It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 1 year since Chanel Particulière 505 Le Vernis was released. I feel that it’s one of those “trendy” shades that has transitioned into a classic. I was never into the taupe nail trend until Chanel released Particulière. What I love about this is how different it looks on everyone depending on skintone. On me it’s a mink-taupe cream with slight cool mauve tones. I love it on the fingers and toes. It’s a color that can do no wrong for me. In the past year, I’ve featured it here, here and here. Here it is again photographed against different colored backgrounds. My DIY manicure is with 2 coats.
This mani/pedi was from the weekend – right after Thanksgiving when I was dreaming of warm sandy beaches. Living in Southern California, I shouldn’t complain, but I spent part of the extended weekend watching Chanel’s Saint-Tropez Cruise 2010/2011 Fashion Show (yes, a few months late) and couldn’t help but feel envious of the beautiful warm-looking weather. I immediately was inspired to make myself feel resort-like the only way I could by doing a Chanel cruise-inspired mani/pedi.
The inspiration from the fashion show, nude pink nails on the hands and blue on the toes. I know most breakdowns list Jade Rose on the fingers, but I decided to go with Inattendu instead for the hands. I stuck with the new Riva on the toes to mimic the models.
Chanel fans have been eagerly waiting to get their hands on the new Riva Le Vernis ($27) from the Côte d’Azur Makeup Collection. I’m sure you all know by now the color has been released online at Chanel.com and also at select Chanel Boutiques. Mine finally arrived today from Chanel.com in a cute black drawstring pouch.
Here it is with 3 coats:
It’s a creamy baby blue with the slightest hint of shimmer. The finish is much like Jade, Jade Rose and Paradoxal in the sense that you see shimmer in the bottle but it applies more like a cream. Unfortunately, the wonderful high quality Chanel finish seems to be a bit lacking in the new Riva. You can get a beautiful smooth finish with 3 coats, but it definitely takes more care and steadiness to get a non-streaky finish. As my dear friend L.R. (a Chanel fanatic like me) says, “One coat is sad, two is much better, three fits the bill.” I couldn’t have described it better.
Below you can see how pastel and milky Chanel Riva is compared to the blue from Louis Vuitton’s Damier Azur Canvas material.
I don’t have very many blues cosmetics-wise, but here are is my small collection. All Chanel. Left to right: Blue Wish (from the Tokyo Happening Collection), Riva, Azur (from Spring 2008), Nouvelle Vague (from Summer 2010)
All swatched with 3 coats, you can see Riva is lighter and softer than Nouvelle Vague. Swatched next to each other, Nouvelle Vague almost looks blue-green.
One more view of Chanel Riva:
Overall thoughts: The color is beautiful but not entirely unique. If it had more iridescence like Azur I would have fallen in love. For me, Riva is like, but not love. Perhaps it’s just too early to think about powder blues when Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. The formula isn’t the best, but it isn’t the worst either. It’s still very workable with 2+ coats. If you have the slightest inkling that you want this, I’d recommend getting Riva now while you can. We all know that Chanel regret can be expensive (cries for not getting Haute Chocolat). Also, Chanel.com has complimentary shipping through 12/16/2010.
I’ll probably put this aside until Thanksgiving is over. Even though it’s not bright or in-your-face, it’s not one of those typical classic nail colors. I’m not so sure I can brave this at the office during this time of year. Maybe you ladies can convince me otherwise.
If any of you have bought this, how are you liking it? And where/when will you be wearing this blue shade?
Where has the time gone? In August, I featured a Chanel Rouge Noir 18 manicure with the intention of writing a dupe post shortly after. It seems I have lost track of time. Chanel Rouge Noir is one of those shades that has reached cult status as one of the most highly sought after shades. Is it simply because it’s hard to find? I’m not entirely sure. It is indeed a gorgeous dark chocolate cherry vampy kind of shade. I love how it will look reddish with one coat and get darker and more vampy with each progressive coat.
What makes Chanel Rouge Noir unique is the reddish base which prevents it from appearing like a straight black. It has a flawless glossy finish with 2 coats. It’s pure love. It’s currently available in the US in one of the Holiday Trio Nail Sets (with Rouge Noir, Gold Lamé reviewed here and Coromandel reviewed here). For those who don’t like Chanel, can’t find this shade or don’t want to splurge on a trio for 1 color . . .
The question is: Can you dupe it?
I pulled shades I thought would be similar. Some turned out to be very close, others not so much so. Here is Rouge Noir compared to colors from OPI, NARS, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Rococo Nail Apparel and Dolce & Gabbana.
I’ve swatched these with 1 coat and then 2 coats so you can see the reddish base in virtually all of these. What I find intriguing is Chanel Rouge Noir vs. Chanel Forbidden. In the bottles above, Rouge Noir looks darker. However when swatched the results are different. (See more vampy swatches here in different lighting.)
With a high flash you can see the reddish base colors come out:
One Coat Swatched:
Two Coats Swatched (Thick):
The verdict: Yes, it can be duped! My take: the closest colors I found are Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat and Dolce & Gabbana Dahlia (with 2-3 coats applied).
If you cannot find Chanel Rouge Noir #18 individually, no need to fret. There are quite a few colors that are similar. Even if the colors aren’t an exact dupe, the effect of each are similar enough that you can barely tell the difference from arm’s length. Hope this helps many of you!
A Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat manicure will be featured shortly. Enjoy the last bits of your weekend 🙂
L to R: Le Metier de Beaute Whisper & Armani Holiday 2010 Shimmer Powder (to be reviewed soon)
Top to bottom: Chanel Star Glossimer, Laura Mercier Pink Diamond, Trish Irresistible Nude, MAC Oyster Girl Lipglass, MAC Gel Lipstick (on tube #3), D&G Perfection Lipstick
L to R: Paul & Joe Pearl Powder #01, MAC Naked Pigment, NARS All About Eve Eyeshadow Duo
OPI Hollywood Blonde Nail Polish, MAC Bare Study Paint Pot
MAC Bare Study Paint Pot, Paul & Joe Pearl Powder #01, MAC Naked Pigment, OPI Hollywood Blonde Nail Polish, Le Metier de Beaute Whisper Highlighter, D&G Perfection Lipstick, MAC Oyster Girl Lipglass, NARS All About Eve Duo, Chanel Star Glossimer, Laura Mercier Pink Diamond Lip Glace, Trish Irresistible Nude, MAC Gel Lipstick
There was much confusion about the Chanel Soho Collection that was released in select Chanel Boutiques for Fashion’s Night Out. Was it exclusive to the Soho Boutique? Was it all Limited Edition? Would anything be released online?
The collection was released online in a few select boutiques. Today there are only 3 items left on Chanel.com (Soho de Chanel Powder, Steel Le Vernis, Star Glossimer). Those who waited too long or prefer to see/test things in person before buying, the GOOD NEWS is that the collection is now available at Chanel counters. I’ve seen this at Nordstrom and confirmed this with my a few other Nordstrom Locations in Southern California and Bloomingdale’s (none of which are the Chanel Studios).
The items from the collection, reviews, swatches & comparisons:
Soho De Chanel Highlighter $65 & Stupendous Quad $56- both reviewed here
It looks like this week will be all about Chanel’s Holiday collection. I apologize for being slow with the roll out of reviews. I need to figure out a way to manage my off-work time better. These days time just seems to fly at all hours of the day. Chanel, however, makes each part of the day better whether it’s having a pretty manicure, a gorgeous gloss to touch up with, or just having a sneak peek into your purse during break time and catching glimpse of that sleek black Chanel compact.
The new glossimers released this holiday include Pleasing 227 (complex cinnamon brown pink sparkle), Charming 237 (sparkling light pink) and Pink Pulsion 247 (sheer but sparkling hot pink). All are gorgeous and I think you’ll love these if you don’t mind shimmer. These are slightly-thick but not super sticky in typical Chanel style. I personally love glossimers and while these are very pretty I have noticed a few things that while slight, still have me thinking hmmmmm …
If you have ever looked at the bottom label of your glossimers you might notice some come with a black sticker label with a number while others come with a clear sticker with a word name. I was told by one of my Chanel specialists a few years ago that the black labels indicate “limited edition” or “European produced” while the clear labels with names were made in the US. I have not confirmed this with anyone else but I have noticed that the recent glossimer releases with the black labels have been slightly more glittery/sparkley than what I see in my older shimmer glossimers. It’s not that I don’t love the finish – I just remember loving glossimers like Pagoda, Spark and Twinkle for their lovely sophisticated shimmer. These days the color seem significantly more sparkley with tiny micro glitters. I find that they still apply beautifully, especially when layered over lipsticks. So what I’m trying to say is that while I find these newer glossimers different, different doesn’t mean bad. Different is just, well, different. They are still gorgeous, wearable, non-gritty and luxurious.
Anyhow – I found Pleasing very unique and pigmented. It’s simply stunning even though it’s more on the frosty side. Charming is gorgeous, but I prefer some of my other pink shades. Charming is very sheer and goes on practically clear on me. Pink Pulsion is hot though. Everyone knows I’m a huge neutral-makeup lover, but Pink Pulsion is absolutely stunning. I couldn’t find dupes for any of the colors but pulled some from my extensive Chanel stash to do some comparisons for you. Are they a must have? If you’re asking me this question I will say you’re asking the wrong person. If asked “is this Chanel product worth having?” 8.5 times out of 10 I will say yes. So if you’re looking for someone to talk you out of buying something from Chanel – don’t look at me.
Comparisons, swatches in different lighting plus close ups:
Note that the swatches are not in the same order as the photo above:
Close ups of the comparisons:
Chanel’s Holiday collection has also been swatched by the lovely Karla Sugar. Be sure to check out her post here if you haven’t already.
Also check out NaturalNChicMakeup for lovely swatches and you’ll see how different this collection looks on all three of us.
