A Dead on Dupe for Deborah Lippmann "Happy Birthday" Nail Polish!

Milani Gems, Photo Credit: http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-birthday-mani-milani-gems.html

Its perfect timing to find a fantastic dupe for Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday polish because right now Deb is doing her rounds on HSN presenting some of her new nail kits, one of which, includes the super popular multi-colored glitter polish, Happy Birthday. So it was a welcome coincidence that I was at CVS today and came across an exact dupe in Milani "Gems" for around $5. DL glittler polishes run around $20 so you are saving a good $15 for, like I said, an EXACT dupe. I can't speak to the quality similarities between the two as far as formula and lasting power goes but as far as the appearance, Milani Gems is a dead ringer. Right down to the various shapes and sizes of the confetti-like glitter and how much coverage you get with each coat. It's downright scary. Milani must have someone on the inside because they nailed this dupe to a tee! Take into consideration when looking at Milani VS DL, it does matter which polish you wear underneath it to determine how it will look. I tried to find pictures where there wasn't an obvious color like pink or blue underneath the glitter polish because I found that it may cloud the judgment of the similarities between the two.

Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday

The DL Happy Birthday is on the ring finger and the Milani Gems is on the pinky. Can you tell a difference??(Photo Credit: Addicted to all things Pretty, http://addictedtoallthingspretty.com/2010/12/milani-gems-the-deborah-lippmann-happy-birthday-dupe/ )

One difference that I know of is that Milani calls their version, a "one coat" glitter polish. Which means you get the full opaqueness that you seek from a glitter polish after just one coat. Depends what your idea of opaque is because I find that it needs two to do the trick. DL doesn't claim that Happy B-day is one coat polish but the same 2-coat application is necessary for the ultimate bling bling wow factor glitter. It also looks good over so many different colors as a one coat polish, with sporadic glitter distribution and your original color still showing through. I will show you some examples of some great looks I've seen.

Index finger= one coat of DL Happy B-day, Middle Finger= one coat of Milani Gems, Ring Finger= 2 coats of DL HB, Pinky Finger= 2 coats of Milani Gems (Photo credit http://addictedtoallthingspretty.com/2010/12/milani-gems-the-deborah-lippmann-happy-birthday-dupe/)

I am certainly not the first to make this discovery. Reason being, I always thought DL glitter polishes were way too chunky and looked like pieces of foil floating around on your nails. DL calls her glitter polishes more of a grown up way to wear glitter. Personally, I think glitter is glitter and the idea that chunky glitter is more grown up than the typical glitter polish (like an OPI) looks juvenile. DL and the HSN host made mention of this about a thousand times, that this isn't your daughter's glitter polish and it's the adult way to wear it. Which was totally insulting to those 30+ age groups that wear "regular" glitter polish! I say, no matter the age, if you want wear it then wear it! And don't buy into that whole "grown up" vs "your daughter's glitter" polish sales pitch. Lame. Either way, I really do like the DL glitter polishes now that I've tried them. But I'd rather spend $5 over $20 and there is certainly something to be said about accessibility. And getting more CVS bucks for every $50 I spend on beauty items. Thank you, $21 in coupons I used to buy this polish and the Katy Perry Purr perfume, yummy!


Here are some pics that I've found of really cool ways to wear either one of the glitter polishes I've talked about..

Photo Credit: Emery B. http://emeryb.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/mint-comparisons-3/

Photo Credit: Never Unpolished http://www.never-unpolished.com/2011/04/autism-awareness-blue-robyns-birthday.html

Photo Credit: http://www.kelliegonzo.com/2011/02/healing-gems.html

Other Deborah Lippman shades to love (and to try to find cheaper dupes for!)

The way I see it, DL is known for at least three of her polish shades, Happy Birthday is by far the most popular but as far as non-glitter goes, you can't go wrong with Waking Up in Vegas (a very chic grey) and Naked (a beautiful flesh-toned beige). And coincidentally, all three of them are featured in one DL kit on HSN right now! Along with the Ridge Filler, which serves as a great base coat to either fill in those ridges and act as a primer for your polish to follow.

Glitter Nail Polish is HARD to Remove!!! Wanna Know an Easy Way to Get that Crap OFF?!


I wrote a post, called "Homemade Beauty" earlier this year, which talks about a fantastic, tried and true, way to remove glitter polish fast! Spare yourself the scraping, chewing, biting, peeling, and use of weak polish remove to get it off. 

Unnatural Beauty: A Humorous and Opinionated Beauty Blog: Homemade Beauty: My Favorite At-Home Tips and Tricks!