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September 2012

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Chanel Délicatesse Le Vernis

September 14, 2012

Chanel Délicatesse is one of the three nail polishes from the limited-edition Les Twin Sets de Chanel for Fashion’s Night Out this year. It’s an opaque beige-peach-brown cream (non-shimmer). On me there’s the slightest hint of warm rose that prevents it from looking too brown or orangey. The finish is smooth and flawless like most Chanel nail colors. It’s very rich in color, although I would say the color of Délicatesse is similar to many other shades from other brands. I expected this to be the case since it’s a basic neutral. Still I am very happy with this color. Depending on the light sometimes this appears to be a lighter peach. Other times it looks like a darker brown-rose. If you’re still debating whether to order, I recommend these blogs with swatches and reviews: Front Row Beauty, Weekend Ramblings, AudreyEleven, and The Polish Jinx (she compares it to Khaki Rose).

Here it is swatched with two coats, two different views:

Here’s a closer look at the nail wheel from earlier this week. I found Délicatesse more peachy than Rose Confidentiel. It’s also more brown than OPI’s Gouda Gouda Two Shoes (this one is more pink and has some shimmer). Dior Sienna is several shades lighter and more nude. Rescue Beauty Lounge Om looks quite peachy compared to Délicatesse.

I swatched a few of the closest ones on my fingers to compare:

While I didn’t find Chanel Délicatesse super-unique, I did find it was different from most of my other neutral peach-browns. I love this color for fall and find it suitable for year round. Being the Chanel nail polish fan that I am I knew I had to have it. I do prefer the other two options though, so if I had to only pick two, it would be Provocation and Infidèle.
Chanel Délicatesse retails for $26 in the US and is currently available at Chanel.com and select boutiques. I purchased mine online at Chanel.com.
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Chanel Fashion’s Night Out Le Vernis in Délicatesse, Provocation and Infidèle

September 13, 2012

Chanel Délicatesse, Provocation and Infidèle ($26 each, limited-edition for Fashion’s Night Out 2012) just arrived last night from Chanel.com. I’m still playing with each of the shades but so far, I’m extremely impressed. I think each shade is gorgeous and perfect for fall. More swatches to come soon, but for now some comparisons. I thought Khaki Rose might be similar but as you can see above it’s quite different (so it didn’t make the swatch wheel).

Comparisons swatched below (same set, just two different views): Chanel June, Rescue Beauty Lounge Om, Chanel Rose Confidentiel, Dior Sienna, Chanel Rose Paradise, OPI Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, NARS Ratin Jot, Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruised, Chanel April, Chanel Fantastic, Chanel Vendetta, Dior Shadow, Dior Orchid, Chanel Vamp and Chanel Diabolic.

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Chanel Skyline Le Vernis

September 10, 2012

US Chanel fans have been eagerly waiting for Skyline to be released. It first appeared on the runways at the Spring-Summer 2012 Haute Couture show back in January. It has finally arrived on Chanel.com for $30 (limited-edition) along with the other Blue Illusion de Chanel items. I’ve heard it is expected to arrive soon at select Chanel Boutiques and Studios (such as the one at Nordstrom Seattle). When I first saw swatches and photos from European bloggers, I thought I would be able to pass. It appeared a bit too frosty for my taste. Who was I kidding? Of course I could not resist. After testing this for the past three days, my feelings are mixed.
Chanel Skyline is a gorgeous periwinkle metallic blue. On Polish Police, A Lipstick a Day, and The Make-Up Blogette, Skyline glows and looks smooth without streaks or bubbles. I had high hopes for this color. As soon as I received it, I went for a much-needed professional manicure. I brought my own Chanel base and top coats to use with Skyline. The result was non-streaky and smooth in color, but it had serious bubbling issues (my husband even noticed before I said anything). I removed it within a few hours and decided to try with a different base coat (Deborah Lippmann’s) and still had bubbling issues. My third try, I used it on bare nails – still with the same result. My fourth try, I finally succeeded. The formula on Skyline seems thicker than most of my other Chanel polishes which makes metallic finish prone to visible brush strokes. It’s not quite as bad as Attraction, but the thickness makes Skyline a bit tricky to apply. I’ve never had so much trouble applying a nail polish before and I’m not entirely sure why. My tips:
  • Make sure you don’t shake the bottle, roll gently if you feel the color needs to be mixed in the bottle
  • Be sure your bottle isn’t warm (room temperature is ok, but this one works better if applied at cooler temperatures)
  • Allow the first coat to dry completely (100% dry) before attempting a second coat
  • Apply the second coat very slowly and make sure it’s not too thick
Some more photos, swatches and comparisons:

I pulled out quite a few blues to see if Skyline was similar in tone to any other colors I own. I found it quite unique. Skyline is most similar to OPI’s I Don’t Give a Rotterdam. I couldn’t find a dupe and most other blues lacked the luminosity that Skyline does. On the fingers it simply glows.
Swatches below include: YSL #141, Dior Glacier, Butter London Lady Muck, Chanel Riva, Chanel Coco Blue, Dolce & Gabbana Anise, Lancome Le Gris L’Wren, NARS Full Metal Jacket, Chanel Graphite, OPI I Have a Herring Problem, OPI I Don’t Give a Rotterdam, Chanel Nouvelle Vague, Chanel Blue Boy, Chanel Blue Rebel, NARS Kutki, MAC Blue India and Estee Lauder’s Wild Storm.

I love the color of Skyline on the fingers. It’s a beautiful glowy blue shimmer that is unique. The formula issues have me at I’m not 100% in love. The higher price tag of $30 just had me expecting something flawless in terms of application. I feel Chanel has improved the nail polish formula over the past years. They make my favorite nail polishes today. Skyline’s formula seems to be a step backwards (based on my experience). I’m not sure if others have had the same application issues – most that I’ve seen seem to report no issues. To anyone who has bought and tried Skyline, I’d love to hear your application experiences and tips/tricks. I did succeed in a decent application on my fourth/fifth tries – but it wasn’t easy. I’ve debated whether or not to add a thinner to this, but I’m worried about altering the formula.

Have you tried Skyline? Thoughts?

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Tom Ford Fall 2012 Blush: Narcissist

September 6, 2012
Tom Ford has released a new blush for fall, a vibrant hot pink satin called Narcissist ($55 for .28 oz/8 g). The pigment is rich and intense but easily blendable with a soft loose brush (I’ve used MAC’s skunk brush to apply). It is indeed very bright on the skin/face (probably the brightest blush I own) but if applied and blended, it gives a lovely healthy pink flush. There is a soft satiny texture to the color – those familiar with Tom Ford Blushes know the texture is phenomenal. Although these are probably the most expensive blushes on the market, I think they are among the best in texture, pigment, and color. Some of his blushes have a more visible shimmer (like Ravish and Wicked, see them all swatched on Karla Sugar). Narcissist does have shimmer but it’s so subtle it’s not really apparent on the face. I like that it has shimmer because it prevents the color from being flat. Narcissist Blush and the two nail polishes, Minx and Dominatrix are the only items I purchased from the fall collection (sight unseen). The high price points make me unwilling to splurge without testing first. Also, the fall collection seems to be a mixture of intense bright colors I usually don’t wear (not really me, but still pretty). Rouge Deluxe has all the new items swatched.

My Tom Ford Fall 2012 picks:

Lightly tapped into MAC’s skunk brush, you see a lot of pigment:

Without a flash:

With flash:

Tom Ford Narcissist is the brightest pink I own. Here are a few others for comparison:

Overall I really adore Tom Ford Narcissist. The color is gorgeous, pigmented, blendable and looks beautiful on the skin. I can’t say I think it’s a must have though, simply because the price is so high. At this time I don’t know whether the fall items are permanent or limited, but I purchased mine from Saks.
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