I’m all over magnetic nails.. absolutely love them.. and they are show-stoppers – I can’t tell you the number of times that people have stopped me to ask what I have on my nails. It’s a really stunning look. BUT, it has been playing at the back of my mind whether all the ranges bringing out polishes are the same stuff in different bottles. And, today, I discovered that yes, it flipping well is. Certainly in the case of Boots 17 and Filthy Gorgeous. Remember that these will be sold at different prices in different stores, so it’s a little bit galling that they couldn’t even be bothered to change the bottles. Same product, same bottles. I only found out because I couldn’t find my 17 sample so went for the FG instead. Then today, when I did find the 17 sample to swatch it, it was exactly the same in both swatches. I’m not sure how I feel about this.. Filthy Gorgeous is selling theirs, named Got The Blues for £12 in October, and Boots 17 is selling theirs for £5.99 from 21st September. Which now makes me wonder about FashionistA and Nails Inc.. both at wildly differing prices too – I wonder if that is also the exact same formula and the same colours.. because they’re all coming in as sludgy shades that look mighty similar. I will say that I do like the colours.. all of them, and the blue in the swatch is a clear favourite.
So I guess the message is, mind what you pay for exactly the same size bottle, the same formulation and the same colour. There must be a metallic polish formulator somewhere rubbing his hands with glee as all the brands steam in to find different names for the same thing. That has to be amusing in formulating circles.
 |
| Filthy Gorgeous |
Similar to this
 |
| Boots 17 |
 |
| side by side |
Transparency Disclosure
All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
15 comments
WOW. I know which version I’ll be asking for when these are released! It’d be interesting to see if print publications comment on the fact that the packaging AND colour ranges are exactly the same!
Wow, they do look exactly the same! :O
OMG they really are the same, I am liking the magentic nails I’ve been seeing and I will deffo be buying mine in boots!
http://mmmmakeup.blogspot.com/
I’ve heard that there are loads of products falling into this kind of thing – re-branding of essentially the same product… although exactly the same colour(s) really takes the biscuit!!
AAAHHH i need to get my hands on these! it sounds awesome! 🙂
There are only a few polish manufacturers in the whole world, which is why you have noticed that both these brands potentially use the same factory, to my knowledge, there is only one in the UK, somewhere in Scotland where polish is made for so cheap that it would spark off a whole different discussion.
Jezz Thanks for the heads up!!
I had noticed that all the pics I’d seen for magnetic nails had similar colours – It dosen’t suprise me at all – I worked in several factories as a student – 20 years ago and the same content was being put into different bags / bottles for different outlets. That was cotton wool, meat and Fresh Orange Juice (some lovely places I’ve worked in;p) Why should it be any different for nail varnish?
Another reason it’s such a shame we don’t get essence products in UK. I bought 2 of their magnetic polishes in Italy for 3ish euros each. They are always a head of the trends and reasonably priced. 17 prices have started to creep up like No 7 did a few years back.
Thanks for the heads up
Stacie @kawaiinailart
xoxox
Do these companies honestly think that us consumers are THAT stupid. That picture of them side by side is absolutely unbelivable!
Wow, this is incredibly stupid!
this is not helping the opinion i already formed of filthy gorgeous polish, with their £10 bottles looking like stargazer bottles usually. not impressed. x
Oh my gosh that is unbelievable!! Im not surprised, as this concept is so simple and although everyones doing it it isn’t very adaptable. A craze which will come and go, its nice but I find it average.
Haha and this is why I waited months before trying a crackle polish – A cheaper alternative eventually comes along! 🙂
Xx
It’s true. Essentially these are all the same product however, the supply for the tooled component is extremely low (less than a million units will be available world wide this year!) so it’s not a case of what you pay for your polish and more of a if-you-get -the-chance-to-actually-buy-before-supplies-run-out kind of deal! Also to be quite frank- boots can afford to to sell at a lower cost as they have no middle margin to pay (i.e a retailer) so Nails, Inc, Filthy Gorgeous, fashionistA and others have to sell at a higher RRP due to paying a commission to the stores they trade in. Not an excuse by any means but it’s the way of the world I’m afraid. Hope this doesn’t sound overly defensive (!) but just wanted to share the facts. No one is trying to rip the consumers off here- it’s just that brands outside of boots owned have higher operating costs, are usually personally funded and are trying to give their customers innovation and newness whilst trying to keep business afloat. (steps down from soap box…!) With that said, I do fully appreciate the need for value and not paying over the odds for something identical thats available cheaper else where. I guess the choice is simple. Support a corporate machine or support the independents?