Chanel

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.

A few other blogs/photos that I loved of this shade: Lana Danilova, AudreyEleven, Peanut Buttered, The Purse Forum – Chanel on your nails, Weekend Ramblings. Bottom line: love this color. I don’t have any of the lipsticks yet, I’m still waiting for Nordstrom Seattle to receive their FNO shipment 🙂

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.

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:

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?