Aaaah. There's nothing like comparing two limited edition and hard-to-find nail polish shades on a Tuesday morning! Well, that's my idea of fun...I don't know about you!
But seriously, I owe this entire post to my pal and makeup artist Maria, who saw the much-coveted L'Oreal Owl's Night (from the Project Runway Collection) and, knowing my obsession with nail color, bought it for me (this polish was sold out at all my local drugstores). Maria, you are one in a million and I thank you SO much for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
I would also like to thank reader Hana, who asked if I could do a comparison post of Owl's Night and Sally Hansen Sequin Scandal (from the Tracy Reese Fall 2010 collection). She said that since she already owns Sequin Scandal, she's hoping that they're close enough to kill her lemming for Owl's Night. Well, Hana, this one's for you!
One more thing before we get to the pics: Sequin Scandal is obviously no longer available in stores, but if you can't find the L'Oreal Project Runway collection near you, it's available for purchase at Ulta.com, including Owl's Night. Yay!
Sally Hansen Sequin Scandal (left), L'Oreal Owl's Night (right)
Looking at the pic above, you can see that there are sparse pieces of chunky silver glitter (aka, sequins) in Sequin Scandal. Surprisingly though, despite the fact that I've worn this polish several times, I've never managed to see one of those chunky pieces of glitter actually make an appearance on my nail! Anyway, in the following swatches, I painted just my ring finger with Sequin Scandal for comparison (two coats of polish were used on each nail):
As you can see, the gold in Owl's Night is much more prominent than in Sequin Scandal. Also, Sequin Scandal has more of a mossy green vibe to it in certain lights because the gold isn't as intense (thus making it appear more green than Owl's Night).
And here's a pic taken with flash:
With flash, these two polishes look extremely similar. The same goes for low-light situations. When I was sitting in my livingroom at night wearing both of these polishes, I barely could tell them apart (but even in low light, Sequin Scandal is a touch darker because, again, it lacks the amount of gold that's in Owl's Night).
So here's my final thought: Owl's Night makes me wish I didn't already own Sequin Scandal. I believe it's the prettier, more complex of the two and I'd consider it "Sequin Scandal on steroids". That being said, if you already own Sequin Scandal, you probably don't need to drive around town looking for Owl's Night. Unless of course you really want to. And if you did want to, remember you can purchase it at Ulta if you can't find it in your area.
Thanks again to Maria for the incredibly thoughtful gesture and, Hana, I hope this answers your question!
Do you own either (or both) of these polishes? Do you agree with my assessment? I'd love to hear from you!
I have Owl's Night, and honestly I can't tell the difference between the two! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI went to Walmart yesterday and found a massive amount of the Project Runway products! They had 6-8 of each of the lipsticks, 5-6 each of the polishes, 4 each of the e/s quads and blushes, it was great. I just wish I'd waited to get Audacious Amazon's Pout (beautiful color) because it was $3 cheaper than it was at the CVS I purchased it. I picked up Owl's Night though and it's gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIf you try to add Owl's Night to your cart at Ulta.com it will tell you they're out of stock. :( I tried it last week and it said the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI swear, I went to 3 Ultas and at least 10 drugstores before I found my bottle of Owl's Night. Now I see at least one bottle almost every time I'm browsing!
ReplyDeleteThese kinda remind me to L.A. Colors "Cactus" though I think Cactus is greener than those two.
ReplyDeleteAnother polish that is almost identical to Owl's Night is Studio M Nouveau Vintage. I bought it thinking I'd never get my hands on Owl's Night and then a few weeks later I found it. They are VERY similar.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the comparison! Though it's actually Owl's Night that I have and Sequin Scandal I kept wanting. Your awesome comparison has made me stop staring longingly at Sequin Scandal on ebay!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the new Revlon polish called Mistletoe.
ReplyDeleteoh wow... I didn't realize how similar these two were. Owl's night has become one of my FAVORITE polishes. It has been my favorite thing from the Project Runway Collection.
ReplyDeleteIt could just be my interpretation of these pics but they both seem like dupes of Butter London's Wallis. No?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comparison! I have both, but haven't tried either yet. I actually just got Sequin Scandal. It was in a clearance bin at Rite Aid for $2.00. I didn't realized it was hard to find. Thanks for making my day! :)
ReplyDeleteI have Night Owl and even though I was unaware of Sequin Scandal, I'm now convinced I got the better of the two. Great comparison review.
ReplyDeleteI have both but haven't tried Owl's Night yet. To be honest, I was disappointed in Sequin Scandal; it always looked kind of dull on me. I'll have to try Owl's Night soon! Thanks for doing the comparison!
ReplyDeleteI found Owl's Night at my local Walgreens, so you can possibly check there.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you East Coast-ers who are looking for Owl's Night, I spotted a few bottles last night at RITE AID on Route 36 in Middletown, NJ!
ReplyDeleteI have Owl's Night also (didn't realize it was such a commodity!) and I agree that I can't see much of a difference between the two. Great pics! Thanks for comparing!
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or do these polishes look exactly like china glaze wagon trail and mac seriously hip?
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen either of these in stores in Canada yet, but I do have one from Sally Hansen insta-dri called Bronze Ablaze which is like these but with a bit more green to it, really pretty.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up a bottle of this here in Melbourne, Australia (as well as the steely grey one, Raven's Strength), sitting around all lonely in the markdown bin. Thrilled, and only five bucks too!
ReplyDelete