Gold Foil Dupes? Orly Luxe, Etude House Lucidarling Sparkling Royal Gold, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold

Friday, December 17, 2010

10 comments
With Christmas coming up, you absolutely know you have to have a gold foil in your nail colour arsenal. After all, gold is one of the colours of Christmas, and the foil finish, with its metallic-like surface, is so festive. Even if it isn't Christmas, a gold foil is a gorgeous colour to have anyway. And the good thing about gold foils is that there's a shade of gold foil to flatter every skintone, from cool to warm, from dark to light.

So here are a couple of gold foil comparisons. Up for swatching are Orly Luxe, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, and Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold. As always, it's a source of slight amusement that the product names of Asian brand cosmetics are always so much longer than Western brands - it can't just be nail polish, it has to be Lucidarling (whatever that means) Fantastic Nails :P

Orly Luxe, Etude House Lucidarling, Collection 2000

L-R: Orly Luxe, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold

Well, I guess they're not dupes. And they may not all be gold foils. But let's see how they hold up to swatching, shall we?

Here are the 3 polishes swatched on my nails:

orly luxe etude house lucidarling collection 2000 swatch

L-R (Index to pinky): Orly Luxe, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold, Orly Luxe

As you can see, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold isn't really a foil. But it's a pretty gold polish, nonetheless. It does have a metallic finish, but not the fine-grained finish of a foil. It's a good option for those who don't like foils, but want something gold and metallic.

Orly Luxe is a cult favourite among foil finish fans, and I absolutely see why. It's a bright gold that isn't so warm-toned that it's unwearable for cooler-toned people. There's just something about it that catches your eye.

Etude House Sparkling Royal Gold (I'm not going to type out the entire name) is also a foil, but it's a bit more muted, and slightly warmer than Orly Luxe. I also like it a lot, and I think this would be a great substitue for anyone who felt Luxe was too OTT with the bling, and wanted a more subdued version of Luxe.

Here's what Luxe looks like in the context of my fingers, just so you can see the contrast of nail polish against skin:

orly luxe collection 2000 etude house swatch2


L-R (Pinky to Index): Orly Luxe, Etude House Lucidarling Fantastic Nails 01 Sparkling Royal Gold, Collection 2000 Aztec Gold, Orly Luxe

In terms of application, all were good. I had no trouble with any of the three. But Orly Luxe and Aztec Gold were a lot more pigmented than the Etude House version. Both Luxe and Aztec Gold were opaque in one coat, but you'll need 2-3 coats with Sparkling Royal Gold before you don't see any VNL (visible nail line).

I'm glad they're all different - it totally justifies having them all :P But for anyone who wants just one, my personal favourite would be Orly Luxe. However if you can't get your hands on it (since Orly is one of those hard-to-find-outside-the-US brands), then it's great to know that Collection 2000 in the UK has a viable replacement, and that Etude House also has something similar for us Asians.

10 comments:

  1. I think I'm loving Orly Luxe the most!

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  2. I think etude house would look good for everyday. thanks for the swatches!

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  3. I just pained my nails black with gold sparkles but now I want to bling it up more with some gold cast too hehe thanks for the swatches :)

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  4. I'm liking Collection 2000 is not as shimmery as the other ones! Great review!!

    яσѕαℓуи
    LynSire.blogspot.com

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  5. These gold polishes are so nicee! and they are perfect for the xmas season!

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  6. I love the Etude House bottle but I would have to go with the Orly in terms of the polish itself.

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  7. im actually looking for a gold nail polish! one that looks really gold and not too watery - i heard that models own do a good one x

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  8. Orly's definitely my favorite! Thanks for the comparison!

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  9. thanks for these swatches! now i must have orly luxe - it's so gorgeous! :)

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  10. that is very nice and elegant color, but the only problem is that it can only be used with particular suits and get ups, anyways nice sharing

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