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Monday, November 5, 2012

Dupes and lookalikes in the Blue Cross Holiday Lights Nail Color Collection (swatches)

Let this post serve as a reminder for all us to never, ever, EVER dismiss cheapie nail polish collections at the drugstore. If I didn't have a blog, I might have given this display a casual glance and kept on walking. But since I tend to seriously examine every new product at the drugstore for the purposes of this blog, I discovered a little gold mine at Rite Aid today. I literally rushed home to swatch the polishes I purchased from the display so that I could get the word out to my fellow lacquer heads ASAP (there's only one of each color in this display so these will probably go quickly).

 Blue Cross Beauty Holiday Lights Nail Color Collection
(retail: $4.99 each at Rite Aid, 0.5 oz)

Unlike the Disco Lights Collection from Blue Cross Beauty, where the glitter polishes were kind of run-of-the-mill and similar to their Pumpkin and Snowman glitter polishes, there's a world of new, glittery beauty awaiting you in the Holiday Lights collection.

Keep reading for close-ups of each polish and swatches of the polishes I purchased...


First let's start with the traditional glitters:

(NOTE: these polishes don't have names)

 





Here's a flakie that looks more like Finger Paints Twisted than Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (if you don't know what I'm referring to, click here to see what Twisted looks like compared to Hidden Treasure; one is multi-colored while the other is predominantly orange/gold/green). I think there are also small pieces of hex glitter floating around in this one:


A closer look to confirm that there are flakes in this formula:


Here's one that really caught me by surprise: a neon pink jelly with iridescent hex glitter (almost like someone mixed Jordana Lunar Lights in a neon pink base):


And here's the first of four polishes that reminded me of the Nails Inc. Sprinkles Collection and also Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop (more on that in a second). This one is a milky neon pink with multi-colored small and large hex glitter (I know that there isn't a neon pink in the Nails Inc. Sprinkles Collection but the milkiness of it gives off a similar vibe to me):


And now let's take a look at the three polishes I purchased from this collection:


Oddly enough, the first bottle in the pic above is the only one that comes with a light that actually blinks (the lights in the lids of the others bottles don't flash, which actually comes in very handy during application--they light up the nail quite nicely).


These polishes are 3-Free, but they do contain camphor:


Let's start with the lavender shade:


Two coats, no top coat (sorry for the sloppiness but I did these swatches as quickly as possible):

no flash
This one reminds me of Sweets Way from the Nails Inc. Sprinkles Collection, but instead of pink, blue and silver glitter, it's got rainbow glitter (and also two different sizes of glitter). I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here--I don't think this is dupe by any means, but the base color gives off the same milky vibe as the Nails Inc. shade:

flash

Next up, the teal shade:

 

(Two coats, no top coat)  

no flash
Again, not a dupe, but this one reminds me of Nails Inc. Pudding Way. It's got that same type of milky base, but obviously the glitter is larger, more sparse and multi-colored. 

flash
And finally, the pink shade (not to be confused with the NEON pink I showed you at the top of this post; this is a completely different polish):


(Two coats, no top coat)  

no flash
If you don't already own Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop or one of its dupes (or a DIY version like the one I did here), there's now one you  can buy at the drugstore:

flash

All three polishes had fantastic dry-time and they removed easily as well (and the blue didn't stain my nails or leave me with "Smurf hands"). The lavender polish had the best application in terms of glitter distribution--no real fishing was required. The teal shade was the worst for glitter distribution. You really need to fish for the glitter because it's sparse and the base polish is pretty watery. The pink shade was decent but could have been better--I found myself having to push the glitter around on my nail to get it where I wanted it (due to the watery base).

Overall, if you're looking for a similar vibe to the Nails Inc. Sprinkles collection (glitter in a milky-jelly base) then I say pick some of these up if you spot them. For $4.99, they're kind of awesome even though they require some work. And if you don't already have a Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop dupe (or the real thing), I would definitely consider the pink shade in this collection.

I'm kicking myself for not getting the flakie top coat in this collection, and also the hot pink milky jelly with the irridescent glitter. I'm thinking the display will be wiped out by the time I can get back to Rite Aid this week. Darn. I really wish there was more than just one of each shade in this display!

Have you spotted the Blue Cross Beauty Holiday Lights display yet? Are any of these polishes catching your eye?
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18 comments

  1. The bottles that these come in at Meijer are snowmen. They have little snowmen faces on a round bottle and have little black top hats as the cap. I had the clear flakie one in hand and put it back but I think I'm definitely going to have to pick it up. If you want I could pick you up a flakie top coat (I believe I saw the hot pink one too) and mail it to you if your display is wiped out?

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  2. The one above the DL Happy Birthday dupe(pink glitter) looks like OPI You Glitter Be Good To Me. 'Pink of Hearts 2012 set.

    Seems like lots of brands are following the Indie trend glitters.

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  3. I saw both types of bottles at Meijer (the display in the picture and the snowmen bottles). They were in different sections of the store though. I agree about the teal one, I bought it but didn't really like it because the formula was watery and the glitter was very sparse.

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  4. I need the pink and the lilac!!!

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  5. The first swatch reminds me of that hard to find shade from lynderella which comes in a white base, but hey its worth the price and there is no waiting list!

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  6. I actually like all of them so I'd have difficulties to pick one. Good they are cheap! :-)

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  7. Speaking of Blue Cross, I picked up a trio of Cynthia Rowley polishes at Marshall's the other day. I looked on the back of the box and saw they were made by Blue Cross. Then, I looked at the polishes closely and realized that at least two of them were snowman polishes from this season. It's likely the third one was as well.

    And...I checked out Rue 21 the other day to see if they had any Color Club on sale. It looks like CC has been replaced by their store brand, but since the bottles look identical and the colors look similar to CC, I'm guessing that Forsythe is making those.

    Somewhere, there must be a chart explaining which companies are responsible for all the nail polish brands out there. If not, maybe I should start one. :-)

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  8. Actually, I think 3, 5, and 6 of the large pics above are the exact same colors as the CR polishes I bought.

    I *love* the bottom two, the turquoise and the pink. I was confused about the light and thought it was just a gimmick to get raver kids to buy the polish. Now that you have explained it, I kind of like the idea. My living room is always kind of dark, and having a light in the cap would probably help with my application.

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  9. I love that lavender one, especially with two coats it had great coverage! Can you explain the camphor thing? I never heard of that being an issue with nail polish? Is it drying or is it like carmex on your nails or something? I spotted these at Rite Aid and ignored them because I thought they looked kind of blah, but now I'm thinking I'll have to return and try one of these. Thanks for opening my eyes!

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  10. Ooh, I've seen these around but ignored them - I'm definitely going to take a second look!

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  11. I just saw these at Meijer today! They have a few different shades...I think? I only remember seeing 3 of the Sprinkle-esque shades but they did have a brighter pink, and not the peachy-coral one. Hoping to see them still there when holiday clearance rolls around. ;)

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  12. These look really fun to wear. I like the milky look + glitter combo. ^^

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  13. I'm off to beg a friend to buy these for me since there are no Rite Aids in Florida. Got.to.have.

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  14. Saw these at Meijer today. I think maybe there were two of most of them. There's also a four pack of mini bottles for $5. And then a pack like the the Lip Smacker tubes with even smaller bottles for $3. I got that one. The colors are cute but the Halloween glitters I got were pretty disappointing.

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  15. I saw these tonight!!! So exciting since my Rite Aid lags. There were also some Snowman polishes at my store - there's one that's pretty much the same color as the clear flakie G's pictured in her post. It's only $2.99. So far, it appears to dry semi-matte.

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  16. There's also a Snowman polish by Blue Cross that looks identical to the clear flakie pictured above - it's pretty much the same polish as far as I can tell but in a Snowman bottle and w/out a light. It's also $2 cheaper. It's a flakie & small hex glitter that appears to dry semi-matte.

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  17. How fun! Thanks for the swatches, G! I'm definitely going to be on the look-out for the lavender one.

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  18. Claire's has similar light up bottles and several of these shades too! Was there over the weekend and passed on them but now I might have to take a second look...

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