Revlon Whimsical (and comparison to DL GitA)

I own and love Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air. I told myself that it was ridiculous to buy the Revlon dupe and that I didn't need a backup. Then, I bought it anyway. Oye.

Revlon Whimsical (3 coats over a light blue jelly franken)




It's very easy to make your own light blue jelly: it's 1/4 white creme and 3/4 clear, plus a few drops of blue creme until it suits your taste!

Ok, so I'm sure you have all seen a million comparisons to GitA, but I wanted to see it for myself! Here are my comparison pics:

Bottle shot


Here's 4 coats of each, no base:


and a close up on a nail wheel:



My thoughts:

• There are 3 sizes of glitter in these polishes: large hex, medium hex, and tiny circular (maybe hex, it's hard to tell).
• The largest hex glitter is the same in both polishes (light pink and blue)
• The medium hex glitter is the same size in both, but from what I can tell, GitA has both silver and pink medium glitter, while the Revlon only has silver.
• The smallest glitter is the same in both polishes; an iridescent glitter that shines aqua and violet.
• The glitter in the Revlon dupe is much more dense than in the DL. 
• The blue jelly base is more opaque in the Revlon. This alters the colour of a base polish if you choose to layer it, though (for example, over Revlon Modern Grace)

In conclusion, if I didn't have the DL already, I know I would be more than satisfied with the Revlon dupe. I do like the DL bottle and brush better than the Revlon though, and I've already used up 1/5 of the bottle... so I'm going to keep both for now :D

Anyway, I hope you guys found this helpful and can get a bottle for yourself if you like it :) I found mine at Harmons Beauty Supply for $3.79. I've read that it's also been spotted at Kmarts!

Joe Fresh swatches (incl. RBL 360 dupe!)

As you might have heard from Gotham Polish, Joe Fresh has opened a few stores in NYC this fall. Joe Fresh is a Canadian brand of clothing that also has a cosmetics line, including polishes!

In Canada, the brand was actually sold inside of a chain of supermarkets (the mega-supermarket-style ones), but they also have stand-alone stores. Every time we drove back to Canada, I would stop by Loblaws and grab a few polishes, since they were only 3 for $10 (or $4 each). The bottles are on the small side, though, at 0.2oz.

A couple weeks ago, I was in the city and decided to stop by the 5th Ave location (apparently, this is the only store that has cosmetics at this time). The pricing is the same, at 3 bottles for $10 or $4 each. There was a nice selection of polishes. I grabbed the following ones without having seen swatches beforehand:

Joe Fresh Teal - I love this polish! 2 coats, super easy to apply.


Comparison: Joe Fresh Teal and RBL 360 - When I saw it in the store, I immediately thought it was similar to RBL 360. I was ecstatic to find they are extremely close! IRL, I think you could tell them apart side-by-side, but this is definitely the closest "dupe" I have ever seen. I think the formula (or at least the brush) is better than the RBL, too.



Joe Fresh Persian Blue - A gorgeous blue creme, 2 coats.


Comparison: Joe Fresh Persian Blue and Orly Sapphire Silk - Turns out I also have a close dupe of this one as well! Oops!


Joe Fresh Khaki - This jumped out from the display at me. Had to have it. 2 coats, but almost 1!



Comparison: Joe Fresh Khaki and Essie Sew Psyched - DUPE, again. DOH. This is why I can't buy without looking at swatches first!


Joe Fresh Slate - This one really spoke to me too! 2 coats.


Comparison: Joe Fresh Slate and Misa Office Polish-tics - Similar feeling, but not dupes. I like both, but I feel like I should probably only keep one. I will defer this decision for a while, because I cannot decide now!


Joe Fresh Denim - A deep, dark blue, almost jelly-ish feeling. 2 coats.


Comparison: Joe Fresh Denim and Essie Bobbing for Baubles - Again, similar feeling, but not dupes. I don't have a lot of darker blues like this, to be honest.


I love the formula on these Joe Fresh polishes. 2 easy coats, and the brush is like a smaller-OPI pro-wide brush. The stem is a bit on the short side which can make things a bit tricky, but I think it's easy to get used to. There are probably polishes in this line that have lousy formulas (I'm thinking pastels), but all of the ones I have tried have been lovely!

The 2-3 times I've been to the 5th Ave Joe Fresh store, business has looked pretty good. Hopefully this means more stores will open in the future around the US! :D Wouldn't that be snazzy?

Orly Plum Noir and a dupe alert

Watched the hockey game last night; woohoo go Canucks! What an exciting, and sexy game! I'm not usually into hockey, but since a Canadian team has made it to the finals and I'm living in the US now, I felt like I should be supportive haha.

Orly Plum Noir - I received this in a swap recently and LOVE it! Such a beautiful colour, and amazing formula. 2 easy coats. I love Orly, I think I should add more to my wishlist!


But... it looked so familiar.

Comparison with Zoya Lael (which I just got in the Exchange last month):


This is one of the closest dupes I've found in my stash so far!!

NYX Girls Dorothy - Dupe for DL RRS?

So, I saw this post over at Imperfectly Painted and prompty spazzed out about finding this polish. It was (and still is) sold out at cherryculture, so I ended up swapping for it.

I do not own Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers, but it looks pretty close, right?

NYX Girls - Dorothy: 3 coats. Application was not as smooth as my DL AtU, I might add some thinner!



I also noticed that NYX Girls bottles are almost exactly the same as the mens' BB Couture bottles! I forgot to take a picture, but now I know where I'm lining up my NYX Girls XD

Avon Olive Green, Cotton Candy, Tweed

Slowly working through my stash and uploading the swatches :) I can't wait until this weekend when I'll have time to swatch all my new pretties! My Zoya Intimates order just shipped so I'm hoping it gets here in time ^_^

Here are some Avons I own. I ordered them last fall when there were some free shipping codes floating around and the polishes were 2/$6. I'm not sure if this code will still work, but if its your first time placing an order, the code "FIRSTREP" should work (but you need to select a local representative and purchase through their site; no worries about someone coming to your door though lol). If that code doesn't work, take a peek on retailmenot or other coupon code sites and I'm sure there are other free shipping codes around :)

Avon Olive Green - I purchased this because it is a well-known dupe for RBL ONS. The formula is seriously to die for. A 1 coater, but I did 2 for the pics. I really like the brushes on these Avons: they are larger than normal, but not huge like Sally Hansens or OPIs. They are a similar shape, but about 2/3 the size. I definitely recommend getting this polish...


Avon Cotton Candy - This polish was sheerer than I'd hoped. This is 3 or maybe 4 coats? It's a cute colour though... I'd pass though.


Avon Tweed - An amazingly gorgeous jelly. I can't remember if this is 2 or 3 coats, though. Regardless, the application was really good for me!


Definitely recommend it.. unless you already have a dupe:

Comparison: Avon Tweed on index and ring, Essie Masquerade Belle on Middle and Pinky



I honestly bought the Essie the weekend after my Avon Tweed came in the mail. Aghh! I think I actually slightly prefer the Avon, because of the brush; however, I think I will keep the Essie... only because it cost more -.-