Chanel Le Vernis in Vamp #18 ($27 for 13 ml/0.4 oz) is one of my most-worn nail colors and is one of the few polishes I’ve used up completely – twice. Vamp was one of my first colors back in the 90’s when Chanel nail polishes were only in the $15-18ish range. The original was different than today’s version but I never kept the bottle after it was used so I can’t provide a comparison of the then vs. now. Chanel Vamp has still remained a cult classic. It’s been swatched and featured on this blog numerous times as the baseline for classic vamp comparisons. See it compared to YSL Prune Minimale, Chanel Provocation, Vamp Favorites (2012 edition), Dior Galaxie, and Chanel Malice to name a few. I have it on the nails this weekend as I’m going through a vampy/aubergine color obsession again.
Chanel Vamp is listed as a permanent shade. You can find it at all Chanel counters and beauty studios. Also online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks. What’s on your nails this weekend?
Fun fact: Karen was the one who inspired me to start my own blog back in 2009. At that time I was in grad school, just starting to get into social media. Karen’s blog was one of my first regular reads. She had openings for guest writers, I submitted an idea and she featured it! The article was on Le Metier de Beaute. She was so encouraging, friendly, and inspiring. I had so much fun with her that I decided to start my own blog.
Her warm and kind spirit shows through her writing style. She’s always upbeat – one reason I love reading her blog each and every day (multiple times a day). If you’re not following her yet, be sure to follow Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog, Twitter @karenmbb, Instagram @karenmbb!
Tom Ford Show Me the Pink #25 Nail Lacquer ($32 for .41 fl oz/12 ml) is a warm nude pink cream with subtle silver sparkles. On my skin it pulls a bit peachy similar to Chanel Emprise (from last Spring 2013), but just a tad lighter and more pink. I found the formula with this color a bit difficult to work with. It too a bit of work to be able to apply evenly and smooths out with 3 coats. I had to spend a lot of time cleaning up the edges near the cuticles. Once applied it does look quite lovely – it’s an understated but pigmented pinkish-peach. The shimmers don’t really show up at all on the nails. Lasting power is quite good with this color.
I can’t say this one is a must-have mainly because I found the formula difficult to work with. I was able to get it to work but it wasn’t easy to apply for me. Do note that I found Tom Ford Vapor from summer difficult to work with while many others had no issues, so your mileage may vary. I wasn’t super excited about the color although my husband and a few friends liked it enough to comment.
Tom Ford Show Me the Pink is limited-edition, as of May 2015, now permanent. It retails for $32 and should be arriving at your local Tom Ford Beauty counters now. You can find it online now at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales.
Tom Ford Black Sugar #24 Nail Lacquer ($32 for .41 fl oz/12 ml) is a plum-taupe cream infused with red shimmer. The mix of colors is quite unique – I haven’t seen anything like it. On my nails Black Sugar applied semi-opaque. The texture was smooth and easy to apply, but two coats didn’t give full coverage. Three coats gave full smooth coverage. Lasting power was quite good, using Deborah Lippmann’s Rehydrating Base Coat and Chanel’s Laque Brilliance Extreme. I was able to get 4 full days of wear before I saw any tip wear. No chipping issues, although by day 4 the sheen from the top coat had worn off and the polish looked a bit dull (Chanel and Dior by comparison manage to stay shiny for me through day 4-5). Tom Ford Black Sugar is a complex shade in the sense that it’s both taupe and plum. The red shimmer is very subtle on the nails. It’s only visible if you look closely in direct light. However it’s not quite as invisible as some shimmers in Chanel shades like Jade Rose or Vertigo.
Here it is swatched, looking warmer and more taupey:
Below shows more plum:
In direct sunlight with flash, more taupe and the red shimmer is visible on the nail (but subtle):
Another view, darker lighting makes the color pull more dusty purple:
Initial thoughts that it looked like a cross between Chanel Particuliere and Paradoxal. Below are comparisons to both and also OPI You Don’t Know Jacques and Chanel Vertigo:
Since Tom Ford Black Sugar, Chanel Paradoxal and Vertigo are the colors with the subtle shimmers, here are two sets of swatches. You can see below that in regular light without flash, Black Sugar has a very similar feel to the OPI You Don’t Know Jacques and Chanel Particuliere.
I really love Tom Ford’s Black Sugar for fall. The red shimmer (although subtle) makes it special for me, but the price tag is hard to justify. I was a little bummed the prices increased to $32 per bottle, but the color is really lovely and I like the quality of this color. It’s listed as limited-edition so if you’re interested I suggest you try to track one down soon. I do think it’s really close to a few other shades so if you’re not crazy about taupes for nails, you may want to pass on this and shop your stash.
Those who have been patiently stalking the web for Tom Ford Beauty Fall – the wait is now over. The fall beauty collection has arrived online at Neiman Marcus. I hope to get the nail swatches up this weekend. In the meantime happy shopping!
Burberry Fresh Glow powders have been on my list for weeks, keep meaning to visit my Burberry counter to test
Giorgio Armani Rouge Ecstasy lipsticks come in some amazing nudes (I bought a peach last week, will go back for one nude and one plum this weekend)
Proenze Schouler PS1 Pochette has been tempting me for months, I keep going back and forth trying to decide if these are practical, still lusting over the lovely colors they have
