Holiday 2016 Comparisons - OPI Black Dress Not Optional (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

From left to right: Willa (Wishes, Holiday 2014), Raven (Extreme, 2004), Claudine (Satins, Autumn 2013), Black Dress Not Optional, Queen of the Road (Mustang, Summer 2014), Black Diamond (Ski, Winter 2007), Love is Hot and Coal (Gwen Stefani Holiday, Holiday 2014), Bernadette (Black Onyx for February Birthstone, February 2015)

I wanted to show Black Dress Not Optional next to a true black crème (Willa) just to show you how metallic it is. Raven and Bernadette are the only other polishes in the lot that are a true black besides Black Dress Not Optional, but Raven has a much subtler shimmer and Bernadette has chunky silver glitter. Love is Hot and Coal is in real life more of a chocolatey brown, and Claudine is a dark gray, kind of like how black pencil lead is really a dark gray instead of black. Queen of the Road is a much warmer black, as is Black Diamond, but they’re all pretty close.

Side note: I forgot Bernadette in my first shots, but those were my best shots of the other colors so I’ll include them here.

Holiday 2016 Comparisons - Essie Ready to Boa (Getting Groovy)

I couldn’t decide whether Ready to Boa was more red or brown so I compared it to both. Like The More the Berrier, this is another polish I haven’t seen in years!

From left to right: Love is Hot and Coal (Gwen Stefani Holiday, Holiday 2014), Espresso Your Style! (Kick Up Your Heels, Holiday 2006), Muir Muir on the Wall (San Francisco, Autumn 2013), Ready to Boa, Black Cherry Chutney (India, Spring 2008), Midnight in Moscow (Russia, Autumn 2007), German-icure by OPI (Germany, Autumn 2012), Short & Sassy (Retro Diva, Autumn 2009)

Hot and Coal is way too brown and doesn’t have even a touch of red in it. Espresso Your Style is closer but the shimmer is more gold toned. Now, Muir Muir is the other polish in my stash that has always defied classification as red or brown, and they’re definitely cousins. Muir Muir has a stronger duochrome (even reaching green) and is darker and vampier, while it’s the closest thing I have to Boa they’re different enough I’d say you can have both. Black Cherry Chutney is a little more purple toned and the shimmer is less apparent. Midnight in Moscow is also darker. German-icure and Short & Sassy aren’t brown enough to really compare to Boa.