Today I have a few comparisons to ‘Riva’ to show you using CHANEL’s ‘Nouvelle Vague’, Seophora by OPI’s ‘Havana Dreams’ and OPI’s ‘What’s With The Cattitude’.

Before I obtained Riva, I assumed it would be similar to Nouvelle Vague, but the colour difference is quite obvious: Riva is definitely baby blue while Nouvelle Vague is a washed out turquoise.  The formula was not even close either, with Riva being thin and needing at least 4 coats to build to full opacity with a jelly-like finish, while Nouvelle Vague is significantly thicker, achieves opacity with 2 coats and has denser and finer shimmer throughout.

in natural light

in sunlight

While I already reviewed Riva against Havana Dreams in more detail here, that was before I actually had my own bottle of Riva, therefore I wished to show how both shades looked on my nails as well as pitted against each other, and I also threw in OPI’s What’s With The Cattitude seeing as how it was the only other pale blue I had in my collection (this was one of the minis of a 4-piece set from OPI’s Shrek Collection). In all pictures starting from pinkie, ring, middle and index fingers the shades are: Nouvelle Vague, What’s With The Cattitude, Riva and Havana Dreams, all with base coat.  (*Please excuse the nasty cut on my ring finger…I seriously need to start wearing gloves when I clean & water my yucca tree!*)

The first coat shows the same streaking pattern between Havana Dreams and What’s With The Cattitude, while Riva & Nouvelle Vague do apply smoother and the shimmer in the latter two is clearly visible in the sun. What’s With The Cattitude was also the thickest of the 4 and somewhat chalkier as well.

in sunlight, 1st coat

With the application of the second coat, Nouvelle Vague & What’s With The Cattitude seem basically opaque while Riva & Havana Dreams are not only the closest in tone but the sheerest and you can even see a slight bald patch with Havana Dreams.  Any streaks, however, disappeared with this layer.  This coat also highlights how much greener Nouvelle Vague, is while the more Robin’s Egg Blue of What’s With The Cattitude is nowhere near Riva’s rinsed pale blue.

in sunlight, 2nd coat

natural light, 2nd coat

With the third coat, both Nouvelle Vague & What’s With The Cattitude achieved 100% opacity and while the sunlight pictures show Riva to be pretty opaque as well, you can clearly see that it’s still somewhat sheer in natural light.  Havana Dreams maintained a small bald patch, but that’s due more to my application than the polish itself (oops!).

in sunlight, 3rd coat

in natural light, 3rd coat

In this last picture, I gave an extra coat to Riva, bringing its total to 4 coats and finally fully opaque, and I also added Sèche Vite top coat to all for some added shine.

Final thoughts: Nouvelle Vague could not be considered anything other than a ‘Tiffany Box Blue’ as I like to call it, or a rather washed out turquoise, leaving it out of the running for a match.  What’s With The Cattitude is much brighter and more of a sky blue shade, although a nice light blue alternative if you have it and cannot find either of the remaining two (or don’t wish to empty your wallet trying to purchase them).  As I stated in my previous post comparing Riva & Havana Dreams, I can now truthfully say that while they are extremely close (more like sisters than twins), Riva is still unique in it’s slightly more washed out appearance and the shimmer, while not always visible, does add a little something extra.