Quick Comparison: Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar

I had an email this morning from reader Candy Lover who asked if I could compare Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes with Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar. Based on my past post photos, I thought these two would be quite close. Turns out I was wrong!

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l), Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r), bottle shot

Both of these polishes have excellent creme/jelly hybrid type formulas with fluid, smooth, creamy consistencies that are easy to work with. Pigmentation is very good in both as well, with completely even opaque coverage in two medium coats. If using very thin coats, three may be necessary as both formulas have a little bit of translucence. Cleanup is easy and straightforward for both and both dry in good time to smooth, shiny finishes. Both brands utilize a flattened flexible brush.

Photos show two coats of polish over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Seasonal Lattes is on my index and middle finger nails (on your left in the photos), Close But No Cigar is on my ring and pinky finger nails (on your right in the photos).

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes

Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes

Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar

Smitten Polish Seasonal Lattes (l) vs Bear Pawlish Close But No Cigar (r)

As you can see, Seasonal Lattes is more of a golden brown with greenish hints (at least, to my eye) and Close But No Cigar is more of a reddish brown. Seasonal Lattes is perhaps a bit less translucent than Close But No Cigar, but it may be a trick of the back light and hand position in the photos that gives that impression. They are actually very close in terms of opacity in person. As far as holographic effects are concerned, they both contain finely milled holo pigment but Seasonal Lattes' formula has a greater degree of it than does the formula of Close But No Cigar. They are both linear holos, but the prismatic display is more athletic and overt in Seasonal Lattes and that polish has more of the subtle nuancing of the base color in bright indirect light that occurs in strong holos. Seasonal Lattes has a bronzey gold semi-metallic flash beneath the holographic flair in the sun, while Close But No Cigar has a reddish copper semi-metallic flash. In shade, silvery speckling from the holo pigment is more noticeable in Seasonal Lattes than it is in Close But No Cigar. 




Vive la différence! I hope this helps, Candy Lover, thanks for asking! It was an eye-opener for me that's for sure. 

love,
Liz

Addendum: OPI Get Cherried Away vs Butter London Queen Vic

In a classic polish purchase faux pas, I happened to bid on and win both OPI Get Cherried Away and Butter London Queen Vic at almost exactly the same moment without even noticing at the time how very similar they are. Of course, when they arrived at my house on the very same day, the similarity was unavoidable -- much to my chagrin! I was like, OMG! How did I do this? Answer: carelessly. Oh well, the up side is that I can now do a little comparison of the two for you.

Photos show two coats of each polish over treatment and basecoat plus a topcoat of Seche Vite. Get Cherried Away is on the index and middle fingers and Butter London Queen Vic is on the ring and pinky fingers.

OPI Get Cherried Away and Butter London Queen Vic, bottle shot

OPI Get Cherried Away (left) vs Butter London Queen Vic (right)

OPI Get Cherried Away (left) vs Butter London Queen Vic (right)

OPI Get Cherried Away (left) vs Butter London Queen Vic (right)

OPI Get Cherried Away (left) vs Butter London Queen Vic (right)

OPI Get Cherried Away (left) vs Butter London Queen Vic (right)

Verdict: although quite similar, not dupes. Get Cherried Away has slightly more violet in its blend vs Queen Vic, which has more crimson. Get Cherried Away is darker and more opaque. Queen Vic is lighter and more translucent. They both have lovely, user-friendly formulas. The OPI has its flat pro-wide brush, which is a pro for some and a con for others. Butter London's brush is smaller and round. Again, a pro for some and a con for others. Get Cherried Away is a one coater for sure (even though I did two for comparison purposes), which Queen Vic is not, so it has that going for it. But I kinda think it boils down to which brush suits you better if you're going to choose one over the other. 

love,
Liz

Grey: Chick Gr8 Gray Owl, Misa Grey Matters and Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

The other day I herded a small flock of untried greys into my swatching chute and now I'm ready to try them out.


The first grey I have for you is Gr8 Gray Owl from Chick. Chick is an indie polish maker on a mission to make our lives less toxic -- more power to them! Their handcrafted polishes are vegan-friendly and free of carcinogens, and come in neat rectangular bottles with a carefully selected high-end round brush and a sweet chick logo on the front. I purchased Gr8 Gray Owl as part of a stout Llarowe haul early this past spring. It's a beautifully formulated light-medium Gainsboro grey creme with a smooth fluid consistency that flows easily onto the nail. The brush reminds me of Essie's in size, it has a petite diameter and flexible bristles that do not overload and fan out nicely over the nail when applying.

Gr8 Gray Owl is a superbly balanced grey. To my eye, it wants to lean cool on my nails but swatching on the wheel reveals it's perfect neutrality. It has a soft presence as you would expect and creamy sleek look. It dries naturally to a glossy shine.

Photos show two coats of Gr8 Gray Owl over treatment and basecoat plus a topcoat of Poshe.

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

Chick Gr8 Gray Owl

The second grey for today is Grey Matters from Misa. Grey Matters is a light silvery grey creme with very fine iridescent shimmers and dainty charcoal flecks. The components really give this nicely balanced neutral a certain special je ne sais quoi (hey, FRENCH!), aka visual texture. The iridescent shimmers are only barely noticeable on the nail, but their presence adds a subtle overall glow, not quite metallic but light reflective in that way. The charcoal flecks are a delicious counterpoint to the light grey of the base and give Grey Matters an interesting speckled egg look that I find extremely fetching. This polish has a silkier and slightly lighter feel on the nail than Gr8 Gray Owl.
Application was easy and smooth. Photos show two coats of Grey Matters over treatment and basecoat plus a topcoat of Seche Vite.

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters, with bonus dirt crumbles, nice... NOT!

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters, with bonus doink

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

Misa Grey Matters

The third and final grey of this post is Out-Grey-Geous by Barielle. Out-Grey-Geous was released in 2009 as part of their All Lacquered Up collection, which was a collaboration between Barielle celebrity manicurist Elle and polish blogger Michelle from All Lacquered Up. It's a great collection and I own several polishes from it.

Out-Grey-Geous is a medium metallic charcoaly grey shimmer polish with golden glitter flecks in addition to loads of silvery shimmers. I adore mixed metals, I think they are the height of sophisticated chic when done well, and I love the concept of this polish. If I could redo the construction of it, I'd take away about three quarters of the silver shimmer and replace it with grey pigment. As it is, Out-Grey-Geous is somewhat sheer and -- dare I use the "f" word? -- frosty.

Frosts were the height of nail polish couture in the 1980s and since that time have been in an ever more rapid and steep decline. At present, the word alone is enough to trigger gag reflexes in the majority of nail polish enthusiasts, including me. To me, a frost is a polish that a formulator wasn't well-budgeted enough to finish properly so they threw in a boatload of highly reflective shimmer along with the towel. I'm sure there are folks out there who disagree with this somewhat cavalier assessment, but that's how I feel.

So it's no surprise that Out-Grey-Geous is my least favorite polish of the three in this post. Still, the inclusion of gold glitters in the silvery charcoal grey is a beautiful touch. If the polish had a less shimmery finish, they would stand out even more than they do. As it is, close scrutiny and the right angle of light are required to give them the appreciation they deserve.

Because it was so sheer, I applied Out-Grey-Geous right over my Misa Grey Matters manicure. Had I started without a base polish, I would have needed at least three coats possibly four to achieve aesthetically pleasing opacity. Photos show two coats of Out-Grey-Geous over the Grey Matters manicure above with a topcoat of Seche Vite. My application and clean up on this manicure left something to be desired, my apologies.

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

Barielle Out-Grey-Geous

So there you have it, three grey polishes. The spectrum of this comparison reminds me of a discus throw: you start with the creme, then there's the point of release with the flecked creme and then there's a good bit of distance to the shimmer. To continue the metaphor further than necessary or tasteful, probably farthest out, the landing spot for the disc, would be a stark black and white glitter mix in a clear base like Lynnderella's Connect The Dots.

To me, grey polish is less about drama and more about satisfaction, hitting that sweet spot that gives you a little spiritual boost. Of course, there are times when drama IS the sweet spot, in which case colors other than grey are called for. But when the yen is for something effortlessly classy and sophisticated, grey is an excellent choice. 

I think I'll be on the look out for more of those "sweet spot" greys after this post!

love,
Aunt Liz