I recently picked up NARS’ new re-issued Mash nail polish (2010) and thought it looked very close to MAC’s Seriously Hip nail polish (Style Black Collection 2009) until I swatched them.

Looking at the bottles, there is a distinct resemblance but Mash definitely has a more lighter olive cast to it (top picture), with a more delicate golden shimmer while Seriously Hip (bottom picture) comes out as a blackened olive with larger golden flakes throughout.  Even though the shade differences between the two are apparent, they are both in the same colour family. Removing Mash was easy and despite being a darker shade, it did not stain the nail.

Seriously Hip, while not that difficult to remove, did leave some of the gold flakes behind and there was some very slight staining, easily removed with another swipe of nail polish remover.  The NARS polish also had a thinner consistency and a thinner more flexible brush than the MAC, making it somewhat easier to control in application.  I used Deborah Lippmann’s Rehydrating Base Coat, 2 coats of each polish and Poshe Super-Fast Drying Top Coat

Both these shades seem right on target for Fall’s cooler temperatures, but I have to admit that the golden shimmer of Mash makes this particular shade a fresher, newer alternative to the darkness of Seriously Hip.  While the MAC shade is not available anymore, you should grab Mash while you can, as it is a brought-back-limited shade from the NARS vaults and a colour I’m sure will go fast.