This battle is a bit different because I haven't chosen suspected dupes, per se. Instead, I've simply chosen three (of many) Deborah Lippmanns that I have yet to try. I went through a phase of collecting a great deal of her polishes because I love the formula, brush, and bottle. In a short amount of time, I ended up with a lot of Lippmann polishes, which made the process of trying them seem overwhelming. Isn't that crazy? I fawn over how beautiful these polishes are and yet the prospect of trying them all overwhelms me. Strange, I know.



Anyway, I forgot to do a bottle shot, so let's jump right into it. The polishes I selected for this battle are Satin Doll, I Dreamed You, and I'm Not Innocent

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Satin Doll is a warm tan with lots of silver pearl. The pearl reminds me of the pearl that is in Zoya Touch polishes. I don't love it. I'm not even sure I like it.




The formula is a great consistency, and the opacity built up nicely at three coats.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann I Dreamed You is a soft pink pearl. It has an iridescent quality as sometimes the pearl looks slightly red or slightly copper. I can honestly say I only bought this because it was in a duo with another polish that I actually wanted. I like it, but I'm not sure I would wear it again.



I Dreamed You is a bit prone to brushstrokes, but a careful application (I applied quite haphazardly) would likely minimize that. The formula is on the thin side but not at all runny.

4 coats

Deborah Lippmann I'm Not Innocent is a light peach creme. When I'm shopping for soft shades, I tend to gravitate towards colors like this, so I probably have a few other polishes that are similar.



I experienced some streaking during application, and though it was opaque in three coats, I needed the fourth to even everything out.



Side note: If you've been on the hunt for work/interview appropriate shades, all of these fit the bill quite nicely.





Battle casualties: I Dreamed You and Satin Doll. I just don't like the finish on these, and I could live without these shades in my stash.



Wounded in action: I'm Not Innocent. I'm keeping this, but it is contingent on a comparison with other similar shades in my stash. If this is the best, it'll stay. If I find something else that applies better, into the purge pile it goes.



That's it for this week's battle. Which would you have kept? Are you more into nudes or brights?



Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

2 coats

Dior Lucky is a gorgeous pinky red creme. There's a bit of hidden shimmer in there, which I've noticed is in a lot of my Dior shades. Lucky is my kind of pink - rich and vibrant. This one is definitely a keeper.



The formula is lovely as usual. The pigmentation is top-notch - I could have stopped at one coat. I really love the brush as well. It's overall a really beautiful polish.



Dior Lucky (10ml/0.33 fl. oz.) retails for $23  and is available at Dior.com

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. You know how life goes.



I've started taking pictures of my stash, which has proved to be quite the task. Eventually I'd like to have close up shots of my entire stash, large group shots will have to do for now. Here's what I've accomplished so far.



Note: I do apologize for photo quality (or lack thereof); I only had enough time to take one picture of each group.

American Apparel. That's Light Year crowd surfing

China Glaze

China Glaze

Yep, more China Glaze

China Glaze, most from the Summer Neons collection

ETF silver capped China Glaze

HTF silver capped China Glaze

Essie

Essie

Essie

That's all for now! I can't believe how much my stash has grown since the last time I posted.

My lovely friend Lakeisha, of Refined and Polished, invited me to do a guest post on her blog. It features this summery mani:






Check out the details here!

2 coats

China Glaze Pink Plumeria is a warm pink with gold shimmer. Like most neons, it dries matte but is pictured with top coat. This is the shade I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. I love the color.



However, the formula was just okay. It's slightly goopy, so I had to use thicker coats than I usually like to. I'm hoping the others from the Summer Neons collection have a better formula.

I'm taking a break from purging cremes to take a look at my ultimate vice: holos. I can't get enough of them! However, I thought it would make this whole process easier if I could purge from my beloved holo stash.

Layla Mercury Twilight, Gosh Holographic, Nfu.Oh 61

I only did comp pics because swatching each of these with aqua base would've taken more time than I had.

Pinky to middle: 2 coats Nfu.Oh 61, 2 coats Gosh Holographic, 3 coats Layla Mercury Twilight

I purchased my Nfu.Oh 61 October 2010, and it was one of the dud batches. I have a few other bottles that I'll have to compare it to.



Gosh Holographic is very holo, and out of these three, it looks the least dull indoors. I love how smooth this is.



Layla Mercury Twilight is the most holo of the bunch. It's gorgeous!



I think it's pretty clear that the battle casualty is Nfu.Oh 61. I think I've heard that 61 is back on track and no longer dud city, but I can't say for sure until I swatch my other bottles from more recent batches.



I'm going to keep Holographic and Mercury Twilight for now until I have a chance to comp them against some of my other silver holos.



Enjoy the rest of your weekend!