Opi Rock Goddess - Hallowe'en 2013 Set

I'm a sucker for packaging! I saw this set in my local shop the other day and bought it (about £9 I think) without reading any reviews online, which was a bit of a mistake!

I like the packaging(although apparently I can't take a decent photo of it!), and the free bracelet!


These are the polishes. Yellowpalooza, Stand in Lime for Days, Rolling Bones and The Drummer is Hot.

The Drummer is Hot is almost identical to Roll in the Hague, from the Holland collection (although the formula is not as good - more on that later.)

Stand in Lime for Days is almost identical to Fiercely Fiona from the Shrek collection (again, with a less impressive formula).

The formula on these is poor! REALLY poor. The yellow and the green are very thin and streaky, and took at least three coats to be anywhere near acceptable. These coats then just failed to dry.  Rolling Bones is quite pretty, but again is very very thin and watery, so took at least 3-4 coats to be wearable.  The Drummer is Hot isn't too bad, two coats was enough, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as Roll in the Hague, and was still a bit streaky.

One coat - streaky!

Two coats of The Drummer is Hot (it is still streaky, although you can't really see that here) and three coats of all the others.

I did two manis with these, both of which failed completely. One was a tape mani with colour blocking - but the colours were so sheer that they needed so many coats that they just never dried properly, so the tape lifted up half the colour.  The other also just didn't dry, so it dented and smeared about an hour after I finished it. After that, I gave up.

I will wear the bracelet, and I'll probably keep the orange and the grey, but the yellow and the green I think I will pour away so that I can use the bottles for something else. They're THAT bad!

You can buy this set in stores and online for about £10 if you really want to. Or I know where you can get a barely used second hand set for cheap! Lol.

Dupe? China Glaze Sunday Funday vs Barry M Cyan

If you liked yesterday's post of China Glaze Sunday Funday, but don't want to pay China Glaze prices (or can't get hold of China Glaze where you live) then you may be interested in this post! Here I am wearing Sunday Funday on at least one nail and Barry M's Cyan Blue on at least one nail.  Can you tell which is which?

On the nail, I really cannot see a difference. The difference is a bit more visible in the photos, I think, but I'm not sure whether that's because I know which is which, or something to do with the light balance in my camera...

Anyway - what do you think? Which is which? Answers later!

Edit: You ladies are correct - index and little fingers are Barry M, middle and ring fingers are China Glaze. The difference did look more pronounced in the photos though, I swear! On my hand, they are close enough as to be the same thing. Both had a really good formula and coverage too, and a nice glossy finish.  So if you like the look of the China Glaze, but can't afford it or can't find it, I definitely recommend the Barry M, at less than half the price and available in any high street Boots or Superdrug.  I still need both though!