Monday, August 1, 2011

Chanel Graphite vs. Revlon Carbonite

It doesn't feel anything like autumn around here—it was already over 80 degrees F when I was driving to work this morning—but I'm going to post fall polishes today because a) I have them and b) by the time it's actually fall they may be hard to find and c) I don't necessarily pay attention to the season when I choose colors anyway.

Graphite is one of three shades of polish in Chanel's fall 2011 collection. It's a charcoal grey foil with a generous helping of greenish gold flecks mixed in. As foils go, this one is blingy to the point where my camera sometimes had trouble focusing properly on it (and that's without the benefit of shiny topcoat). Also, on my skintone it pulls rather olive in most lights, which I'm fine with though it wasn't the silvery grey I was expecting based on the early sneek peek photos. I had no Riva-esque opacity or streaking problems with this polish; two coats was plenty.











As they did with Paradoxal and Black Pearl, Revlon has released their own version of this Chanel color, called Carbonite. I think the name is fun, as were Perplex and Black with Envy before it.



In the bottle, they look pretty darn close. On the nail, in most lights, the Revlon looks slightly more silvery and less green than the Chanel—meaning it looks more like what I expected the Chanel to look like. The Revlon is a bit less flashy, too. Like the Chanel, the Revlon was a two-coater.


Top to bottom: Graphite, Carbonite, Graphite, Carbonite.



Top to bottom: Carbonite, Graphite.



Top to bottom: Graphite, Carbonite, Graphite, Carbonite.


When I took them out into daylight, the differences became less pronounced; both looked more silvery than they had in the lightbox or indoors, and it was harder to tell which is which.


Top to bottom: Graphite, Carbonite, Graphite, Carbonite.


So, as with Revlon's other Chanel copying efforts, Carbonite is not a dead-on dupe, but it is a great alternative and would pass quite nicely in most situations.

29 comments:

  1. Blimey, Karen. Brilliant photos. For the first time ever I actually fancy a Chanel polish. But the Revlon is a dupe to my (poor) eyes. Superb comparison. Absolutely top-class blogging.

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  2. This color is simply beautiful! I have to try and get my hands on the Revlon.

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  3. This is close enough to not have to spend all that money! Thanks for the dupe test! I need this Revlon one!

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  4. Wow love this polish colour! The revlon looks like a pretty close dupe to me, so yay for that!
    I have a polish by Accessorize called Idol which I think is very similar to these both... I'l have to swatch it and see I guess!

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  5. I love the olive tones! I'll definitely keep an eye out for the Revlon dupe though. Great post!

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  6. Very pretty. I have been trying to hunt down Carbonite because I am just too cheap to buy Chanel. I think I like Carbonite better though anyway. Now if I can only find it lol

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  7. Wow. They look a lot more similar on the nail than I expected. Thanks for the comparison! Revlon does it again!

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  8. Those are definitely close enough for me. I don't like Graphite enough to want to buy it for $25 but I might go for Carbonite.

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  9. I never saw this colour before is so pretty. Hope the revlon colour comes out here:)

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  10. I think I like Carbonite better, too! Thanks for the comparison!

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  11. This is really a great news! I will surely buy Carbonite. Mmm, wait, maybe I'll buy it: I have just started the Project10Pan. Moreover, I know it seems ridiculous, but Revlon is HTF here in my city (Parma, one of the most important city in the north of Italy). No comment! :D

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  12. Oh Karen, what a great comparison! I love it, thank you SO much. I'm definitely hunting Carbonite!

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  13. Great comparison :) Revlon doesn't waste any time with pumping out the dupes!!!

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  14. I am loving these Revlon versions. Carbonite isn't a dead on dupe but it is close enough for me. And easier for me to afford. Carbonite is on my list, for sure. :D

    Thank you for the comparison swatches.

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  15. That is a spot on dupe! Wow really nice colour:) Would definitely aim for the revlon rather then go for the chanel

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  16. Fantastic comparison - Thanks so much

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  17. Will probably be picking up Carbonite at some point. Great comparison.
    I have officially declared fall for me. I can't stand the summer anymore, and it makes me not even want to wear summer colors! It was 100degrees today. Ick.

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  18. Wow this is completely beautiful . I like this a lot .

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  19. Lovely shade! Chanel is hardly available here so I'll be checking out a Revlon retailer instead. It's a close dupe. :)

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  20. Beautiful comparison, thanks Karen! I love the color and they are so similar I would go for the Revlon if it was available here.

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  21. i want both now!! i love this color.! will you be doing a comparison for Channel -Peridot?!

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  22. b) by the time it's actually fall they may be hard to find Too true. Thanks for the early comparison. Not sure I like this now, but I may once Fall rolls around. Grar.

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  23. awesome comparison. I totally want to go buy the revlon now

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  24. Graphite is very glamorous on you Karen! I like that Revlon makes Chanel inspired polishes for those who don't necessarily want to splurge on Chanel all the time :)

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  25. Thanks, everyone!

    McDiaz714, perhaps I'll do a Peridot comp--but I don't have any of the polishes that I've heard may be dupe-ish for it, so not sure yet.

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  26. Really interesting, I didn't expected Graphite to lean towards olive (which is a "plus" to me) and well I'm quite interested in Carbonite, too now!!
    So basically I had a lemming confirmed plus a new one :-D

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.