I’ve spent the week doing a bit of organizing! I’m holding a blog sale to clear out some backups and lightly used items that I haven’t used in a while. Please click this link to see the listed items and details. Items in the blog sale are only available for shipping to US addresses. Happy shopping!
I’ve been loving the nude-makeup theme this year from Dior. I haven’t had a chance to look at the new lipsticks or trios yet, but I immediately ordered the four new nail polishes in Charnelle #115, Grège #413, Trench #223 and Dune #715 as soon as I could ($23 each). I love the formula on these nail colors – they are smooth in coverage and very easy to apply. Charnelle is a pale nude cream with slight pink tones. It’s very sheer and required three coats for me to get even coverage. Grège is my perfect nude in the sense that it matches my skintone almost perfectly to give mannequin hands. There is some warmth to it so it’s not a dead-looking beige. Trench is my favorite. It’s a warm brownish tan shade. On my fingers it turns slightly cooler-toned than what you see in the bottle. Dune is a darker bark brown. It’s cool-toned.
Here are the four shades swatched on my fingers. All with two coats, except Charnelle which required three. Note that I’m probably around a Chanel B30-40 right now, NARS Alaska, Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation in Tan.
Grège
Trench
Dune
Nudes definitely aren’t new and there are only so many ways one can reinvent nude makeup. I can’t say any of these are absolutely must-haves, especially if you already have nude nail polishes in your collection. Still, these colors/formulas from Dior are quite nice. Since I collect nail polishes from Chanel and Dior, I found it easy to justify adding to my collection.
For dupes, I believe there are probably many other colors that will give a similar look. There are a number of other blogs that have done excellent comparisons to a wider variety of brands. I don’t own a lot of OPI, Essie or drugstore brands for nail polishes, but I recommend you check out Kais Obsessions, the make-up blogette, Fruity Lashes to name a few for more extensive comparisons.
Here are my comparisons:
Did you check out the new nudes from Dior? Any must-haves for lips, eyes or nails?
Right now I’m loving contrasting nude and vampy colors. I haven’t done extensive at-home testing yet on all the items, but I loved reviews I’ve seen on other blogs and of course ran to the counters over the past couple weeks to try in-store (fun at Sephora, Nordstrom and Neimans). Reviews to come soon but for now I’ve linked a few other blogs I really liked featuring these items.
Loving the above nudes: Dior Charnelle, Grege and Trench Nail Polishes (see them on Kais Obsessions), Bobbi Brown Uber Beige Lipstick, Make Up Forever Aqua Shadow in 28E (see it on Beautezine), MAC Day Gleam Pressed Pigment (swatched on Dyno Pretty Pup).
Chanel Provocation Le Vernis is an intense dark vampy plum-wine. The color has a high-gloss finish and goes on with smoothly. It’s a classic fall vamp nail color. It darkens with two coats but I love that the purple tones are still visible. I really love this color.
Swatched with two coats:
There are a number of other dark vampy plums on the market. There are quite a few alternatives that are similar to Chanel Provocation. I didn’t look at all of the plums I own to compare, but I suspect there is a good dupe out there. Chanel Provocation is similar to Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruised and Chanel Diabolic on the nail wheel. RBL Bruised is lighter and Chanel Diabolic is deeper and more brownish.
A few comparisons of the closest shades I could find shown below. Chanel Vamp is significantly more reddish, Dior Shadow is more purple/blue, Dior Orchid is close but has more red, Provocation has the most dusty-purple tones, Chanel Vendetta is almost blue/violet when compared side-by-side.
Bottom line I think it’s a must-have even though it’s not the most unique shade. The coverage is smooth and opaque. It gives a defined edgy look that’s perfect for fall. Did you pick up any of the Twin Sets items this year? Which color/item was your favorite?
Chanel Infidèle Le Vernis is a beautiful mauve pink rose. It’s my favorite of the three Fashion’s Night Out polishes. The color is richly pigmented. I love that it seems to bring the fingers to life. It’s an intense pink but still demure. I like that it’s different from many of the bright pinks Chanel likes to create for the nails (ala Riviera, Rose Insolent, Rose Exhuberant etc.). It’s listed as limited-edition and retails for $26. I think it’s a must-have.
Here it is swatched on me with two coats:
Close up of the nail wheel:
Some nail swatches on the fingers, on the nail wheel (two posts before) Infidèle looks like a close dupe Rose Confidentiel. On the fingers side by side, you can see the difference. Rose Confidentiel is more beigey and a more peachy pink while Infidèle is cooler-toned and more mauve.
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.
