They're not the same, they're similar!

You know how you see a polish and think you probably have at least one just like it at home, but you buy it anyway? (I know Anna does...) I am always buying taupe polishes with a little extra something and I could have sworn that they were all exactly alike. I did my nails in Essie Mochacino this morning but didn't care for the results so I decided to do a comparison of my similar taupes before I took it all off. I wanted to see for myself just how close they actually were and to compare formulas.

L–R: Mochacino, Nite Owl, Fast Track, All Hail The Queen

In the bottle they all seem very close, although the light in the photo catches the gold flecks in Fast Track, making the gold tone more obvious.

Not really all that close, are they? Two coats each, no top coat except on Mochacino.

Essie Mochacino was the darkest and, for some reason, I had an awful time of it with the application, which was why I was taking it off. It was gloopy and just. would. not. dry. Even with a top coat of Seche Vite it just stayed soft and kept denting. I have no idea why — Erin said she loved it and had no issues with it so I must just have a bad bottle. I've never had this problem with any other Essie polishes.

China Glaze Fast Track was the only one with gold flecks instead of silver and the flecks were so abundant that it really stood out among the four as being different. There were no problems with the application and it dried quickly. I have not used this for a full mani so I don't know how well it wears yet, but I will let you all know.

Blurred so you can see the multi-colors in All Hail The Queen.

Orly Nite Owl and butter LONDON All Hail The Queen were the closest in tone, with the main difference being that the flecks in Nite Owl were predominantly silver with highlights of gold, whereas the flecks in All Hail The Queen were a rainbow of colors! I was surprised to see that myself, because I didn't notice it so much when I wore it on its own. In fact, I remember thinking they were barely noticeable, but I think that was because I wore it after OPI DS Classic (my first post!) and the holos in that must have blinded me to the charms of All Hail The Queen. I loved Nite Owl right away.

Trying them all together like this was illuminating; All Hail The Queen was, hands down, the overall winner. Easy to apply (although the brush weirdly developed a curl in it since the last time I used it!) and dried to a glassy, glossy finish — and that rainbow of glimmers! So beautiful! Nite Owl ran a very close second, both in application and appearance. I seem to recall that it also wore a bit better than All Hail The Queen but I'll need to try them both out again for a few days each to be sure.

It was nice to see that they are all different enough to warrant keeping them all, but I think I may have to put a few drops of thinner into Mochacino to see if it helps with the application. I do like the tweediness of the color and would love to wear it this Fall when the weather cools.

So what about you? Do you have a favorite color/finish that you keep buying over and over?