Nail Polish Wars! OPI vs. China Glaze vs. MAC

[Susanne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by igswonderworld

Even though I'm sure OPI has the best formula and wear, I cannot get my head around the fact that it brings out VERY dupable colors with each collection. I mean I really cannot choose between the reds and I NEED a red nail polish, for this reason only I couldn't buy one for the last 8 months.

I just bought 4 reds from OPI Let's see which one will be my fave.

[LMD84]

i really like the opi brush - it's very wide so pretty much gets all my nail done very quickly! however colour wise i much prefer china glaze! so go for those babies everytime! they last a long time on my nails too whereas opi seems to chip eaisly on me.

i did buy the matte opi lincoln after dark and really wasn't keen on it might try some orly mattes... or is it essie that have them? a company does one called purple velvet that looks really nice!

[igswonderworld]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Susanne

I just bought 4 reds from OPI Let's see which one will be my fave.

Oh wlii you please post some swatches Susanne? I'm seriously going crazy, it's got to stop!!

[Susanne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by igswonderworld

Oh wlii you please post some swatches Susanne? I'm seriously going crazy, it's got to stop!!

They have not arrived yet, but I will post swatches for you then

[blondegirl]

girls we are so addicted to polish arent we.
i love nail polish SO much. its the best hobby to have isnt it.

[ltaylor]

China Glaze is my new favorite. I love Watermelon Rind such a pretty color. I also need to purchase For Audrey. Love that color.

[macaddict83]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashleydenise

I think i'm the only one ever who likes MAC polishes, even though they're not true to bottle color with one coat, they last me like 3 days if I use with a mac basecoat! I mean i love OPI and China Glaze also, but when them I have to repaint everyday cause my nails will not hold color =[

Either way, OPI, China Glaze & MAC the only 3 brands I religiously buy. I've also have 1 Essie, and I like it, but I can't find it online for cheap and am not willing to buy it for $8 a bottle at Ulta. 2 Finger Paints, but i'm not impressed with the formula at all, and 1 Piggy Polish, I have the Wicked Fun color which I love, but it has formaldehyde in it and it discolored my nail =[

hmmm the Ulta in PA I always went to was more like $6.99 a bottle. I have bought from enailsupply.com before, but they are hit or miss with their business practices (this is what I hear, I have not had a problem.) You can buy from Essie directly too (it's $8/bottle), but not sure what S&H would be. Also, if you have an ebay account, there are a lot of deals on there.

For my personal tastes, I buy what I like color wise. I have not tried China Glaze before, but have tried OPI. Essie wins over OPI in my book. I have three MAC and if you get them at the CCO that is the best deal. They are a pain to get the bottle color...However, the most compliments I receive are from my MAC polishes. In general, I have Essie Vainty Fairest or Mademoiselle on my toes all year. They are nice pigmented polishes.

For nails, I really like "drugstore polish" like Mabelline Express finish. I like the coverage Orly has too.

EDIT- I lied. I have one Nicole by Opi "Nic Stick" in Text Me. Which I bought to try the brush in tube idea. It made a mess.

[BEA2LS]

^^ i also have drug store faves, too i like sally hansen a lot (i actually think it compares to OPI, china Glaze and Essie and I have a bunch of all of them). I like milani's colors but they chip so quickly, and I think revlon makes decent colors.
i guess i am not really loyal to anyone

[MzzRach]

I find OPI to be the best in terms of formula, application and wear. It's just a really good quality product.

China Glaze has great colour options, but the formula I find hard to work with and plus it chips on me.

MAC polish chips on me as well, so even though they have had some great LE colours lately, I'm not spending the money on something that does not last even 3 days on my nails.

[BEA2LS]

^^ I agree with you on MAC and china glaze, too actually though I am a sucker for their shades.
Right now, I would pick OPI but mainly for it's brush. it takes quite a bit to dry on me.. my true love is still essie but my favorites change every few months.

[blondegirl]

does anyone find china glaze chips really easy? no matter what i do i cannot get it to stay on longer than a day!!

[Shadowy Lady]

^^ it chips easy on me. But I guess everyone has different body chemistry. The longest lasting nail polish formula on me is OPI

[BEA2LS]

China glaze does chip on me, and sometimes opi is too thick on me, it is probably my application for that one though. it depends on the person and also what top coat, etc. you use. different things work for different people. i still do buy china glaze once in awhile because they have lovely shades.

[LMD84]

i'm starting to like opi alot again! the brush is great and it lasts a fair amount of tie on me too.

china glaze really differs on me.... some that i own will last 4-5 days but some polishes like the holographic ones chip after 1 day or wear!

[zosojacks]

I've been doing my nails since I was in 2nd grade, so it's safe to say I know a thing or two about nail polish and what I like, haha.

By far my favourite polish brand is OPI. Great selection of colours, excellent formula and great brush. I do agree, sometimes it seems like each new OPI colour collection has repeats of the same ol' reds and pinks, but there are always stand-out shades that I haven't seen anywhere else.
The 3-free formula has gotten way better, which makes for a very smooth application. And I like the Pro-Wide brush, but I imagine it might not be the best for ladies with smaller nail beds.
Lasts a very long time with base + top coat. Not much else to say...love it and will continue to purchase.

China Glaze isn't sold around here, unless it's hiding and nobody has told me! I'm aware of e-tailers that sell ChG but I'm not a fan of ordering things online. I would love to try one of their holos.

MAC polishes...most of the ones I've tried are much too thick for my liking, even right out of the box. I don't like having to thin them out right away! The brush is OK.

[Shadowy Lady]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zosojacks

China Glaze isn't sold around here, unless it's hiding and nobody has told me! I'm aware of e-tailers that sell ChG but I'm not a fan of ordering things online. I would love to try one of their holos.

Where do you live? We have ChG here in Ottawa at sally's and at Chatters salon. Just google them and look for stores in your city

[zosojacks]

^^ I live in Vancouver and there are no Sally Beauty stores or Trade Secrets. *grr* I think the closest Sallys in BC is in Abbotsford, but I don't feel like driving 2 hours to buy nail polish, lol.

Anyway, I searched for ChG retailers in Vancouver and I found a small boutique that *may* sell their polishes! It's called Wink Beauty Lounge, and it just opened this summer. However, there was not much info on their website (annoying) so I guess I'll just have to take a peek sometime.

Any Vancity ladies know of this place/bought anything there?

[blondegirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by igswonderworld

Even though I'm sure OPI has the best formula and wear, I cannot get my head around the fact that it brings out VERY dupable colors with each collection. I mean I really cannot choose between the reds and I NEED a red nail polish, for this reason only I couldn't buy one for the last 8 months. I'm sure it goes forever but China Glaze wins it for me! I LOVE the colors, and they go for a long time on me without a base or top coat.
My other favorite happens to be Orly. It's got great colors and a very dependable wear that has occasionally saved yours truly from eternal embarrassment to BF's mom.
I also love Illamasqua, it's formula is also very smooth and workable. I like the colors immensely.
Now MAC has always been my first love so I can't let it get no love, but I agree that it is down at the bottom..
So I suppose in order they'd be

1-China Glaze, 2-Orly, 3-Illamasqua, 4-OPI, 5-MAC

so you find Orly is long wearing???
what base coat and top coat are you using with the Orly?
i find that china glaze chips like crazy on me, i've tried everything to prevernt CG chipping.

[LMD84]

i only have one orly polish and find that lasts very well indeed. i don't use a base coat but i use a nails inc top coat.

[Lalai]

I think both China Glaze and OPI are pretty bad. Either they take ages to dry (and still my manicure gets ruined after ages of drying) or they chip the next day and also get streaky when applied. Not good. My favourite nailpolish is Nails Inc because it dries quickly and does not chip the next day. South Molton St is my all time favourite for natural nails: sheer, no streaking and like make-up for my nails becuase it always makes them look better straight away.

[igswonderworld]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blondegirl

so you find Orly is long wearing???
what base coat and top coat are you using with the Orly?
i find that china glaze chips like crazy on me, i've tried everything to prevernt CG chipping.

I use Nailtique formula 2 as a base coat and OPI Rapidry for top coat. I had Country Club Khaki on my nails for a week with minimal chipping at the very tip of my fingers...

A lot of people complain that China Glaze chips easily but I never had a serious problem when I used it with with a decent top and base coat. In fact I have China Glaze Recycle on my hands for 6 1/2 days. There's very VERY little chipping (of catgut fiber thinness) on 3 nails, but everything else is tip top.

[Honey xOo]

I love China Glaze the most! Their shades are always so hot and they last/look really professional. I love Rainbow the most, it looks like bubbles to me

[Sabrunka]

OPI's new formula is shit... At our spa we have like 5 passions and they all look different because OPI is trying to change their formula, and in turn is screwing us over. They are a good polish brand, I say definitely better than MAC and China Glaze.. But the best I've come across is polish from the Lippmann Collection. My fave OPI colours are Princesses Rule!, Otherwise Engaged, Russian Navy, Royal Raja Ruby and Ate Berries in the Canaries.

[Sabrunka]

And yes, MAC and China Glaze chip so bad for me :S:S It's annoying. I've had Sally Hansen polishes better than those two brands!! I think OPI has so much good rep because they advertise so much.. Honestly though they aren't anything too special, people just think they are because it's most of what they've tried :P. I just wish their formula went back to normal so all the colours were normal again!

[blondegirl]

does anyone else love zoya?
i find they are the longest wearing for me if i use the color lock system