Wednesday 6 October 2010

Dirty Purple Nail Comparison

As I have quite a few murky purple or gruple polishes I thought it would be interesting to do a little comparison post. It wasn't so much to find dupe shades but funnily enough I discovered that Nails Inc. Thayer Street is a very similar to Paradoxal. Unfortunately, it seems this shade was only available as a mini in the Summer Sizzlers set but I like this nail varnish very much. You could almost get away with a single coat as it's quite a thick formula.


As you can see from the picture above, I wanted to compare the following: Models Own Purple Ash, OPI Parlez-Vous OPI?, Chanel Paradoxal, Sephora by OPI Metro Chic and Nails Inc. Thayer Street. Here are the colours on my nails. I've included several photos to show how the colours differ in different lighting.




Purple Ash is the most red toned purple in this group and almost a warm, plummy colour when compared to Paradoxal. Parlez-Vous OPI? is much lighter and doesn't really have any grey tones when compared to the other. I'm sure you have all seen plenty of swatches of Paradoxal. Depending on the light, it can look more grey than purple. The sparkle isn't really evident in these photos but it's fair to say you can't see it all the time when you're wearing it either.

Metro Chic is quite a mousy grey and has only the merest hint of purple but I think it's a pretty good benchmark in this line up. I've not really touched much on consistency but I feel it's worth mentioning that is the thinnest of all the polishes. I think it might even have benefited from a third coat. Thayer Street, as I mentioned, is very similar to Paradoxal. It's another dark grey purple. I think it might be fractionally lighter than Paradoxal but there's not much in it and the only thing it lacks is the shimmer.

So, all in all, five lovely colours with only one possible duplication. May I take this opportunity to apologise for the lumpy application on some if my nails. Half way through I realised that a baby and toddler don't make good manicure companions!

15 comments:

  1. I like the Metro Ash...but then I always lean towards more red-toned purples!!! =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh great i love to see comparisons !!!


    it reminds me that i don't own any dirty purple polishes !


    thanks for the swatches :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good comparisons! I'm currently wearing Mavala's Elle LE, which is another take on the gruple look. I think it's most similar to Metro Chic, although it's slightly darker. How many variations on a colour can nail polish companies come up with?! xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this post and I love murky purples! You definitely need to get MAC Shale - it's the eyeshadow equivalent of these polishes.

    I've been longing for Metro Chic and can't find it online anywhere x

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm loving all of them! I'm contemplating getting Maybelline's Steel Grey, which is a taupe in fact, but a friend recently told me it's exactly the color her nails turn in the cold, which wasn't really a compliment. Whatever, I think I'll get it anyway! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. There's far too much choice here for me - I like em all! :) I love all these 'grurple' shades...I think I need at least a few more to satisfy my craving for em! :)
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. They're all quite nice but I think the Purple Ash just has that little something extra so is definitely top of my wish list. Though I actually have a pair of boots which are almost exactly the same shade as Metro Chic so I'd be pretty tempted by that too...

    Lol, can't believe you consider that "lumpy application" you should see mine when I do them in a hurry :)

    http://mytopbeautybuys.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. ooooh at Metro Chic! love that shade. really nice to see them compared like this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love comparisons!! :) Metro Chic is very pretty!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Kajal Couture: It’s very nice colour. I’ve tended more towards the grey tones as you can see so it’s really nice to have something different.

    @Lily Blue: You’re very welcome. I love comparison posts too so it’s was nice to contribute myself for once :D

    @TheBristolBeautyBlog: It’s seems the variations are never ending. I’m really interested to hear you have Elle. I saw that on HollyYM’s blog and liked the look of it. I like the Mavala polishes too. It definitely sounds like something I’d like.

    @WelshBeautyBlog: I was really lucky with Metro Chic and was sent it by a lovely lady on a forum I use. I gave my husband instructions to buy it in Sephora when he went to San Francisco earlier in the year but he couldn’t find Sephora – waaaaaaaaa! I really want to get Shale. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t remember when I was at the MAC event the other night.

    @Rocaille: No, your friend definitely wasn’t selling it! I bet it’s lovely though. I really like the name.

    @Ms. Wedgie: Oh yes, you most certainly have room for more now you have your new storage ;)

    @All Made Up: Haa haa! In close up, you can’t escape the lumps! I think you’d like Purple Ash. It’s a really nice colour. Metro Chic is very nice too but it can be tricky to get hold of if you don’t have access to Sephora.

    @britishbeautyblogger: I love Metro Chic and was thrilled to get my hands on it. I definitely have a penchant for mucky colours!

    @socialitedreams: Parlez Vous is a lovely colour, I wear it a lot.

    @Stavroula: Thank you! Metro Chic is really nice. Do you have a Sephora near you (please say no and then I won’t be jealous ;) ! ) ?

    Thank you so much for all the comments. I’m glad you enjoyed the comparison,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have a Sephora 5 minutes away from home actually LOL, but I won't buy it from here, because it's too expensive!! Ebay all the way! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah! Well at least you can look, decide if you want to buy and then get it somewhere else cheaper!! Metro chic is one I struggled to find on ebay though, everyone puts a mark up on it! x

    ReplyDelete
  13. Apparently Barry M’s Dusky Mauve is a Super Dupe for Paradoxal. I’m desperate to get my hands on both!

    ReplyDelete
  14. It looks like an excellent dupe from the swatches I've seen. Near impossible to find it though. I'm keeping my eye out too!
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete

I love receiving comments and read each and every one. I always do my best to reply too. If you have a question and need a quick response, please feel free to email me.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails