OPI 'Germanicure' with Girly Bits 'Shift Happens'

Following my recent dupe test of Girly Bits Shift Happens and Max Factor Fantasy Fire (spoiler: I think they are dupes) I promised to show you the mani I did that used the Girly Bits polish....

For this mani I used my usual two coats of OPI Germanicure, and a single coat of Shift Happens on top (with the usual NE base and SV topcoat).  Germanicure is a stunning polish to start with, and like its collection-mate 'Every Month is Oktoberfest' it looks amazing layered (FYI you can find my comparison post of Germanicure, EMIO and Chanel Malice here which also includes pics of EMIO layered with Max Factor Fantasy Fire).

OPI Germanicure and Girly Bits Shift Happens - artificial light

For me the 'Germany' Fall 2012 collection from OPI was the best OPI effort since the now legendary Russian collection of 2007.  Germanicure and EMIO were the stars of the show for me, and I think these pictures show why.  This combination with the Girly Bits topper polish is like autumn in a bottle.  The natural glowing brown-toned shimmer of the Germanicure is given that added va-va-voom by the GB topper which adds russet, gold and green elements to the shimmer.  Like falling autumn leaves on your finger tips.

OPI Germanicure and Girly Bits Shift Happens - artificial light - lovely peeks of green shimmer!

The colour shift of the topper is just gorgeous, and I've tried to capture a wee bit of the range here, from bronzed russet to peeks of green.  Really this is one that has to be seen to be believed, and for me its one of those manis that I just couldn't stop staring at.



OPI Germanicure and Girly Bits Shift Happens - artificial light - warm cinnamon-y russet tones

I'll definitely be rocking this combo again! It's so pretty I won't even wait till autumn to do it either...

I picked up my bottle of Shift Happens from Rainbow Connection UK, and Germanicure from my local John Lewis (although I recommend the marvellously cheap OPI supplier Nail Polish Direct).  See my suppliers page for the links.

Dupe test: Girly Bits 'Shift Happens' vs Max Factor 'Fantasy Fire'

Hello ladies! Today I have a comparison to show you of two fabulous topper polishes: Shift Happens (love the name!) by Girly Bits and the famous Fantasy Fire by Max Factor.  I know that the Max Factor is about as easy to come by as leprechauns outside the UK, whereas Girly Bits is a US brand (and cheaper by the ml to boot!).  So perhaps this comparison will help you get the topper effect you want without breaking the bank or paying to import...

Looking at these in the bottle, its not obvious that there should be any similarity between them
 - Shift Happens has a soft opalescent rainbow effect in the bottle, whereas Fantasy Fire has a strong indigo background with pink and purple shifts.  From the bottle you'd guess that the Girly Bits polish would give you a soft pearly shimmer in a whole rainbow of colour and the max factor would give you purple or pink sparkle only.  If you guess that, surprisingly, you'd be wrong.



left: Shift Happens right: (l-r) Fantasy Fire and Shift Happens

Without further ado, let's see these on the nail (please excuse the splodgy mess I made of my index finger when I was getting out the camera...) All swatches are in artificial light:


index: black base + SH, middle: black base + FF, ring: EMIO + SH, pinkie: EMIO + FF

I chose two different base colours to compare these on: plain black (No7 "Just Black") and a purple based shade (OPI "Every Month is Oktoberfest").  I used one coat of each undies shade, and one coat of each topper.  I was keen to see whether having a purple base shade would make the indigo based FF appear different to SH.  In fact, from this you can see that they are practically identical.  The main shade that I got from both these toppers was this gorgeous cinnamon shimmer.  By changing the angle of the light source this deep russet shade shifted through gold, amber and right through to green:



index: black base + SH, middle: black base + FF, ring: EMIO + SH, pinkie: EMIO + FF

The green was a big surprise for me, coming from the Fantasy Fire.  I see absolutely NO evidence of green in the bottle, no matter which way I turn it, yet it's clearly right there on the nail!



(l-r) SH over black, FF over black, SH over EMIO

Seen here in closeup of my middle finger, you can see those green and gold shades popping from the FF and it's just stunning.  Both of these polishes were like pure bottled Autumn leaves....gorgeous.

I would say that IMO these two polishes, at least over the two shades I tried here, are close enough to be dupes.  Certainly I wouldn't advise that you shell out for both of them if you have neither (personally I'm always keen to save my polish funds for something new, I'm always sad when I find I've accidentally bought a dupe, as in this case).  

In terms of value for money, Shift Happens is a full size polish and I picked mine up for £10 from Rainbow Connection. The Max Factor (in the UK) can be bought in any Boots/Superdrug etc for £3.99 for the mini size bottle (with its fiddly brush).  So the Girly Bits is cheaper by the ml, but depending where you live you might find one easier to find than the other (and really who of us will manage to use up even a mini size topper polish? Not me!).

Later on I'll post a fabulous mani I did with Shift Happens on top of OPI Germanicure, which was all kinds of warm toasty brown cinnamon loveliness...until next time :)

Comparison: Chanel Taboo & Nails Inc Regent's Palace



Today I have a new comparison to show you - Chanel Taboo vs. Nails Inc Regent's Palace.  I'll start by giving away the ending - these are not dupes.  However, it's worth taking a closer look, the comparison isn't as crazy as you might first think.

Readers of this blog will know that I have never been so excited, or so disappointed by a polish than I was with Chanel Taboo (my Taboo review and swatches).  I won't repeat my review here but the main reason for my disappointment was the vast difference between the in-bottle and on-nail impact of this polish.  In the bottle it looks like instant galaxy nails - it's utterly packed with phenomenal looking colour, sparkly bits and what-not.  On the nail, it looks for the most time, like a dull dark black/purple.  The 'pop' in the bottle is only seen in flash, and direct sunlight, and even then only when you're really looking at it.  The formula is also pretty pants, quite gloopy.

So I wondered - supposing you don't want to spend £18 or can't get a hold of this limited edition.  What else could you get that would look as good or better?  Step up to the plate Nails Inc Regent's Palace....



Chanel Taboo (index, ring) vs. Nails Inc Regent's Palace (middle, pinkie)
Natural Light

In close up here you can see some evidence of the sparkly bits in Taboo, and you can also see it's in a much darker base than RP which has a fairly indigo base to it.  Both polishes have a lovely shimmer, but the brighter toned base of RP means that this shimmer is much more evident on-nail in a variety of lighting conditions.  Pictured here is two coats each of colour atop a Nail Envy base.  There's no top coat here.

Chanel Taboo (index, ring) vs. Nails Inc Regent's Palace (middle, pinkie)
Flash

When you look at these under flash, you can see more of the bottle-beauty of Taboo coming out and the tonal difference in the bases is more pronounced.  I don't often take swatch pics with flash on because a) it makes me look like a scary albino lady and b) 99% of the time you're not going to be looking at your polish by flashlight so it's not really a fair test of how pretty it will look (I wouldn't have had such a lemming for Taboo if I had seen it in more natural lighting pics I think).
Taboo does have more sparkle than RP for sure, although bear in mind that this sparkle is not actually visible by eye a lot of the time.  So to add some extra zing to the RP I then popped on a thin coat of Max Factor Fantasy Fire (possibly the best layering polish of all time, there is nothing that this won't make more fabulous.  It's like the mani equivalent of bacon).
 


Chanel Taboo (index, ring) vs. Nails Inc Regent's Palace with Max Factor Fantasy Fire (middle, pinkie)
Natural Light 

Wowza! Regent's Palace on its own is a fabulous metallic purple shade (see my purple metallics comparison post here) but layered with Fantasy Fire it's stunning.  Again, not a dupe for Taboo, but certainly punching far above its weight in terms of price comparison and on-nail 'pop factor'.
Finally with flash, it's the return of the albino:



Chanel Taboo (index, ring) vs. Nails Inc Regent's Palace with Max Factor Fantasy Fire (middle, pinkie)
Flash

In terms of on-nail impact, sparkle, and purple-ness (I know that's not a word, but it should be) for me Regent's Palace plus Fantasy Fire is a clear winner.  In terms of price it's also a no-brainer: the Chanel will cost you £18 but it's Limited Edition so if you miss out in store I've seen this changing hands for £30-£50 which is just insane.  I got the Nail's Inc in a set of 3 from TK Maxx (bargain polish heaven) for £9.99 which by my maths makes this £3.33, but full price would cost you £11.  Fantasy Fire is £3.99 in Boots/Superdrug for a mini bottle.

So for my mani that's £7.32 vs £18, or full price it would be £14.99 vs £18.  At full price the argument is less compelling, but Regent's Palace is one of the few Nails Inc polishes that I would be happy to pay full price for.  Even on it's own, without the Fantasy Fire topper, I feel that Regent's Palace is a better all-rounder than the Chanel.  Blasphemy I know, but there you have it.