Milani Neon Nail Lacquer in Fresh Teal - about $4 in most drugstores

So, I originally decided to ignore the new Milani Neons and 3Ds because as per other bloggers' photos, while beautiful the polishes looked dupeable or "done" to me. I still feel the same about all of them except for Fresh Teal. I gave the display another cursory look, and mentally tried to match them all up with polishes I already had. When I came to Fresh Teal, I drew a blank. I went through all my similar polishes mentally; "what could be dupable?"... Color Club Wild Child? no, too light. China Glaze Four Leaf Clover? nope, that one's more green. I went through at least six more in my head and came up with nil. So I bought it. I'm really glad because the color and application surprised the heck outta me.

Two coats is perfection, and the color is a rich but bright (not neon!) polish that straddles the fine line between turquoise and teal. I did find, in the end, that it's incredibly similar to China Glaze Custom Kicks. Fresh Teal is a good match for Custom Kicks' base color but that China Glaze does have the added golden shimmer. So, if you are looking for a creme version of CK, this is your best bet. I was really surprised that the formula was so pigmented, and even more surprised to find that this "Neon" dried glossy, but as I said, it's not really that neon when you get right down to it.

You might notice that the bottle and my nails are different shades. The bottle is not clear, it seems to be painted or covered in a film of color. The bottle is significantly more green than my nails in this photo. In person, you notice an ever-so-slight difference, but in all honesty, the color on the nails is exactly what the bottle looks like in this pic. For some reason it didn't photograph as accurately on my nails.

Index to pinkie: Milani Fresh Teal, China Glaze Custom Kicks, Sally Hansen Sea Breeze (bottle pictured), Milani Fresh Teal

L-R: China Glaze Custom Kicks, Milani Fresh Teal, Sally Hansen Sea Breeze

So yeah, it's bluer than China Glaze Four Leaf Clover, darker than Color Club Wild Child and a very close to the base of China Glaze Custom Kicks. What do you think of this polish? Have you tried any of the other new Milanis?