Thursday, December 1, 2011

Essie Luxeffects Comparison Swatches

Here's a few quick comparison swatches of some of the new Essie Luxeffects topcoats next to similar polishes from my stash.


Essie As Gold As It Gets - Chanel Illusion d'Or - Nubar Gilded Gold - Petites Peach Orchid


Left to right (pinkie to index finger):
Petites Peach Orchid (one coat) over black
Nubar Gilded Gold (one coat) over black
Chanel Illusion d'Or (one coat) over black
Essie As Gold As It Gets (one cot) over black

None of these are exact matches of each other, but they do all share a similar gold flake. Nubar Gilded Gold and Chanel Illusion d'Or are the most opaque. Essie As Gold As It Gets is my favorite for layering because it's pure flakes and doesn't cover up the base polish too much. Chanel Illusion d'Or would be my choice for wearing alone because it's very dense and it has awesome blue glitter.


Essie Pure Pearlfection - Nubar Pixie Dust - Zoya Sparkle Gloss - Orly Étoile


Left to right (pinkie to index):
Orly Étoile (one coat) over black
Zoya Sparkle Gloss (one coat) over black
Nubar Pixie Dust (one coat) over black
Essie Pure Pearlfection (one coat) over black

The only difference between all these is the amount of shimmer. They're all the same color and only slightly different textures; the Nubar has the biggest particles, the Essie seems to have the smallest. Essie Pure Pearlfection has the most shimmer in one coat, Nubar Pixie Dust has the least.


Essie Shine Of The Times - Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure - Nubar 2010 - GOSH Rainbow


Left to right (pinkie to index):
GOSH Rainbow (one coat) over black
Nubar 2010 (one coat) over black
Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (one coat) over black
Essie Shine of the Times (one coat) over black

These are pretty much all the same. They look the same. The only difference between any of these is the coverage. Essie Shine of the Times is the most densely packed with flakes, Nubar 2010 is the least. Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure is the second most opaque and GOSH Rainbow is somewhere in between. If you have one of these, you really don't need to have them all. I personally like the Essie one just because it's so opaque, but they're all good.

Are there any other similar polishes to these? These were just the first ones I could think of, but I'm sure there are more out there.





Posted by Scrangie at 12:21 PM

32 comments:

  1. UnknownDecember 1, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    Thanks for the comparison lady :). Now I don't feel like I NEED to have Shine of the Times.

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  2. Swatch And LearnDecember 1, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    Thank you so much for comparing all of these colours. I bet it'll help a lot of people!

    I was curious about Essie Shine of the Times because, well, flakies always get me. But since I have Nubar 2010 and Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, I'm going to pass up the Essie. All of them are so gorgeous!

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  3. MelissaDecember 1, 2011 at 12:58 PM

    Thank you SO much for these comparisons! It's hard to choose what to get when there's so many similar options. For the gold ones, I prefer Essie As Gold As It Gets because the others are too dense to let the base show through. The first two are kind of cloudy. As for the flakes, I don't own any of the others, so Shine Of The Times is a great option for me.

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  4. LeanneDecember 1, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    To me, Pure Pearlfection looks a lot like Inglot XL1 (would it really kill you to use names instead of numbers, Inglot?)

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  5. Jacqui of The Scholarly NailDecember 1, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    Thank you so much for the comparisons! I actually like the Essie ones the best (except for the flakies, as I can't tell the difference). Since I swapped away my SH HT (and had instant regret), I will probably pick up Shine of the Times as well as the other two =)

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  6. sabbathaDecember 1, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    Nubar Gilded Gold is my fav, I added it to my WL :>

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  7. LimitedAddictionNailsDecember 1, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    The orange/green flakie seems to be the same with every brand! I'm glad I have a really cheap one that looks just like these ;p
    I really like the ones from the second comparison. I should get my hands on one of these!
    Thanks for the comparisons!

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  8. SplashDecember 1, 2011 at 1:11 PM

    CND 24K sparkle is an almost identical gold flakie, and CND Sugar effect seems to be pretty close to the pearlfection.

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  9. BossDecember 1, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    Omg. I want the last one!

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  10. AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    It's not one of those three, but I just went and ordered Kleancolour's chunky silver glitter because it looks pretty similar to Set in Stones.

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  11. AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 2:09 PM

    Not sure if you have this one on hand for comparison, but if you do, how does As Gold as it Gets compare to NYX Gilded Glitter?

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  12. GraceDecember 1, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    This is an awesome post. I have Shine of the Times, but I recently purchased Nails Inc Donmar, as well, and now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have bothered. I'm not sure if they're identical, but I think I probably didn't need both of them.

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  13. NailstyleDecember 1, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Great comparison thanks!

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  14. blkroxDecember 1, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    I just purchased the 3 Essie polishes but haven't had a chance to use any of them. But seeing how lovely Shine Of The Times is, I am gripped by the urge to buy at least 2 backups, lol (I don't have anything similar). Any truth to the rumor that these will be added to the permanent line?

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  15. Kaki @ GlitterObsessionDecember 1, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    I don't have any of the comparison polishes, so I went ahead and ordered these new Essie polishes. I can't wait to play with them!

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  16. KimDecember 1, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    What about NYX Gilded Glitter as a dupe for As Gold As It Gets?

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  17. LucyDecember 1, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    I will have to get Essie's As Gold As it Gets. I love Hidden Treasure. I think they all look alike. Lots of nice layering options.

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  18. ScrangieDecember 1, 2011 at 10:32 PM

    Thanks, everyone! Glad I was able to help!

    Leanne, ugh, tell me about it! I hate numbers as names, makes it impossible for me to remember!

    Splash, thanks! I haven't seen that one before!

    Myrasis, noted!

    Envyanne and Kum, I think I might have that one... I didn't see it with my other NYX polishes but I'll look again cause I swear I have it...

    Blkrox, you know, it doesn't say anywhere on the press release that the colors are limited edition, but some of the stores are saying it is... I'll see if I can find out!

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  19. CatDecember 1, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    Thank you. Now I can take Shine of the Times off my wishlist as I have 2 bottle of 2010 already.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Impoverished by PolishDecember 2, 2011 at 1:06 AM

    I love Essie Shine of the Times! I am a newbie to nails and don't own anything like it (or any flakies, for that matter). I'm very happy with it and anticipate using it for my next few manicures.

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  21. ScrangieDecember 2, 2011 at 8:12 AM

    Blkrox, my Essie contact just informed me that these are PERMANENT! Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  22. beccerzDecember 2, 2011 at 8:36 AM

    You're the BEST!!! Thank you so much for posting this. I picked up Gold as it Gets and the silver/pink glitters b/c I have Nubar 2010 already and like 4 sparkly white microfrost topcoats.

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  23. Mara SDecember 2, 2011 at 11:07 AM

    There is a brazilian brand, Impala, that has a flakie like shine of the Times. It´s called "love Story", I saw a comparison with the nubar and it´s very similar

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  24. Mara SDecember 2, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    I just ordered the nubar 2010 from amazon at $4.5 so I will pass with the essie

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  25. Impoverished by PolishDecember 3, 2011 at 1:05 AM

    I have a post that I did yesterday showing Shine of the Times over various colors. I like it best over darks, specifically red and blue.

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  26. blkroxDecember 4, 2011 at 10:12 PM

    Thank you so much for confirming Scrangie! *does happy dance*

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  27. Absolut LawDecember 4, 2011 at 11:03 PM

    whoa, this is awesome!

    i've never seen anything like shine of the times before, so i'm definitely picking that one up.

    and i love the look of pure pearlfection, but i think i like the zoya shimmer a little better - and i'm a total zoya fangirl, soooo...

    speaking of zoya, have you seen the flash promos they've been doing on twitter/facebook? really great deals going on! and now i'm going to have to get shimmer the next time i'm able to get in on a good one of theirs...

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  28. Johanna (Paillette)December 7, 2011 at 11:17 AM

    Thanks so much!!!
    You just jacked my Chanel Illusion d'Or lemming into overdrive! :D

    ReplyDelete
  29. ArchDecember 17, 2011 at 6:03 AM

    I couldn't get hold of GOSH Rainbow when it came out so I bought Andrea Fulerton Gemstone Topcoat instead (available from Superdrug in the UK, I don't know if you get AF in the US) and it's pretty much identical!

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  30. UnknownOctober 17, 2013 at 2:10 PM

    Heck yea! This helped!! I just got into all this nail stuff & running outta nail $$$$$$$!!! AND THIS ONE IS A MUST!! THANKU Dear!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. UnknownOctober 17, 2013 at 2:13 PM

    THANKU for this comp!!! Heck yea it helped!! $$$$$

    ReplyDelete
  32. UnknownOctober 17, 2013 at 2:13 PM

    Heck yea! This helped!! I just got into all this nail stuff & running outta nail $$$$$$$!!! AND THIS ONE IS A MUST!! THANKU Dear!!

    ReplyDelete

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