Thursday, January 5, 2012

A Tale of Two Annes

Anne was one of the polishes that won in the same Rescue Beauty Lounge Bring it Back vote that brought me Locavore. Sometime after people started getting their orders from that batch of releases, I heard some rumblings that at least one person who'd missed Anne in the original release and bought a bottle from the re-release thought that the new version didn't look like some of the promo pictures for the original version and wondered if there was a problem. Given how many polishes do change from batch to batch, I understand that completely. I, being not entirely of sound mind when it comes to buying nail polish, had a backup of original Anne so was able to swap that for a new one (having used the bottle I bought in the re-release as the non-glitter prize in my holiday givewaway) and thus satisfy my curiosity about this issue, which is how it came to pass that I compared Anne to Anne.

They look pretty darn similar in the bottles, as one would expect. Original Anne is on the left, new Anne on the right. (The new bottles have a code printed on the glass near the bottom in the back.)



Here's a close up of original Anne:



And new Anne:



At some angles, in some lights, I could get new Anne to look duller than the original (new on the right):



But then I'd change the angle a bit and they'd look like twins again:



As we know, polish in the bottle is not necessarily a good indication of what it'll look like on the nail, so I stopped twirling the bottles this way and that and instead twisted off those caps and put one of the Annes on two fingers and the other on two other fingers. Can you tell which is which?



Top to bottom, that's original, new, original, and new; two coats of each.

Since the nature of shimmers usually shows up better in sunlight, I took myself outside. Since it's winter, the sun was not exactly blazing, but I was lucky to get any sun at all.



Here's one of the most illuminated shots I got; new Anne on the left, original Anne on the right.



Still outside, here's new Anne on top and original Anne on the bottom:



And finally the same two fingers with the focus shifted—new Anne in focus on top and original Anne blurred on the bottom.



I don't see a difference between these two. Being shimmers, they do both change as the light they're in and the angle they're being viewed at changes, but if I hadn't taken notes about which was new and which was old, I couldn't have written this entry because I wouldn't know how to label the photos. In fact, at one point, I got the bottles mixed up and had a moment of panic before I remembered the printed numbers on the new one.

Congratulations to Ji Baek on her quality control. If she'd made My Private Jet, I bet we wouldn't have four or five or seven versions like we've gotten from OPI.

15 comments:

  1. They look the same to me, I couldn't tell much of a difference either. I'm glad to see that because I would hate to buy a polish and find out it's not even the same. It would be kind of a disappointment. No kidding about My Private Jet! It's annoying how many kinds there are.

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  2. Whoa what a trained eye, the differences are so subtle! Brilliant spot and a really nice colour, even with the differences

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  3. I can't see the difference, maybe I need glasses hahaha

    looks very pretty!

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  4. Ji announced on her FB page that RBl wouldn't be doing any more 'Bring It Back' polls because a customer complained that new Anne didn't look like old Anne. Personally, I don't see a difference. I sincerely hope she reconsiders because they really did do a great job reproducing all of the colours. Nicely done :)

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  5. Great comparison! Ji is incredible for even considering recreating such a complex shade :) They look the same to me!!!

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  6. Thanks for sharing this, Karen! I didn't think there would be a difference, but this is a great reference for all the doubting Thomasinas out there. ;) Based on everything Ji's written on FB/Twitter, I don't think she would settle for a lesser version.

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  7. I think they are the same. The person Pink Ginger refers to must be very fussy. And I hope that person feels justified in spoiling the fun for others. :(

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  8. Thank you for the great comparison, Karen!

    Ji is a super perfectionist...I'm pretty sure she'd drink nail polish remover before putting out a color that didn't match the original.
    So a pox on whomever ruined the bring it back votes for everyone else, because they know full well that they were just nitpicking and seeing invisible things. There's nothing wrong of different about resurrected Anne. It looks just the same as the original.

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  9. Too close to call for me! And definitely anybody who doesn't know about polish wouldn't have a clue. :)

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  10. Fascinating! I love how comprehensive your blog is. I hope Ji changes her mind. What a shame if one person ends up ruining it for everyone.

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  11. They look the same to me.My private jet I don't own one but I read that the first version was the best.By the way I just post a swatch of one of the polishes you send me. Thanks :)

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  12. thanks for the comparison im with you i see no difference which is cool that we can still get it cuz its a beautiful color.

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  13. Was gonna say don't you dare dis my Ji! You know I worship this brand and although Anne is the only color of hers I bought and didn't like, I know her standards well enough to know she would never let something like two different colors go out under the same name. Whoever started that rumor needs to be throttled!

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  14. Very lovely color... It reminds me a bit of a nailpolish I have, but cannot remember the name/brand :)

    Very beautiful though!

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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.