Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Orly Electronica Swatches and Comparisons

My fondness for Orly is no secret, so I'm guessing it didn't surprise anyone when I announced I'd bought all four polishes in the Electronica collection when I shared the display photo last month. Left to right: Preamp, Synchro, Shockwave, Decoded.



Let's start with one of the cremes, Decoded. This is a dark grey; swatches are two coats, no topcoat.





Given that grey is a Karen color, I was fully expecting to find a dupe for this in my collection. The two that looked closest when I examined my nail wheels were Sephora by OPI Break a Leg Warmer and CND Asphalt.



Left to right below: Break a Leg Warmer, Decoded, Asphalt. Asphalt is pretty close; it's just a touch darker than the Orly. It also only took one coat, so that's a point in its favor. The Sephora by OPI is not far off; it's less blue-toned than the other two but would make a good substitute nonetheless. It was two coats.



Shockwave is the other creme in the collection. It's a medium blue that's ever so slightly jelly-ish. I felt two coats was adequate; that led to just a tiny hint of visbile nail line in strong light but nothing you'd notice in most conditions.





When it came time to do comparisons of Shockwave, my first thought was my beloved Orly La Playa, but when I pulled the bottle I could see La Playa was way darker so I kept looking. I found Pure Ice French Kiss and Essence Colour & Go Just Rock It.



At this point, I should have a comparison photo of the three blues, but I do not. My notes lead me to believe I took some, as I can tell you the Pure Ice was two coats and a touch lighter than the Orly, and the Essence was one coat and a touch darker. I have looked on my main computer and my backup drive, and photographic proof that I had these three on my nails is nowhere to be found. I've got no idea what happened, and that's somewhat disconcerting. I know I'm not the most organized person but I don't usually misplace whole sets of photots like that. Ah well, I could recreate them if I had to, but let's just move on.

Preamp is a purple-leaning pink filled with pink micro-flakie shimmer. I used three coats of this; I probably could have stopped at two but it was just so pretty going on that I got distracted. I like this one a whole lot more than I expected to; I bought it thinking it was just another pink shimmer, but its sparkly beauty really won me over.









I found I didn't have anything very much like Preamp in my stash, so decided to swatch it next to a sparkly purple and a sparkly fuchsia to try and show where it falls on the color wheel. My volunteers for this were China Glaze Anklets of Amethyst and Sally Hansen HD Hi Definition Byte.



Left to right below: Anklets of Amethyst (3 coats), Preamp, Byte (4 coats).



Finally we come to the polish in this collection that's gotten the most buzz, Synchro. This is a duochrome shimmer. In the bottle, it looks like it's deep rose pink shifting to golden orange.



On the nail, a blue pops out on top of the pink and the orange pretty much disappears. This is three coats of Synchro by itself.







At some odd angles, I fancied I could see a bit of orange peeking out from the pink.


In low light, it went more plummy purple with blue flash.



Synchro wasn't what I was expecting based on looking at the bottle, but it sure is interesting to look at since it does shift and change so much. I couldn't think of another polish like it in my stash, so instead of doing a comparison, I swatched it over Decoded. Over that blue creme, Synchro showed a distinct blue to purple shift as I moved my nails around.







I think all of these are keepers, especially for a cool tones lover such as myself. If you're well stocked with cremes, Shockwave and Decoded are not must haves. Preamp and Synchro are quite fun to look at; if you're only getting a couple from this collection, those are the two to grab.

34 comments:

  1. Whoa. Synchro is NOT what I was expecting. o.O I might need to grab that one.

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  2. I'm in love with Preamp!! And I agree with Noelie, I didn't expect Synchro to be that awesome!

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  3. I have this collection on my wishlist, but after seeing swatches, I think I'll just get Synchro and Preamp.

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  4. I looove Shockwave, it is gorgeous!

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  5. I love Preamp! Not so much a fan of that duochrome... I just don't love them!

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  6. OMG Preamp and Synchro are so fabulous! I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for those. :D

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  7. I love all of these, especially Preamp. I like your comparisons of the grey polishes, too. Would Essie Power Clutch be close to Decoded?

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    1. I'd say pretty close, looking at this comparison of Asphalt to Power Clutch:

      http://www.thelacquerlounge.ca/2011/09/fall-2011-trends-dark-grey.html

      Based on her comments, Power Clutch might be a touch lighter and greener than Decoded.

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  8. I really like Preamp! I wonder if it's a dupe at all to RBL Poco A Poco (though this looks a little lighter). It's so pretty though!

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    1. I think the shimmer in the RBL is much finer than in Preamp, too.

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  9. When these first came out, I picked up Preamp...now after looking at your mani's, I'm thinking I need to go back for Synchro...*shakes first at KarenD for creating more lemmings*

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  10. Preamp is way prettier than I had expected. The flecks almost look like mini-flakies. I like that!

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  11. I love your comparisons posts! You are saving me money every time. On the other hand, all your other posts keep creating more lemmings.. ;-)

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  12. From the first swatches I saw Decoded was my favourite (greys are welcome in my Helmer, too) but watching yours I realized how nice Preamp is...Might put it in my "someday..." wishlist!
    BTW I don't like Synchro, way too frost, but over blue it really looks nicer!

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  13. Preamp turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. I don't normally like pinks much but I do love Orly.

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  14. I'm sooooo glad you compared Decoded to SOPI: Break a Legwarmer! I couldn't decide wether or not to get decoded but now I know not to. :) I like seeing the different ways that Synchro shifts. I wonder if it would shift more orange if layered over orange.

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  15. Lovely swatches! Synchro looks really fun!

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  16. Wow, I must say Preamp will be mine! (evil smile) I only have two Orlys so I should give it another try, don't you think? :P

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  17. I love Preamp! But I don't think it would look great on me :(

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  18. I have been wanting Preamp and you just confirmed that lemming! So pretty!

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  19. Thanks to the Italian distributor of Orly I have the entire collection. I have tried only Preamp and I really, really, really love it. I am super excited for Synchro and Shockwave (which, in the bottle, looks similar also to Nubar Blueberry), I am a bit disappointed by Decoded. In the press release it looked like a deep dark green, not a grey. I am not into greys, maybe because this color looks horrible on my nails (and on my skin, I avoid it even for clothing). I like a lot Synchro over Decoded, very nice idea! :)

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  20. Preamp and Synchro are my favorites :)

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  21. Oh wow, Preamp stole the show here, it's gorgeous!

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  22. Whoa! Synchro over Decoded! I would have never thought. I bought Synchro, and have yet to try it. Awesome post as always!

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  23. Wow, Synchro is awesome! Great swatches!

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  24. Preamp and Synchro are on my to-get list! Great post!

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  25. Fantastic swatches!! I am in love with Preamp and Synchro!! I love how Synchro looks over the blue too, duochromes are so fun to play around with!

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  26. I like Shockwave and Preamp the most :)

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  27. Your layering of Synchro and Decoded is stunning!

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  28. oooh I love Synchro! The duochrome is so neat! :D

    ~ Yun

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  29. I'm not sure how I feel about these...

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  30. Best photos I have seen yet of this collection. I was at Sally's last Sat and looked at these...had not been thrilled with the photos I had seen so was not picking em up - but Synchro really looked amazingly interesting. I just did not know if I wanted another med shade of pink despite all the goodies in this one. Guess I was in a really indecisive mood that day - I came home with a pack of AA batteries only and was out most of the day. Good thing I guess as this week now my carpet shampooer broke for good, my cell phone touch screen died and I had to get a new cell phone (ouch $$$), and now the power on/off to my high end coffee maker died and it's long out of warranty.

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  31. Just pulled out my long forgotten, never worn Synchro and I love it.

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.