Polish Comparisons - Greys

This post will be a first in a series where I compare colour groups in my collection. I always find it interesting to compare polishes to similar shades. I hate buying dupes unless I intend to, so seeing how polishes compare can really help decide on the best shade for you or if you have one close to it already.

A few posts ago I swatched Orly's Mirror Mirror, I decided it would be a good idea to show my other greys as well. I have five greys in total, as I wanted a light, mid and dark range of greys.

I have included, what I call a 'Wildcard' polish. Wildcards are polishes that will fit into more than one colour group. A good example of a Wildcard polish is China Glaze's For Audrey, this could belong to both mint and pastel blue colour groups, as it contains hints of both shades.

Today's Wildcard is Orly's Pixie Dust, as it is a grey, but also leans towards lilac, so this will also appear in the lilac group for comparison purposes. It looks very blue/lilac in the bottle, but on the nail it shows more grey.

Orly Pixie Dust, Orly Mirror Mirror, China Glaze Recycle,

Barry M Grey and Nails Inc Elgin Avenue

All, except Pixie Dust, are cremes and most are opaque in two coats, the Barry M and Nails Inc applied the nicest and most opaque, with Orly and China Glaze second in ease of application.

Orly Pixie Dust is a grey with a hint of lilac to it. It is filled the glass type glitter giving it a lovely sparkle when the light hits and it just lifts it and creates a nice change to the usual grey cremes. Two coats is okay and shows the sparkle most, three would be give a more solid finish.

Orly Mirror Mirror is a very soft, pale grey. Very classy and a great shade for a subtle grey look.

China Glaze Recycle is the iconic grey, everyone knows this one. It is a fab colour. A mid grey with a hint of taupe to it, warms it up a bit and stops it looking too stark.

Barry M Grey is a good solid utility type grey, a deeper mid toned, darker than Recycle. A great cheap polish with fab application.

Nails Inc Elgin Avenue is a fabulous deep, rich charcoal grey. A great classy alternative to black for a much softer look.


As you can see all are completely different in their shade and cover range of shades well.

Hope this has helped anyone considering buying new greys!!