OPI You're Such a Budapest and possible dupes

Hello my lovelies and happy Sunday! I know I've been slacking in the nail art department but I've been really uninspired lately. Instead I have a lovely spring polish to show you today. I really hope that I can make it up to you with amazing nail art starting next week. When my friend Kinga and I decided to lend each other polishes to try out, it was really hard for me to choose. She has tons of OPI and Nails Inc goodies but since I'm in a spring color mood at the moment I chose something simple. This polish from last year's Euro Centrale collection is one of her favorites so I wanted to see if I had anything similar in my collection and if I absolutely needed this one in my life. She was also very kind and brought me a possible Flormar dupe as a gift. But we'll get to that one in a minute. First let's take a look at the main character of this post.

OPI You're Such a Budapest indoors, artificial light

OPI You're Such a Budapest is the perfect lilac color. I know there are multiple varieties of lilacs but this is the exact shade that comes to my mind when I think of the flower. It's a slightly more blue toned lilac shade, which makes it both amazing and special. There's also some tiny shimmer in there, but that's barely visible in the bottle and almost invisible on the nail. I tried to photograph it but it was impossible.

OPI You're Such a Budapest indoors, artificial light

I have to be honest with you and say that I'm not a fan of the formula. It has a thin consistency that makes for a difficult application because even if it's not that sheer it still applies streaky. I know that maybe it's this thin to make the shimmer visible but it's still unnoticeable so I see no justification for the formula. I needed 3 coats to make it look even and by the time I finished I was slightly annoyed due to the struggle it took to avoid the streaks. Durability was great as with all OPI polishes and I took it off 3 days later with no chips and barely any tip wear.

I dug through my collection to find shades similar to this one and the ones above are the best I could find. The Flormar Wet Look one is a new addition thanks to Kinga that was kind enough to gift it to me. Let's see how they compare.

I did my best to photograph these as accurately as possible. All photos are in direct light with no top coat. From pinkie to index (L-R) we have:

• Essence A Lovely Secret - This is an old favorite of mine that is now sadly discontinued. It has the same blue toned lilac shade as Budapest but it's darker and with a lot more shimmer. This has a regular brush and is opaque in 2 coats, with one coat being almost enough. 
• OPI You're Such a Budapest - The shade we are trying to dupe. This one has a wide brush and is opaque in 3 coats. There's a bit of shimmer in it but it's not really visible unless in very bright lighting. 
• Barry M Prickly Pear - This is the closest dupe I have for Budapest. Maybe it's not noticeable in the pictures but they aren't 100% the same. Prickly Pear is slightly lighter and less blue toned than Budapest. There's no shimmer at all in this one. Formula-wise they are pretty similar with Prickly Pear needing 3 coats as well. It has a regular brush and dries slower, at least on me. It's something I've noticed with all Barry M Gelly shades I have and I'm not sure what the deal is since nobody else complained about it. 
• Flormar WL04 - This is a very nice new addition to my collection. Compared to Budapest, it's lighter and more pink toned. I'm sure the difference wouldn't even be noticeable to regular people. The formula is very nice and creamy, with 2 coats being enough. It has the wide brush, no shimmer and dries to a great glossy finish. 

I'm really glad that I got to try You're Such a Budapest and compare it to these other shades. If the formula were a little better, I would have needed it but I see no big difference compared to Barry M Prickly Pear. Frankly I'm not even a big fan of that one either. I'd rather have a polish that only needs 2 coats than one that needs a lot of work and top coat to level out. I'd like to thank Kinga for giving me the Flormar polish. I can see myself using it a lot as a base for nail art because the formula is just amazing. As for You're Such a Budapest, it remains a great shade that I got yo try out and satisfy a craving with.