Fall Texture Week Comparisons

In preparing for this post, I went back and looked at the comparisons post I did to wrap up the first Texture Week here on the blog. I was amused to see this statement: "This probably won't be the last you see of texture here on this blog, but I can't imagine there will be this much in this short a time ever again." Ha, I say to that now. This week did have fewer polishes and fewer posts than that first Texure Week, but it was still pretty packed. It would have been more so if I'd had the found the time to swatch all of my latest textured acquisitions, and there's yet another collection I haven't found in stores to buy yet but I hope to soon. Just as well I didn't have more swatches done; as it is, I've got plenty of comparisons to round out this Fall Texture Week 2013.

Let's start with the creme texture comps. First up, some silliness that I couldn't resist doing: pitting OPI It's All San Andreas's Fault against some shiny OPI cremes in the same color family, Over the Taupe and You Don't Know Jacques. To my eyes, Over the Taupe's base color is a good match for It's All San Andreas's fault, with You Don't Know Jacques being a bit darker and cooler. Top to bottom below: OTT, IASAF, YDKJ, IASAF.



I do have a textured polish to compare to It's All San Andreas's Fault, Kiko 638 Taupe. This is one of the recent acquisitions I spoke about not being able to get to in time to swatch for this Texture Week. It came to me from my swap buddy at Under the Gravity's Nails (she sent a bunch of other pretties, too, and I also got more Kiko textures and other goodies in a swap with Julie Vernie; I hope to post about both of those wonderful swaps before too much more time passes). The Kiko is lighter and cooler-toned than the OPI; I think you can figure out which is which below.



Moving on to the other OPI creme texture, I have these dark blues: OPI Wharf Wharf Wharf and Sally Hansen Laughie Taffie. The OPI is ever so slightly darker, but these are close enough that I don't think you need both. Left to right below: OPI, SH, OPI, SH.



It wasn't until I was some days into a manicure wear test that I realized I'd failed to do comparisons of the other three new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat textured creme colors, so I had to resort to nail wheel swatching.

Milani Aqua Splash is much lighter than Sally Hansen Spare-A-Mint, though they are definitely in the same neighborhood color-wise.



Milani Purple Streak and Sally Hansen Gummy Grape are look very much the same as each other in most lighting conditions. In bright light, the Sally Hansen looks a bit lighter than the Milani and it also seems to have a slightly cooler cast. Much as I love purple, even I can't say you need both of these.



China Glaze Itty Bitty & Gritty definitely leans more red/coral than Sally Hansen Candy Corn.



Moving on to glittery textures, I have another nail wheel comparison: Zoya Sunshine and Nina Ultra Pro Twinkle Twinkle. The Zoya is darker and has more of a matte appearance than the Nina, which is lighter, dustier, and more shimmery.



I knew from looking at the bottles that the Nina Twinkle Twinkle was not going to be a dupe for Julie G Blueberry Fizz, either, but I went ahead and did a comparison anyway. The Nina is darker and lacks the larger silver hexes that the Julie G has.



I apparently have some sort of blind spot when it comes to Nicole by OPI, as it did not occur to me until I was editing the photos for this post that I should have compared Nina Twinkle Twinkle to NOPI Blue-berry Sweet on You—based on this pic of Julie G Blueberry Fizz and NOPI Blue-berry Sweet on You from last Texture Week, it sure looks like the Nina and the NOPI might be close.



I had no trouble finding a dupe for Nina Shooting Star; Orly Silver Pixel is the same silver with the same sort of glitter mix. I can't tell them apart on the nail, but for the record, below it's Nina, Orly, Nina, Orly.



In the category of rosy pink textured glitters, Orly Pink Pixel, Julie G Crushed Candy, and Nina Ultra Pro Star Bright are like peas in pod; you definitely don't need all three. The Julie G is maybe a touch lighter and more silver-y than the other two but no so you'd notice in most lighting situations. Sally Hansen Treat Heart is the odd one out; it's a warmer and lighter pink than the other three and lacks the larger hex glitter that they share. Left to right below: Orly, Julie G, Nina, SH.



Icing Sand Castle and Orly Rose Pixel are nearly identical twins. Maybe the Icing is a touch more textured and the Orly a tad more silver-y, but that could just be the light. Top to bottom below: Icing, Orly, Icing, Orly. Now I'm sort of curious to know if Icing did dupes of the other Orly MegaPixel FX colors. Not so curious I'm going to make a special trip to the mall, though.



OPI Magazine Cover Mouse and Julie G Hot Cinnamon could go to a twins festival together, too. Left to right below: OPI, Julie G, OPI, Julie G.



In the not so identical department, we have OPI Jinx, Zoya Dhara, and Julie G Sugar Rush. They're all orange with golden highlights, but they vary in how red they lean. Left to right below: OPI, Zoya, Julie G.



I'm going to round out this post with a couple of nail wheel comparisons, since I don't have all of these polishes in my collection now (not to say I won't get them later if there's a sale or swap opportunity). But first, a quick illustration of why I use white nail wheels instead of clear—they really do give me a good idea what the polish will look like on my nails. (If I could have gotten my finger and the wheel at the same distance from the camera lens, that would have been good, but I'm only so coordinated.)



Zoya Tomoko on the left, OPI Honey Ryder on the right:



Zoya Arabella and Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour:



So there you have, the grand finale of Fall Texture Week 2013. Do you like mega comparison posts like this or would you rather see the relevant ones immediately following the swatches of each collection? Do you like theme weeks like this? If so, are there other themes you'd like to see me do? I appreciate any input you have on those questions or textured polish in general.

Some of the polishes shown in this entry were provided free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.