Might be a bit too early in the year for a dark manicure but Chanel Steel is one shade that I just couldn’t wait to put on. I swatched the Soho Le Vernis in Steel & Strong last week and decided to go with Steel first. I find these shades typical of certain shimmery Chanel Le Vernis shades like Jade Rose, Paradoxal, Vendetta etc. in that what you see in the bottle isn’t exactly what you get on the nails. In this case, what you see in the bottle is a deep grey laced with silver pearly streaks. What you get on the nails is more of a deep midnight steel blue-black.
Here are a few close up shots and further below it’s on a full manicure (2 coats although 1 would have been sufficient) in different lighting so you can see the full effect.
Outdoors, natural light, this is what it looks like with a bit of sun shining:
This is what you see without direct sunlight or flash:
Also against Black Caviar Leather, but without direct flash (the color on the nails is dark but not a pure black):
I compared it in my previous post to a few other shades, Chanel Noir Ceramic and Essie Over The Top (see last week’s post). In looking at my other colors again, I thought it might be similar to Lippmann’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot, but I find the quality of the Chanel superior as you only need 1 coat while for the other you need at least 3 to get a rich opaque finish. The Lippmann shade has a more steely-blue cast, but if you have this color and don’t mind applying more coats then I think they are similar enough that you don’t need the Chanel.
Chanel Steel vs. Lippmann Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Next to Bobbi Brown Black Sparkle – you can see the blueish tones:
It’s perfect for fall. Not too black and has a rich opaque finish (as you can see with just one coat swatched). I find it a tad thicker than most Chanel nail polishes (Strong as well) so you may want to adjust your application slightly with that in mind. Worth every penny.
