Is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear “Coral Reef” a dupe for Illamasqua “Lament”?
Today I have a most awesome comparison brought to you by Jamie.
Jamie’s sharp eye saw the similarities between Illamasqua “Lament” and Sally Hansen XtremeWear “Coral Reef”
I do believe we may have found one of the most perfect dupes…
Index/Ring- Sally Hansen * Middle/Pinky- Illamasqua
All swatches each show 2 coats of Sally Hansen and 2 Coats of Illamasqua.
I will try to break down the differences, but keep in mind I am *really* looking for them in this one. They are so similar, I even had to make a notation of which lacquer was on which nail.
Sally Hansen “Coral Reef” is ever so slightly more pink and ever so slightly less cool toned. Illamasqua “Lament” dries much quicker, although the Sally Hansen isn’t unreasonable nor unusual in it’s dry time.
They both dry to the same finish, which is very slick and shiny without a topcoat. The opacity and formula performance is equal. In bottle, Illamasqua looks about one shade darker than Hansen in bottle.
When I swatched these, I noted that the in-bottle difference transferred to nail as well with Illamasqua being one shade darker than the Hansen. BUT WAIT! As they dried, I found myself crossing off “one shade” and replacing it with “1/2 shade”, then “1/4″ shade. Lament is about 1/4 of a shade darker.
Illamasqua “Lament” averages $16 for .5oz
Sally Hansen “Coral Reef” averages $2.08 for .4oz
What other differences can there be?
I broke down the ingredients of these two polishes, and while different, Sally Hansen basically has a few more fillers. Both companies are “Big 3 free” (formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).
They are both flammable.
Dupes? Well, what do you think?
Illamasqua nail lacquer can be found at select Sephoras in-store, on the Sephora website and at Illamasqua.com
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear lacquer can be found at almost all drugstores, Target, Walmart and much more. This availability translates online as well and can be found at numerous venues including one of my favorites places (is clickable and will open in new window): ULTA who always has amazing deals such as BOGO, free shipping and more.
