Hey !
So, I’ve been thinking about this series for some time now, that consists in trying two versions of a product : a cheap version, and a brand name version.
I won’t always choose necessarily a luxury brand, just a name brand that is a bit known for it’s quality, and I will compare it to a “no brand” cheap equivalent.
Since I’m a student, I always buy cheap stuff in general, because being a student you don’t really have a huge income. I don’t particularly like cheap things, because it mostly means bad quality, but sometimes you can be surprised !
Here, the product I chose is golden nail polish ⭐
⭐ Presentation of both products :
• The Cheap version :
Brand : Vogue
Price : less than 1€/$
I found this one in a basic supermarket in Colombia called Exito (it’s like Wallmart/Target but Colombian version), that’s as cheap as it gets !
• The Brand version :
Brand : Chanel (shade : 532 Canotier)
Price : 25€ – 27$ (for some reason its 69$ on Amazon)
I can’t really afford Chanel products, luckily my sister gave me this nail polish last Christmas ? (If you’ve been following me since that long, you might have seen my very old Christmas Gifts Post)
⭐ How I used both products :
- I applied them a week ago, and I have seen how the products evolved on my nails all week long.
- I used both exactly the same, with the same base coat, the same top coat, and two coats of each product.
- I’ve been doing everything I need to do daily : I cooked, cleaned, did the dishes, typed on my computer, went to the gym…
You can see that the Vogue one is brighter, more sparkly and yellow. The Chanel one has more a darker grey undertone to it, it looks more metallic and classy.
⭐ How both products evolved :
- The first three days both stayed perfectly in place. The third day, the cheap polish chipped first. There was a small nail polish chip missing on one finger. The brand one didn’t chip that day, but had a small scratch on one nail.
- The next day, the brand nail polish chipped equally.
- Five days later, the Vogue one chipped again, the Chanel one chipped equally the next day.
- Now, a week after : every Vogue finger chipped, almost half of the nail polish is gone on three fingers. On the Chanel hand, two fingers equally chipped, three are damaged but remain almost full.
⭐ Pros and Cons :
Cheap :
- Pros :
- The color is prettier in my opinion. It looks warmer and brighter, perfect for summertime (even Victor agrees).
- It is VERY cheap (less than 1€/$)
- Cons :
-
- The nail polish is very transparent, even with two coats I can see my nail from close through the product.
- It’s almost completely gone after a week.
Brand :
- Pros :
- The product is completely opaque, even after one coat (I still added two to be fair since I had to add another one of the cheap version).
- It holds well, after a week you could go and just fix the most damaged nails, since 3 out of 5 are almost undamaged.
- Cons :
- The price. With 25€ I could buy food or pay a part of my bills.
- I think the color is too heavy, it’s very metallic and that makes it kind of cold and greyish, not a fan.
⭐ Verdict :
Objectively, the Chanel one wins. It’s obviously way better quality, and if it wasn’t for my color preferences It would have almost no cons. BUT, the price goddammit. I just can’t afford to spend that much on nail polish !
So if I had to buy one of those right now, honestly I would go for the cheap one.
That was my first Cheap vs Brand review, what did you think about it ? ?
Do you always choose quality, even if it’s expensive ?
Great & enjoyable post! ? I always choose quality even though it can be quite costly…? Love your blog! ❤️
I can get why too, you want something to work well ! But yeah when I buy this kind of stuff it’s because I’ve had money treats for my birthday haha ? Thank you for stopping by !?
Yeah quality matters so the price stays high…
That’s the issue unfortunately ! ?
I love this concept. Chanel one is really good but even I wouldn’t justify buying a nail polish at that price. Lovely post ?
Thank you ! ? Exactly my thoughts ? I’ll just hope for someone else to gift me these kind of things ! ?
Love the new series babe! Although I am not a student any more and I have little money to spoil myself once in a while, 25€ for a nail polish I agree it’s exaggerated. We have such amazing brands here in Germany, cheap but good quality. My nail polishes are always from Manhattan 2,5€ each:)
Thanks so much for the inspiration and have an amazing new week.
Love
It’s true that Germany in general is known to have good quality products ! “Deutsche Qualität” is it ? ? 2,5€ is a great price !
I LOVE this!!!! Such a good idea!!! I am always struggling with chipped nail varnish! I hate it!
Working with food i think there is nothing worse than having chipped varnish! I used to get shellac for so long that i think it spoiled the hell out of me! Now my nails need a break I have been trying so many different ones to see which ones get me the most time! I’m loving Rimmel Gel at the moment, do you have that? I also got a L’Oreal Color Riche one recently… The bottle is fab looking and uber rich looking. Thats proving its worth to! I find when i have splashed out over £20 for a varnish it needs to be indestructible…. I have always been let down with them. Now i won’t go over £10 on a polish…. Sometimes £££ isn’t always the best indicator of how good they can be! Thanks for sharing!!! xxx
Woah I didn’t even know what shellac was, it looks amazing ! ? I haven’t tried gels, because I didn’t really understand what was the difference with the regular polish, does it hold better ? ? I might have to try those out. And I completely agree, expensive isn’t always equal to great quality !
Whaaaatttt!!!! They are amazing, my fav for sure. They do kinda ruin your nails though…..
So shellac is your own nail but set with UV light so doesn’t chip. Its also known as the 3 week manicure. It does have to be removed a certain way though so you don’t wreak the nail. Best way its in salon but not always the cheapest!
Gel nails then has the tips added to your own nail.
One thing i will say is, once you go there, you’ll never go back ? xx
Wow you really are a pro at this girl ! I’m such a noob compared to you haha ? Thanks for all the tips ! ?
Let me know if you get them done, would love to hear what you think!!! ?
Does it matter if you apply it on your dominant vs non-dominant hand? Hmm I wonder.
For me, it doesn’t matter a WHOLE lot about the price point – I have great formulas from less drugstore brands and also crappy formulas from luxury brands. For nail polishes, it matters more about the base and top coats. I usually go for the actual performance and colour selection on most things. 🙂
I don’t really think so, if you use both hands for chores and stuff ? Not sure really ? Of course the formula is what matters, but I would expect a pricy product to at least have a great one. Thank you for the tip, I didn’t knew the base and top actually mattered more than the polish itself ! ?
I loved it!! 🙂
xo Flora
Thank you ! 🙂
I usually get the medium priced ones that are good quality
I always have a hard time finding these kinds ? Do you have a brand to recommend ? ?
I like Essie
Oh right, its true that it’s a popular brand ! I’ll try it out ?
Loved this post totally!
Thank you dear ! ??
Do check posts on my blog as well 🙂
Sure ! ?
Good comparison! I love seeing expensive polish dupes!
Thank you waralenda ! ? In glad you liked my comparison ?
I now want golden nailpolish- both looked gorgeous!