Revlon Chic, the MAC Blue India dupe?

As promised earlier on, here is the new MAC Blue India comparison!

I was at Watsons a few weeks back and I was walking down the cosmestics aisle when something caught my eye. It was this gorgeous slate blue Revlon polish and I knew instantly that they brought Revlon Chic in! LIKE FINALLY!

I've been crazy about slate blue polish ever since I saw MAC Blue India, a polish which I had longed for for the longest time but wasn't able to get until I was trolling ebay one fine day last year and since a listing! I HAD TO HAVE IT IMMEDIATELY and Janelle, the kind soul that she is, helped me with the shipping (the seller only shipped within the US). I will be forever grateful to her! :)

So anyway, back to Chic, I grabbed a bottle and proceeded to pay for it, excited at how it'll compare to Blue India and the rest of my slate blue polishes!



Here we have a bottle comparison of, from left to right, my franken Blue My Mind (BMM), Sally Hansen Grey by Grey (GBG), MAC Blue India (BL) and  Revlon Chic (C).



This is one coat of each polish on my nails. Revlon Chic and Blue My Mind were the more opaque of the bunch, and you can immediately see how much greyer and lighter Grey By Grey is compared to the rest.



This was two coats of each polish.



This is Chic on the left, next to Blue India and you can see that they are definitely not dupes!



This is Grey By Grey on the left and Blue India on the right and again, no dupes here.



Lastly, we have Blue India on the left and Blue My Mind on the right. Blue My Mind was the closest to Blue India (and I take pride in knowing that I created the closest dupe of the bunch, even before I bought Blue India!) but they're still not dupes.

Formula wise, Blue India had the runniest formula, and hence was the sheerest of the bunch but it built up nicely with two coats. Revlon Chic was a little thick but still manageable. My bottle of Grey by Grey has grey streaks in it and those streaks translated to grey streaks on the nails. They're not too obvious unless you examine the nail close up but I'm still not happy about it. As for Blue My Mind, it does have a rather thick formula so I'll be adding a couple of drops of thinner to it after I finish typing this.

In conclusion (boy, I feel like I'm writing an essay!), Blue India has proven to be a polish that is undupable. As much as I love being able to find dupes of polishes, I'm actually happy that Blue India has no dupes because it makes the money I spent worth it! :)

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Where to buy:
MAC Blue India: Ebay
Sally Hansen Grey by Grey: Ebay
Revlon Chic: Watsons
Blue My Mind: Sorry ladies, this was a franken but you can get Tony Moly TR11 and add a few drops of black polish.

April's Haul

I haven't been really successful on my low-buy but hey, at least it's a marked improvement from a lot of my other hauls!



Got these Kleancolors from a tiny spree that Lynn, Candy and I did! (L-R) Chunky Holo Black, Chunky Holo Bluebell, Chunky Holo Purple, Chunky Holo Fuschia and Holo Chrome.



L-R: Milani Hi-Tech, HD, Hi-Res, Silver Dazzle and Gem

I'm pretty much in love with the first three holos! They're not your typical strong linear holos but under the sun, they do spread some holo cheer!



Got Cult Nails Living Water and Iconic because I wanted to utilise my 10% discount from Meimiesignatures and I got Revlon Chic because I heard it's a good dupe for MAC Blue India. I'm gonna tell you upfront, it's not a dupe for Blue India. I'll do up a comparison post soon to let you see how they compare.



Moving on to some cheaper polishes - Daiso polishes, a Golden Rose bar glitter and lastly Nubar White and Black Polka Dot!



And now, for the best part of the haul, FLAKIES! I got all these flakies from Cheeying! She's now affectionately know as Evillee, my evil polish cousin! :D I LOVE YOU EVILLEE!

YAY! Done with April's Haul! I'm sorry if March and April's Haul are less detailed. I'm rushing these posts out as fast as I can because I have yet to finish packing for my trip (by the time you read this I'll be in Korea!!!) and I still have a few other stuff on my mind so my concentration is really scattered for the timebeing. So sorry but if you need more info about anything, just drop me a comment and I'll try to get back to you when I come back from my trip! (:

And btw, if you haven't already entered my giveaway, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! It's open internationally and it closes in two days so go enter it now!!!!!

March's Haul

I haven't exactly been a really good girl.

I know that.

But somehow, this addiction is not an easy one to kick, especially with so many enablers around.
So with that, I present to you March's Haul:







I'm absolutely in love with the entire Layla Hologram collection. Worth. Every. Single. Cent. Even though they're a bit sheer and require up to 3 coats to build up opacity, they are magnificantly holographic. They are sublime.

Where to buy: http://www.aveyou.com/



Here are the OPIs I picked up from the Holland and NYC Ballet collections. I got Red Lights Ahead...Where?, Roll In The Hague, I Have A Herring Problem, Pirouette My Whistle, Don't Touch My Tutu, My Pointe Exactly and Care to Danse. In case you're wondering, I bought all these OPIs from DYON International. They're always at *scape during the weekends so you can satisfy your OPI and China Glaze lemmings there!

Bought the first two because I wanted some bright colours and a proper orange, and how could I possibly resist the beauty that is I Have A Herring Problem?

As for the Ballet collection, I was so tempted to just grab the entire collection since I know I'd be using all the neutral shades once I start work this August, but with some help from my awesome polish buddies (HEY GIRLS!), they managed to convince me to only get 4 shades and save my wallet!







Moving to to theese gorgeous Ozotics that I purchased from Susan...these babies are to die for. The colour shift on these four bottles are CRAZY. Just take my work for it and order them. You will not regret it!





I'm so happy I finally got NOPI Khloe Has A Little Lam Lam! I must admit, Khloe is my favourite Kardashian. She's so inyerface and she's just one of those people you either love or hate and I LOVE her. I also got Rainbow in the Sky-lie cuz it's a pretty good dupe for Rainbow Connection and I figured it'd be good to have a "backup" just in case! The two NOPIs were purchased at Watsons.

I also got Stone Cold and Smoke and Ashes from the China Glaze Capitol collection, which were reviewed here. They're really pretty and I bought them from DYON when they were in NTU for a flea!!!!



And last buy not least, I bought OPI DS Diamond during Nailvibe's sale so I got a pretty good deal for it. As for Revlon's Whimsical, Gwen managed to work her magic and helped me to get a bottle. THANK YOU GWEN, IF YOU'RE READING THIS! And I think I saved the best for last, with Max Factor's Fantasy Fire! My friend managed to help me grab a bottle and I will be eternally grateful to her!

So yeah, that's it for March's Haul. I think I did pretty well in March! I didn't take too long typing out all the info so I think the haul was pretty contained! :D

December's Haul

December's haul was so epic I had to split the entire haul up to take photos. I actually paid for most of the polish you're about to see in October/November but the polishes only arrived in December which is why they're featured in this month's haul. So technically, I wasn't THAT naughty in December!

This first set of pictures are of the polishes I collected from Cheeying from Inkypolisholicious and from Susan. I wasn't able to meet up with Susan to get my polishes but she was meeting up with Cheeying anyway and I too was going to meet Cheeying during the weekend, so she was kind enough to help me collect my polishes from Susan and passed me all my polishes! Thanks Cheeying, if you're reading this!!



December's Haul: Batch 1. This batch consisted of the Cult Nails polishes, Nfu Oh polishes and mini franken bottles the Yings helped me to order, and the RBLs and piCture pOlish Festival that I bought from Susan!

Don't worry, I got some close up shots for you! (:



Love how the Cult Nails bottles came wrapped up in brown paper with their names on the sticker! Doesn't the packaging look so chic? It really makes the packaging look so much more personal, showing how every bottle was individually wrapped by hand, with love!



Here they are unwrapped! The order's opposite from the above picture (i.e. L-R: Wicked Fast to Clairvoyant).



RBL BiBs! These were the RBLs that got shipped to Singapore first because they were from an earlier batch of BiBs. BUT, not all four are mine. One of them is actually for the giveaway that Lynn and I are going to have! We have yet to discuss the details but we should be doing the giveaway very very soon so do look out for it! And for now, I shall keep you in suspense as to which colour we'll be giving away! (:

Susan sent me the remainding two RBLs when they arrived and here they are!



These two Catherines are all mine! They're so pretty!



FLAKIES GALORE! Here are the two Nfu Ohs the Yings helped me to get and piCture pOlish Festival which I purchased from Susan! The Yings aren't really selling polishes, I just tagged along with their Nfu Oh order but Susan is selling piCture pOlish as well as Ozotic Pro polishes so if you're interested, head down over to her blog for more details!



Festival is a gorgeous multicoloured flakie in a clear base which makes it VERY interesting! Here is it next to Clairvoyant, which is also a multicoloured flakie, except it had a darker base!



You can see the flakies better from this angle! Aren't they so purdy? (: And if you're curious how they compare on the nail, Susan did a good comparison post between Clairvoyant, Festival and Nubar 2010, so do check it out!




Here, we have the Starbites pigment I bought from TKB Trading. They make really nice glass fleck duochrome topcoats when put into clear polish! You can check swatches out here, here and here! I've made my glass fleck top coats already and you only need a little pigment for a 5ml bottle and I have plenty left so if you're interested, drop me a comment and I can make and sell you a bottle! (:



And I ordered another 20 mini fraken bottles! I've already used up 17 bottles from my previous batch of 20 mini bottles I ordered a couple months back so I needed to restock my frankening supplies! I somehow don't remember using 17 bottles! WEIRD!!!



December's Haul: Batch 2. These polishes are the ones Janelle helped to buy from the US and mailed it over to me! She was very patient with all my orders because I was collating orders from 4 other gals and she also included some extras for me because she was busy with school and had to delay sending the polishes out! She was way too kind and I'm going to repay the favour when she send me the list of polish she wants from over here! (:

Top row: Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe, MAC Blue India (!!!!!!I FINALLY OWN THIS BABY!!!!!), Sally Hasen Gray by Gray, Sally Hansen Fairy Teal, NOPI Green Up Your Act and Color Club Artsy Crafty

Bottom row: Color Club Bojo Mojo, Manglaze Matte is Murder (these were the two extra bottles Janelle got for me!), Revlon Perplex, Orly Fowl Play and OPI Nantucket Mist

Really happy with this US haul because I got to satisfy so many of my lemmings. I finally own Blue India! It's been on my wishlist since the second month of my addiction and when I saw it on eBay for a reasonable price, I jumped at the opportunity! I also managed to get Perplex, which is a well know dupe for Chanel Paradoxal, which I also have but who can resist such a good dupe? Certainly not me. I also got a backup bottle of Fowl Play and Nantucket Mist. Sadly, I overpaid for Fowl Play, Nantucket Mist and Artsy Crafty but considering Janelle threw in Bojo Mojo and Matte is Murder, I'm still a very happy kid! (:



December's Haul: Batch 3. Collected some of these polishes from Candy and bought the rest during my outing with Lynn and Candy. Oh, and some were Christmas gifts from the very very very generous Candy too! I tell you, shopping with two fellow polish addicts is very damaging to your wallet! HAHA, this batch contained so many polishes I had to take a vertical shot! D:

Let's go to close ups shall we? (:



L-R: Essie Size Matters (What a fabulous name! HAHA!!), Topless and Barefoot, Color Club Fashion Addict and Worth the Risque (THEY BOTH ARE THE FRIGGIN STUD HOLO VERSIONS!)



Nameless Beadstreet polishes again! I friggin love Beadstreet polishes because they're of a very good quality for the price you pay! And since they are nameless, I shall exercise my super creative (read: lame) brain power. L-R: 3 bottles of clear which I'm not gonna bother naming, Yellow Yellow Dirty Fellow, Orange You Glad I'm Only $2 and Night Sky. And yes, I'm VERY happy they only cost $2 per bottle!



L-R: Color Club Magic Attraction, Art Club Glitter Hologram and Gold Hologram



Took a blurry picture just to show you how holo these three polishes are! :D



Finally bought myself some proper yellows! I was doing my nail wheels and got so pissed off at having to paint 5 coats of cheap yellow polish to get it opaque! L-R: China Glaze Lemon Fizz, Happy Go Lucky, Refresh Mint and Essence Lime Up!



And lastly, Essie Smooth Sailing, Orly Sapphire Silk and Pixie Dust!

Okay, as you can see, I'm pretty much broke and need to eat grass for the next two months so I can afford to buy the gorgeous polishes coming out in 2012! I'm praying my addiction will improve in the New Year! HAHAHA! That shall be my New Year's Resolution! TO BUY LESS POLISH! :D



(L-R: Elianto White, Twilight, Perisian Indigo, Night Glitters, Etude House BL505 and OR207)

December's Haul: Batch 4. These were the polishes I bought during my one day trip to JB. I was searching extensively for Elianto and when I finally spotted it, I squealed! Got myself a back up of their black and white polishes because I love how creamy and opaque they are, and I also got two more polishes from their Sparkling Diva range. Etude House was ahaving a 30% off for their polishes so I grabbed a multichrome blue and a dusty salmon/coral colour. Really Happy with the coral colour because I've been having a tough time finding a coral I like and this one is so pwetty!



(L-R: Extra Strength Lacquer Remover, Emerald City, Sacred Ground and Twisted Vine)


December's Haul: Batch 5. These were from the SpaRitual nail class I went to with two of my friends as well as Cheryl! Emerald City came with my goodie bag, along with a buffing block, zebra file and samples of their Handprint Hand Serum and Hydrating Hand Salve (which are not in the picture above). As for the rest, the course fee of $38 was fully redeemable for products and I chose to redeem the lacquer remover, Sacred Ground and Twisted Vine.

November's Haul

My friend has been chasing me to do this haul post and I've been busy with interviews and my course registration for school so I apologize for the lag.



Top row: Nail Tek Foundation II, Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat, OPI Samoan Sand, Coney Island Cotton Candy, Miso Happy With This Color, Let Them Have Rice Cake, Have a Tempura Tan-trum, Nantucket Mist and Baguette Me Not

Bottom Row: Glitter Gal Liazrd Belly, Green and Silver, China Glaze Millennium, Sally Hansen Grey Area, Orly Fowl Play, Nubar Dark Wash, Boyfriend Jeans and Faded Jeans

Sorry I only have one picture for November but I'm gonna break it down and gice you my comments on the polishes now!

Nail Tek Foundation II: I got this because there is this GINORMOUS crack in the middle of my toe nail that refuses to grow out and I just wanted something that would be able to help bond the layers together. And it seems to be working. Plus it dries a bit mirky so it's a great base coat for sheer polishes! It really makes a difference!

Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat: I wanted something other than SV or Poshe that could dry relatively quickly and after reading nunerous good reviews on this one, I decided to buy it during the Watsons Sale so I think I got it at 20% off. BUT boy, this is a horrible top coat. You cannot paint it over wet nails because the polish will adhere to the brush and I think becuase it has a thin consistency, you're supposed to use thin coats, unlike how I would apply SV with a bead of polish on the tip of the brush. You have to apply this like a sheer polish, in a really thin coat and that means no wet polish underneath. You can apply thick coats of this but let me just tell you, it will not dry. Don't you think it defeats the purpose of having a quick dry top coat if you can't paint it over wet polish? By the time I can paint the top coat on, my polish would be dried already, thereby eliminating the need for this quick dry top coat! -.- And the worst thing is I gave it another chance. I was doing my nail wheel designs and I let my design dry for two hours before putting on this top coat to seal the designs and it still smeared my design!!!! I even gave it a THIRD chance, letting another design dry ONE WHOLE DAY and it still smeared the design. If I lived in the US, I would have brought it back to the store to enchange it by now but Revlon in lucky we don't have such liberal exchange policies here in Singapore!

OPI nudes (from Samoan Sand to Have a Tempura Tan-trum): I've been really into nudes because of how work appropriate, cough *boring* cough, they are and how I'd be able to get some good use out of them once I start work. I actually really like these nudes and I've already swatched them up and done a review post that I will publish after I complete my 31 Day Challenge so look out for that!

OPI Nantucket Mist: Yes, you read right, NANTUCKET MIST. One of my most coveted polishes! I had my nails painted in this colour last Christmas when I went for a mani at Far East Plaza and I've been hunting high and low for this baby ever since. I actually found a bottle on eBay and I paid S$20.28 for it including shipping here and it's on its way now. I was already so happy to be able to own a bottle but a few days later, I found out that Timtam had 2 bottles of Nantucket Mist on her blog so I immediately got another bottle as backup since I love this colour so much!

OPI Baguette Me Not: This is another backup I got from Timtam. I bought my original bottle from eBay too but I paid around $13, which is reasonable considering it's discontinued. I decided to get another bottle and I gave it to my mum! It's my secret backup bottle too! HAHA!

Glitter Gal Lizard Belly, Green and Silver: THESE BABIES ARE SOOOOO HOLOGRAPHIC YOU NEED SUNGLASSES TO LOOK DIRECTLY AAT THEM! I got them at meimeisignatures. They're 9ml bottles, which makes them smaller than your average 15ml bottles and they are a little pricey ($19.90 per bottle) but I got them during the 30% off sale so they will just a little more affordable! The hoo effect though, is really really naise.

China Glaze Millennium: Got this as a backup (yes, another backup!) for stamping! Apparently I bought the last bottle off Naivibe and Cheryl is a little sad I got the last one! I will help you keep a look out for it okay Cheryl!

Sally Hansen Grey Area: WHOOOO! I was frantic when I saw this at Watsons during the sale! I took the last bottle actually. Ever since I saw it on shortnchic, I wanted it but because we have a limited selection of colours from the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line here, I kinda forgot all about it until I saw it. But I visited the Watsons as Eastpoint just the other day and they have plenty of stock there so I think you should be able to find it pretty easily if you like the colour!

Orly Fowl Play: ANOTHER backup! I only got a backup of it cuz it's a pretty close dupe for Merry Midnight and I never ever feel like wearing Merry Midnight because of how precious it is so now I can wear Fowl Play as often as I want!

Nubar Jeans Collection: I reviewed the colours here and they're really close to the Chanel Les Jeans collection so it's quite a bummer because the three of them combined cost less than ONE Chanel! :(((

So that's November's Haul for you! Anyway, just want to add that I'm really really interested in doing nails during fleas and I've been decorating my nail wheels (I only have 15 designs so far so technically, it's nail wheel, singular) so if any of you are interested in sharing a booth with me, drop me a comment and maybe we can work things out! (: