Comparison- Revlon "Perplex" versus NOPI "Bah Plum-Bug"

This is Revlon "Perplex" and Nicole by OPI "Bah Plum-Bug." I had spotted the NOPI at Marshall's and this was before I'd found Perplex at Ulta. So I thought it might work towards my Jones for Perplex/Paradoxal. Obviously, it is more "blurple" than dusky violet like Perplex/Paradoxal. It also has more of a rosy shimmer versus the violet glow that Perplex has.

One shoddy swatch later (ignore icky cuticles and how I didn't bother cleaning it up, I was lazy that night lol)- Perplex on thumb and Bah Plum Bug on pointer.




The differences are even more obvious on the nail than in the bottle. They really aren't alike at all, but, the idea is similar I suppose. Perplex is opaque in 1 coat, I swear. And I believe it's a creme. BPB is a jelly I think, and it took 2 coats, 3 on my thumb and middle finger I think.

I hesitate to pick a winner of these. Obviously, Perplex is gorgeous. But BPB isn't to be ignored either. I am glad to have both, but to be honest, the BPB's quality does leave something to be desired. It definitely needs a good topcoat (or two) because it is not a hardy polish. Easily scuffed for sure!

Comparison- Vampy Reds

Left to right: Nicole by OPI "Deeply in Love," Revlon "Raven Red," and Nic's Sticks "Do You Deliver."




Middle= Nic's Stick
Ring= Revlon
Pinky= NOPI

As you can see, the colors are all similar, yet different.

The Nic's Stick is the darkest. It almost has a purple-based tone to it. Shown is three coats for that one, since it is difficult to apply with that applicator. I love the color though, a great berry-wine red. It might have been easier to apply but my cheeky-monkey aka my son Oscar messed with it a while back and left the cap off, so it dried out. I've messed with it and nursed it back to usability, but it's frustrating, and as you can see, I have at least 2 other colors that fill the vampy-red desire and are much more easily applied.

The Revlon is a creme. Supposedly it got it's name based on the blood of a raven? Eh. It just sounds like an attempt to be gothier-than-thou to me. But, my middle name is Raven, so I had to purchase it (this was before I knew Zoya made a polish named Raven). The color is nice, and it applies decently. This is just a very average polish, in all terms. Average color, average application, average availability and price. It's just not something spectacular. But I would consider it classic. It is more bricky and opaque than the others. It does need a topcoat in my opinion, it can be prone to scuffs and tipwear more than average. Shown is 2 coats.

The Nicole by OPI polish- oh me. I love it. It's not a creme I don't think. I believe it's a jelly, or perhaps a mixture. Shown is 3 coats, but I think you can do 2 thickish coats instead. It's lovely and applies to nicely. It's a blood-red, and so dramatic. It has a slight blue tone to it and just exudes class and sexuality all in one and definitely VAMPY. It dries fairly quickly and with a cushy, glossy jelly-like finish. If you want a classic or vampy red, this is a great investment. Definitely the winner of the group.

Comparison- Light Pinks

Left to right: Borghese "Angelica Blush," Color Club "She's Sooo Glam," Nicole by OPI "Scene Stealer," Essie "Pinking Up the Pieces", and L.A. Colors "Classic Pink."

Burry swatch, apologies...




Thumb= Borghese, pointer= CC, middle= NOPI, ring= Essie, and pinky= L.A. Colors.

Obviously, the Color Club one is definiely not similar at all. I wasn't sure til I applied it how sheer it was going to be. It's not sheer at all, it's pretty dang opaque. And BRIGHT. And fun. I am using that this spring for sure.

The others were more my intention, which is to say, French mani pinks.

Borghese's "Angelica Blush" was kinda streaky and thick. I am thinking of adding some Zoya Renew to this one to thin it a bit. It's unwieldy to apply and as you can see (pictured is 3 coats), just too dang streaky. It's lovely though and is the perfect color for a French mani.

Nicole by OPI "Scene Stealer" is a pretty color. It's interesting. It's pale and a similar lavender-based pink, reminds me of a pink version of Essie "Demure Vixen," which I happen to be sporting at the moment. As pretty as the color is, I have to admit, the application is sadly lacking. It's just a bit thick, and streak enough, to make you not want to continue wearing it. Plus, it is dependent upon a thick topcoat. It has a slightly chalky finish and was fairly imprintable even 24+ hours later. But it is such a nice color, in my opinion. But not quite right for a French mani. It's too saturated a color.

Essie "Pinking Up the Pieces" is interesting. It reminds me of a smoother version of Savvy Femme Couture "French Opal Rose Frost" with less obvious bluish flash. I think it would make for an interesting French mani actually, different from the normal sheer pinks. The ever-so-slightly-noticeable blue flash is lovely. It is extremely sheer, so don't expect to apply 3 or even 4 coats and achieve opacity. Pictured is 4 coats. Nuff said. This is best enjoyed as an intentional sheer, and I think 2 coats is best for it.

The L.A. Colors "Classic Pink" came in a cheapie clearance 2 pack from the Dollar General this past fall. I was hopeful it was going to be decent for a French mani, but honestly, it was way too streaky. The little brush was not conducive to application either. I have since frankened with it. I made a very pretty color at least, I will show it later.

So, ultimately, I wasn't too impressed with any of these for a Classic French manicure. I have kept the Angelica Blush, it most suits that purpose. But I will either need to thin it out or learn better ways of applying it. Essie "Pinking Up the Pieces" is a great option if you are looking for an unusual mani. L.A. Colors "Classic Pink" is not worth purchasing. But you can franken with it just fine. :)

Enjoy!

Comparison- Teal Metallics

This is Sally Hansen "Lagoon" on the left and a mini Nicole by OPI "Jade in the Shade" that came in a Wal-Mart holiday gift set this past Christmas.

Here's my icky, blurry swatch, Lagoon on ring finger and JITS on pinky.


See, they look a LOT a like. JITS is not as opaque as the others. Since I have more of the Lagoon and it's more opaque and applies more easily, I used the other for frankening already. But I decided to swatch them so people can decide if they really need both.

Enjoy!

Comparison- Dark plums

I kinda have been obsessed with dark plums lately. Obviously, or I wouldn't have so many lol.

Pictured above, left to right: Revlon "Plum Night," Nic's Sticks "Dash Into the Dark," Borghese "Carnevale Grape," and Nicole by OPI "Show You Care." There are subtle difference to these colors. The Revlon is a dark vampy plum, almost black. The Nic's Stick is slightly grapier than the Revlon. The Borghese is opaque at one coat, and obviously red-toned and grapey, but at two coats, is nearly indistinguishable from the others. The NOPI color is similar to the others, an uber-dark, grapey-plum but it has lovely, delicate silvery shimmer which provides interesting depth.



Quick n dirty swatch: thumb= Revlon "Plum Night," pointer= Nic's Sticks "Dash into the Dark," middle= Borghese "Carnevale Grape," and ring finger= NOPI "Show You Care."

The Revlon is a great example of a good, standard polish. I applies well in 2 coats, dries ok, nice and glossy, etc, and is easy and fairly inexpensive to find. The Nic's Stick, well...I don't like those things. I can't apply them very well. Lovely color, difficult applicator. The Borghese gets my vote for the fave of this spread. It's opaque with just one coat and dries at a decent rate and is nice and glossy with a lovely cushy, yet not smudgey, finish. It's also not so close to black as the others, so it stands out more. The NOPI one, that also is a fave, tied for first place I'd say. The shimmer just really sets it apart from the rest, and I think it's worth having, even if you have other dark plum shades.

Report card:

1st place: Borghese "Carnevale Grape & Nicole by OPI "Show You Care"
2nd place: Revlon "Plum Night"
3rd place: Nic's Stick "Dash into the Dark"

There ya have it!

Nicole by OPI- Bah Plum-Bug

"Bah! Humbug!"
---Ebenezer Scrooge is Charles Dickens', A Christmas Carol




This was a color I was fairly psyched about. I felt like it might be close enough to Perplex/Paradoxal to scratch that itch. It is obviously a more blurple than grey-purple as the others are, and its shimmer is a different colorway, but I still felt hopeful it might be similar.

Application, however, was poop. It was not thick or thin, but just an odd consistency, drying in some places and remaining wet and gooey in others, for no apparent reason. It did dry eventually, and was ok, somewhat glossy, I'm thinking it's a jelly. But, it was chipping, very quickly. As shown, this is less than 24 hours. And it was that chipped basically within 12 hours I'd say. The pointer finger, it chipped really bad when I was out shopping so I just dug it all off while fidgeting.

I might try it once more, but this was very disappointing, to say the least.

Report card:

Color= A+ (it's pretty and unique, in my opinion)
Formula= D- (very ineffective and disappointing)
Brush= B (average, at least that's going for it)
Price= D- (I paid $6.99 for a 2 pack at Marshall's, but it normally runs $7.50 or so for one, which for this quality, would have been extremely disappointing)

Overall= C

Merry Christmas!

"Gifts I'm preparin'
For some Christmas sharin'
But I pause because
Hangin' my stockin'
I can hear a knockin'
'Zat you, Santa Claus"
---Zat You Santa Claus, Louis Armstrong








Just a couple quick pics of the holiday skittle I've had for 3 days (til tonight). First pic is my left hand. Starting at thumb and heading to pinky, I had Wet n Wild "Lust", Wet n Wild "Caribbean Frost", China Glaze "Classic Camel", Nicole by OPI "Bah Plum-Bug" with a topcoat of Wet n Wild "Blitzen", and then Wet n Wild no name "Shiver???".

On the right hand, starting at pinky: Wet n Wild "Red Red", Wet n Wild "Morbid" plus Wet n Wild "Blitzen" topcoat, Wet n Wild no name "Wild Orchid???", L.A. Colors "Electrified", and Jazz "18K Gold."

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!

Nicole by OPI- Scene Stealer

"The scene is dull. Tell him to put more life into his dying."
---Samuel Goldwyn




I loved this color in the bottle. It is so pretty and demure and classy and fitting for all occasions. I love it. It's a light violet-toned pink. It has a very extremely faint shimmer that in my opinion was not detectable hardly at all once dry.

Now, for all my high expectations for this, considering that I have never really had a bad experience formula-wise with Nicole by OPI polishes, I must say, I am quite disappointed. It was very sheer. That I can deal with. But it was also thick and globby and streaky and dried after like...eons. And when I say dry, I mean, it was "dry" but still was easily imprinted and smudged. 48 hours later, it was STILL imprintable and smudgey. But, I love the color so much, I plan on retrying it soon. Maybe something was off that day.

Report card:

Color= A (really pretty and flattering for most people I'd say)
Formula= C (thin, sheer, took forever to dry, was smudgey forever)
Brush= C+ (too flimsy for the polish's consistency)
Price= D- (I got mine in a 2 pack for $6.99, but normally they are 7.50, which is pricy, considering you can get China Glaze or Orly for less, and OPI for similar)

Overall= C

Nicole by OPI- Spring Romance

"Hey, where did we go
Days when the rains came?
Down in the hollow
Playin' a new game
Laughin' and a-runnin', hey hey
Skippin' and a-jumpin'
In the misty mornin' fog
With our, our hearts a-thumpin'

And you, my brown eyed girl"
---Brown-Eyed Girl, Van Morrison




I wanted Love Your Life from Nicole by OPI a while back after spotting it on someone else's blog. Or thought I did, I guess I should say. I spotted this similar polish, Spring Romance, in a bin at Goodwill. Now, some may scoff at second-hand polish, but beggars can't be choosers, and I like to recycle, and save money, so whatever. I don't think it was tried, it didn't look like it at the neck of the bottle, but you never know. Anyway, it was $1.99. They had a half empty, half-dried bottle of some uber-gold Love My Nails, completely retro, for the same price. I declined. I didn't think it was retro in a good way.

I think the difference between Spring Romance and Love Your Life is that LYL is more pink and silver glitter-based, were Spring Romance is more purple and multi-colored glitter-based. I haven't got a bottle of LYL to compare, but that's what it looks to me when I google around. Spring Romance has large, pinkish heart-shaped glitter mixed with oodles of regular-sized glitter in a rainbow of colors, all in a slightly lavender-tinged based.

I think the hearts are not ample enough inside the bottle, and so heavy that it makes applying them difficult. Hard to get them on the brush when they immediately start sinking to the bottom after you get done mixing it up. When you do get some hearts on the brush, its an act of Congress to get them in the proper location. By then, the runny, glitter extra polish is globbed around and drying fast as you try to do damage control before everything is completely ruined. Maybe I am just too clumsy at application, maybe I just need some practice. Personally, I really don't care enough to try again. I would love to ditch this polish. I wish I could filter out the hearts, I do like the other glitter. It's the hearts that throw everything into a tizz.

*This is over the WNW "Lust" btw, if you couldn't tell.

Report card:

Color= B+ (close, but no cigar)
Formula= C+ (dried too fast, was too runny)
Brush= C- (too flimsy and thin for the large glitter)
Price= D- (even though I got mine for $1.99, they retail for $7.50 or so at Wal-Mart. This bottle was def not worth it IMO)

Overall= C

Nicole by OPI- Deeply In Love

And so we remained till the red of the dawn began to fall through the snow gloom. I was desolate and afraid, and full of woe and terror. But when that beautiful sun began to climb the horizon life was to me again.
---Bram Stoker



This color makes me think of vampires. It's truly blood red and it's so sensual and sexy, I think it would look right at home on the fingertips of some vampy woman. It's a deep brownish red with no shimmer. It has a matte finish, and absolutely no sparkle or shimmer. It doesn't need it though, it's class and sex appeal all on its own. The formula was thin, but very opaque, and easy to manage with the nice brush.

So far, this is probably the favorite red of my collection, and I definitely will be using it again. I thought at first that it was a fallish red, but I actually think it is more appropriate for any season. It's a classic red and I think classic is always in season.

Report card:
Color= A (Red done right!)
Formula= A (tres bien!)
Brush= A- (another plus!)
Price= D- (A blemish on an otherwise nearly flawless review. This polish was a gift to me from a friend, but since these retail for 7.50 at Wal-Mart, that's an ouchy price in my opinion. However, I think it's worth it if you are looking for a gorgeous, enduring, classic red.)

Overall= B