Red comparison week - 8th day: red glitters: 6

The last one. I saved this one to be the final comparison, because who doesn't love red glitter on their nails? To finish the comparison week with a bit of oomph. ;) This week has been a lot of work, I won't deny it. Perhaps also  because I'm running out of time like crazy lately and an obligation to post every day has become very hard to keep, since I'm well into my study phase. I should be, at least. March is always tricky when it comes to studying for me, since it's my birthday month and so on. But nevertheless, it was a fun comparison. I found a bunch of polish that I want and a couple of dupes that helped me erase some names off the WL. I owe major thanks to Tevta, for letting me play with her reds - withough her gorgeous stash this wouldn't be half as big, since more than half of polish I was comparing is hers! So yes, thank you, hun. :) And now to the glitters! You'll see the pattern, group picture, natural light, direct sunlight, separate natural light, direct sunlight, and of course a video.

 Sparkle check, only with right hand, sorry.

If you enlarge this one, you'll see the difference in density of glitter between Fairy Blood and Ruby Pumps. And the difference between coverage of Red Glitter and Fire Sparkle. So I recommend it. ;)

Again thanks to my mom for helping me out with these. Here she already mastered the camera. Kind of. :D

Fairy Blood, BB Couture, don't think it came out in collection, and overallbeauty.com has collection covered pretty well. 

Ruby Pumps, China Glaze, originally 2001 collection, rereleased in 2008 Holiday Collection Sleigh Ride and 2009 collection Wizard of Ohh Ahz returns. Not that it matters much, it's a part of ChG classic range.

Red Glitter, Barry M. Don't think Barry M releases collections ... at least I didn't find any info on that.

Fire Sparkle, Nubar, 2010 Spring Collection.

Don't Toy With Me, O.P.I., 2008 Holiday in Toyland collection.

Glam, Orly, part of their classic range.

All 6 brands have B3F formula, yay!

Brush: do you get tired of listening how i didn't have any troubles with the brush? Well, I really didn't. Nubar, China Glaze, OP.I. (even minis), Orly, and of course BB Couture have perfect brushes, and I really think so. Barry M was my first one to try out, and I liked the brush, application not so much.

Coats: I managed to do two coats with all of them, except Ruby Pumps needed three and Barry M needs at least four - the pictures are with four coats, and you can easily see my nails especially at the end of the nail. So perhaps it's better to layer it. BB Couture of course made me fall in love with it all over again, since the application was flawless and sooo easy! Ruby Pumps it's a classic, have no troubles with it, Nubar actually surprised me, as I had in my memory that it's a three coater ... Glam still is right there with Ruby Pumps in my book, I actually love it even more. And Don't toy with me is still one of my biggest lemmings in O.P.I. department, it went right there to top 3 after I've finally gotten Catherine The Grape. Barry M ... like I said, more of a layering glitter. The formula is very goopy, like with not so great glitters (and Illamasqua's Harsh, actually!), it also dries the roughest, it would need three coats of TC added to be smooth, and frankly, I didn't have the time to do that.

Oh yes, all of them have Nfo Oh Ultra Shine top coat added, because these beauties deserve smooth surface! I added two only to Fire Sparkle and Barry M. 

Dupability: No dupes! Perhaps Red Glitter and Fire Sparkle seem close, but trust me, the gap in quality and opacity of both glitters is wide enough to buy Fire Sparkle. Mind you - Barry M Red Glitter is glitter in clear base, so if you're looking for a layering glitter that doesn't change base colour, go with Barry M! Fire Sparkle has a red base color. 

Fairy Blood is super jelly like, and I woooorship it for that! It has far less glitter than Ruby Pumps, but I don't mind that. Don't Toy With Me is the purpliest, of course and Glam the darkest. To keep it short: I need them all, except Barry M, as I'm not really fond of these kind of glitters.

There you have it! The end of the comparison week! Hope you guys liked it! Tell me how you feel about red glitters, love them, like them, hate them, aren't your favourites, shut-up-Ulmiel-I-can't-decide? :) 

Thank you for reading!

Red comparison week - 7th day: blood reds: 7

The big seven comparison! I had no idea it will put me through so much work, it was the first time I started to think about buying nail wheels, hehe. I still hope you'll find this one useful, I tried my best. Blood reds are by far the most useful reds in my opinion. You can get away with a blood red on long nails, short nails, at work or at a party or simply going camping. Or is it just me? I at least find it the most useful red, although I don't wear it often, what can I say, I'm a green person. ;) But I know a few people that think of a blood red as a bit much. So do they of basically all colours. Anyway, this will not be the last comparison, although it's the seventh day of red comparisons! I still have one more, I know you thought I've forgotten about them, but I haven't! But to todays comparison, here they are. Read the writing under the pics too, please, as I'll try to explain a few things.

 The group picture. They look like one mani, don't they?

 Up and below shots of separate hands in natural light, also for you to know which is which on one picture. My BIG apologizes for Luscious Wine, remember my rant about the dust in our house? Well, it happened, a piece of dust got stuck on my freshly applied polish. I couldn't remove it, as it was my last finger for the comparison and I'd have ruined the rest. *sigh*

 This one is almost useless due to the incredbile glossines of these colours! You can almost see my face in them, lol. This is all without TC, so trully an amazing gloss on these babies.

 The only way I could reduce the reflection on these. It's also the best picture for a very strict comparison. You may need to enlarge it to see the minor differences.

Another group picture. Not particularly useful, as the last three are in a different light, but still.

First of all, a big thanks to my mother, she had to use my camera for the very first time to get the group pictures. :) She almost lost her nerves too, so I bet she's glad the big comparisons are over (we did the one I'll show tomorrow today). :)

Jungle Red, NARS, no collection, as it seems, but it was a part of Jungle Red Set with lipstick and some other stuff.

Got the Blues for Red, 2005 O.P.I. Chicago collection.

Caught on the Red Carpet, Catrice, part of their core line Ultimate Nail Lacquer

St. Petersburgundy, 2007 O.P.I. Russian collection for fall.

Luscious Wine, LA Colors, no info on collection.

Bordeoux, Essie, again no info on collection, I suspect it's a part of their core line.

Thirsty!, 2010, Essence, The Twilight Saga Eclipse LE.

NARS, O.P.I. and Essie are all B3F brands, LA Colors claims on their web page they're toluene and formaldehyde free, and as for Essence and Catrice I still can't say for sure, but since the old formula is acutally forbidden, I'm guessing they are? At least partially. Don't know, wouldn't bet my head on it and their official sites don't say a word about it. But they're sister-brands so I'm guessing they have the same formula.

Brush: You know already what I'm gonna say about O.P.I. brush, I like it, the same goes for NARS (my first try out of NARS polish!). I love Catrice brush as it's a bit wider too. Essie, as you know, has a brush too thin for my liking, but it's managable. As for Essence and LA Colors, I can't really say I was thrilled about the brushes. But Thirsty! acted much nicely as with the wine red comparison. Still, they both fall in "less than good" chategory IMO.

Coats: I tried 2 with them all, and with the exception of LA Colors, you would get away with two, but with VNL and less depth in colour. Three coats are optimal with them all, except LA Colors, it needs four. I know what you'll gonna say - on some pictures there is VNL with some colors. That's due to the more jelly formula of some, especially NARS. Come to think of it, the biggest differences with these seven are because they're either more jelly or more creme. Application wasn't troublesome with any of them, at least not so much to point it out, even Essence behaved rather well. With removal I must point out that the only one who left me with bloodbath finger was Got the Blues for Red and that's no extra points for this one!

Dupability: The hard part. I looked at my nails like an idiot, on sunlight, shadow, in different rooms for different lighting, lightbox, strong light, soft light, you name it ... the only one that looked a bit darker, and that's only half a shade darker is Got The Blues For Red, as you can see on one picture especially (the one with reduced reflection). When I showed the pics to my BF by accident (I think I just edited them as he came in or something) he said NARS is lighter than all the other. I honestly didn't see that on my hands, so the only conclusion I can draw out of this is that NARS Jungle Red is the jelliest of them all and the colour change and more obvious VNL lies with that particular formula difference. Apart for Got The Blues For Red, I'd dare say they all look the same, and if there are differences, they're so small, you won't even notice them. I mean, look at my pictures with both hands. See any differences? 

Saying that, I feel it's a bit of a bold statement, claiming 6 out of 7 are dupes, and the one so close you won't even notice it unless staring at your nails for a while. Correction: 7 out of 8 are dupes, as Thirsty! was confirmed dupe with Essence Late At Night.

Maybe some of you would see the differences. I saw only the GtBfR and that Jungle Red is the jelliest. Saying that, I must say it's a gorgeous colour, one of the best shades of red, and I wouldn't worry much about it, if you have a couple of bottles at home. :) It's a classic shade, and it doesn't surprise me that most of brands have their edition of it. 

Long post, wow! Hope you find it useful. Oh, first time I've shown my right hand too, lol! Tomorrow I give you the last red comparison and then the usual manis. :) 

What do you think about this one? Please share your thoughts about dupabilty of these! :)

Thank you for reading!

Red comparison week - 6th day: *the* sexy reds: 4

Heya guys! How are you? On this beautiful day I'm getting a terrible headache, yes! I guess I'll need some pills, since I just cannot miss another day of studying. Oh, we're fresh out of painkillers. Hooray. Anyway. Today I have for you my favourite type of reds. Yes, they even beat vampy and blood reds, they're just so damn good. These are little bottles of sex. If you want to feel sexy, just put them on, you can have old jeans and a streched out T-shirt of a band you don't even like anymore on you and still you'll feel like a million bucks. I don't really know if it's the shimmer, ot the gorgeous base colour, I don't know where do they look better, on the sun or in the shadow, but whenever I look at my nails wearing them, they're are hot-t-t!

Isla, 2009 Zoya Truth or Dare Collection for Fall, the Truth part of the collection.

Lying Nails, Sinful Colors, alas no info on any collection with this one.

Torrid Red, 2010 Nubar Risque Reds Collection for Spring. 

Colbie, 2008 Zoya Pulse and Vibe Collection for Fall, the Pulse part of the collection.

*drools*

Boy oh boy oh boy! Such awesome, awesome reds! *dreamy sigh* Ok, anyway ... you know the drill:

All three brands are B3F! Yay! 

Brush: Again, all three brands with very nice brushes. Zoya and Nubar are of course top of the tops when it comes to the brush and I also like the Sinful one. Very normal brush, but it doesn't give you any troubles, and that's what matters!

Coats: All are two coaters, but I put three on Sinful, due to VNL. Although it was minimal, I wanted the 100% coverage. But two are more than enough. Application is smooth and easy, Sinful is runnier and far less pigmented, but the colour bulids up eventually. Zoya and Nubar didn't give me any troubles at all, but I didn't expect any troubles either, since I worship Torried Red and Isla, Isla is one of my most used varnishes of my stash. 

Dupability: No dupes! Need them all! Oh yes! Colbie is the brownest of them all, Torrid Red the darkest red, Lying nails the lightest, almost a true red with the sexy shimmer for more oomph. I *adore* these colours on natural light. Soooo soft and velvety. Isla is mine, but the other three go to my "urgent" WL. Well, Torrid Red is already there, of course. Really loved these, especially since they're so easy to work with. 

What do you think about this set? What kind of red is your "sexy" red? :) 

Thank you for reading!

Red comparison week - 5th day: blue/purple undertone aka burgundy: 4

Hey darlings! Todays group of reds was formed due to their quite obvious blue undertone, that with one got so strong it was already purplish red. Also this comparison gave me by far the most trouble. As you'll, I'm very sorry to say, see in the pictures too. I will show them nevertheless, because it's a comparison post and even the too dark lightbox pictures can show the differences in the shades, although the shade itself is too dark. I've written on the pictures also the amount of coats, just to get the stuff more clear, as the shades and the application on the pictures differ a lot.

 

FYI - the uneveness of two coats was visible only in lightbox, "normal" everyday light didn't show them.

Kangarooby, 2007 O.P.I. Australia Collection.

Malaga Wine, classic O.P.I. collection

Henrietta Street, Nails Inc. official site doesn't have it under a specific collection.

Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ, 2005 O.P.I. Chicago Collection.

All three O.P.I.s are green labels, so B3F, which is funny, since My Kind Of Brown that's also from Chicago Collection was a black label - I guess Tevta bought BBQ later on. I'm lost in the dark about nails inc. I have this feeling they're not B3F, as they are not telling they are on their website (and usually brands that are b3f do say so), and the polish smells kinda funny - but not as usually the black label OPIs do. So maybe they contain only one bad ingredient or something? Thing is, this could be an old bottle and thus still with the old formula, they just might be doing b3f formula now. If anyone knows, let me know, please.

Brush: all 4 have nice brush, OPI of course the pro wide one, Nails Inc a normal one  (it's not too thin) and I'd say it's an oval shape. It's my first encounter with nails inc. so I was curious about it, it behaved very nicely. 

Coats: All are two coater, with Malaga Wine actually being 1 coater if you don't mind VNL. Now, as you can see, in the lighbox it seemed like 2 coats leave uneven surface, but that's my cameras fault. It wasn't visible in normal lightning, proof are my natural pictures, also taken with two coats of each. I took the three coats shot only because I was bothered with the patches so much, but it's also a proof of how buildable the first three reds are - with three coats they looked much much darker. Still not as dark as BBQ though.

Dupability: Here I'd like to say a few things. First, I have no effing idea why my lighbox darkened the colours so much. It's the first time this happened, and I've compared quite a few reds this week! Actually Gejba made me feel a bit better (without her knowing it) with her last post, when I saw it's not just my lightbox going nuts. :D I'm sure you have at least one of the brighter ones to know the natural light shows the real colours. Lightbox shows though, that Kangarooby is a bit lighter than Malaga Wine and Henrietta Street, although it seems like all three are dupes. I'd dare say Malaga Wine and Henrietta Street are dupes, and Kangarooby is close enough you don't need it if you have any other, or vice versa, of course. At least I won't be buying Malaga Wine nor Henrietta Street, since Kangarooby is mine. BBQ is of course much darker and I knew it would be. But it seemd red enough to be in the comparison. :) 

Well, I think that's just about it. If you have any suggestions, let me know! What do you think about these four?

Thank you for reading!