Dupe Alert?

Today I have a somewhat ironic comparison to show you. It's a comparison of dupes: Max Factor - Fantasy Fire, Darling Diva - Ringer and Takko Lacquer - Kiss The Sky. Ironically, I don't even have the original polish these all are trying to duplicate: the legendary, VHTF Clarins 230, a.k.a Unicorn Pee. So I will show you those three polishes and you can decide for yourself which one you like best. Left to right: Fantasy Fire, Kiss The Sky and Ringer.


The first look is of the three polishes over naked nails. Unless stated otherwise, the order of the polishes on the nails are Index - FF, Middle - KTS and Ring - Ringer (like - Duh?! LOL) You can see that they are not exact dupes. But while Kiss The Sky is totally different, Fantasy Fire and Ringer are very close to each other. Even at 3 coats they don't come anywhere near opacity, while Kiss The Sky is opaque in 2-3 coats.

2 coats of each polish. No base and top.
3 coats of each polish. No base and no top.
3 coats of each polish. No base and no top.
The formula of all three is almost the same. In my opinion, Kiss The Sky has the perfect consistency and thickness. I could play with it and make it thicker or thinner to match my current liking, without causing any visible brush strokes nor pooling. The other two were good too but when I tried to use a thicker coat, I did have some undesirable drips in the wrong place.
Drying time and the finish is quite the same in all of them. I am trying to decide if Kiss The Sky is maybe a little more matte then the other two but I am not sure. I think it's just an illusion caused by the fact that the shimmer inside it is thinner and more delicate then the others.

Some added important bits of information: 
  1. FF is not a Cruelty-Free nail polish. Max Factor is known to be a company that still does animal testing.
    Both Takko Lacquer and Darling Diva Polishes promise of course they are NOT doing any animal testing, nor are they buying any ingredients suspected in any animal testing. 
  2. Both Ringer and KTS are 3-free: no dibutyl phthalate, no formaldehyde, and no toluene.
    You cannot say the same about FF unfortunately.
  3. FF is sold in a 4.5ml bottle for around $6-6.5.
    KTS is sold in a 15ml bottle for $15.
    Ringer is sold in a 15ml bottle for $8.

The next set of pictures show one coat of each polish over 2 coats of China Glaze Liquid Leather (Black creme). Same order of the polishes remain. It was very hard to capture the duochrome in these so please excuse the strange focus games... Also, over the black you can see a lot clearer what I mean by saying that Kiss The Sky has a thinner and more delicate shimmer/micro glitter.
Artificial light - direct at nails.
Artificial light, Direct at nails.
Indirect light
Indirect light
Indirect light
Last I would like to show you how those look over a purple polish. These pictures show one coat of each polish over two coats of Sinful Colors - Amethyst. Another little ironic anecdote in here: Amethyst itself is almost an exact dupe of a high-end polish (Dior) (source: The pointless Cafe).


Since I love indies so much, I can assure you that my personal favorite among these is NOT Fantasy Fire.
What's yours? Would you keep all three? Only two? Only one?



7 comments :

The Silverinator said...

THANK YOU for doing this comparison! I am SO happy we have a cruelty free option because it really bothers me that I love FF so much! I NEED Ringer AND Kiss The Sky both!!!! They are so different! <3

Unknown said...

All stunners!

Unknown said...

I'd keep Kiss the Sky & Ringer. I happen to have all 3 but I won Fantasy Fire in a giveaway, so I don't have to feel guilty about the animal testing!! The maker of Takko does say that most of her polishes dry a little matte because of the vegan pigments she uses, so it probably isn't just an illusion. Thanks so much for the comparison! I've been too lazy to compare them myself!!

Gosia said...

Wtf??? FF is not cruelty free??!!! Shit... cant use it anymore!!!! Wuaah! !!

RichInHeart said...

Pretty! I don't like kiss the sky but Ringer is gorgeous! Have you tried these over Revlon Royal? They look gorgeous!

Marias Nail Art said...

They are gorgeous all of them :)

M. Fourey said...

That was a great post! I'd have the Takko lacquer, it's more opaque, which is always a win for me! And over purple and black it looks the same as the others, which is great because this way it can be a layering polish as well as a polish to wear on its own. I lurrrve it :)

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