Quick post today as I compare two dark red shimmers or metallics from Zoya. Lately I’ve been obsessed with finding a duplicate of the gorgeous limited edition dark red from Chanel called Malice. Here’s the stock photo from Chanel’s web site, but all swatches I’ve seen online are much more beautiful and vibrant:
What can I say; I have a drop or two of thrifty Scots blood in me and just won’t pay $27.00 for one bottle of polish. That made me a WOAM — Woman On a Mission.
When I looked in my stash it was almost embarrassing how many dark red shimmers I already own. A year ago I compared two Sally Hansens (warning, not very good photos) that I liked well enough but since then I’ve come to like Zoya’s formula much more than Sally Hansen’s. Hmmmm, maybe I’m not as thrifty as I thought. Although really, Zoyas aren’t that much more expensive, especially when you can get them on sale through one of the company’s many excellent promotions.
So today I’m comparing Isla from the Truth Collection and Divincia, one of the Classics. Truth is no longer available as a boxed set but all individual colors are still for sale, and they’re some of Zoya’s prettiest.
Isla is a bit more opaque and covered well in two coats but since Divincia needed three, I used three coats of Isla as well for a more equitable comparison. Isla is just a hair lighter and warmer-toned; conversely, Divincia is a tiny bit darker and cooler-toned. Both are very pretty and I think if you have one you don’t need both. At obtuse angles, where the light is not bouncing off my nails, they look the same — dark red. If I could only have one it’d be Divincia becaue I gravitate towards cool tones.
In both pictures I have Isla on my pinky and ring fingers on the right, and Divincia on my index and middle fingers on the left, along with a shiny clear top coat. In indirect outdoor light with the bottle of Isla:
In very bright direct sunlight with the bottle of Divincia:
Is either a dupe of Malice? I don’t know since I don’t own that one, but I’m very happy with Divincia as my shimmery dark red.
Wow! Everyone has Malice on the brain and on their blogs lately, me included. lol I agree with you, Chanel is crazy expensive. However, I splurged on Malice anyhow. I’m loving reading everyone’s suggestions as to less budget busting alternatives though. For the record, I firmly believe that you can never have too much red nail polish.
Malice on the brain, yes! I’m glad I’m not the only one. I saw your Malice swatches and they’re great.
I just don’t know if I could truly enjoy a $27 bottle of polish — I’d feel like I was painting on money instead of polish. Does that make sense? Maybe I’m just cheap. LOL
I always say to each their own. I did experience a little buyers remorse, that is until I used Malice for the first time. It was then that my splurge felt totally justified. Also, it’s only the second bottle of Chanel polish that I’ve purchased. My first was Metallic Vamp when I was a teenager and I suspect that bottle still might be lurking in my old Caboodle in my mom’s basement back in the Mitten.
Absolutely! Are you familiar with blogger Polish Police, Pam from the Philippines? She swatches a lot of Chanel and I shouldn’t even look…. but I do! Gorgeous stuff. Sometimes you just have to pamper yourself.
I’ve not come across her blog, but I will definitely give it a look.
Hey, this isn’t actually about the red polishes, even though I like the Divincia. I wanted to tell you that I decided to kind of skim through all your past posts, because I was curious, and because I find your suggestions helpful, and because I’m new to this blog. I really enjoyed this, and came across more great tips. Like, for instance, I have been going back and forth between Zoya’s Apple and Meg, trying to decide. And, here you had a past post about it, so I decided to order Meg, so thanks for that. I also got a big kick out of a post from mid Sep when you rocked that mohawk shaved hair style. I was actually quite impressed. Loved it. So, I’m sticking with this blog as I go through my new nail polish journey. Keep up the good and fun work, Susan.
Thanks a kajillion! Have you worn Zuza yet? Bet you get a lot of compliments when you do.
Funny, you should ask. I’m putting it on tonight. I have Aurora on now, and when I put it on, I couldn’t stop admiring how beautiful it looked. I admit, this new polish obsession is fun. Hopefully I can keep it under control. I also loved the Happi color so much. And, I was able to manage to buy 4 more colors from Zoya. Okay, so I’ll buy less groceries. I just couldn’t resist. I ordered Meg, FeiFei, Piaf, and Gilda. Needless to say, I am very excited for them to get here. I think I felt a tiny bit guilty spending the money, but luckily that lasted only a minute. Ha Ha
As my husband and I say to each other regarding our (very tame) hobbies: Cheaper than booze or psychotherapy!