Welcome to another edition of “vs”!
Today we are pitting Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers against Wet n Wild Behind Closed Doors. This might be the closest challenge yet!
Both of these have a blackened base with red micro glitter and larger hexagonal glitter. Are they dupes? Let’s see!
Ruby Red Slippers, Behind Closed Doors
Ruby Red Slippers, Behind Closed Doors
Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers on pinky & middle, Wet n Wild Behind Closed Doors on ring & pointer
As you can see, these are SO incredibly close!
Both have a sheer blackened base that you really need to build up with three coats for maximum coverage. Both have tiny red glitter flecks. Both have larger hexagonal glitter flecks. You have to wait with both in-between each coat or the glitter will move around. Both have a chunky look to them.
There are two very small differences in these polishes that I can see in terms of how it looks. The first is that Ruby Red Slippers has a little more of the tiny glitter flecks in it than Behind Closed Doors does. So you see more glitter and less base color.
Second, if you look under a magnifying glass (really, I did this) you can see Behind Closed Doors has more of a genuine black base and Ruby Red Slippers looks a little more charcoal/grey.
But these are really small differences and not very noticeable unless you are a hardcore polish person.
Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers on pinky & middle, Wet n Wild Behind Closed Doors on ring & pointer
Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers on middle, Wet n Wild Behind Closed Doors on pointer
The Verdict:
These are close enough for me to declare them dupes to the average person. As mentioned, there are really small differences in terms of the actual polish but they are really quite small. The most obvious difference will be the price. Lippmann’s polish is $18.00 and Wet n Wild’s is $1.99. You do get slightly less polish with WnW because the bottle is 0.46 fl oz and Lippmann’s is 0.50, but it’s not that much less.
The Winner:
For me, even though it’s the more expensive one, I choose Ruby Red Slippers because I love Lippmann’s bottle shape (I know that’s weird) and to me it’s “the original”. But I would totally go for Behind Closed Doors also if I saw it in stores!
What do you think? Can these be called dupes in your book?
-Kelly
45 comments
They’re both gorgeous, but I think the Wet n Wild would be the winner for me. It just looks a lot smoother than the Lippmann polish. Ruby Red Slippers looks extremely chunky in pictures (I’ve never seen it in person).
Ditto! Hooray WnW!
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I actually prefer the way Behind Closed Doors looks based on your swatches! Not like it really matters, though. I can never get my hands on these limited edition collections!
Ugh I know! Lately all my local drugstores have been getting stuff out of season. All of my CVS’s just got Mermaid’s Cove.
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Definitely, I’m still looking for Pirate’s Cove >< I wanted every one of those lol
I agree with Amber, the DL does look chunky and the WNW doesn’t. But even if they were the smoothest of smooth polishes, I would still go for the WNW. Extremely similar and $1.99>$18 any and all day for me.
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I actually prefer the look of the WnW. I havent seen it in stores, but I think I will start looking for it.
Ooooooh I really want those! All the stores around me carry WnW palettes that are LE, but NEVER NEVER EVER EVER Can I find the nailpolishes 🙁 It makes me very very sad.
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These are beautiful colors, I think it would be a very good call to call them dupes. I think I like Wet N Wild better, though; it does look like it was a smoother application? Maybe that is a camera angle, though.
Either way, fabulous nail polishes for $1.99 and $18!
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I don’t know if its just me or not, but Wet n Wild Behind Closed Doors looks smoother than the other one. Plus the price is right. ^.~
Definitely dupes in my book. Now if I can only find the WnW!
I love that you are doing these vs editions. I really like the DL polish. But I still have that thought of ” will I really pay $18 dollars for a polish”? How will I hide that from my husband?
WnW is such a good alternative to DL. If you really prefer Ruby Red Slippers I suggest you to save money, even if it’s only a couple of $ every month or every 2 weeks. When you get to buy it you’ll feel less ‘guilty’ cause you bought it with your own savings!!
They definitely look like dupes to my untrained eye. If money were no object, I’d opt for Ruby Red Slippers, though, just because The Wizard of Oz is my favorite 🙂
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I actually like wet n wild’s better. Seeing them side by side, I like how wet n wild has less micro red glitter so the large hexagon glitter can shine :). Deborah lippman have too much going on. Hopefully there is a wet n wild display at walgreens so I can get this polish for 1 dollar :0!
Cost aside, I like Behind Closed Doors for the same reason Amber does; it looks smoother. And I like a bit of the base coat to show through. I think the name Ruby Red Slippers is fitting for the DL.
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I have always likes that DL polish, but it’s expensive in Denmark where I live, so maybe I should try to get hold of the Wet’n’Wild one.
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They are both so pretty 🙂 I want the Lipmann now! (also like you i love the bottle shape and the minimalist font on the bottle)
I have been searching for this WnW collection everywhere and have had no success. Now I want to try this color even more!
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Thanks for the comparison! NYX Dorothy is also a dupe (even closer than the WnW imo).
Can I just say how much I love that you looked at these under a microscope? Love. This was a great comparison! To all of our naked eyes these are identical so I absolutely love the WNW since it is $2 🙂 🙂
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I’m pretty sure I saw Behind Closed Doors at CVS the other day….ahhh why didn’t I get it?!? I hope it’s there next time
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that’s way too close for me to go buy an $18 polish when another exists that is a fraction of the cost. Wet n Wild it is!
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WnW has really become an awesome brand these past few years! I love how they create cheap dupes for harder to acquire polishes like Lippmann’s Happy Birthday and Ruby Red Slippers.
I probably love to throw away my money, but I like DL more. Although I’ll buy none of those two since the black-red combo is not exactely something I would wear….
I would go for Wet ‘n Wild. The difference wouldn’t really be noticeable in real life, so instead of $18 I would just pay $2 and buy other polishes as well 😛
I would always take the DL over W N W – I have had far too many let downs with cheaper brands – but when it comes to a shade I know I will only reach for maybe 3 times ever – I do look for them in the cheaper brands. Most of the time I can find what I need in my stash however for those times as I have collected (this collection) now for over 27 yrs. That’s a lot of polish!
Wow these are close! I have been scouring my local drugstores for the WnW collection but still can’t find it. This review made me want it even more!
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I think the Lippmann wins – it’s chunkier looking and has a more lit from within look… but you can’t beat the WnW for the price!
I would be happy with the WnW if I could find it… Ive been looking a few times a week at each drugstore but they dont have it and dont know if theyre going to get it… its very frustrating that they dont sell online…
Price wise BCD wins hands down and really, that and availability are what wins it for me. However, by looks alone, I like that RRS has more of the small glitter. It may look a bit chunkier but it stands out more to me.
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I’d personally go for the WnW because of the significant price difference, but seeing the swatches you can still tell that the better of the two is Deborah Lippmann. DL’s glitter is more evenly spread on the nail and has a lot more tiny glitter resulting in less bald spots. Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness isn’t a nail polish addict. 🙁
I’m right there with you on loving Lippmann bottles. I have RRS and love it… It’s nice to know that there is an affordable alternative. the WnW actually looks smoother, too. great comp!
I’m happy to have spent the $$ on the Deborah Lippmann. As an artist and nail fanatic, I like thinking about where my (very very limited) money goes and Lippmann’s quality (not just her polishes, but also her company) is, to me, worth supporting. I also love seeing drugstore dupes of these though: this way, I have the DL for myself and can share the WnW with my friends and family, without stressing about how much each coat is costing me. Everybody wins. 🙂
I think I prefer the look of the WnW! Much smoother. I’m sure it doesn’t wear as well as DL, but for the price difference it really doesn’t matter that much!
Is there a dupe for D L Bad Romance?
Revlon – Facets of Fuchsia is extremely similar. It’s new and can be found at Target for $4
Darn…I bought the Lippmann because I didn’t know WnW has such a similar one. The fact that the WnW even looks better makes it worse. *argh*
Im in love with the wnw! But I cannot find it anywhere…. I would love it if someone could mail me one!!! Id gladly pay for shipping!!
Cheap dupe of DL glitter? I wanna!!! I suspect we’ll be getting a close dupe of one of the glitters in new Essence sortiment too, so i’ll soon have the ones I want, hopefully. Great comparison!
Definitely dupes. It does look like RRS is a bit “rougher” on the finish than the WnW. But I have RRS–and yes I love the bottles! But I’m definitely getting the new Red one coming out for the holidays–not realizing that RRS had a black base and not clear.
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Wow, amazing that these two polishes fall on opposite ends of the price spectrum and they are so close!
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i like the WnW better! hope i can find it in stores
I have to be on the look out for this, thanks for the comparison. I couldn’t tell the difference.
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brill comparison! wanted that RRS for ages but cant afford the price of it!
dont suppose you know an online place that ships to the uk and isnt crazy expensive?