Finally!! I feel like I’ve been planning for this series and talking about doing this series for a long time. Maybe it hasn’t been as long as I think. I could be working with my “dog mind” here — you know, the way a minute is like a hundred years to a dog? Yep, like that.
I think polish comparisons are a natural progression from having a large, constantly-growing polish collection. Maybe others are good about not buying the same colors over and over again, but I know I am not. I am naturally drawn to certain colors and, within those colors, to certain tones. Now that my stash has become fairly large, I find I will sometimes use a polish and think about how it is similar in color to another polish I own. Or, I will see a polish come out in a new collection, and I will think about how it might be similar to something I already have. There is always a part of me that wants to buy the new polish just so I can compare them. I don’t think I have done that yet, but I might one of these days. Most of my look-alikes happened accidentally, because I didn’t realize how much one polish looked like another until I got them both home.
I started doing these comparisons for Instagram. I have posted several on my IG account. In the beginning, I had no plan for doing them on my blog. But I realized this might be a fun series of posts for my blog, too. Plus, I can get even more chatty in here than I can on Instagram. Yay!! (I know. You’re feeling a little scared now, right?)
THE POLISHES:
Today, I want to compare two lovely browns: Pretty Serious, Pluviophile vs. OPI, You Don’t Know Jacques.
Pretty Serious, Pluviophile is from the Rainy Days Collection, which released in Summer 2017. This is a beautiful, slightly dusty brown or taupe with just a dash of purple or, maybe, mauve in its undertone. It is a yummy, yummy creme with a fabulous formula. I loved all the online pictures I saw of the polishes from the Rainy Days Collection. But I didn’t purchase it right away. I bought most of it during a later sale. I was able to get the whole collection, except for Pluviophile. This made me pretty sad, because this was one of the colors I wanted the most from the collection. Some time later, there was another sale. In checking the site, I found this one back in stock, and I wasted no time in ordering it. The funny thing is that this one came to me without a box, so that makes me think it had accidentally slipped through in the original sale or something. I’m super, super happy to have it! I’m a fan of brown polish, anyhow, and this is one of my favorite tones of brown. I enjoy seeing it on my nails.
OPI, You Don’t Know Jacques is also a creamy, slightly purple-gray, brown/taupe. It originally released in Fall 2008 as part of the France Collection. (Apologies for the older swatch picture.) I have not had it in my stash for that long. I purchased it within the last year. I think this is a fairly popular OPI shade, and I also think it might be fairly easy to find. At least, it is easy to find according to the internet ramblings I have seen. In my real life, it proved rather elusive. I wanted it for a while, but I never ran across it at any of my brick-and-mortar haunts for nail polish. I might have been able to locate it online, but I generally save my online money for indie polishes. Anyhow, I finally ran across it at Marshall’s. I bought it right away, at a slight discount. It was as fabulous as I thought it would be. And I was a happy camper.
THE BOTTLE COMPARISON:
The funny thing is that I am pretty sure I purchased these two polishes within a short time of each other. I think I got Pluviophile first, and, when I brought Jacques home and swatched it, I immediately thought, “Wait a minute …”
Because … here they are, side-by-side in their bottles. In the bottle, I think these two are virtually identical. Sometimes, when I look at this photo, I think Jacques looks a little darker. Other times, I think they look exactly alike. If pushed, I would say Jacques is a tiny bit darker, whereas Pluviophile is slightly lighter. But it’s a slight, slight difference. Like, if I look at the photo, then blink, I wonder if I am seeing any difference at all.
ON THE NAILS:
And here they are, side-by-side on my nails. So … what do you think?
FORMULA:
I think these polishes are very comparable in terms of formula. They are both beautiful, rich cremes. Both have a great formula. Pluviophile is a little thicker or more pigmented. It is nicely opaque in 1 coat, although I always use 2. Jacques needs 2 coats to be opaque. Both polishes build up well on the nail, and both become opaque with little to no mess or cleanup. I didn’t have problems with either polish flooding my cuticles or sidewalls.
COLOR:
To me, the color differences are more apparent on the nail. You can see that Jacques is darker than Pluviophile. I think Pluviophile is more dusty or muted than Jacques. Perhaps it has a little more gray mixed in? When I look at these two polishes together, Jacques reminds me of a chocolate bar, and Pluviophile reminds me of chocolate milk.
THE WRAP-UP:
I don’t think these polishes are dupes for each other. I feel like Jacques is clearly darker and less dusty/muted. I don’t feel bad at all over having both of these in my stash. I love both of them, and there is just enough difference that I don’t feel polish hoarder guilt over it.
I would call these two kissing cousins or sister polishes. They have a lot of similarities in terms of formula, application, finished look on the nail, and color tone. If you are not a huge fan of brown polishes, you would likely be happy picking one or the other, instead of getting both of them. Also, one of these might be a nice substitute for the other, if you are looking to fill a mauvey-purpley-taupey brown spot in your stash. I’m not sure if Pluviophile is still available, but I think Jacques might be easy to find. (Easier than my experience, anyhow!) If you wanted Pluviophile and weren’t able to get it, Jacques might work as a substitute. On the flip side, if you always wanted Jacques and couldn’t find it but you have Pluviophile, you might be able to consider the search complete.
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