Dark Reds - Comparison

Today I have for you all another comparison. This time dark reds. I am an absolute sucker for red polish and in the winter time, dark reds are perfect. Let's get straight on with it...

Left to right; OPI 'Royal Rajah Ruby', China Glaze 'Thunderbird', OPI 'I'm Not Really A Waitress' and Essie 'Swing Velvet'. You can see pretty easily that we have none that look the same, although I have have to say in some lights 'I'm Not Really A Waitress' and 'Thunderbird' did look similar (see the last photo). They all have a gorgeous shimmer that is quite obvious in pretty much all light.

'Royal Rajah Ruby' is a much browner toned burgundy than the others and 'Swing Velvet' is more plummy coloured. Something that really surprised me, I always thought of 'I'm Not Really A Waitress' as a burnt, rusty red, but when I put it on next to all of these, it was verging on looking cherry red!

This is a close-up of the middle two (left - 'Thunderbird', right - 'I'm Not Really A Waitress'). They were by far the closest colour match of the four, although by no means the same. The shimmer in 'Thunderbird' is a bit coarser and a little more obvious. It also has a slightly rustier appearance than 'I'm Not Really A Waitress'. As far as needing both in your stash... Well if you're like me then you definitely need both as they're not dupes (although 'Thunderbird' is actually my Mum's), but if you are unlike me and have any self-control, you probably don't :) Both applied like a dream but personally I prefer OPI's brushes so I would probably reach for that more.


Speaking of formulas... 'Royal Rajah Ruby' had pretty usual OPI good application. As I said, the middle two were great. Both 'Thunderbird' and 'I'm Not Really A Waitress' were perfectly self-levelling and applied like butter. 'Swing Velvet' took a little more patience (I find this with a lot of Essie polishes), not bad though. All were two coats except 'Swing Velvet' as I messed it up a little and had to smooth it out with a third coat. With a slightly steadier hand, two coats would have been fine. The three polishes to the left are all readily available - that's 'Royal Rajah Ruby', 'Thunderbird' and 'I'm Not Really A Waitress'. For the kiwis out there, you can get all three of these on Candy Girl. As for the Essie polish, 'Swing Velvet', I don't know how accessible that is. I've not been able to find out a lot about it to be honest. I think it was part of Essie's Classic Collection? If anyone out there happens to know, I'd love to find out as it's a really beautiful polish that I might have to get my mittens on (it's my Mum's too).