Glitter Polish Dupe? Sally Hansen's Mermaid's Tale vs. Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in #560 Mermaid's Tale

Spring nail polish lines are coming out! Among the lilacs, mint greens, and pale pinks, Sally Hansen's aquatic-themed spring line is bold and fun. I picked up this little number today at my local Walgreen's. Full price is $7.99 but there are coupons out for 2 dollars off.

Mermaid's Tale is a glitter polish with a dark royal blue (almost navy-ish) base, blue microglitter, and blue and green chunky round glitter.

Click below to see swatches and more!

I have heard that this polish is suspected of being a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe. We all know DL polishes are expennnnnsive, so I personally don't own any. I pulled a picture from LippmannCollection.com:

Photo courtesy of LippmannCollection.com

Judging by this picture, the two are REALLY close. Mermaid's Tale does seem to have more microglitter and a little less chunky glitter, but that may just be due to the photo. The colors are too similar to justify owning both, that's for sure!

Onto the swatches!

I wasn't sure how opaque this would be, so I tried one coat and two. The first swatch above (pinky finger) is just a plain, no-color base and two coats of Mermaid's Tale. The second (ring finger) has Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away! (a bright aqua blue color) and one coat of Mermaid's Tale. The third swatch (middle finger) is a white base with one coat of Mermaid's Tale. The last swatch (my index finger) is a black base with one coat of Mermaid's Tale.

I think the richest results come from either a black base coat or no color base coat and two or more coats of Mermaid's Tale. The formula isn't too thick or goopy - it's easy to work with, dries well, and the glitter is sufficient, not too sparse, not too abundant.

If you've tried this polish, let me know what you think in the comments down below! I've had good luck with other polishes from the Complete Salon Manicure line, but I do find they can chip a little more easily than some other polishes. What do you all think?

I purchased Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Mermaid's Tale myself (as well as the other colors shown as bases in the swatch photo) and am not affiliated with Sally Hansen in any way. All opinions are my own.