Swatch and Review: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

I normally don't post this late in the day, but I was holding out hope that the sun would make an appearance so that I could take pictures of this polish in the sunlight. But alas, Mother Nature didn't cooperate. Though, I think I captured this color pretty well in spite of that.

OPI Just Spotted the Lizard is from the summer Spiderman Collection and really stands out for two reasons.

One: It was the only color that screamed "different" to me. I'm not a huge fan of crackles/shatters/etc, so it wasn't exactly my cup of tea from the start. And I could really live without the other shades.

Two: It's a dupe for Chanel Peridot, which always appealed to me, but came with a heck of a price tag.

Just Spotted the Lizard is a metallic duochrome polish that shifts between pale gold, to mossy olive, to straw.

Here's the straw color...

And the moss color!

Overall, I really liked the application of the polish. Normally, I'm not a fan of these kind of metallics because they leave too many brushstrokes, but they really weren't too bad. It's barely noticeable. It actually sort of has a brushed gold look to it.

The entire Spiderman Collection is available at your local Ulta and JC Penney and the suggested retail price is $8.50 a bottle.

So what do you think of Just Spotted the Lizard? Is it a keeper?

Princess Polish

Dupe or No Dupe?

On Monday, I swatched Revlon Gold Coin, which you can check HERE in case you missed the post.


On Monday, I swatched Revlon Gold Coin, which you can check HERE in case you missed the post.

Coincidentally, I also happened upon a polish that looked eerily similar in the bottle while checking out the grand opening of a new Five Below in my area, called Down to Earth.

So I picked it up, along with the rest of the Funky Fingers Heavy Metal collection, and headed home to compare.



Here are the polishes after the first coat. The pinky and the ring finger are Down to Earth, while the index and middle fingers are Gold Coin. There is definitely a clear difference here, but let's give it another coat.



And here they are again, DTE, GC, DTE, GC, with two coats. They're kind of similar, but the Funky Fingers has much more of a champagne tone to it, where as gold Coin has a blacker, aluminum-like base to it. In fact, I'd venture to say that Down to Earth isn't a foil like Gold Coin, but rather a shimmer. I would say DTE is more in the vein of OPI Glitzerland.

So are they a dupe?

Leila, open the case…

DUPE BUSTED!

Check back tomorrow for a new post and stay tuned for the rest of the Funky Fingers Heavy Metal Collection.

- Princess Polish

Wet n Wild Ready to Pounce

Okay, I know what some of you are thinking. You've blogged about Zoya, OPI, and China Glaze… but Wet n Wild is not even in the same category. So why bother?

I'm not going to lie. Prior to this year, I'd always viewed Wet n Wild as nothing more than a bargain brand polish. And listen, I have nothing against these "bargain polishes." To be honest, as a college student, I can't really afford to go out and only buy designer brand polishes, considering brands like Butter London and Deborah Lippmann cost double digits and Zoya/Orly/OPI/China Glaze hover just below the $10 mark. That's why clearance racks are a girl's best friend.

But I have to give Wet n Wild credit where credit is due. Gone are the old formulas in which I'd have to thin out their polishes after a month, causing me to spill nail polish remover all over my desk. Gone are the streaky finishes and gloppy applications.

In fact, today, October 3th, 2011, I will confidently stand on my soapbox and proclaim that Wet n Wild makes solid quality polishes for a fantastic price!

If you need convincing, I suggest you head to your nearest drug store and pick up a polish from their On the Prowl collection. And if you can't find any polishes from that collection… it's because it has become one of the hardest to find beauty products of the season. Not OPI, not Essie, not Illamasqua… Wet n Wild. Seriously, there is a blog that actually has an interactive map where people post locations in which it has been spotted. See?

In fact, I managed to snag the last one of Ready to Pounce, the most highly touted one of them all, from Harmons, if only to see what everyone has been raving about. And guess what I found out?



Shut the front door. It's. Gorgeous.

A beautiful vampy plum, with subtle purple shimmer, it's the perfect fall color. It has lasted for over five days now and has survived my subconscious nail chewing of the LSATs, with the slight ding in my middle finger due to my overzealous chocolate lab. If only she had waited until the chew toy was no longer in my hand…

And if it takes the tooth of a ninety-pound chocolate lab to take this baby down, then you KNOW it'll hold up well to the rest of the elements. You'll have to excuse the lack of a bottle shot… it was being passed around amongst my friends for use at the time this article was written.

Oh and speaking of Deborah Lippmann? The cost of DL Happy Birthday, DL Ruby Slippers, and DL Wicked Game? A wallet-busting $54 at your local Nordstroms.

The cost of their WnW dupes, Party of Five Glitters, Behind Closed Doors, and Gray's Anatomy? $5.97.

Want to join me on my soapbox?

- Princess Polish

Hard Candy Beetle (MAC Mean and Green, Orly Space Cadet dupe)

I'd been coveting MAC Mean and Green, as well as Bad Fairy, ever since the Venomous Villains collection came out last year. But as a college student, I couldn't justify spending $14 on a nail polish (I have a hard enough time justifying $5 for OPI on clearance!). Even when Orly's Space Cadet came out and was a dead-on dupe, the $10 price tag was just too high.

Enter Hard Candy Beetle, from the 2010 Holiday collection exclusively at Walmart. Not only is Beetle another dupe, it's a cheap one at $4. I had a hard time finding it by school, but when I ventured to the Freehold Walmart to pick up some things for the upcoming semester, I found it laying all by itself. I knew at that moment the stars had aligned... and I needed that polish.



Beetle is definitely a duochrome, flashing green, gold, and purple. And boy is it a STUNNER!

Below, you can see a little more of the green and gold.



Check out these three bottle shots... they almost look like entirely different polishes!





So what are you waiting for? Go out and get Hard Candy Beetle already! It's the only Beetle I'll ever be happy to see on my desk.