The Dupe Test - China Glaze Ruby Pumps, ORLY Star Spangled, Milani Ruby Jewels

Finally, I'm getting around to posting this dupe test! I took these pictures ages ago, then edited the pics a while ago, and now I'm writing about it~ Remember to click on the images for a closer look!

Ever since China Glaze came out with Ruby Pumps, an amazing red jelly with matching red glitter, several other companies have come up with similar versions. Today I have ORLY Star Spangled and Milani Ruby Jewels to compare. Let's take a look!

[In the bottle: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, ORLY Star Spangled, Milani Ruby Jewels (L-R)]

First, in the bottle. I think straight off you can see how glitzy Ruby Pumps is. The Milani is equally glittery but the glitter flecks although denser, are smaller and therefore you get a more even glow rather than glitzy flecks like in Ruby Pumps. ORLY Star Spangled is falling behind in the glitzy stakes, oh no! It also appears just slightly cooler than the other two.

[In the bottle: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

A closer look at the glitter flecks. NOTE: I have switched the order around (because the Milani bottle was skinnier, I put it in the middle...) Same observations as above, much more obvious glitter in Ruby Pumps, much denser in Milani, ORLY falling behind...

Now on to the swatches!

[One coat: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

At one coat, you can easily see the jelly finish on all three. Milani Ruby Jewels is lighter in colour than the other two. I don't mean less opaque, it just is of a slightly brighter red shade while China Glaze Ruby Pumps gives the deepest colour.

[Glitter flecks: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled]

In the shade so the flecks stand out. Glitter is larger and most dense in Ruby Pumps. Ruby Jewels is pretty dense but because the flecks are smaller, it isn't as glittery. ORLY is not doing too bad actually.

[Two coats: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

Two coats, the colour deepens beautifully on Ruby Pumps. The reason it's so gorgeous is because the colour deepens but the glitter still remains shiny. You can see that Milani Ruby Jewels is definitely a brighter shade than the other two. ORLY Star Spangled is somewhere in between the two, but closer to Ruby Pumps.

[Glitter flecks: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

Another look at the glitter flecks. Milani Ruby Jewels is obviously most dense, ORLY Star Spangled the least.

[Two coats: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

In slightly different lighting. You can see how the darker shade in the China Glaze makes the red glitter flecks extra glitzy, whereas it's so dense in the Milani that you get an overall  glow instead.

Once again the ORLY falls in between, although to be honest, my index finger which is what I painted the ORLY on is very curved and doesn't show off the glitter as well.

[Three coats: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

At three coats, it's as good as it gets. ORLY is pretty close in colour to Ruby Pumps, Milani is super glitzy but a brighter shade of red.
 

[Glitter flecks: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

Looking at the glitter, it's as I wrote before - Milani has the most dense glitter of the three,.

[Three coats: China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, ORLY Star Spangled (L-R)]

Tada! Final image... there's only so many times I can repeat myself, hehe.
So let's sum up what we've learnt so far:-

COLOUR:
China Glaze Ruby Pumps: The deepest colour, very luxe.
ORLY Star Spangled: Closest to Ruby Pumps.
Milani Ruby Jewels: A brighter shade of red than the other two.

GLITTER:
China Glaze Ruby Pumps: Very shiny glitter flecks, medium density of the three.
ORLY Star Spangled: Least dense of the three and less shiny due to this.
Milani Ruby Jewels: Most dense and extremely shiny, but more glowy than glitzy due to this.
 

- SO WHAT'S THE VERDICT? -

ORLY Star Spangled: A fairly good dupe, but in terms of pricing, although you do get more in a bottle with ORLY, it does cost more and you'd be better off spending your cash on China Glaze for the "real thang". Although if you already own Star Spangled, you don't REALLY need Ruby Pumps (but I sure want it anyway!) Check out a previous mani done with Star Spangled here!

Milani Ruby Jewels: Not so much a dupe, but amazing in it's own right. This is one shiny polish! It's a bit more festive because of the brighter colour - in fact, when I asked someone which they liked best, they picked the Milani, so it comes down to colour preference.

And there you go! That's the low down on our contenders this week. =) I hope you all enjoyed it - if you have any more questions about these, feel free to leave a note in the comments! Also, if you have any suggestions on how I could improve dupe posts, I'd love to hear them too!