Mint Polish Comparison Post

This is rather late, but better late than never, right?

I have NO IDEA what is going on with my formatting, but please bear with me.

1. Gosh "Drizzle" - 2 coats

Not even close to mint, this polish is a very greyed out and
dusty, faded green creme.

2. Revlon "Minted" - 3 coats

This is like a more muted cousin of Sally Hansen's "Mint
Sorbet" (#10). Smooth and very pretty.

3. Essie "Turquoise & Caicos" - 4 coats
Jelly based polish, needing 4 coats for opacity. Leans slightly
more green and is darker than the others.

4. Essence "You Belong To Me" - 2 coats
More blue toned rather than a "true" mint. Great coverage
and application.

 

Round Two

5. Gosh "Silky Mint" - 3 coats
Medium warm toned green creme. Although the name says
it's a mint, it leans just a little too green for it to be
considered a traditional mint. Gosh has great formula's,
very easy application.

6. OPI "Mermaids Tears" - 3 coats
A dustier version of "Silky Mint" (#5). Love this colour,
perfect for a more muted mint polish. 

7. Cosmetic Arts, un-named - 3 coats
Very cool, blue-leaning mint creme. Wish it had a name. No
complaints with application.

8. Color Club "New Bohemian" - 3 coats
This is the quintessential mint - my favourite out of them all.
It leans the slightest bit more blue than green and I think
that's why I like it. It works well on my skin tone (it causes
the least amount of lobster-clawness out of all the swatches)
and looks very refreshing.

 

 

Round Three
 

9. Sally Hansen "Green Tea" - 3 coats
Pale, muted mint green. Pretty and whimsical. I love this
type of greyed out polish.

10. Sally Hansen "Mint Sorbet" - 3 coats
Vivid but pale green mint. Perfect for summer; looks
awesome on tanned skin. Application was slightly thick.

11. Avon "Aqua Fantasy" - 2 coats
Very blue but has a very slight edge of green so I included it,
just to compare. White shimmer gives it a frosted feel and
the application was AMAZING. I need more Avon polish in
my life. Like yesterday.

12. Wet'n'Wild "I Need A Refresh-ment" - 2 coats
I kind of hate the name of this polish ... but the polish is
beautiful. More blue than green, the creme formula glides
on smoothly. Pretty but not quite mint. Mint-esque.

 

I wasn't exactly strict with my polish picking; I wanted to
include some polishes that lean a bit more blue (or green) just
to show the contrast to the what is traditionally thought of as
a mint polish. Personally, I feel like this helps the comparison
process.

My favourite "true/traditional" mint out of these 12 that I've
shown is Color Club's New Bohemian. As I mentioned
above, it is a great polish against my skin tone. Unfortunately
for me, most polishes in this colour family give me lobster
claws and a bit bonus, and part of the reason why New
Bohemian won out, is that it didn't cause my hands to look
so red. The fact that it is the perfect blend of blue and green
also helped, haha. ;)

My friend J wanted a review on Minted by Revlon which I
swatched in this post, so for J and all else who want to know
a bit about this polish ...

Application was good although a little thin on the first two
coats. I added a third to smooth everything out and make it
perfectly opaque. It dries shiny in case you're wondering. (I
would still add topcoat for longevity.) I can't comment as to
the wear of the polish because I only swatched it but I find
Revlon to be fairly decent. I don't wear polish for much
longer than a 2-3 days and it lasts well during that time. All
in all, I would give you a big thumbs up and green light:
go buy it! :)

What is your favourite mint polish? Let me know!

- A Polished Touch

Dupe? Gosh "Mystical" and Revlon "Naughty"

I have found a new obsession inside of my polish world: finding dupes. Well, perhaps not 100% dupes, however I love the thrill of finding polishes that have the same "this" or "that", etc. 

Last year I found GOSH Mystical. It was right after I started seeing Revlon Perplex and I knew I had to buy it because I couldn't find Perplex anywhere. Flash forward to about a week ago. Enter, Revlon Naughty. Well, well, well. It looks like Revlon is up to their usual tricky ways with re-naming their polishes! 

(I also purchased "Popular" and which is the exact same as "Starry Night" from their Expressionists Winter 2011 Collection because I had already bought Blue Mosaic and Facets of Fuchsia ... yeah, they renamed and relaunched those as well. I can't really complain though, because it gives polish junkies like us -- as well as the general population -- another chance to grab up these awesome polishes.)

Anyway, back on subject, I grabbed Naughty (Popular, Smoldering and Whimsical came home with me too) and went home feeling very pleased with myself. I grabbed my bottle of GOSH Mystical and did this whole mini-gasp-mild-freak-out and showed Mr.Polish my potential dupes. He smiled, went into the family room, and watched American Idol. LOL! I followed him and started polishing...

Mystical, pinky and middle - Naughty, ring and index

3 coats each, no topcoat

Naughty, index and ring - Mystical, middle and pinky

Naughty, index and ring - Mystical, middle and pinky

Naughty, index and ring - Mystical, middle and pinky

Naughty, index and ring - Mystical, middle and pinky

As you can see from the above photo's they are in fact not quite dupes. In order for me to classify 2 polishes as dupes I want to see ZERO difference between them. Okay, okay, less than 0.07% of a difference. ;)

Naughty leans more purple/taupe and the shimmer is more lilac-based whereas Mystical is more brown/grey or "greige" with more of a pink shimmer. They were both easy to apply. I used 3 coats for these photo's however Revlon's Naughty was very well pigmented really needed just the two coats, but I thought for comparison's sake, it's best to judge them with the same variables.

Honestly, these aren't close enough for me to call them dupes but they are definitely "sisters" in my mind. I really wish I had the original Perplex or even Chanel's Paradoxal (PUH-lease, not happening any time soon, hah) to swatch and compare. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed my first foray into the world of dupes. As I come across more in my collection, I will be sure to post about it!

Is dupe-hunting like treasure-hunting to you, too? *nerdy smile*