I’m finally starting to get into the Spring spirit! I had to drag my butt to CVS and buy my own Reese’s Peanut Butter egg in order to start feeling festive, but at least I’m starting to pull out my pastel polishes. And when going through my pastels I noticed that one of my new polishes, Zoya “Blu” (review to come), looks very similar to one of my all time favorite polishes, Essie “Borrowed and Blue.” So I had to know, just how similar they actually are.

Keep reading to see if they’re dupes!

Left to right, Index to Pinky: Zoya, Essie, Zoya, Essie

2 coats

Can you tell a difference? Because I can’t.  I thought the first picture showed the difference in the 2 polishes, but it turns out it was just the lighting in my apartment (I blame winter and the grey skies).  The second picture is more accurate and shows that there is virtually no color difference in the 2 polishes.

However, the formulas are vastly different.  Essie “Borrowed and Blue” is streaky, thick and hard to apply.  It took 2 coats to get completely opaque but my bottle is also 2 years old. When I first got this polish it was a little thinner and took 3 coats to reach full opacity.  Also, the dry time was pretty slow (could be how old my bottle is).  Zoya “Blu” is opaque in 2 coats and has a great formula.  It is pretty much perfect, which is rare in such a light pastel.

Final verdict? I’m prepared to call them as close of dupes as I have ever found.  Which one wins? Hands down Zoya, because Essie’s formula is a challenge to say the least.

What are your thoughts? Which do you prefer? Do you have either of these polishes?