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Nail Polish

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JINsoon Nail Lacquer – Coquette

October 27, 2012

Jin Soon Choi has launched her own line of nail polishes with a launch collection of 12 shades ($18 each for 10 ml/0.33 fl oz). I ordered several colors from Sephora.com and so far am impressed with the formula, pigment and color selection (there’s more product info including the ingredient list online). The first colors launched appear to all be creams or sheers (no shimmers). As soon as my order arrived I swatched five different shades on one hand (loved each shade). It was hard to pick which one to try for a full manicure first but decided on JINsoon Coquette, a sheer jelly classic red. This one has a sheer formula in which the first coat appears to be a fuschia pink red. Two coats achieves a jelly finish in a vibrant red color. There is a slightly blueish sheen that makes it a cool-red. I compared it to Chanel Pirate and found that the Chanel is more pink/blue-based, while the JINsoon is slightly warmer. To me they have similar finishes – jelly-like formula but both apply smoothly with a rich vibrant red finish.
The nail polishes come in a square-shaped bottle with a pull-off black cap. The brushes have a good length for easy application. The bristles have a good shape with a slightly wide/flat tip making application very easy.
More photos and swatches below:

So far I’m impressed with the lasting power. I’m on day three of Coquette and it’s showed no signs of tip wear, chipping or fading yet. In terms of uniqueness this color is pretty standard in terms of the classic red, but I think it’s still striking for a killer-red shade. I’m looking forward to trying the other shades very soon. For now, head on over to Messy Wands to see Auspicious and Rhapsody. They look amazing on her.
Have you tried these yet? What were your thoughts?
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Chanel Malice #637 Le Vernis – Holiday 2012

October 13, 2012

Chanel Malice #637 ($26 for 13 ml/0.4 oz) is the newest nail polish release for holiday this year. I found mine at Neiman Marcus in-store, but the entire holiday collection had not yet arrived (and there were no testers). It’s a stunning drop-dead gorgeous dark wine vamp infused with red shimmer. It’s quite dramatic and deep. The finish is a smooth shimmer. It’s not quite as shimmery or frosty like Delight or Island, but the shimmer isn’t invisible like it is with shades such as Distraction or Jade Rose. I’ve worn this color for three days now with no wear/chipping/peeling. I haven’t been this smitten with a nail color since Black Pearl. I do find it different enough from Vamp to justify owning both.
When the light hits Chanel Malice, the ruby red shimmer glows:

Here it is without direct sunlight hitting the polish:

Malice is a full-coverage polish. One coat was sufficient for full nail coverage but two is better:

Without a flash or sunlight, it looks like your basic vampy polish. A few shots below shown with the latest addition to our family (still not yet named):

I closest shade I could find to Chanel Malice is OPI’s Glove You So Much (from holiday 2009). There are definitely other shades similar in effect and finish. I didn’t find another exact dupe but here are some comparisons to: OPI The One That Got Away, OPI Glove You So Much, Rescue Beauty Lounge Black Russian, Chanel Gondola, Chanel Tulipe Noire, Chanel Rouge Noir, Chanel Red Dream, Dior Icone, Dior Apparat, Chanel Rouge Fatal and OPI Black Cherry Chutney.

Full nail wheel – lightened so you can see the shimmer undertones:

Full nail wheel, same shades/order – darker lighting (more true to the real color):

I think Malice is definitely a must-have. Many may find it too similar to Vamp to justify owning but I adore Malice. I have yet to see the entire Chanel Holiday collection in person yet. I did purchase all the glossimers, the quad and illusion d’ombre. I will do my best to review them in the upcoming week – however right now I’m fully distracted by our new kitty.
Have you seen Chanel holiday yet? Thoughts? I’m dying to see the new blush and eyeshadow duo and anxiously waiting for them to arrive instore.
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Dark Vampy Nails – Fall/Winter 2012

October 7, 2012

I’m loving dark vampy nail polishes right now. This season has brought us some beautiful new shades. My current favorites: Chanel Vamp (not new but a classic), Tom Ford Minx, Chanel Malice (new for holiday), Chanel Provocation (Fashion’s Night Out release) and Chanel Vertigo (fall). All provide full rich coverage with just two coats. Most of these have already been featured on this blog, but here are my favorites this season swatched side by side (I hope you don’t mind the repeats below).

Chanel Vamp #18 – the classic vamp shade, mine has a slightly jelly finish, but this is probably one of the oldest nail polishes I own – I think this bottle was purchased before Chanel reformulated their polishes

Tom Ford Minx – a gorgeous metallic mink-vamp brown

Chanel Malice #637 – the latest release from Chanel for holiday (a more detailed review to come soon), this color is to-die-for, a gorgeous rich dark aubergine shimmer

Chanel Provocation – a perfect plum cream (limited-edition release for Fashion’s Night Out)

Chanel Vertigo – part of Chanel’s fall collection, a gorgeous dusty purple brown grey

What’s your favorite vamp shade this season for nails? Do you have any new favorites or are you pulling out your classics this month?

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Dior Vernis: Nudes in Charnelle, Grège, Trench and Dune

September 24, 2012
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?
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Chanel Provocation Le Vernis

September 18, 2012

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?
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Chanel Infidèle Le Vernis

September 15, 2012

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 🙂
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