China Glaze Sun-Kissed Swatch and Review

~purchased by me~


For the labor day weekend my family went to go visit my sister who lives about 5 hours away from us. We basically lived in the pool for three days straight so this swatch also turned somewhat into a unintentional wear test. Here's what I used:

I applied this on the previous Thursday and I'm still wearing it 6 days later. There is a little bit of tip wear and the top coat dulled somewhat but I think for 3 days of chlorine abuse, this polish held up very well! I think it's mainly got to do with the base coat, which, unfortunately, is discontinued. I can see why people were snatching up backups while they had the chance!

Sun-kissed is a neon yellow that leans green and has subtle gold shimmer running through it. I'm wearing three coats here, no white undies. I don't know if I'm just too used to seeing bright colors on my nails now but this didn't seem all that bright to me while I was wearing it. It definitely is a yellow highlighter shade, it just didn't sear my retinas as I thought it would lol. That's probably a good thing seeing as how I managed to snap my favorite pair of sunglasses in half while in the pool :(. My bf tried to fix it for me but I told him I wasn't really feeling the harry potter look haha.

The formula on this is good; not streaky or patchy at all. A really nice yellow neon if you are looking for one!

I know this is an old polish but I believe you can still get it online from sites like headtotoebeauty.com for $3-4.

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Brilliant Bordeaux vs Finger Paints Picasso's Puce Comparison

~purchased by me~


Continuing with the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength line, I thought I might have a dupe for another shade. Brilliant Bordeaux is a dark shimmery maroon shade. Or wine shade, if you go by the name ;)

Indoors. Really dark.

They are kind of hard to see since they are so dark. How about a pic in the sun?

Lol, not better.

These kind of shades are a really nice way of wearing a dark vampy color without it looking black. I especially like wearing maroons in the fall. Two coats for swatches, though, you can most definitely get away with wearing only one. Also, super shiny. I didn't post some other nice pics I took because you could see my reflection in them, looking super ratchet as I'm wont to do ;)

Picasso's Puce (I+M) and Brilliant Bordeaux (R+P)

Picasso's Puce has a touch more brown in it while Brilliant Bordeaux has a little more red. Both have fine red shimmer and high shine. Formula was good on both, as was the brush. I really don't like the Finger Paints bottle though. I think the shape is off-putting and I really don't like their font. It looks like its made for children...though, Finger Paints does make some really pretty, unique shades and the price is right so I'll forgive them. At least their bottles are better looking than Nicole by O.P.I.'s.

Fun Fact! Did you know "Puce" means of a dark red or purple-brown color?

They look really similar in pics but you can tell the difference in real life if you're a nit picker for color. You don't need both though. I prefer the Sally Hansen one myself since I don't like to wear brown on my nails but they are both very nice.

In sunlight they look virtually the same because of the shimmer

I'm pretty sure you can only buy Finger Paints brand at Sally's Beauty Supply. At least, that's the only place I've seen it sold. They retail for $5.49 but they often have promotions like BOGO free or BOGO 1/2 off. I think I bought my bottle on clearance for $1 or so ^_^. The Sally Hansen Diamond Strength line can be bought at drugstores for about $4.49. Of course, being a drugstore brand, that means there's plenty of sales to catch for it as well.

Zoya Kimber and Salon Perfect Pink Mystique Comparison

~purchased by me~

I wasn't a huge fan of the color pink previously, except in blushes or lipstick but not for clothes, shoes or nails. Then suddenly! one day my feminine side kicked in and I embraced the pink. Kind of. It's still not my favorite color to wear but I learned to appreciate it. I'm still not a big fan of purple though (strange, I know, since it seems that most nail polish addicts lurve purple). I especially love pinks that have a golden shimmer to them. I think gold accents pink quite nicely.

They look more similar in real life...

I make a point to not consciously buy dupes of nail polish. I only have one helmer and I intend to keep it that way. Inevitably, I will have some dupes, but I try really hard to keep it to a minimum; I'll even franken a polish to make it different or I'll give it away. However, today, I needn't to do either. These are not dupes!

Salon Perfect Pink Mystique (I+M) Zoya Kimber (R+P)

Though it totally, absolutely looks like I have Zoya Kimber on my index and middle finger and Salon Perfect Pink Mystique on my ring and pinky, it is the other way around! Maybe that's why I thought they were dupes from just looking at the bottles? Either way, Kimber pulls more red than Pink Mystique. Two coats of each, no topcoat.

Here's a pic in the shade with natural lighting. They look realllly similar here. The lighter shade at the tips of my ring and pinky are just from the free edge of my nail bed. You can't see VNL though. 

Finally, Kimber shows her true (bottle) colors!

In the sun, Kimber in the bottle is finally looking like Kimber on the nail! So yeah, the shades are similar but not the same, though the golden flecks are identical in both. I think they are both worth owning! I bought Salon Perfect Pink Mystique at Walmart for $3.98 and Zoya Kimber retails for $9.00 (back in the day it was $8.00) but most likely I only paid $4.00 for it. Yay for Zoya sales!