I saw a swatch of Butter London Gobsmacked in last month's issue of InStyle and knew it had to be mine. My weeks of lusting did not go in vain. Gobsmacked is a stunner!

3 coats

with flash

Butter London Gobsmacked is a deep charcoal grey glitter. It has a ton of depth - totally reminds me of asphalt. Gobsmacked dries matte with some texture. These pictures were taken with no topcoat but before the polish was completely dry. It was smooth and quite shiny with one coat of Seche Vite.



The formula is typical of dense microglitters: a bit thick but manageable if you use thin coats and wait a minute before applying the next coat. I've also found that adding a few drops of thinner usually takes care of the problem, but that was unnecessary with Gobsmacked. Also, Gobsmacked dried quite quickly.



Moving onto the comparison, the closest polish I found in my stash to compare is Milani Silver Dazzle.

3 coats Butter London Gobsmacked (g), 2 coats Milani Silver Dazzle (sd)

with flash

Silver Dazzle and Gobsmacked are not dupes.The key difference is Silver Dazzle's warmer, lighter color. Gobsmacked almost looks blue in comparison. Silver Dazzle is also more textured.  I had to use two coats of Seche Vite to smooth it out. Above, they are shown without topcoat.



While I don't consider these dupes (they look obviously different, even at arm's length), Silver Dazzle may be close enough for some. The price point of the Milani is definitely more desirable, but I think it will just come down to personal preference. I think I'll keep both for now.



Which do you prefer?



Milani Silver Dazzle retails for $5 and is available at most drugstores.

Butter London Gobsmacked retails for $14 and is available at butterlondon.com.

Remember when OPI was awesome?

While shopping Butter London's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, I had a feeling I'd seen Lovely Jubbly before. I couldn't make the connection, so I bought it anyway. Of course, it clicked as soon as I got home:

Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink, Butter London Lovely Jubbly

2 coats Rockstar Pink, 3 coats Lovely Jubbly

I'm usually super nitpicky about what I call a dupe, and I have no problem calling Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink a dupe for Butter London Lovely Jubbly. Or is it the other way around since Lovely Jubbly is newer? The only difference is that Rockstar Pink is slightly more dense than Lovely Jubbly. There is really no need to own both of these, though.

1 coat Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink, 1 coat Butter London Lovely Jubbly over 2 coats  Nails Inc. Baker Street

I wanted to try to show the slight difference in the opacity of these glitters. I do prefer the look of Lovely Jubbly layered, but again, it would be ridiculous to suggest owning both of these.



The formulas we comparable. I had no issues applying either one, and the consistencies were not too thick or thin. I prefer the SHXW brushes to Butter London's.



I would suggest skipping Lovely Jubbly (unless you collect BL) and going for the much more cost efficient Rockstar Pink.

The polishes from Dior's Spring/Summer 2012 collection are easily two of my favorite Dior shades ever. They may be dethroned when I finally get around to swatching my Les Violets, though!

2 coats

Dior Saint Tropez is a turquoise creme with Dior's signature sparse shimmer. I think it looks slightly dusty in my picture, but in person, it is very clean and vibrant. I missed this the first time around, so I'm happy to finally have it.



I don't often get to comment on wear, but I wore Saint Tropez for a full week and had no chips at all. I snapped a picture on day 4, which explains the slight tipwear.

2 coats

Dior Bikini is a pink coral creme with the same sparse shimmer. I'm a sucker for any kind of coral, so it was instant love. I have a few polishes in mind that may be comparable, so I'll do a comp post soon.



The formula is typical Dior - an absolute dream. That's why I love Dior. The colors aren't always the most unique, but I've never met a Dior polish with a less than perfect formula.



Dior Bikini and Saint Tropez retail for $23 and are available for purchase at Dior.com

I only picked up half of this collection for two reasons: I have dupes for each of the colors I left behind, and I'm just not fond of the shades. I've purchased enough polish to know what I like; it's time to quit buying colors I'll never wear just because they complete the collection.



Anyway, this collection was so hyped, I feel a lot of us were let down when the first swatches of these popped up. However, don't pass on the Bohemians until you've seen them in person. You may be surprised.

2 coats

with flash

China Glaze Unpredictable shifts from green to teal to gold. Its main color is shown in the flash picture, which is a goldy green.

2 coats

with flash

China Glaze Deviantly Daring shifts from blue to aqua with a touch of gold. It's almost like a deeper, more vibrant version of Unpredictable. It's such a stunner.

3 coats

with flash

China Glaze Swanky Silk shifts from rose gold to golden green. The color dupes both Nails Inc. Stratford and Deborah Lippmann Sugar Daddy. There are difference in the finishes, though. Don't worry, you'll see them in a Purge Wars battle soon enough. :)



The formula on these is nice. I had no application issues even though the consistency of these is on the thin side. I never clean up my manis, so you can usually tell how much trouble I had applying the polish based on how neat my gap is. The brushstrokes are not obvious at all in person once the polish dries. Also, my Deviantly Daring brush was quite frayed, so watch out for wonky brushes when purchasing these.



These shades definitely are not the strongest duos out there, but they are the cheapest and most accessible at the moment. If you haven't yet experienced the awesomeness of the multichromes by Ozotic, Hits, etc., these might be enough for you. Personally, I think weaker duos have their place in the np world and shouldn't be disregarded just because they're not up to par with 505 and the like.



Right now, the Bohemian collection is available at Head2Toe and other etailers. Sally Beauty will probably put it out early August.



Anything from this collection catching your eye? If not, what collection are you most enjoying or looking forward to?

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Call Me Irresponsible is kind of a conundrum. It's very cool in the bottle, but once applied, it warms up. I think this is because of my nail beds, though, because my free edge is much cooler than the rest of my nail. Either way, it's a squishy, super shiny jelly. Gorgeous!



The formula is top-knotch, which is something I've come to expect from my Lippmanns. It also dried pretty quickly for three coats.



I have yet to encounter a purple jelly that dupes CMI. It's a must-have, for sure.



Deborah Lippmann Call Me Irresponsible retails for $16 and is available at deborahlippmann.com.