NOTD: P.P.I Professional Polish International swatched

I spotted this polish at a little discount cosmetics store last week and it looked oddly familiar.  My first reaction was "What the?" at the $4AUD bottles and then, "Fake OPI??"  I've seen fake OPI's before and they do their best to look like the real thing with the same OPI branding and labelling and but they're usually picked out as fake by the more conical, flat sided bottle shape.

Now this is a little different in that - yes - the bottle shape is almost identical as an OPI (I should have done a side by side shot but I'm sure you trust me) and the branding is in a similar font, and yes there's a play on the the initials P.P.I versus O.P.I, but...  PPI closely stands for Professional Polish International.  Hmm...not fake on a technicality because they're not labelled as OPI?  Cheeky though, huh!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning knock-offs.

My curiousity got me and I couldn't resist so I spent my $4 on the cutest shade in the bin.  Of course the shades are all unlabelled so I'll just go with a description.  This was a semi-sheer, almost jelly coral/pink with a glass fleck.  Quite cute in the bottle and not all bad on the nail either.  Although the polish was stronger in the fumes department when I was applying, it didn't smell quite as toxic as I was prepared for - no disgusting plasticky smell! Coverage was on the sheer side as I'd expected.  The swatch shots are two coats without top coat and you may be able to see a little of the VNL.  It's not the same animal as an OPI. 

Both shots were taken outdoors in cloudy conditions:

Have you ever heard of P.P.I?

What do you think of these cheaper imitation brands?

Until next time

Vita :)