Tamika requested a comparison of Rescue Beauty Lounge Diddy Mow and Essie Sew Psyched to help her plan for the Rescue Beauty Lounge 50% off sale on Nov. 1st. So, I'm going to post her request along with some other RBL polishes and their dupes or close alternatives. Hopefully this will help you guys out when it comes time to pick your polishes for the sale. I admit I went a little nuts with the comparisons but I thought that ruling out possible dupes was just as important as posting actual dupes.
I'll start with Tamika's request.
Diddy Mow:
This polish is a dead on, exact duplicate to Essie's Sew Psyched.
Here is the bottle comparison. After sitting they even separate the exact same way.
Diddy Mow VS. Essie Sew Psyched.
As you can see by the photo it's impossible to tell these apart. The RBL applies a bit more opaque but even the formula is almost identical. If you can find the Essie on sale (less than $8) or already own it I would skip Diddy Mow for sure, but if not then I would Definitely pay the extra $1 and get the RBL at the sale!
Dead Calm:
*sigh*
I thought I nailed a dead on dupe for this one until I saw the pics, but I did find a few kinda close alternatives.
Here are the blues I had in my stash that I thought came close based on the bottle color.
Dead Calm VS. Sephora by OPI Blue Grotto.
This is in the same category and is pretty close but by no means can it replace DC. If you just want something close and close is good enough then this might be for you, BUT during the sale this polish is the exact same price as the RBL! So the RBL wins!
Dead Calm VS. Nina Ultra Pro Sailor.
In the bottle, holding it in my hands I thought I had found and exact dupe for DC and I literally jumped for joy! Even in dim lighting on my nails it looked exact! But alas my friends, no impostor can hide from the camera flash! But I'll say it again, if close is good enough you can get this polish at Sally Beauty Supply for under $4.
Dead Calm VS. China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway.
Another kinda close blue that falls in the same category in my opinion. Not a dupe but it is an alternative if you need to be ultra picky or are on a limited budget, you can get it for $3 at the etailers.
Dead Calm VS. Misa On the Edge.
This one is the furthest away out of the 3 I posted but I still wanted to post the comparison for those that can't compare them on their own and have to rely on online swatches.
In my honest opinion even if there were an exact dupe to Dead Calm I would still buy it at the sale. To me it is a MUST HAVE, NO EXCEPTIONS polish for any stash no matter how big or small.
Grunge:
I think this one is going to be "undupeable" because of it's subtle shimmer. I personally don't like the shimmer and I found a dupe for it minus the shimmer. So if you don't care for the shimmer either, listen up!
Grunge VS. Orly Country club Khaki.
An exact dupe of the base color of Grunge. EXACT. Another awesome tidbit is that CCK is a solid 2 coater just like Grunge.
Grunge VS. OPI Tickle my France-y.
Also close minus the shimmer.
Grunge VS. Essie Jazz.
A distant third runner up, but still good enough to pass on Grunge if neutrals are not your thing or if you have any of the above.
While all three of these are close enough in color for me personally to pass on Grunge keep in mind that Grunge is a two coater and Both the OPI and Essie are 3+ coaters.
Atame:
I had a pile of about 15 dark red jellies piled up anticipating finding SEVERAL alternatives to this polish but I only found 2 that I think are worth passing for.
Crappy bottle photo I know, and I'm sorry.
Atame VS. Avon Tweed.
Dudes, I would take the Avon over the RBL in this case no question. It applies better, is more opaque and the brush is heaven! Also it is cheap!
Atame VS. Essie Berry Hard
This is another almost exact dupe. If you have this already then pass on the RBL, if not it's worth the extra $1 to pick up the RBL instead of the Essie. These were the same amount of coats and opacity.
Orbis Non Sufficit:
I apologize for the terrible bottle photo! I took so many and somehow not even one came out well.
Blech. Both of these polishes are hideous in the bottle! They both separate so bad, it looks so icky!!!
Orbis Non Sufficit VS. Avon Olive Green.
Another exact duplicate! The Avon even applies just as well as the RBL in every way, plus the Avon brush is better. You can get Avons easily for about $5 and you can find them for $2-3 with a bit more effort at flea markets and swap meets.
Teal:
I took a bottle comp photo for this but it was so terrible I can't bear to post it even if it makes this the only polish in the post with no bottle photo. I don't care, it's just too horrible. Maybe I'll go back and take another one to add later. I had really stank luck with bottle pics today!
RBL Teal VS. OPI Ski Teal We Drop.
Honestly I kept hearing that these were exact dupes left and right but IMO the OPI is a tad lighter. As far as choosing one the RBL is a true one coat wonder and dries faster than the OPI. This one also comes down to a $1 difference for the RBL. I would go for Teal hands down.
Glamourpuss:
This one has 2 dupey polishes that are good alternatives if you can get them cheap.
They don't look all that close in the bottle but in this case it's all smoke n' mirrors man. Also, Let me go ahead pre-apologize for all the visible nail line I'm about to bombard you with! Red Jellies, 2 coat swatches, and flash photography don't mix man!
Glamourpuss VS. Misa Cherry Topping
CT is a tad lighter but is a close, much cheaper alternative.
Glamourpuss VS. Essie Bold and Beautiful.
These are almost too close to tell apart for me. Once again the RBL is only $1 more during the sale so if you don't have the Essie or the next dupe get the RBL!
Glamourpuss VS. China Glaze Ravishing, Dahling.
DUPES DUDES! This one is a no brainer for me since you can get this China Glaze for $3 at most etailers!
Recycle:
Ok, so I went a little nuts with the pics on this one. I just felt like unless you own all these greens and can see them personally you might mistake them as dupes for Recycle based on online swatch pics. So I wanted to basically rule most of them out as dupes more than actually find a dupe, which I might add seems like an impossible task for this polish!!!
Here is the line-up of all the greens I thought might be in the running based on online swatches. I went ahead and compared them all to Recycle even though there was not a possible dupe in sight.
Recycle VS. New York summer Amaranth.
Recycle VS. Orly Enchanted Forest.
This is sorta kinda a little bit close... maybe?
Recycle VS. American Apparel Hunter.
Recycle VS. Claire's Kelly Green.
Recycle VS. Orly Wandering Vine.
Recycle VS. Nubar Forest.
I think Recycle is another must have RBL polish. It's such a unique green! Hopefully these green comps can settle some questions some of you might have had about Recycle's dupeability, if not at least they're fun to look at. LOL!
So ladies don't forget the 50% off Rescue Beauty Lounge sale is on Nov. 1st. Happy shopping!!!
Love, MM
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