Essie Starry Starry Night - Franken/Dupe

No, I STILL haven't managed to get my paws on Essie Starry Starry Night. And I can't even catch it on eBay for what I am sure would be exorbitant prices.

So I set about trying to get a close enough dupe to satisfy me. Will it satisfy everyone? Probably not. But I'm happy with it.

I started out with about 2/3rds of a bottle of Orchid Royal Engagement. Then I added 5 drops of each of the following:

*Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Black Heart
*Orchid Starry Night
*OPI DS Magic
*China Glaze Dorothy Who?

Then I added some Sterling Silver micro glitter (SuperNail brand from Sally Beauty Supply NOT the holo one) - about the size of 2 grains of rice.

This was the result, which I still wasn't completely happy with...

Used Essie Matte About You on accent nail

So...I layered over a coat of the top coat I had made last month using Seche Vite and the same Sterling Silver micro glitter and VOILA!

No, it's probably not an exact dupe, but I don't have the Essie one to compare and I'm actually totally happy with it! It's completely smooth - no "glitter feel" at all.

What do you think?

Those of you who have Essie Starry Starry Night, is it close at all?

A Week of Mixed Up Manis

I've mentioned before that I have NPADD (Nail Polish Attention Deficit Disorder) - this week has been proof positive.  I flip-flopped all over the place.

But I have so many untrieds!  I can't really justify buying MORE polish until I get the untrieds down to at least 50% of my stash.  Well, I could.  But I'm trying to be better.

First up, ORANGE!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed

Sally Hansen always has a great formula and it went on great - two coats with Seche Vite Topcoat.

Then things heated up more and I went to RED!

China Glaze Salsa

China Glaze Salsa

That wasn't quite RED enough, so I changed to a darker blue-red.

China Glaze China Rouge

China Glaze is one of my top 3 favorite nail polish formulas, so naturally, they both applied perfectly.  Both have 2 coats and a Seche Vite Topcoat.

And to cool off, I switched to blue.

Orchid Royal Engagement

Orchid is a new-to-me brand I found at my local grocery store, H.E.B. Plus.  H.E.B. is a grocery store chain in Texas, the Plus being their version of a super store. Best I can tell, it might be a brand only distributed to H.E.B. - looks like it's manufactured in San Antonio.  They have literally 100s of colors in their line, which isn't what you'd expect from a grocery store brand, so I am hoping to find out more about it.  It applied perfectly and the formula was just right - not too thick and not too thin.  Standard brush, nothing special. But this is shown without a topcoat! Price range $4 - $6 each.

Then it was time to get creative.  I pulled out China Glaze Trendsetter only to find out it was a HORRIBLE color on me - I expected a green polish and instead got a Dijon mustard color. That's the chance you take when ordering online.  I was in the mood for green, so I pulled out an empty bottle and created a green franken.  In honor of Bob Eberly's birthday last month being the same day as mine, July 24th, I'm naming it Green Eyes after the 1940s song. (Don't try to figure it out.  My best friend Cindy calls it "Sheila Logic" and she might just be the only one in the world who can decipher it.)

Green Eyes in the last sliver of indirect sunlight

Green Eyes in artificial lighting

Green Eyes

It's an olive green with gold shimmer and I love it!  Shown here before the topcoat.

That's all for now - have a great weekend!