Chanel Frisson — Swatches & Review

I was in NYC when the Roses Ultimes de Chanel collection launched. It consists of four nail polishes and six Glossimers. I went to the SoHo Chanel to check them out, and of the polishes I was only really drawn to the delicate, girly light pink #543 Frisson. It's semi-sheer, milky and contains little golden and multicolored flecks of sparkle. Frisson might seem a little boring to us nail fanatics now accustomed to wild colors, but I've fallen totally in love with it. This is even the first time I've thought I might want to purchase a backup bottle of polish!

Contrary to what some reviewers experienced, I found this shade to be an absolute dream to apply. For me, this is extremely easy to just swipe on. This manicure is with two coats. I had no trouble with streaking or any other texture issues. Yes, this color is a little sheer and you will still see the whites of your nails underneath after only two coats. However, this doesn't bother me at all for some reason. I think it looks lovely.

Bottle shot in direct sunlight:

Here you can see the gold sparkles:

I also picked up "Jalousie", the vibrant fuchsia Glossimer from this collection. Soon I'll have a review up!

Chanel May — Swatch & Review

Wow, all of February escaped without a single blog post! I wish I'd posted more, but my new circumstances have prevented me. I'll tell you all about it at the end of this post!

So I've noticed that I don't really have all that many pinks in my stash, which is part of why I decided to get Chanel Le Vernis in May #535. This is of course one of the trio of nail polishes from the Harmonie de Printemps Spring 2012 makeup collection. Another reason I decided to get May is because I love the whole collection and I wanted to have the complete set. Although this pink is not too out of the ordinary, I don't have anything to compare it to since I have relatively few pinks.

May is a very neutral shade. Sometimes it seems to lean warm, and other times it seems more on the cool end of the spectrum. I think it's a shade that would suit most skin tones. I used two coats for this swatch. The formula is smooth and easy to apply, with a slightly squishy quality although I wouldn't call it a jelly. Even if May is a fairly ordinary pink, I'm quite pleased to own it as it's a well made polish.

I took a picture with all three polish colors from the Spring collection. I just love how April, May and June all look together.

Ok I promised to explain my long absence, so I shall! About a month ago I started working full time in a nail salon. Yes, I'm in fact a licensed nail tech! I've had my license for a little over a year, but this is my first job in that capacity, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning until I really "earned" the title by working as a nail tech. Painting your own nails, friends' nails, or even the nails of the other ladies in my nail tech class is entirely different from giving full manicures and pedicures to paying customers in the busy salon. It's a tough job which makes me very tired at the end of the day, but I also love it and I'm very lucky that I have genuinely wonderful coworkers.

Since I always get home after the sun has already gone down, I haven't been able to make any swatches. So, it's time for me to get some of those super bright daylight lamps and a light box so I can take some photos in the evening. I'm slowly getting used to the busy work day, and building up stamina so I'm not quite so enormously exhausted when I get home. I hope I'll be able to get back to posting at least once or twice a week! =)

Revlon Bewitching VS Chanel April

Hello everyone! My January class is all finished, and I hope to get back to more blogging finally.

I have swatches of a new Revlon polish called Bewitching, which is not to be confused with the classic Revlon shade Bewitching Bordeaux. Bewitching is a lovely rose red creme that was released for this spring. The formula is just right, and applies smoothly. I used two coats for total opacity.

The moment I spotted Bewitching in the display it reminded me of Chanel April (full review here) and I wondered if I'd found the latest drugstore dupe. However, once I had the bottles side by side it was obvious they were different shades. You can see April is a much more muted rose, with more brown in it.

I think Bewitching is a perfect springtime version of red. It really reminds me of flowers.

Chanel April — Swatches, Review & Comparison

After a few days of wearing Chanel June, I had to go back to SoHo to pick up April. Something about the color wouldn't let me stop thinking about it. (Sounds insane, but I know my fellow polish fanatics understand!) So back to the boutique I went. As soon as I painted my nails with this lovely polish, I was very glad I went back for it.

April is a soft burgundy or garnet. It has a hint of brown and is slightly muted, but still a very rich color. I think it's quite sophisticated!

This shot under artificial light shows off the slightly muted tones of the color.

I don't have a lot of colors in this family in my stash. I had nothing that looked like it would be close at all, but I made a comparison anyway in case anyone finds it helpful. On my index finger is OPI Manicurist of Seville, and on my ring finger is Zoya Sofia.

Application for this polish is so smooth and dreamy. It's seriously flawless and easy. Two coats are all I needed for saturated color and a glossy finish. I've been wearing it for four days and it's holding up beautifully with only very minimal tipwear (normal for any polish). I have a feeling this polish is going to be one of my all-time favorites.

Like May and June, April is available on Chanel's website for $25.

Chanel June — Swatches, Review & Comparison

I'm finally back from New York City! I am not yet skilled enough at blogging to have things scheduled to post when I go away. I hope someday soon I'll get it together for that so there won't be such long pauses.

Whenever I go to New York I can't resist making a trip to the Chanel boutique in SoHo.  This time I even went twice, and the first time I came back with June (#539). June is one of the three nail colors from Chanel's Spring 2012 Harmonie de Printemps collection. In French this means Harmony of Spring, or Springtime Harmony. The three nail colors in this collection really do look harmonious together. (On my second visit to the SoHo boutique I came back with April (#533) which I will post about tomorrow.)

June is a pastel tangerine/peach/apricot color. The formula is what really makes this color so nice. It's a cross between a jelly and a creme. I used three coats for total opacity. The first time I applied this color I did a full manicure on rather long nails. It wasn't overly difficult to control the polish, but I found it easier on shorter nails. This polish has a very nice consistency and isn't streaky at all. I think Chanel did a great job on the formula for this one. It has a very nice, glossy finish.

I took a picture after just one coat to show how nicely this polish applies. You can also see the jelly-ness of it. You can also see that the color becomes more intense after two more coats.

I compared June to two polishes in my collection: China Glaze Peachy Keen and Essie Tart Deco. Obviously Peachy Keen is a much closer match than Tart Deco. Peachy Keen is definitely quite similar, but it lacks the lovely jelly texture of June. It's also streakier and chalkier, and leans a tiny bit more pink. Tart Deco of course is much pinker.

I think this shot under artificial light shows the difference between Peachy Keen and June more obviously.

I wore June as a full manicure for about four days and experienced no chipping at all. It still looked glossy and perfect.

June, along with April and May, is currently up on the Chanel website for $25. I love the convenience of shopping online, but for me half the fun is making a purchase in the boutique where you get to experience the perfect, smooth customer service.

Chanel Strong — SoHo Story 2010

I admit, I bought this polish for the name. I couldn't help it! And it seems only appropriate to feature it on this blog. Chanel Strong came out last fall when the SoHo boutique had just been remodeled. This was part of a special makeup collection that tied into that store. I've been to that particular boutique a couple of times (most recently to buy Blue Rebel) and each time I have received excellent customer service. Sometimes high end designer boutiques can be intimidating, but the SoHo Chanel is completely delightful. The clerks are very friendly and nobody looked at me funny for clomping in there wearing my tennis shoes and band t-shirt. So if you're in lower Manhattan and you're in the mood for some Chanel, don't hesitate to stop by the corner of Spring and Wooster.

The polish looks more exciting in the bottle than on the nail. In most lighting conditions it appears almost black. But if you look closely, you can detect the plummy shimmer. To me it has a very velvety appearance, even if it is very dark. The application is a dream. It's nearly perfect in one coat, but I prefer to do two thin coats. The formula is thick but not hard to work with. The viscosity makes it incredibly easy to control where the polish goes, and avoid the cuticles.

Nubar Dark Wash Jeans VS Chanel Blue Rebel

Hello! I got my Nubar Jeans in the mail yesterday and I couldn't wait to get a comparison shot for you all. I only purchased one of the Les Jeans De Chanel polishes. Here is Chanel Blue Rebel in comparison to Nubar Dark Wash Jeans. Blue Rebel is on the index and ring fingers, and Dark Wash is on the middle and pinky fingers.

As you can see, they are incredibly similar. You might not even be able to tell the difference from the picture. Chanel Blue Rebel is just a hair lighter, but that is the only discernible difference. The texture and application of the Nubar polish is almost identical to the Chanel. They both need two easy coats to be opaque, and have a hint of gooey viscosity to their texture that makes them easy to control and apply.

Here's Nubar Dark Wash Jeans on its own:

Please try to ignore my hot pink sweater being reflected in these pictures! I should have worn a more neutral piece of clothing while I was swatching. =p

Chanel Blue Rebel

It was pouring rain the day I stopped by Chanel SoHo to pick up this polish. My shoes were soaked; my jeans were soaked from the knees down. But when you get to the door of the boutique, the tall, handsome guy in a suit opens the door for you and offers to take your soaking wet umbrella. He takes out a fresh plastic bag for you to drop it into so you don't have to drip all over the store. And because this is Chanel, the plastic bag has a Chanel logo on it. How could it be any other way?!

Here's Blue Rebel from the Les Jeans de Chanel collection in full sunlight. These pictures are two coats with regular clear polish on top.

And in the shade:

These pictures are fairly color-accurate on my monitor. Chanel Blue Rebel is very much a denim blue crème. It leans just the slightest bit towards green and has a hint of dustiness to it. This polish has a lovely and agreeable formula. It's completely smooth and opaque in two coats, and it dries quickly. I just checked the Chanel website, and Blue Rebel is out of stock, but Blue Boy and Coco Blue are still currently available.

I ducked into Chanel SoHo to get out of the rain...

And look at the cute little shopping bag that followed me home!

Oh hello there, what do you have inside? You look like just the right size for a bottle of...

Chanel Blue Rebel! I probably would've spent half an hour trying to decide which blue to get, but it turned out this was the very last one they had left in stock. I'm glad they had this one, as I think I would've settled on it eventually anyway. As soon as I'm back from my trip to NYC I'll be sure to swatch and post photos!

I also took a moment to sample the new N°19 Poudré Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette (one for each wrist!) and both formulations are really lovely. I'm partial to powdery scents, and I'm starting to fall in love with the Eau de Parfum. It's very delicately green and fresh, and very refreshing in that it's not yet ANOTHER sugary, fruity floral like so many contemporary fragrances. It's as sophisticated as you'd expect from a N°19 flanker.

Chanel Rose Confidentiel

I received Chanel Rose Confidentiel as a thoughtful birthday gift from a friend this year. I believe this color was originally released in Fall 2010 along with Rouge Fatal and Rose Insolent, and is still available on the Chanel website. This polish has a very nice formula and is quite shiny on its own. It's easy to apply and only requires two coats.

I've heard that OPI Kreme de la Kremlin is a close match, but unfortunately I don't have both of them to compare. A very demure color, to be sure. It's potentially "boring" in comparison to other colors, but I think it looks nice and elegant. Sometimes this is just the sort of understated color I want.

Joining the BLUE trend!

In hopes of deterring myself from paying outrageous prices for the new Chanel blues (Les Jeans de Chanel) I have swatched four blue crèmes to satisfy the craving for BLUE!

OPI What's With The Cattitude? is a nice baby blue. Like all pastels, it was a little streaky to apply but it easily evens out in three coats.

OPI Just Groovy is a brighter sky blue. This is two coats.

OPI Dating A Royal is well-loved for a good reason. It has a jelly consistency, which makes it very shiny, and takes three coats to be opaque.

Finally here is China Glaze Calypso Blue. It has a thick, somewhat sticky consistency but it's easy to control during application. This is a great navy blue that is very dark but still obviously blue and not black.

So, still fantasizing about Les Jeans?

I admit I still kind of want Coco Blue. I would love to know how it compares to What's With The Cattitude? and China Glaze Bahamian Escape or China Glaze Caribbean Blue.

Drugstore Chanel: Revlon Carbonite

Once again, metallics are in for fall. I know this because Chanel released a trio of them, and wherever Chanel goes we dutifully and happily follow.

Revlon has come out with their version of Graphite, which they call Carbonite. I don't have the original for comparison, but it looks to be a very faithful approximation.

 

 Carbonite applies easily and is perfect in two coats.

 I found my bottle at a local CVS a couple weeks ago. It was in its own seasonal display with enough slots for about eight bottles.