Comparing Chanel Paradoxal and Barry M Dusky Mauve

Barry M's recent nail polish releases haven't really interested me in any way, but as soon as I saw Dusky Mauve, I knew I had to pick up for its resemblance to Chanel Paradoxal nail polish. A few blogs have pointed out this dupe already, but since I haven't managed to find any comparative swatches yet, I thought I would do some myself to show you guys just how close they are to one another. In the pictures above, I am wearing Chanel's Paradoxal on my index and middle finger, and Barry M's Dusky Mauve on my ring and little finger. I realise the photos are minuscule, but so far they look absolutely identical to one another right?



There is a hidden shimmer in both Paradoxal and Dusky Mauve that can only be captured in really bright light or flash photography. I hope the above comparison depicts just how similar they are to one another. I really don't think there are any differences between the two to be honest - at least none that my eyes can detect. I used two coats of polish for Paradoxal, and three for Dusky Mauve because I experienced a little cuticle drag on my ring finger.

All in all definitely worth checking out for those still holding out Paradoxal. I also posted about a great dupe to Chanel's Particuliere nail polish a while ago if you missed it (here)!

Comparing Chanel Particulière and Claire's 019

As promised yesterday, here are the comparison pictures of the two polish on my nails. In both photos, Chanel Particulière is on the index and middle finger, and Claire's 019? (they don't seem to have proper names for their polishes here in the UK) on the ring and little finger. I realise the pictures are tiny, but I am sparing you all from the terrible condition my cuticles are in right now. I wore this manicure around for a few days, and nobody could tell the difference - even after I pointed it out to them.


I took a bunch more photos in all sorts of different lighting to best depict their differences because there is one (albeit very subtle). Bearing in mind that it does have a thicker, more opaque formula which applies much more heavily than the Chanel, Claire's is a tad darker and a smidgen more brown. I think this is the most obvious in the photo on the right.

Now the colour comparisons are out of the way, I want to move onto the formula, application, and general durability. Like I mentioned above, Claire's has a much thicker and opaque formula than the Chanel which can leave brush strokes if one is not working quickly (particularly on the second coat). Personally, I prefer the formula of Claire's because I could get away with only one coat whereas I need at least two with Particulière for an even application. However Chanel's thinner formula does make it much easier to work with. As to how they perform on my nails; both starts to show tip wear after a couple of days. I would love to say that Claire's have a terrible formula which chips after half an hour, but it lasts just as well as the Chanel (which isn't saying much IMO).

And lastly, a bottle of Claire's 019 costs £2.25. Chanel's Particulière is somewhere in the region of £16.50.

First look at Chanel Particulière's £2.25 dupe

A heads up for anyone still looking for Chanel's Particulière nail polish that was released earlier this year. Don't pay ridiculous prices on eBay, and head down to Claire's instead. I won't be able to post swatch comparisons until tomorrow as I am super busy today, but trust me when I say that they are virtually identical to one another.