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.

Scrangie: Rescue Beauty Binge #4

I need to keep my Rescue Beauty Lounge Binge posts going, and the fourth binge post features Blogger polish "Scrangie." This polish is simply awesome. When I first put it on, I was mesmerized by the light green sparkles emerging from within the purple surface. I had to turn my hands to find the right lighting in order to see the exact shade of the purple base, in fact, and the purple is of a gorgeous medium tone.

These pictures were taken outside in late afternoon in December with partially overcast skies, and the light green is showing more as a true duochrome effect as opposed to individual sparkles.

I understand that there is at least one polish attempting to duplicate "Scrangie." I think the true polish addict will only want to settle for this original, lovely, and very creative version. It's a pleasure to wear!

Rescue Beauty Binge #3: Orbis Non Sufficit

When I first saw the announcement of the Rescue Beauty blogger colors, I was really impressed. How cool is that, to accomplish so much with your blog that a top company lets you create your own polish?!?

One of the colors I purchased during the recent 50% off RBL sale was "Orbis Non Sufficit," created by the blogger behind "The Polish Addict." I am not sure what the name means...er, the "world doesn't suffice??" But it is a very interesting and beguiling color. It looked like another dark green, kind of like Recycle. The descriptions said the color was "greyed out," and now I know what that means. The color is kind of close to a teal but not quite. I think it is kind of like the darkest green in a jungle camouflage: a dark jungly green with gray mixed into it to dull it down. If I were designing the camo, that is!

My pictures were taken in December partially overcast afternoon light.







Oh, and I can't be remiss in doing my research: "Orbis Non Sufficit" means "The world is not enough." I had to look that up, and I now remember reading that in the Polish Addict's post about her creation.

At any rate, the color is a lovely rich green in spite of being washed with grey. I don't think it's a must-have like "Recycle," but if you like rich, intriguing dark creme greens with a bit of a twist, "Orbis Non Sufficit" is worth incorporating into the greens in your collection!

Recycle! Rescue Beauty Binge Installment #2

Oops, I need to keep up the momentum on my Rescue Beauty Binge! I've shown No More War, which was my number one lemming from RBL. Now it's time for "Recycle," the first polish that I tried when my haul arrived.

Recycle is gorgeous. A major thing I noticed among many of the top nail polish bloggers is a major obsession with the color green. "Recycle" is often cited as the polish which sets the bar for green polishes. So, I had to get it. I do love me some lush, dark green and consider it a neutral, along with dark purple. Dark green is essential.

The color of Recycle is indeed a dark green---not the almost-black of so many forest greens, nor a bright kelly green. It's dark but still retains its essential greenness. I do not regretting this color!

I tried it on at night, and the pictures I took are not all that great, so I am offering up a bunch of almost-passable ones that I think hint at Recycle's glorious-ness. I'll have to wear Recycle for real soon and try to get some sunlight pics.

Above is a shot with one of my great-grandfather's walking sticks.






Below I am clutching one of the catnip toys my vet gives my cats after they have boarded....this is an apple, I think!




Hmm, I just now realized that I might know where this name comes from. It's GREEN, the greenest of the green polishes, so perhaps the color representing eco-friendliness should indeed be called "Recycle."

Peace on Earth, and Rescue Beauty Binge

"Peace on the earth, good will to men." Carrying over this holiday sentiment would be a great goal for the new year. Here's wishing everyone a very happy 2010! I am personally happy to leave 2009 behind. I did not care for the past year too much.

What better Rescue Beauty Lounge beauty with which to start off my RBL binge reveal than "No More War?" A great sentiment, and a great polish! I had supposed that the name of this polish came from its army green-like color. The color is an olive green, and very much the color I had hoped that Dry Martini from MAC was going to be (the latter turning out to be more of a brown).

Here outside in late December, on a partially overcast afternoon, on my pathetically short nails (which have since broken off even more!), I present No More War:







I love this color! It's nicely pigmented and applies nicely, true to the RBL reputation. It should work nicely when I want something neutral but with a bit of color and maybe a bit of an edge.

Reviewing my pics, I also notice the glossiness of my nails. For the first few Rescue Beauty binge swatches I tried out Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat, which was recommended by YouTube beauty guru, Tiffany of "MakeupbyTiffanyD." It worked pretty well as a fast drying topcoat, but I still have more testing to do before I decide my verdict.