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.

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.