RiRi Hearts MAC - Talk That Talk Dupe!

This was a very happy coincidence!


When the latest RiRi collection dropped last week, I was bummed that I didn't have the cash to get the items I wanted. The two things I was really after was Talk That Talk lipstick and lip liner. Of course, they sold out in no time and I didn't get a chance to buy them.

So I went on the hunt for a really dark red lippy - something that screamed vamp. I ended up on Illamasqua.com as they had a sale on (I also finally picked up Pink Raindrops - yay!). I was browsing through their lippies and decided to give Growl a try.

I then get an email from MAC a few days later saying RiRi is back in stock...so of course I jump over and grab TTT. The liner was still sold out, so I settled for grabbing Nightmoth pencil instead.

They both arrived yesterday and to my suprise...Illamasqua's Growl is an exact dupe of Talk That Talk. I cannot tell the difference at all. Growl is slightly more matte than TTT, which bizarrely doesn't feel like a retro matte at all and has a good amount of slip in it!

Seriously...I can't tell the difference!

Illamasqua describes Growl as a " Rich mahogany brown" whilst MAC describes Talk That Talk as a "Matte dark plum". I'd say somewhere in the middle of both, with added red.

*PS - there is a slight colour difference in two of the pics below, as I took them from my phone which really wasn't a clever idea, but my proper camera picks up way too many of my blackheads to attempt that! I can assure you, they are definite dupes!*

 

 

 

Talk That Talk

Growl

Growl (top) and Talk That Talk (bottom)

Talk That Talk (left) and Growl

Talk That Talk *slightly pinker overall tone here*

Growl *slightly yellowy tone - my phone sucks!*

Growl over Nightmoth lip pencil

Nightmoth lip pencil and Talk That Talk

Illamasqua's Growl can be found here

Azature Red Diamond Polish Swatches

Ahhh...more diamonds!


Red Diamond is the second to last polish I've picked up from Azature's sparkly polishes. The last one to grab is the Yellow Diamond, but I'm not too sure I'll be picking that one up. They've very recently released some more polishes - all creme's - one of which I do own (which will be up next).


I do absolutely adore Azature's Diamond polishes. They're so incredibly sparkly. Some have issues with pooling or being very thick (or some having horrific staining)...but I still love them. Anyway...

Red Diamond is a classic red polish with holographic shimmer. My camera refuses to pick this up correctly. It's a cross between a jelly and a creme. I used two coats for this polish and had no major issues with it (including staining - yay!)

George (Asda) Gel Pro Polishes - 07 Nectarine and 08 Plum

I shop at Asda every week, and I always have to have a little walk down the cosmetics isle...it's habit... anyways, one thing I've noticed is that Asda's own George cosmetics range is really starting to look pretty decent - I still don't think they quite compete with other drug store brands, but they're getting there slowly! I recently picked up two of their new Gel Pro polishes - yeah, another one of those "gel effect" polishes. They are very shiny on their own, but I'd still top coat them. From memory I think these are £2.99.

One thing I noticed with both of these polishes is that there is some bubbling - I have worn the plum shade before and didn't have bubbling, so I'm not sure whether it's just down to the fact that it is seriously boiling hot here right now. Maybe. That's the only issue I've noticed though.




07 Nectarine is a creamy orange-leaning coral. I used two coats but noticed it was slightly sheer in places, so I perhaps should have gone for three.

08 Plum is a rich, red-purple. If you have very short nails this is probably a one-coater, it's very close to being that on me, but it's just the slightest bit sheer in the middle of the nail, so I'm going for two coats.

Yeah, the bubbling is pretty bad. Like I said though, I've worn the plum shade before and had no issues - so maybe it is down to the fact that is extremely hot and humid here right now. Speaking of which...IS IT WINTER YET?!

Nails Inc Bling It On Leather - Shoreditch Lane - Red Leather swatches

Yay! More leather!

I've been loving these ever since the black and tan shades were released around mid December. I haven't come across anything similar from other brands yet - actually, if anyone knows of other "leather effect" polishes, please let me know!

Nails Inc Concrete Texture polishes

The big thing for this year is texture. Every brand seems to be coming out with their own versions of textured polishes. OPI brought out their liquid sand which is amazingly pretty, I know Zoya are bringing some out that are similar to the OPI ones (matte texture with sparkly bits). Nails Inc released theirs last month, and so far I haven't seen or heard of anything similar.


The polish itself is very rough and textured - I can see why they dubbed it "concrete". It's not totally matte but it isn't shiny either. So far they have released four shades - London Wall, Monument, Marble Arch and Stonehenge. Two coats is all it takes for full opacity, and is also what Nails Inc recommends.


London Wall is a grey toned light-medium nude.

Nails Inc Royal Ascot Cherry Juicy Sheer swatches

Another juicy sheer polish from Nails Inc!

MAC Reel Sexy Collection - Vivid Effect Nail Lacquer

MAC Hey Sailor Collection - Sail La Vie Lipstick

Nails Inc Pembroke Close and Pimlico Road swatches

Continuing with the Nails Inc haul... :D

Pembroke Close