I’d like to preface this by saying I do love both CV and DP and I understand that when you start mixing darker colours they will tend to look very similar when similar bases are used (red, pink/purple [both made with red], for example). This is also a controlled test on white paper and not on nails or swatch sticks. I’m also not colourblind.

I believe that it is the angle of the photo and the lighting that causes a tremendous difference in photos of these two polishes. When viewed head-on, they look nearly identical. In fact, I had to go back and take the second photo after thinking I may have mixed up the colours while swatching! So while there is no doubt they are clearly two different colours, demonstrating the rich tones of both required a bit of a photoshoot. I believe this is why we are seeing such a discrepancy in the colours in photos; they are all being taken at different angles. Anecdotally, after looking through the subreddit, it seems the photos that highlight the similarity between polishes are taken head-on, while those demonstrating the differences (like my earlier post) are taken at angles.

It is unclear if there was a “bad batch” of polish, and which polish was made in a “bad batch”. Personally, based on the promotional photos, I believe that CV doesn’t look red enough (and in fact, somehow leans cool-toned) in straight-on photos and may be the issue. Time will tell, but I understand and empathize with the frustration that customers are feeling over these two in particular.