Summer 2017 Comparisons - Essie Front Page Worthy (Gel Couture Gala Bolds)

I just can’t get good bottle swatches of dark blue metallics, I’m sorry.

From left to right: Juniper (Luminous Lights, Holiday 2016), Eunice (Into the Sea, July 2016), Estelle (Flair, Autumn 2015), Aruba Blue, Front Page Worthy, Miss Piggy’s Big Number (Muppets World Tour, Spring 2014), Under the Stars (Coastal Crush, Summer 2017), Scandalous Shenanigans (Autumn Nights, Autumn 2013)

Juniper, Eunice, Estelle, and Aruba Blue are much brighter, Scandalous Shenanigans is much darker, and Under the Stars has pink shimmer in it, but Front Page Worthy and Miss Piggy’s Big Number are super-duper close. If I was being nitpicky I’d say Front Page Worthy is a bit more purple toned but yeah.

Misc. Comparisons - Essie Catch of the Day (Shimmer Brights)

From left to right: I Got a Blue Attitude (Lite Brites, Summer 2016), Blagger (Spring 2011), Gladys (Dark and Stormy Nights, October 2016), Catch of the Day, Aruba Blue (?), Loot the Booty (Viva Antigua, Summer 2016), Up All Night (Patent Leather in the City, Spring 2006), Sleeping Under the Stars (The Great Outdoors, Autumn 2015), Royal Navy (In the Navy, Summer 2010)

Blue Attitude is really more purple; purples are notoriously hard to photograph. It looks nothing like Catch of the Day in person; I just wanted to compare it because the shimmer is similar (namely, impossibly hard to see on the nail!). I thought Blagger would be a good match to the base but it’s a lot more vibrant and green. Royal Navy has a strong light blue shimmer, and while a lot of the awesome red/gold shimmer in Sleeping Under the Stars doesn’t show up the base color is nevertheless a lot darker. Loot the Booty is in the same boat but darker and the shimmer shows up a lot better. Aruba Blue and Gladys are pretty close to Catch of the Day, but Aruba Blue is a metallic while Catch of the Day and Gladys are crèmes with shimmer. Gladys and Catch of the Day are actually really close!

Spring 2017 Comparisons - OPI Super-trop-i-cal-i-fiji-istic (Fiji)

From left to right: Rich Girls & Po Boys (New Orleans, Spring 2016), Super-trop-i-cal-i-fiji-istic, Sia (Focus, Autumn 2015), Video Killed the Radio Star (’80’s Rewind, Summer 2014)

I immediately thought Video would be a close match to Super-trop-i, but it’s actually far brighter. I thought everyone would like to see Rich Girls & Po Boys, but it’s a lot lighter. Sia is the closest but it’s darker

China Glaze Rebel Comparisons - Combat Blue-ts

Other mattes:

From left to right: Sonia (Switch Up, November 2015), Combat Blue-ts, Rendee (Sun Crush, May 2017)
Sonia is a lot more teal than everything else, it doesn't photograph well but it's basically green compared to the other two. Rendee though is super close, just a little lighter, but it too has pink shimmer running through it like Combat Blue-ts. You don't need them both.

Non-mattes:

From left to right: Catch of the Day (Shimmer Brights/Aim to Misbehave, Summer 2016), Song (Diva, Autumn 2012), High on Hope (Spring 2013), Combat Blue-ts, Sleeping Under the Stars (The Great Outdoors, Autumn 2015), Russian Navy (Russia, Autumn 2007)

Combat Blue-ts has pink shimmer that won’t come out for the life of me. Sleeping Under the Stars is similar, but it’s more purple and the shimmer is more visible even in the bottle.

Julep Blue Holographics Comparison

Good afternoon everyone! Today I’m going to compare Julep’s blue holographic polishes! I’m not certain why it seems like Julep has more blue holos than any other color, but they certainly have quite a few! The only blues holos of theirs I’m missing are Tomi (I’ve been avoiding it because I worry it’s just too close to Hallie, but if I do get it I’ll add it in) and the two blues from last holiday’s mini holographic set, Kinsey and Yvette.

From left to right: Jennye, Tali, Ayonna, Hallie, Tessa, Eliza, Ginny, Delores. Bottom, Cecile.

I decided to throw in Cecile (Lighten Up Collection, March 2016) at the bottom even though it’s more green than any of the rest. The only other one of these with a lot of green in it is Hallie, which is much lighter and bluer. It’s also the only one of these that is a jelly finish (so does Tomi, but it’s also lighter and bluer). Everything else is much more opaque.

Jennye (Spring to It Collection, March 2017) – Jennye, one of the newest of these, is definitely filling a void in Julep’s lineup, that being light blue. The base of this is similar to Jessica, only a bit more purple toned. Jennye is one of the finer, blingier, less silvery, more linear holographics, which gives it a much different look than Tali.

Tali (New Year Fresh Look Collection, January 2016) – Tali has always been the strongest of the Liquid Holographics, but has a distinctly different look than the 2016-7 Holographics like Eliza and Jennye. Tali is a sky blue with a strong but not quite as in your face holo effect. The glitter in Jennye or Eliza jumps off of the polish, while the holo in the Liquid Holographics compliments the base color and is one with it.

Ayonna (Hatch Me If You Can Mystery Box, April 2017) – The new kid, Ayonna is unique in that when not flashing holo, the glitter appears silver against the denim blue background. In fact, when not flashing holo Ayonna quite looks like denim! It’s like a holo pair of jeans! It’s darker than Tali and lighter and less purple than Tessa.

Hallie (Holo Days Mystery Box, July 2015) – Hallie is by far the most teal out of all the blue holographics, but not as green as Cecile. Hallie looks like Caribbean resort water! It has a subtler holo effect that’s hard to see in indirect lighting but visible and quite chic in sunlight or bright light.

Tessa (All is Bright Trio, Holiday 2015) – I don’t think I realized how much purple was in Tessa until I compared it to all these other blue holos! Tessa is a dark blue with a lot of purple, but not so much purple as Delores. It is of the Liquid Holographic formula that is less blingy and more silvery, but in the sunlight is quite beautiful.

Eliza (Endless Summer Collection, August 2016) – Eliza, as mentioned above, is what I’m going to call a 2016-17 Holographic, Julep’s new favored form of holographic shimmer being this less silvery and more linear holographic. Eliza is somehow simultaneously dark and bright blue, Julep calls it an “infinite ocean blue” and I wholeheartedly agree, It’s similar in color, except brighter, to Tessa, but their holographic glitter is quite different.

Ginny (This Way to the Soiree, December 2016) – Ginny is a whole other animal compared to the rest of Julep’s blue holos. The holo in Ginny is incredibly fine and almost hard to see in some lights, and it also has some orange shimmer, which is mostly lost on the nail but it gives the polish a lot of depth. It’s far purpler and darker than Eliza, which has little purple in it.

Delores (Kisses, London Collection, September 2015) – Delores is very violet, but a very blue toned one. This Liquid Holographic is pretty close to Tessa, but putting Delores next to Tessa does really show that Tessa deep down really is blue.