Layla Turquoise Splash vs Orly Halley's Comet

When I recently tried the Layla Softouch polish, I mentioned that it reminded me a lot  of Orly's Halley's Comet. I decided that I needed to do a comparison post, because the Layla stuff isn't as easy to come by as the Orly, but good lord it's pretty. 

In the bottle, they are damned close. Nearly indistinguishable. They both have a pretty bright blue base with blue and green sparkly bits. 

On the nail, they are pretty different. The satin finish of the Layla shows off the fine green sparkles, while the Orly has larger foily bits. Application-wise, I prefer the Layla, as it's not as thick and therefore easier to control. But there is no denying the appeal of that Orly. It's as though the polish has slivers of jewels suspended inside. Both are definitely eye-catching, but the uniqueness of Layla's satin finish has my heart.

3 coats each, no topcoat

I added a coat of topcoat to each color, and that's when the true differences shine through. The Layla has fine glitter/foil in it that really glows with the addition of a topcoat. The bits are so fine, there is no simple reflection at all. Orly's larger foil bits can't really compete in this part. While it's a lovely polish, I personally prefer a finer shine and more glitter.

one coat each of topcoat

Finally, I mattified them both. Again, the Layla is my clear favorite. With the addition of the matte topcoat, the deeper teal tones of the Layla are evident. The extra matte drowns the normally prevalent green flair and makes the teal just glow. Orly looks more green in person overall when matte. Because of the larger foil pieces, it still reflects more light than it's competition. Not bad, but just not as good.

2 coats of Butter London Matte Topcoat.

TL;DR: if you can't find the Layla's anymore (they were on clearance at my local Ulta as of last week) then Orly Halley's Comet will do just fine. You definitely don't need both of them. I may end up swapping the Orly at some poing in the future.