The Dupe Test - Zoya Charla vs NYX Advanced Salon Formula Be Jeweled

Exactly as it says on the cover: This post will be to find out if NYX Advanced Salon Formula Be Jeweled is a dupe for Zoya Charla.

As always, you can click on the photos for larger views of them. I did not use a topcoat for these swatches.


[In the bottle: NYX Be Jeweled and Zoya Charla]

They are both blue-green jelly-ish bases with a lot of gold and blue-green microglitters. They have a duochrome look, changing from blue to green-gold depending on the angle. In their bottles, they look very similar (and so very pretty!). However, you can also see that NYX's Be Jeweled looks a touch lighter and greener. It doesn't show up as well in photos, but Zoya Charla looks shinier in the bottle.



[One coat: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]

I'm applying thinner coats than I usually do for the sake of comparison. From this first coat, it's obvious that Charla has a darker base. Charla also applies smoother while Be Jeweled's microglitters are just a little chunkier.


[Two coats: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]

At two coats, Charla is very close to completely opaque and it has denser microglitters, while Be Jeweled is still a little jelly-ish. I wondered at this point if the colour difference was due to opacity, so I went for a third coat of Be Jeweled.


[Three coats of NYX: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]

Now we have reached nearly complete opacity! Be Jeweled has three coats here, while Charla is still on two coats. While Be Jeweled's formula is thicker, Charla's darker colour and denser microglitters mean that Charla requires less coats for the same opacity. Both polishes are similarly shiny in terms of glitter, and in colour, they are very close as well.

I think you can clearly see the difference through the photos, and if I told someone I had different polishes on, I think they'll be able to pick out which is which. But it's actually a lot less obvious at a glance.


[Different angle: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]



[Under direct indoor light: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]

Both polishes are remarkably shiny under indoor halogen light or under direct sunlight. Very distracting, and very, very pretty! The colour is not very accurate here though.  





[Low indirect sunlight: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]

You can see that when the nails aren't directly side by side, it's actually quite hard to distinguish between the two different polishes.



[Colour corrected: NYX on index and ring finger, Zoya on middle and pinky]

I have colour corrected this picture because I feel that my camera captures the polishes as bluer than they really are, and misses out on the blue-green tone.
And so, what's the verdict?

Drumroooooolllll...

I have to conclude that Be Jeweled is not an exact dupe, but it is very close. Be Jeweled's base is just a little greener and lighter, and there are more gold microglitters while Charla has a different distribution of gold and blue microglitter. 

While Be Jeweled is not in any way gritty, it can be further smoothened out with a topcoat. I do like Charla's application over Be Jeweled, but in general, I tend to be fond of Zoya's formula.

If all you're after is the blue-green duochrome with gold glass flecks look, then NYX's Be Jeweled will serve the purpose just as well as Zoya's Charla.

In terms of price, you can get NYX Be Jeweled online for about USD4 with ~USD2 shipping, but if you wait for discounts, it gets even cheaper. Zoya Charla can be bought from Ebay for about ~USD6.50, with up to USD6 shipping, depending on where you live.

I would pick Zoya Charla over NYX Be Jeweled if I had both at hand, because Zoya Charla has an edge in terms of smoother application and denser microglitter. But Zoya Charla is harder to get your hands on because the major online distributors don't stock the brand, and I have seen official sellers in Australia sell it for up to $16. 

Cherry Culture often has discounts on their online store and they stock NYX as well as other pretty polishes, if you're interested.

Alright, one last picture before I go. This is for those who wonder about the differences in colour between NYX Be Jeweled and NYX Enchanted Forest

[NYX Enchanted Forest on index and middle finger, NYX Be Jeweled on ring pinky]

When they're side by side, you can definitely see that Be Jeweled is a teal-ish polish with a gold gleam while Enchanted Forest is a greener polish with a green-gold shine.