Dupe Or No Dupe: Quickie post!

Hello everyone!

Recently I got a chance to try out the Sally Hansen Lustres and while I had access to them, I did a quick comparison post between Sally Hansen Lustre Firefly, Sally Hansen Lustre Plume and China Glaze Swanky Silk. I don't actually own the two Sally Hansens, so I had to jump on the opportunity to get them, and so the polish job isn't the most perfect (don't judge the texture of these polishes based on these pictures, only the colors). But it does the job!

In the pictures, I have the colors on in this order:

Index finger: China Glaze Swanky Silk
Middle finger and pinkie: Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Plume
Ring finger: Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Firefly

China Glaze Swanky Silk, Sally Hansen Plume, Sally Hansen Firefly, Sally Hansen Plume

Swanky Silk, Plume, Firefy, Plume

So, dupe or no dupe? No Dupe, but the colors on all of these are very similar, and in my opinion you can get away with owning only one of them if you like. Plume has a green-gold duochrome with a flash that feels a bit reddish-bronze. Swanky Silk and Firefly both have green-gold duochrome with a rose-pink flash; the only difference is in the intensity of the pink. In Swanky Silk the flash is a bit more subtle, while in Firefly it's a bit more intense.

Can you justify owning all three if you want to? Of course, since none of them are exact dupes ::evil grin::. But you can certainly get by with one. My personal recommendation would be China Glaze, because you can get it for half the price. And half the price means twice da polishez!

Thanks for reading. :)

Xoxox,
M.

What's Black, White, and Full of Glitter?

THESE NAILS!

I literally couldn't handle the giggling that kept spewing out of my mouth when I thought about all the awesome glitters I've accumulated. So, I did the only thing I could think of...put one on each nail!

Now some of these you've seen already, but I couldn't repeat a polish on another nail, so I resurrected them.

Here are the candidates:

• Left Hand
• L.A. Girl Uninhibited 
• All That Glitters Spotty Dottie White
• Lynderella Connect the Dots (linked to Ilarowe's shop where it's currently being sold)
  
• windestine Carbon Copy
• Sally Hansen Multi-Faceted

• Right Hand
• F4 Polish Holy Cow
• Dandy Nails Colorblind
• windestine Asbestos
• All That Glitters Spotty Dottie Black
• Sonoma Nail Art Sonoma County Gazette

Sadly, only Holy Cow is available from the Etsy shops, but you can definitely nab the Sally Hansen and L.A. Girl more readily.

Oh...and the green is Just in Lime! (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri). 

Broken Music Notes

I wanted to do something really out there with the Spotty Dottie polishes I bought not long ago from All That Glitters, but like many girls recently, I have fallen prey to the deadly grip The Hunger Games has on us. It's like the black hole of books; the chapters keep sucking you in. I've already given up an all-out-there design for this book. I'm sure sleep isn't far behind.

The good news is, after working on this manicure I'm showing you today, I'm glad I didn't dedicate more time to a more trippy design.

What all the stripes and dots of glitter reminded me of on top of Black on Black (Sinful Colors) and French White Creme (Wet n' Wild) were music notes as they're written on a page, broken into little pieces. It's too bold to be cookies and cream, and the spots are too precise to be dalmatian spots.

I loved the effect these glitters eventually gave, but getting them to this point was a pain. Unfortunately, the ratio of clear polish to glitter was off, so I wound up with thick layers of polish, without much glitter. I think this polish would've benefited from being either sold in a smaller size, or packed with more glitter pieces. As it is now, it's a little frustrating, especially the white.

Black and White Glitters

I may not be posting my nails, but I am most certainly not going to abandon you guys.

I have some awesome news and exciting tips for you today.

One of the most coveted nail polishes available to lacquer heads today comes from Lynderella: Connect the Dots. It's a gorgeous polish that goes well over every single thing it's layered with. Check out some of these examples:

The PolishAholic, Gems in a Bottle, Chalkboard Nails, The Lacquer Room, Polish Art Addiction

Unfortunately, this beauty of a polish is really hard to come by, and may be harder now that she has closed shop for a while and made her blog private. Sucks I know.

Luckily, there are opportunities out there to get dupes and polishes that are really close. I just ordered two of these from All That Glitters, an Etsy shop run by Kirsten. She has two glitter polishes that are similar to Connect the Dots. For the black, she has Spotty Dottie Dark.

For the white, she has Spotty Dottie Light.

I just ordered one of each, so I have no idea how the consistency and application is, but those beautiful solid glitters make me so happy.

There has also been another move on Connect the Dots from Ninja Polish. They sell polish from a polish creator called Cover Band Lacquers. Their almost perfect dupe is called Sticks n' Stones and is currently sold out. You'll notice though that there is a message to buyers near the bottom that reads:

Sticks 'n Stones is not a limited edition product. The creator is working furiously to make us more stock. We expect a lot of stock again within 2-4 weeks.

The Spotty Dottie's go for $8.00, and Sticks n' Stones goes for $9.00. While Lynn is clearly unhappy about theses polishes popping up, you'll be happy to know that you have access to similar polishes.