Entries for Wednesday August 31
China Glaze’s Sci-fi
- Manufacturer: China Glaze
- Availability: originally released as part of China Glaze's Khrome collection
- Color Range: metallic cool lilac-silver shimmer
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$6 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
NOTE 03/25/2013: I will no longer be purchasing or reviewing any new China Glaze products, aside from the two that I have in the publishing queue. All previously-published posts will remain up. Info & links of interest
OPI’s Designer Series Classic
- Manufacturer: OPI
- Availability: part of OPI's Designer Series collection
- Color Range: gold-tan holographic shimmer
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$9 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: no (don't love the color)
- Similar shades:
Required four coats for full opacity, and the holographic effect is scattered rather than linear (as in all OPI DS polishes). It also required four coats for full opacity - but then, so do most of the Designer Series polishes. I would choose not to get this again because of the overall shade. The gold-brown color isn’t my absolute favorite, it’s almost too yellow on me. I think the holographics work to actually make it seem more yellow…so definitely not my color. It’s also no longer easy to find, though I’ve seen it at my local Ulta, and it does pop up on Ebay from time to time. I like Illuminate much better - a cooler brown with a little less yellow, and a very faint green duochrome effect.
Zoya’s Tao
- Manufacturer: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: part of Zoya's Mirrors collection
- Color Range: cool medium-dark grey shimmer
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
No, you aren’t hallucinating. Yes, this is slightly similar to Zoya’s Freja. The finish is different (I’m not entirely sure -=how=- to classify the finishes for most of the polishes in Zoya’s Mirrors collection. They’re not frost…they’re not metallic…they’re…distressed metallic?!??), the base color is just a little lighter. But it is highly similar. If you tried Freja but didn’t like it because it was just a hair too dark, Tao might strike you the same way.
That said, the polish applies very smoothly and lasts well. Under the lighting that I used, Tao and Marina look fairly similar. They are close - about as close as Zoya’s Kelly and Caitlin - but Marina has stronger blue tones and Tao is far more neutral.