Comparison of Milani Holos vs China Glaze Kaleidoscopes

 

Wow, the response to my very first giveaway has been just tremendous!! And continuing with the Follow for Holos, aka Holla for Holos, theme, I present here a comparison between the Milani holos (which are part of the giveaway) and the Kaleidoscopes that I have (8 out of 12 in the collection).

The purple Milani "Hi-Res" is rather a grape purple (like grape juice, not the wine-colored grape), and is not duplicated by my Kaleidoscopes. The yellow-green Milani "Hi-Tek" is also not duplicated. The four Milani holos that can be compared are the gold, silver, blue, and pink. 

I think the closest comparison is between the blues. The Milani blue, "Cyberspace," has a bit more blue to it but is otherwise very close to China Glaze Kaleidoscope Him Out. Ring finger = Kaleidoscope Him Out; middle finger = "Cyberspace."

 

  

 Interestingly, I consider China Glaze How About A Tumble to be in the purple family, albeit a lighter purple; at the same time, I consider Milani "Digital" to be pink. Yet, these two polishes were a fairly close match. Not a dupe, mind you, but they match up fairly well. In person, How About a Tumble shows more purple than Milani Digital. Ring finger = How About a Tumble; pinky = Digital.

 

 

All together, both comparisons:

  

  

Now, let's look at the gold and silver Milani holos, which have much more metallic surfaces than It's My Turn and Visit Me in Prism, which are more gold-colored and silver-colored rather than literally gold or silver metallic.

  

Ring finger (left) = China Glaze It's My Turn, and middle finger = Milani "3D" (with the same blooper as in my post on the Milani holos!). Below, see the holo "blaze" effect on the China Glaze as opposed to the Milani? They are both beautiful; I think it's a matter of what look one prefers, gold metallic versus a yellow-gold-colored. (The index is wearing the Milani silver "HD").

  

 

Below, I've left the silver Milani "HD" on the index finger, and now China Glaze "Visit Me in Prism," the icy, silvery holo, is on the middle finger.

  

  

  

  

  

The latter picture is from a different perspective, looking up the nail to see the holo shine!!

None of these are exact dupes, but hopefully one can see the similarities and differences between these four pairs.

Orly Wandering Vine Comparisons!

 

I had mentioned that at first I wasn't sure what the point of Wandering Vine was since it seemed similar, if probably not quite as dark as, Orly Enchanted Forest from the fall 2009 Once Upon A Time collection.Well, I must be scientifically thorough in my reporting---here's the comparison!

Hey, which one is which? This picture is indoors with overhead light, and so you can't see the subtle differences in the colors very well. Take a guess!

Okay. Now it should be obvious (well, unless you didn't realize that the Once Upon A Time collection came with the cutest little charms! Yes, the one with the charm is the more forest green Enchanted Forest.)

Above, Wandering Vine is on the left. It's still dark, but not quite what one would call forest green. Below, I popped open the window (because I had no sunlight out front and literally could not go out the back door...no problem, I'll just open up the screen and hang out the dining room window to get that sun!!). The bottle on the left is Wandering Vine.

There's my winter wonderland, melting down from the second blizzard of the week. See, you can see the roof of my shed!

Another obvious comparison is with the famous and lovely Rescue Beauty Lounge "Recycle."

Here is a shot of bottles and nails in late afternoon sunlight, taken a couple of weeks ago, before I became snowbound! The Recycle might have a litle more yellow or the Wandering Vine a little more blue or gray. Below, bottle shots back indoors, including Rescue Beauty Lounge's "Orbis Non Sufficit" on the left. This color is another dark green, but significantly grayed out. I include it fomr some context because of the gray I think I am seeing in Wandering Vine. The lefthand bottle below is Orbis Non Sufficit, the righthand one is Recycle.

Blasted with my camera flash:

Now, let's get all four polishes together for the final comparison!!

Left to right: Orly Enchanted Forest, Orly Wandering Vine, RBL Recycle, and RBL Orbis Non Sufficit.

On the nails: Index = Enchanted Forest, Middle = Wandering Vine, Ring = Recycle, Pinky = Orbis Non Sufficit.

Above in the direct sun, they all look pretty similar. Just inside in the streaming sunlight, you can really see the four different colors!

So, if I walked around work all day with these four colors on my right hand, no one would say "hey, Euridice is wearing four different colors of dark green on her right hand! What's up with that?" Up close, if I waggled my fingers within a few inches of someone's face, then he or she might notice...perhaps just subconsciously.

The Enchanted Forest is darkest, while Recycle and Wandering Vine are close to one another, but Recycle is the darker of the two. They are not dupes but in the same color category. They are the kind of dark green I want in a handbag...dark, rich, and GREEN---not so dark they appear black.

Recycle kind of has this look of hardness with a luminosity from within (or maybe I've been staring at it a little too much!). Wandering Vine looks creamier. My next comparison might be to introduce some darker greens from my collection, perhaps OPI's almost blackened forest green "Here Today Aragon Tomorrow" and MAC's blackened teal "Beyond Envy." More context!

If you want Recycle but don't really want it badly enough to splurge, then Wandering Vine should fit the bill. If you must have Recycle, or an exact dupe, then go for it! I am happy to have both.