Hi Goddesses
I've been threatening for a long time to do a purple holo comparison post, as I've gathered quite a few in my quest for purplular perfection :) I think in my head I had about 7 or 8 to show you, but when I laid them out there were ..... 14. Lol. Excessive, much ? But so much fun too.
Are you ready ?? Here we go .....
Round 1 features -
thumb - a franken made for me by good friend Elizabeth Stern
index - Ozotic 624
middle - Glitter Gal Dark Purple Sparkle
ring - Glitter Gal Dark Purple holo
pinkie - Purple Potion by Pam Heil
So, what's the first thing you see? Yup, yup, those would be dupes you are looking at! Ozotic 624 and Glitter Gal Dark Purple Sparkle are 100% dupes. And I don't mean "ooh, they look similar" - they are absolutely identical.
Glitter Gal Dark Purple holo is lovelier than I remembered, and the GG holos do have the finest grade of holo-ness, so if you're looking for something subtle as well as beautiful, this is your one.
The thumb and pinkie are the odd ones out. The thumb is 2 coats of Elizabeth's Spectraflair franken, with a layer of GG Fuchsia holo on top to give it a bit more linear oooomph. And Pam's Purple Potion - well, that's only here because I hadn't tried it yet. To be fair, it's a glitter and holo combo, so it's unfair to judge it alongside these others (don't worry, she'll be in her own post soon).
Ready for Round 2 ?
thumb - HITS Dionisio
index - Milani 3-D Hi-Res
middle - Sally Hansen Nail Prisms - Purple Diamond
ring - OPI DS Original
pinkie - my own Spectraflair franken
For now, try to ignore the thumb and pinkie - this round was about comparing the 3 light purple holos.
So, the Milani as obviously differnent as it has a larger particle size, but my real question is - if I hadn't told you which one was DS Original, would you have been able to spot it?
DS Original is sooooo original and soooo iconic, that it never even crossed my mind it could have a dupe, but it does. These are 99% identical. The only difference my naked eye can see is that there is perhaps 1 extra drop of purple in the OPI, as well as a slightly finer particle size, but you have to be REALLY up close and personal to notice that. Wow, who'dda thunk ???
So, Round 3 - the DARK DARK Purples :) (these make me HAPPY)
thumb - HITS Dionisio
index - CG LOL
middle - CG Virtual Violet
ring - Color Club Wild At Heart
pinkie - a-England Lady of the Lake
So, as some of you know, Lady of The Lake is my favourite polish of all time, and it's only here really to provide a pivot point - how do the others compare to the very very best ?
Well, there's a lot of difference at coat 1. I don't often do this, but this is how they look when there's just 1 layer. HITS - very wishy washy but also very shimmery; LOL extremely flat and almost matte; Virtual Violet - there's a lot of holo there, but again a flat appearance; Wild At Heart - wow - impressive; Lady of the Lake - looking like the winner she is.
With the exception of Wild At Heart and Lady, all the polishes needed 3 coats. To clarify: Lady of the Lake rules and Wild At Heart is an impressive 2nd. Both are dark, and Wild At Heart probably has the most purple in it, if that makes sense. Plus it's the bargain of the bunch - double win!
HITS Dionisio .... hmmmm. I am not out and out disliking, but this is very different to the others. Watery, and quite grey toned. Although it has LOTS of holographic shimmer, it almost looks like someone just put Northern Lights on top of a purple. Dionisio, we will have to meet again.
Which leaves us with our 2 China Glazes - LOL (index) and Virtual Violet (middle). Top coat definitely improves them, and helps dispel that flatness, but there is not denying that they pale compared to Wild At Heart. And yet they are pretty. And yet they're not as impressive as Wild At Heart. And yet I don't want to give them up ...... lol.
And here's my dilemma - I clearly have some dupes, but I don't know which babies to part with. I certainly don't need 14 ..... help ???
Enjoy xx :)