. The price is also an issue of course. Art de Lautrec isn't expensive at €3,05 but Essence still is a lot cheaper and you don't have to pay for shipping. So if you are thinking of getting one I would go for the Essence.
Another side by side bottle pic to show the difference:


That's it, I hope this helps someone!

Edit: Somehow my pics get cropped in a weird way. Sorry about that! I'll try to fix it but I'm not really sure what the problem is. In the meantime you can click the pics to get a better look.

Big on blue!

Hi guys! Did everybody enjoy the game? I'm totally clueless when it comes to American sports, lol. I'm quite busy since I'm moving so I'm hoping I'll find time to update my blog the next few days. *Crosses fingers*.

Anyway, Yesterday my mom, Romika, did a fun purple comparison, which really is her color. So I decided I'd do a blue one! As you can see the pinkie doesn't fit in with the rest, but it looked a lot darker in the bottle.

Here's what you're looking at:

Index: Nfu Oh - 280 - 3 coats
Middle: OPI - Dating a Royal - 3 coats
Ring: Herome W.I.C - Frankfurt - 2 coats
Pinkie: Claire's - Blue Fash (isn't labeled but this is what the receipt said) - 4 coats

As you can see the OPI and Nfu Oh are so close! I'd say they're almost a dupe. Almost, because Nfu Oh is the tiniest bit brighter, not that any 'normal' person would notice... ;-). The formula of the two is pretty much the same (being okay!), but Dating a Royal is a little bit more sheer.

These are all jellies, don't you just love that? The Herome nail polish is bordering on creme though, but it does own some of those great jelly characteristics. I love how this one is a more sophisticated, serious shade of blue. The one by Claire's took 4 coats for it to be opaque, that's not how we roll right!? For a full manicure I decided on the Nfu Oh. I love it! What's your favorite of the bunch?

P2 - Gorgeous

Good morning! Yesterday I received a package with 2 bottles of nail polish from Bernies from a dutch board, thank you so much Bernies for getting them!

P2 is a German brand and their nail polishes are really cheap. But, their formula is amazing! I already got some P2 polishes a while ago from Kirsten (MinderMutsigeNagels.blogspot.com - check this lovely blog out!) and I immediately fell in love with them. The color I'm wearing today is called Gorgeous, and the name is dead on! The color is purple with very dense silver shimmer. The application was superb, so smooth and opaque. Aaand this happens to be a dupe of Nfu Oh #86! So all the fun for less spending ;-). If you're in Germany, please don't hesitate to have a look at these.

Cheaper Version Of Illamasqua Baptise And a Giveaway!

Zonder flits/Without flash

Wil je Illamasqua Baptiste zonder het prijskaartje? H&M verkoopt Goddess On Stage en deze is een haast perfecte imitatie!
Ik heb nog geen vergelijkingsfoto's voor je maar tijdens de play date een tijdje terug heb ik ze wel naast elkaar gezien op een nagelwiel en ze zijn nagenoeg gelijk. De een heeft een iets grovere shimmer dan de ander maar de kleur is identiek.

De geweldige IceRozie heeft aangeboden om als gastblogger een post te maken over deze en andere dupes die ze ontdekt heeft dus die post kan je nog verwachten. Ze is een wandelende nagellak encyclopedie!


English: Do you want Illamasqua Baptiste without the pricetag? H&M sells Goddess On Stage and it's an almost perfect imitation! I don't have comparison pics yet but I did see them together swatched on a nail wheel on my play date a while back and they are practically dupes. The shimmer in one is a bit coarser than in the other but the colour is identical.

The wonderful IceRozie has offered to do a guest post on these and other dupes she discovered so you can expect that in the future. I swear: the woman is a walking polish encyclopaedia!

Met flits/With flash

Dit is drie laagjes maar twee laagjes was genoeg geweest als ik niet zo spastisch gelakt had of als het niet met supermacro op de foto gezet hoefde te worden die uitvergroot kunnen worden tot een 15" scherm. Foto's zijn gemaakt bij kunstlicht.
Er is verder weinig te zeggen. Geweldige lak, geweldige kleur en ik ben er zeer blij mee!

English: This is three coats but two would have been enough if I hadn't been such a spaz while polishing or if I didn't have to take super macro pics that can be enlarged to a 15" screen size. Pics are taken with artificial lighting. There isn't much to say. Great polish, great colour and I'm very happy with it!

Anna van The Nail Nerd heeft haar eerste giveaway! Je kunt 5 Viva la Diva Nagellakken winnen in een paar prachtige tinten. Viva la Diva is nergens buiten Zweden te krijgen dus als je deze altijd al eens hebt willen proberen is dit je kans!
Hier staan de details.

English: Anna from The Nail Nerd is having her first giveaway! You can win 5 Viva la Diva polishes in some great shades. Viva la Diva isn't available outside of Sweden so if you've always wanted to try them here is your chance!
You can find the details here.