Max Factor is no longer sold in the United States, but even when they were, their nail polish was never all that exciting, so I never paid much attention to it. However, Max Factor is still sold across the pond, and they have just released this insanely amazing new polish called Fantasy Fire, which I wouldn't have even known about if it wasn't for the amazing Amy. Thank you, Amy, for making this post possible. You are golden.
Anyway, the reason Fantasy Fire is so amazing is because it's very similar to some of the most rare and sought-after discontinued polishes: Clarins 230 and Urban Decay Toxin. I pulled out all the similar polishes in my stash and did a little side-by-side to see how close they are.
Max Factor Fantasy Fire - Urban Decay Toxin - Nfu Oh 51 - Clarins 230 - Versace V2077-W(natural light and flash)
Unfortunately, my bottle of Clarins 230 has faded significantly over the years and lost almost all of its purple tint, leaving only the red/orange/green multichrome sparkle in a murky, barely-purple base, so it's no longer a perfect representation of the original color.
Max Factor Fantasy Fire - Clarins 230 - Urban Decay Toxin
Fantasy Fire is closest to Toxin, then to Nfu Oh 51 (sans-flakes), and then only somewhat similar to 230.
Max Factor Fantasy Fire - Clarins 230 - Urban Decay ToxinFantasy Fire is closest to Toxin, then to Nfu Oh 51 (sans-flakes), and then only somewhat similar to 230.
Left to right (pinkie to index finger):
Nfu Oh 51 (three coats)
Clarins 230 (three coats)
Urban Decay Toxin (three coats)
Max Factor Fantasy Fire (three coats)
Nfu Oh 51 (three coats)
Clarins 230 (three coats)
Urban Decay Toxin (three coats)
Max Factor Fantasy Fire (three coats)
The verdict? No dupes here. None of them match each other exactly, but they all share that same special, rare type of fiery multichrome shimmer. Out of all of them, I'd have to say that the new Max Factor is the most dramatic in terms of shimmer, color shift and vibrancy. I love all of these, but Fantasy Fire has now officially become my favorite.
I just bought fantasy fire it's a lovely. I like to wear it layered over a dark purple colour.
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ReplyDeleteThis stuff is amazing, managed to get myself three bottles from Boots via a three for two offer :)
ReplyDeleteWhat? 230 fades?
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Liquid Euphoria Bliss ;)
ReplyDeleteWaaahhh I'm kicking myself for getting rid of that one D:
DeleteThese may not be dupes, but I can't help wonder how they all stack up layered, so that we could see how similar the colour shift is in each. After all, they're all so sheer, we wouldn't wear them alone anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhy not wear them alone? I almost always wear them alone, I think layering absolutely kills the depth and beauty of them, reducing them to nothing but their duochrome shimmer. I guess layering conserves polish, but it takes away the magic of the sparkles suspended in their jelly bases. I'm sure they do look much more similar when layered, though. Perhaps I'll swatch them over a purple later on.
DeleteHonestly, having acquired 230 at a hefty price, doesn't exactly make me want to use 3-5 coats of it each time in order to get opacity, but then again, I'm not a fan of jellies and NEED for the colour to cover my nails. This is my quirk.
DeleteOh and most seem to be only concerned with the duochrome shimmer these beauties provide, less so the jelly base. I've yet to hear one girl NOT comment about the sheer nature of these lacquers.
Yeah, I definitely understand that. I guess I'm different because I am a jelly fan and like the polishes as a whole, not just for the shimmer. I mean, the shimmer *is* what makes them special, but I adore the depth of them when worn alone, and I don't mind having a little visible nail line as a trade off for an mind-blowingly gorgeous complex color :)
DeleteI just think they look so flat layered, especially over black creme when they just become nothing but red-green shimmer.
@ naolXchange: as much as I love layering (and I hear you abou the pricetag) Scrangie is right, sometimes you have to appreciate the nail polish as a whole, at least try it one time.
Delete@ Scrangie: you are the only person I know that looks good with VNL;)
That being said, You can have the best of both worlds, I've e-mailed you both a link to get rid of VNL and still see the jellies as jellyish as they are (yeah, I just made up that word) hope you find it helpful ;)
Very pretty! I saw this on ebay for $35. Too rich for me. I will stick with Kleancolor Chunky Holo 230 which was $2.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for doing this comparison. I don't own #230 but I really did not think from the many swatches I have seen of it, that it matched the MF Fantsy Fire at all because the MF one has such a purple base in it. It does seem to be the year of the 'effects toppers.' I had sort of thought toward end of last year our glitter phase might lighten up a bit in favor of less opaque glitters and more use of them in lighter form along with flakies and a variety of 'effect toppers.' MF FF is really pretty,but I give it a couple months and someone state side will have something just like it out. Also, as the yrs go by #230 is not all that special. I surely would not pay $85 or up for a bottle of it.
ReplyDeleteI love my FF and don't have 230. So sad that yours has faded. Thank you for the lovely comps!!! <3
ReplyDeleteThat is such a beautiful polish. Oh my goodness.
ReplyDeleteOh, they still sell Max Factor here!! Great tip! I'll definitly going to have a look.
ReplyDeleteRight, I need to lay my hands on this new release from Max Factor! :D
ReplyDeleteHaha exactly what I was thinking... as soon as Max Factor is no longer available in the US, they come out with this amazing-sauce. Whyyy!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I recently received Fantasy Fire from a fellow blogger but had none of the others to compare it to. Now I NEED Nfu Oh 51 even more :-)
ReplyDeleteHmm. Would prefer a non-animal testing company to do a dupe. I thought Max Factor wouldn't be allowed now considering my homeland doesn't usually allow that. Weird.
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to know why your Clarins 230 faded? I have a bottle, and seeing the pictures, I feel a little scared that mine will also lose its purple jelly-ness.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking it's because I was stupid and stored it on a nail polish rack for a year instead of keeping it in the dark, in a box, away from any source of light :(
DeleteMine has faded too, even I've kept it in the dark. I absolutely loved the original shade, now it looks just ugly. Buhu :( I like Fantasy Fire but not that much than 230, I just bought it to have something like 230 was.
DeleteHave you seen Hard Candy Beetle? I got it at Walmart the other night, and it is really pretty. It's not a dupe, but it's in the same family as these, just more metallic/green. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI have it and I <3 love <3 it :D
DeleteYesssss! Beetle is my fave, and when I first got it I thought it was similar to the photos I've seen on 230, especially when 230 is layered over dark purple.
DeleteBeetle is gorgeous, but I don't find it at all similar to 230. It's more like a dupe of one of those Orly colors- Galaxy Girl or Space Cadet, I always get those two confused
DeleteThis is so beautiful. In the bottle, I thought it would be disappointing and lose it's duochromeness when applied, but it looks really stunning.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a purple/red polish before either.
I'm trying so freaking hard to get my hands on this!! Gahhh so pretty!
ReplyDeleteGot any friends in Australia? it's five or six dollars over here :)
Deleteoh, i want fantasy fire now :(
ReplyDeleteI can't find your swatches of the Versace? Have you swatch it yet?
ReplyDeleteI've never posted it. I keep trying to take good pictures of it, but the beauty of it just never shows up in my pictures! One day... one day I'll finally conquer this polish!
DeleteGreat comparison post! Love seeing older polishes:)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how much this is going for on evilBay!!! I feel so lucky to live in the UK for once. We may not be able to get hold of Essie, OPI and the like very easily but we have this. They had 3 bottles of this in my local Boots, so I bought all 3 just in case, I love it! I have 2 bottles going spare if anyone over in the USA wants to do a swap. Drop me an email at trulypolishedblog@gmail.com if you'd like to, don't get ripped off on eBay! xx
ReplyDeleteI managed to get hold of 2 bottles from boots the other day, I was SO happy when I saw it!!! Have yet to try it out though!
ReplyDeleteIs there a site you can buy Max factor cause a lot of bloggers seem to be getting them to but their not exactly telling were to get them.
ReplyDeleteIt IS stunning in it's own right - but I wanted to try layering it too. I put it over 1 coat of Zoya's 'Anja' (a dark grape plum) and WOW! I can't stop looking at it. Just gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI waited for Superdrug .co.uk to get this back in and I've just ordered it. At last, something we can get in the U.K, almost makes up for Zoya, China Glaze, etc etc.
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