Peri-dupe Test! - China Glaze Rare & Radiant, Topshop Nails Hidden Treasure, Missha HGR01, Models Own Golden Green

Here's a rather long and descriptive dupe test! I have four duochromes to compare today, two of which are dupes and the other two I just chucked in there for fun~ We have...

Missha Crystal Nail Polish in HGR01, China Glaze Rare & Radiant from the Bohemian Luster Chrome collection, Topshop Nails in Hidden Treasure and Models Own Golden Green from the Beetlejuice collection.

[L-R: Missha HGR01, China Glaze Rare & Radiant, Topshop Hidden Treasure, Models Own Golden Green]

I was pretty sure CG R&R and Topshop Hidden Treasure were almost identical so I put them to the test. Since they were both gold to green duochromes (ahem Chanel Peridot ahem), I included Models Own Golden Green to show the difference in shade and finish. Then I felt like testing out the blue to green duochrome Missha polish because I remembered it being a bit streaky... but let's have a look!

At one coat, you can see that Topshop Hidden Treasure has the edge in terms of pigment. But neither CG nor Topshop would be sufficient at one coat. Both are fairly thin formulas, with a shimmer consistency but metallic foil finish. Models Own is much more pigmented, but it's more of a shimmer, not foily at all. No real issues with brushstrokes with any of them... YAY!

[1 & 2 coats: CG Rare & Radiant, Topshop Hidden Treasure, Models Own Golden Green]

At two coats, all of them are pretty good. If you hold your nails up to the light, you can see it's translucent at the free edge, but due to the foil finish, it's practically opaque at any other angle. Topshop Hidden Treasure and CG Rare & Radiant are pretty much dead-on dupes. Hidden Treasure is a touch more opaque and (maybe because of this) slightly deeper in tone, pretty much unnoticeable.

[Thumb & index: MO Golden Green; Middle & pinky: CG Rare & Radiant; Ring: Topshop Hidden Treasure]

Models Own Golden Green although also a gold to green duochrome is waaaayyy different, both in terms of finish and shade. It is very pretty though! Not sure why but this Models Own polish smells very strong to me, but like... turps or something! =S

[Index: MO Golden Green; Middle & pinky: CG Rare & Radiant; Ring: Topshop Hidden Treasure]

I also tried to be a little fancy and made a gif to show the awesome colour shift. I like how at either of the extreme angles you get a touch of teal or orange. The gif kinda lowers the photo quality though, so if you want a look at either of the three pics, click here: ONE TWO THREE!

I then removed and repainted my index and pinky with Missha HGR01.

[Index & pinky: Missha HGR01; Middle: CG Rare & Radiant; Ring: Topshop Hidden Treasure]

It is a gorgeous gorgeous shade indeed, opaque in two coats. BUT! It is more prone to streakiness and the brush, oh gawwdd, the brush. It's a short wide brush which is a bit more difficult to work with. To get an idea of the width... I painted my pinky in one stroke. Which is why my pinky is so gorgeously streak-free LOL. Does not work quite as good on a wider nail though...

[Thumb: MO Golden Green; Index & pinky: Missha HGR01;
Middle: CG Rare & Radiant; Ring: Topshop Hidden Treasure]

This photo is a bit crappy, but I wanted to show all 4 polishes together in one image.... and another gif! The compression makes it look like the polish has flaked but yeah, nooo~ it hasn't!

[Index & pinky: Missha HGR01; Middle: CG Rare & Radiant; Ring: Topshop Hidden Treasure]

Conclusions from this test:
SHADE: Topshop Hidden Treasure and China Glaze Rare & Radiant are dupes.
PIGMENT: Topshop just edges China Glaze out in pigment.
PRICE: CG is roughly about USD4 (14ml) while Topshop cost me USD10 (8ml)...ouch!
AVAILABILITY: CG is limited edition, I believe....

FINAL VERDICT: Go for China Glaze Rare & Radiant while you can but don't worry about missing out because there are plenty of other offerings from various brands... this must be the most common duochrome shade around by now!

Oh dear... I think I've finally run out of words.... I hope this was informative and I didn't bore anyone too badly!