Something for the nail polish lovers today - a comparison of three coral shades: Bourjois 10 Days in 25, Essie Cute as a Button and Catrice 20 Meet me at Coral Island. Cute as a Button was on my wishlist for ages, but I felt reluctant paying 10€ for a nail polish in a local drugstore (and there is a nail polish shipping ban for airmail). I was told these three were dupes, so I first picked up Bourjois 25 and later because I wasn't impressed by the formula, I bought Meet me at Coral Island. Since none of the two's formulas knocked my socks off, I finally took the plunge and bought Essie. Honestly, I should have just gone for it first.

Colour: Compared to Cute as a Button, Bourjois 25 is close, but pinker and less vibrant. Meet me at Coral Island is more coral.

This is the best representation of all shades, at least on my Samsung screen. I had such difficulties taking this picture, they all looked the same in most pictures and it took a while to find the right lighting:

However, unless you look closely, you won't see much difference, especially between Cute as a Button and 25 when indoors, while Catrice is a more orange coral and therefore my least favourite.

Formula: Essie wins hands down. It's such a pleasure use, one coat is almost enough for full coverage, no streaks and it has the best brush. Bourjois and Catrice both have a more annoying formula to work with, need two coats because of the gaps and streaks and I dislike the brush of Bourjois.

You obviously don't need all three unless you really like corals. In my experience Essie is best, with best formula and brush, so don't be sorry to spend a bit more because it is a pleasure to use. All three are close, but not quite dupes in my opinion, especially Meet me at Coral Island.
Catrice Meet me at Coral Island 2.69 €, Bourjois 10 Days 25 6.49 €, Essie Cute as a Button 9.95 €.

Hope this was helpful and have a great day!