Friday, April 13, 2012

Beauty Bargain: OPI Pink Friday dupe!?

Happy Friday the 13th, my beauty bargainistas!!


Today I have a dupe-tastic find for you! Last weekend I went for an Easter pedicure with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. When picking the color for my lil toeses, I decided on OPI's Pink Friday from the recently released Nicki Minaj collection. Now before my pedicure, I had watched a video on YouTube of an alleged dupe for this infamous polish. At this point, this was the only information I could find about OPI Pink Friday dupes, but since then it appears that there are a few more.


So I dug out my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Pink Blink, and swatched it up on my hands. Then I compared.
*Note: Sally Hansen's Pink Blink is on my fingernails, OPI's Pink Friday is on my toenails.*


The color of Pink Blink in the bottle, looks exactly the same as Pink Friday on my toes. When both are swatched on my nails, however, there is a very slight difference, but they are very comparable. In fact, you can barely tell a difference between the two.


No flash - natural sunlight.
No flash - natural sunlight.
As you can see, the Sally Hansen is a smidge brighter and lighter than the OPI Pink Friday, but they're virtually the same color. Pink Friday's color payoff is a little more intense - the color seems more deep and rich, but I believe it only took one coat (of the OPI) to achieve this color on my toenails, whereas I needed 2 coats of the Sally Hansen Pink Blink on my nails to achieve the same opacity and finish.

With flash.
No flash - natural sunlight.
No topcoat.
Now this much I will say - the formula on the Sally Hansen leaves something to be desired. It's not nearly as smooth or easy to apply as other Sally Hansen polishes are. This one tends to be thicker and a little bit more gloopy. Because it's "Insta-Dri" it dries freaking quickly, and most often it dries TOO quickly... so you may need a few coats to even out the finish and cover up any bare patches. You can see a bit of the unevenness in the pictures... blech. Me no likey the Insta-Dri polishes, Sally H.

As the Pink Blink dries, I always notice it bubbling. It's less noticeable once you apply a top coat, but nonetheless, I hate bubbling.

Mind you, I don't love the formula of OPI's polishes either. I find them to be too finicky to work with - gloopy, uneven, streaky... so really, what you're sacrificing in cost, you're not really sacrificing in formula. However, they don't bubble... eh.

The Insta-Dri line also features the wider brush that coats your nails more quickly and efficiently than the traditional skinny polish brush. I personally adore the wider brush, so that's not a deal-breaker for me. It might be for you.

With flash.
So here's a break down for you:
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Color in Pink Blink will cost you anywhere between $2-$5 CDN.
OPI Nail Color in Pink Friday will run you at least $10 CDN, and it will be harder to find as the collection isn't currently being promoted anymore.

Both of these polishes, I find, are easily accessible - so it's not really a deterrent either way for me.

If you're wanting the color of OPI's Pink Friday, but you don't want to shell out the money for it - pick up Pink Blink by Sally Hansen. Call me crazy, but the color is practically identical! Although you might be one of those people who just buys polish for the brand name that comes attached to it - personally, I wouldn't waste my money on the OPI and I'd pick up the Sally Hansen. That way, I have more pocket change left over and I can buy another polish! WHOOT!

A BIG THANKS to StyleSplurge for the heads up on this fantastically affordable dupe! Check out her videos on YouTube for more great fashion and beauty fun!

And that is your beauty bargain for today! Hope you guys found this helpful!
Have a great weekend!

xoxo

2 comments:

  1. You know, I don't think I have a nice baby pink like this. I should get on that, right? Nice dupe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a really nice color, Tracy. Super cheap too. I don't know if I'd recommend this one to you or something like Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear polish in "Bubblegum." This one is super nice, but the formula is not the greatest and in my case, tends to bubble a little. Still worth the money if you're looking for this specific color, just not the greatest 'baby pink' polish you could get for cheap.

      Delete