Comparison Thursday: Peachy-Orange OPI Holos

This week's comparison is a look at a few peach and orange holos I have from OPI.  All of these are discontinued and hard to find, unfortunately, but I still wanted to show them to you guys anyway.  Mainly because I wanted to see how they compared, so you guys get to reap the benefit!  Let's take a look.

Purchased myself.

Day at the Peach, DS Vintage, Coral Reef, DS Couture

I wanted to make sure that the holo flames weren't adversely affected by the use of topcoat, so I went without.  No topcoat on any of the polishes equals awful dry times.  

Day at the Peach

DatP has a super thin consistency.  Because of this thin consistency, it has a tendency to pool, but the smaller brush makes it easier to apply.  It's one of the older Summer for Shore Collection polishes, so it's got a fine holo particle.  Surprisingly, it was opaque in two coats, but I used three for my photos. I thought that it would take much more to build to opacity since the consistency was so runny.  And as I mentioned earlier, the dry time long without a quick dry topcoat.

DS Vintage

DS Vintage is one of the newer polishes, so it's got the new brush style.  The fat OPI brush makes application a little difficult on short nails, which is why I detest those fat flat brushes.  As compared to DatP, it's got a bit thicker consistency, so it's less likely to pool.  The DS line all have a larger holo particle than the Summer for Shore collection.  It's closest in color to DatP, but they're definitely not dupes.  It was easily opaque at two coats.  Again, dry time was long because I didn't use a quick dry topcoat.

Coral Reef

CR is another Summer for Shore polish, so it's a bit thin like DatP, but it doesn't pool as much.  It's very orange as compared to the others in this grouping.  CR has a fine holo particle like the rest of the Summer for Shore collection.  It's opaque in two coats, but I used three for my photos.  It's probably obvious now, but dry time was long because no topcoat.

DS Couture

DS Couture is one of the newer bottles so it's got that thicker OPI brush, which makes application difficult, like with Vintage.  It's on the thicker side, but there is still a tendency to pool on my skin.  Couture is the most red of the bunch.  It's also the most pigmented, and was easily opaque in one coat.  However, I used two coats for my photos.  Dry time was long, but not quite as bad as the others because I was able to do thinner coats due to the high pigmentation in this polish.

So, there you have it!  Those are all of my peachy-orange OPI holos.  I think my favorite is Couture because it's just so vibrant and fun.  Which is your favorite?

Golden Oldie Thursday (oops): Blue & Comparison Friday Blue Holo Glitters

Hello hello hello!  This week has been crazy insane!  Massive deadline today, which cut into my time pretty heavily.  Plus, I just refurnished my polish area!!!  It's not completely done yet, so I'll wait for a bit to show you guys a picture, but I am so beyond super excited with what it's going to look like when it's all said and done!  Ok, so since I'm behind, and I don't want to give up on a nail challenge for once, I'm posting my Golden Oldie Thursday tonight!  And since I have also moved Comparison Thursdays to Fridays for a little while, I've decided to add a comparison at the bottom of this post.  As such, I won't be doing a full review of my GOT Polish mani.  Ok, let's get started!

**All polishes purchased by me**

Golden Oldies Thursday

This week's challenge is just blue.  That's it.  Blue.  So simple, which is what I really like about this challenge.  I don't have to be super artistic to participate!  I chose to do a mani with OPI What's with the Cattitude topped with Lynnderella Deep Blue Seeing and accents of OPI The Flowers are Blue-ming!

All three applied evenly with three coats on WWTC and Blue-ming and one coat of DBS.  Dry time on the two base colors, though, was HORRENDOUS.  I mean, seriously.  I had to redo four different fingers at least THREE, yes, you read that right - THREE times...  That was not fun at 1:00 in the morning...

All nails needed an extra coat of topcoat, so this is shown with two coats of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  Having a quick dry topcoat definitely helped with the dry time, but waiting for the layers to dry before adding the next was torturous.  It really put a damper on how pretty this mani was for me.

Flowers and WWTC have both been discontinued, so you'll need to look at old salons, blog sales, or eBay to find them.  You can purchase Lynnderella Deep Blue Seeing at her online store.

Comparison Friday: Blue Holo Glitters

This is going to be a suuuuuper quick comparison where the pictures will do most of the talking.  Let's take a look at a few of my blue polishes with holo micro glitters.

Darwin

LynBDesigns Darwin is a navy based polish with small silver holo glitters.  This one is the outlier of the group since it is much darker and the glitter particles are larger in this than in the others.  Application was easy, and this is three coats with one coat of Peita's Polish Glitter Glaze.  You can purchase LynBDesigns polishes at her Etsy store.

Cosmos

Picture Polish Cosmos is one of my all time favorite polishes ever.  Ever ever.  It's pretty much a one coater, but I used two here for the photos with one coat of Peita's Polish Glitter Glaze.  I needed to do absolutely no cleanup, which is a giant win in my book.  The base is darker but not as dark as Darwin.  The holo particles are more like irregularly shaped / flakies rather than micro glitters, which gives it beautiful depth.  I purchased my Picture Polish at Llarowe.

Got Your Number

OPI Got Your Number is a part of their Liquid Sand line, which means it's a textured polish!  I really like OPI textures because they have a really pretty sparkle and shimmer to them, and GYN is no exception.  Unlike most of their textured polishes, though, there are larger silver holo glitters.  The base color is the same as Blue-ming, but clearly it's not a dupe because it is textured.  Most of the photos show GYN in its natural textured state without a topcoat.  However, I do have a macro and a comparison swatch below of GYN with a coat of Peita's Glitter Glaze.  I purchased my set of mini Mariah Carey Liquid Sands at Ulta.

The Flowers are Blue-ming!

OPI's The Flowers are Blue-ming! is a royal blue based polish with tiny holo glitters.  Application was easy, but as I mentioned above, dry time was crazy long.  This is three coats with two coats of KBShimmer's Clearly on Top.  Since this is a pretty packed glitter, removal was a massive pain.  Unfortunately, I don't have the exact dupe from the Nicole by OPI line to compare, but it is apparently exactly the same.  Blue-ming was an Ulta exclusive in 2012, but you can still find it around blog sales. 

Absolutely Alice

While this polish looks like it has a similar base color, it is actually a clear based polish packed with blue and gold micro glitters.  They aren't really holo, but I wanted to show you guys how it compared against Blue-ming anway since the base color looks the same.  Dry time was quick, but removal was difficult.  This is three coats with one coat of Peita's Polish Glitter Glaze, but it could definitely be worn with just two.  This polish came out a few years ago, so I was only able to find AA at a salon while dusty hunting.

So, as you can see, I don't really have any exact duplicates in today's comparison.  They're all very pretty blue glitters, though, so I'm definitely cool keeping all of them!  These are a bit too light to compare to Essie's Starry Starry Night, which is why I don't have it in this comparison.  However, I do have a bunch of alleged dupes for SSN, so I'll show you those soon.

**All polishes purchased by me**

Comparison... Friday?: Dusty Purple Holos

I've decided to move the normal weekly comparison to Fridays while I participate in the Golden Oldie Thursday Challenge.  Tonight's post is a much anticipated, much discussed, and much questioned comparison...  Are there any polishes that will work as a stand in for Enchanted Polish Up in Smoke?  I think there are a few close options, but the ultimate determination is up to you.  Make sure you read all the way through because I have a super special and exciting announcement at the end of the post, and you don't want to miss it!

I purchased, or made, all of the polishes in this review.

Tonight's comparison polishes include:

Enchanted Once Upon a Cloud, Enchanted Majestic, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Love Makes You Do the Wacky, Enchanted Up in Smoke, and Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Hypothermia.

Here they are all side-by-side:

First, let's discuss the similarities, and then we'll chat a bit about the differences individually.  This post will be picture heavy, so get ready.  Also, click on the photos to enlarge them!  Photos are taken in direct sunlight, indirect sunset light, and artificial sunlight.

All five polishes have a hint of a pink-ish flash, and they're all very holo.  All but Once Upon a Cloud are a dusty purple base, and Majestic, Wacky, and UiS are all around the same shade of purple.  The three middle polishes are most closely related, but they are all subtly unique.  Let's take a look at their differences in a little more depth.

Once Upon a Cloud

Once Upon a Cloud is a grey based polish with pink shimmer and a larger particle holographic pigment.  The pink was a little shy in the photos, but it's very noticeable in person.  This is two coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  Application was easy without any clumping, balding, dragging, or pooling.  I needed almost no cleanup at all.  It's a bit on the thicker side for a holo, which I attribute to its almost creamy base texture.  The holo, however, is less prominent than in the others, which I also attribute to the creamy base texture.  It's a bit too opaque, and that causes the holo pigment to get covered up.  Overall, it's a lovely polish, but it's definitely the outlier of the group.  Unfortunately, OUaC was a one-off polish that was released only once.  It's just new enough, though, that you can still find it for a decent price on blog sales and in online sales groups.

Majestic

Majestic is a dusty purple holo with a strong fuchsia flash.  The flash in Majestic is probably the strongest of all of the polishes in the comparison.  This is three coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  Application was easy, again, and dry time was average.  The base of Majestic is ever so slightly more grey than Wacky, UiS, or Hypothermia.  Despite being a bit more opaque than the others, the holo effect is still quite prominent, but it can be occasionally drowned out by bright pink flash.  Majestic was released last summer and has been restocked a few times by Enchanted as well as by her stockists.  However, I believe that it has been discontinued, so, again, you'll have to look for this bad boy in groups or on blog sales.

Love Makes You Do the Wacky

Wacky, as I affectionately call it, is a purple based linear holo with a strong fuchsia flash.  Application is easy, but it's a little bit thinner than any of the other polishes in this comparison.  It's also a bit less opaque than the rest of the group, but this is still only three coats with one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  While the base pulls a little grey, it's definitely more purple than grey, and it's also less creamy than Majestic or UiS.  The pink flash is strong in Wacky, but it doesn't obscure the purple base.  Wacky was a part of the Once More with Feeling Collection that was stocked throughout the fall of 2013.  It has been discontinued, but you can still find it in blog sales or sales groups.

Up in Smoke

Up in Smoke is aptly named as the purple base is a bit hazier and smokier than the others.  The base is almost imperceptibly darker than Majestic and Wacky, but not quite as dark as Hypothermia.  Application is super easy and gives full coverage in pretty much two coats.  Here, I've used three coats for the photos.  The flash in UiS is a shade or two darker than the flashes in Majestic and Wacky.  The holo pigment is strong with the perfect balance of holo, base color, and flash.  Unfortunately, UiS was an exclusive shade just for Mei Mei's Signatures.  There may be more released, but that's unknown at this time.  This polish is a very hard to find polish and sells for a high price or swaps only for very hard to find polishes.  If it's ever back on Mei Mei's, you'd better grab it as fast as you can!

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a vibrant purple holo with a slight purple flash and royal blue micro shimmers.  Application is easy in two coats, but, again, I used three for photos and topped it off with KBShimmer Clearly on Top.  The base color is slightly darker than Majestic, Wacky, and UiS, and the added shimmer gives the polish more depth than the others.  Its flash is less prominent, and I think that part of it is an optical illusion from the holo pigment and the royal blue shimmers.  Hypothermia is a limited edition polish that is only available to those who purchase the full Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Winter Collection, which is currently in stock.  

You can purchase Enchanted Polishes at her store.  She's been downsizing her etailers, but I believe that Nail Polish Canada and Mei Mei's Signatures are both still carrying Enchanteds.  Follow Chelsea on Facebook and IG for news and updates on new releases and restocks.  Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquers can be purchased here.  Follow me on Facebook and IG for news and updates on new releases and restocks.  

And now for my big announcement!  I will be re-releasing Love Makes You Do the Wacky for a limited release for my Valentine's Collection February restock on 2/2/2014 at 3:00 pm est!  This will be a very small restock with only a few bottles of each polish stocked.  There may be a second small restock in the middle of the month depending on interest.  But if you've been looking to get Wacky, you'll need to act quickly!  I'll have photos of the rest of the collection within the week!

So, what do you think?  Are they close enough to one another that you don't need them all?  Which is your favorite?