Chanel Spring has started to trickle into stores in the US. Nordstrom should be receiving their items any day now and Neimans already has the product instore at counters (most of the items have arrived). Chanel.com just launched the spring items online. Of course I could not resist the three new Le Vernis Nail Colours in April, May and June – all cream non-shimmer shades with smooth rich coverage. Although these shades do not appear to be special or unique, I find that Chanel once again has mixed the perfect amount of color to create shades that are amazingly beautiful. Lined up together they remind me of a sunset.
April is a cream mauve plum. In the bottle it looks like almost reddish but it swatches with a hint of purple.
May is a baby soft pink. It’s a neutral-cool, similar to Melrose, but April is slightly warmer in undertone.
June is a soft pastel apricot cream. It’s a lighter brighter version of Miami Peach/Orange Fizz.
Comparisons to other Chanels and 1 RBL, L to R: Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruised, Chanel April, Chanel Fantastic, Chanel Rouge Fatal, Chanel Rose Confidentiel, Chanel May, Chanel Melrose, Chanel Morning Rose, Chanel Riviera, Chanel June, Chanel Peche Nacree, Chanel Miami Peach and Chanel Orange Fizz.
Bottom line: I don’t know what else to say but “love”. *UPDATE* Check out The Purse Forum: Chanel on your nails #2 thread page 408 for awesome comparisons from Elisaq (I think you have to login to see images).
I first learned about Dior Golden Era 207 ($22) when Dior first launched their new nail polishes in the revamped formula online at Dior.com. I instantly googled trying to find swatches. I found some via The Purse Forum from sweetart and peach. (who I just found out has a blog called à la peach) and caved when I ordered Silver Lake last month. At this time I’m not sure if it’s just out of stock or is a limited edition – I checked Dior.com and can’t find it listed anywhere.
Golden Era 207 is a luminous sparkling sandy gold with beautiful multi-colored shimmers. There are glimmering particles of silver, gold, red and transparent tiny glitters suspended in a sheer golden-beige base. The finish is rather sheer but layerable. I needed 4 coats to achieve full coverage so I could actually see the gold color (just my preference). With 3 or less the nail polish makes the fingers glow with a soft sheen. I loved how à la peach showed the layering effect with multiple layers (be sure to visit her blog).
Here are some more shots and close ups:
If you look closely you can see the red shimmers:
I looked through my stash and didn’t see anything quite like it. The red shimmers add that extra oomph to make Golden Era truly unique. I think we need more nail polishes like this. (The red shimmer in this is like the flecks of teal in Chanel Quartz – they add extra depth, dimension and sparkle.) I pulled out my other Diors, no dupes to be found from Timeless Gold, Or Divin, City of Gold or Camel.
Swatch comparisons plus two more golds: Chanel Beige d’Or and Estee Lauder Extravagant Pearl.
I really hope this is just temporarily sold out on Dior.com. Golden Era is such a lovely color and being more of a neutral gold, I feel it would be more universally flattering than the Or Divin from holiday this year. Now if I could only find an eyeshadow like this …
One last shot of Silver Lake and Golden Era side by side:
Here are comparisons to a few other shades. No dupes to be found from what I own, but here is what is in the same color family L to R: Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge, Rescue Beauty Lounge Decorous, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Chanel Particuliere, Dolce & Gabbana Grey Pearl, Dolce & Gabbana Amethyst, Dior Purple Mix, Chanel Rodeo Drive, Chanel Paradoxal, Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant.
Rose Caché 521 Le Vernis is one of three nail polishes released in the Rouge Allure Velvet Collection this year. I had high hopes for the three new shades (as you may know I have problems with restraint when it comes to Chanel nail polish). Rose Caché, Pirate and Rose Exhubérant are all indeed beautiful classics, but seemed like uninspired repeats of past collections. After a few swipes of testing I was pleasantly surprised. The colors are beautiful even though not the most unique. The first shade I put on for a full manicure was Rose Caché 521, a sheer pale neutral nude rose-pink. There is a slight iridescent glow in the bottle similar to what you see in colors Paradoxal and Jade Rose but when applied on the nail you get a creamy non-shimmery finish.
The formula is very sheer and natural, I had to use three coats to get decent coverage and the tips of my nails still showed through slightly. The shimmer does not show up on the nails once applied. Some shimmer will show up when the sun hits the nails directly but it’s very subtle. For my skintone, the color of Rose Caché is very nude and almost mannequin-like. It’s more pink and more visible on the nail compared to Jade Rose, but Rose Caché is still extremely sheer. All swatches below are with 3 coats. I do like that it is non-streaky (it has better coverage than Riva or Jade Rose).
Since Rose Caché is classic and neutral, I think it could be easily duped with other brands, but I don’t think others can replicate the fine iridescent quality Chanel has that give their nail polishes depth and dimension. It’s been quite a while since I stopped looking at neutral creamy pinks from brands like Zoya, OPI or Essie – all the ones I’ve tried are either too pale or too warm. I do have comparisons to some other Chanel neutral pinks as shown below Mica Rose, Magnolia Rose, Rose Satin, Jade Rose, Perle Roseé and Rose Confidentiel. I didn’t think Rose Caché was very unique, but after comparing to other pinks, I found that there’s not really anything quite like it. (Below the angle/flash shows the iridescent shimmer of some of the shades.)
Overall nice to own, but not a must-have. There are some Chanel colors I really wish the shimmer was more visible. Rose Caché is one of them. If what you see in the bottle appeared the same on the nails (plus if it were a bit more pigmented/less sheer) I would have been completely head over heels. Prior to the US release I had googled “Rose Caché” on a weekly basis. I especially loved the features from A Lipstick a Day, Polish Police, Makeup Magpie and Elevensixone’s Flickr Page – all of which I highly recommend you check out.
Did you check out the Rouge Allure Velvet collection? I’m not a fan of the matte or velvet look for makeup so I passed on all the lipsticks and the matte topcoat. I think looking back on the past year, the Soho Collection, along with Spring (Black Pearl Le Vernis) and Fall (Illusion d’Ombres) blew us away in such a way that anything new is hard to top. What did you think of the new Chanel items?
Dior has released a new edgy metallic silver nail polish called Silver Lake in celebration of Allure’s 20th Anniversary. It’s exclusive to Dior.com for $22. If you’re interested I suggest you act fast because it’s limited edition. Silver Lake 071 is a gorgeous complex silver loaded with all sorts of sparkles in shades of silver, gunmetal grey, blue and black. On the nails it’s a cooler-toned metallic with very slight blueish tones. I adore it. First question on everyone’s mind is: how does this compare to Chanel Graphite (click here for feature from last July)? It’s similar in the complexity but different in color. The Dior is more of a silver-gunmetal while the Chanel flashes more gold. I think they are different enough to justify owning both, but that’s just me. Scroll down below for the comparison details but first up are some more shots of Silver Lake. Applied with two coats below.
Dior Silver Lake 071
Dior Silver Lake versus Chanel Graphite
Close up comparison shots to a few other metallic silvers:
Chanel Graphite, Dior Silver Lake, Dior Silver Pearl
Comparisons to more shades: Chanel Graphite, Dior Silver Lake, Dior Silver Pearl,
Dior NY57th, OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous
Bottom line: Yes, you can dupe it with other brands, but I love Dior’s quality and finish. The color is to die for and I prefer it over Chanel Graphite. Those new to my blog, welcome! Kindly do not leave links in the comments as I like to keep this an advertising-free and spam-free blog. Also note all content and photos are copyrighted which means I do not allow photos to be republished, hot-linked, or used on other websites, message boards, forums, blogs etc.
Also, check out Makeup Magpie for her lovely swatches and comparisons.
Le Métier de Beauté has released two beautiful nail sets exclusive to Neiman Marcus this holiday. Each set is priced at $32 and contains four beautiful metallic nail polishes with a stunning leaf ornament. You can see Café Makeup for the press release details and Karla Sugar for swatches of both sets. I died for Merry Metallics and did not hesitate to buy an extra set as a gift. Each come in the signature mini Le Métier nail polish packaging, the colors:
Plum Puddin’ – a rich light plum spun with sheer silver and micro-glitter sparkles
Red-E and Waiting – a sheer red with metallic gold undertones
Tarnished Silver – a moonlit highly metallic platinum
Lamé Entertain You – a foiled shimmering copper with silver undertones
Red-E and Waiting is a beautiful rich red with a gold shimmer infused throughout. On the nail it applies beautifully and smoothly with just one coat although I did not really see any gold shimmer on the nail once applied. I adore this color. One simply cannot have enough reds.
Tarnished Silver is a highly metallic frosted platinum with blueish tones. It’s very similar to OPI Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous but more blue. I find it very festive and gorgeous for holiday. Even though the shimmer factor is high, it’s still office appropriate.
Lamé Entertain You is a beautiful complex coppery pink silver frost. It’s almost foiled-like when you apply it. I adore this one. I put it on as a full manicure and it lasted all week without any chips or tip wear. This color screams “holiday” to me. I want an eyeshadow this color.
Plum Puddin’is the most fun color in the set but least office-appropriate (in my mind). Still for a glittering purple it’s more wearable than most other frosted purples. I’m not a glitter fan at all but the tiny micro-sparkles in this shade add a kick to make this fun to wear. I found the finish on the sheer side even with 2 coats.
One last photo since I know everyone likes comparisons. I found each shade in Merry Metallics unique but here are a few other shades to help you gauge the color based on varying computer screens and my skintone.
Bottom line: Totally gorgeous, festive, and fun. The Le Métier de Beauté StocKen Stuffer Nail Sets are $32 each and currently exclusive to Neiman Marcus. I found mine in-store. The set is worth every penny. Happy Friday to everyone!
Dior Exquis #611 ($22) is one of four nail colors in the Dior Vernis d’Or Collection this year for the holiday season. The theme this year for Dior is gold and each of the nail lacquers are infused with gold powder. Exquis has the complexity of colors like Chanel Peridot and Dior Bronze Libertine but I find that Exquis is softer & slightly less edgy making it easier to pull off for everyday. It is an intriguing color of taupe and brown mixed with gold shimmers. Depending on how the light hits your hands sometimes it looks taupe, sometimes it looks dark brown, other times a golden fawn. The finish is smooth and glossy. It requires two coats for full coverage. I’ve grown to love the chiseled tapered brush – it makes application so much easier.
Pretty gold veins:
I could not find a dupe in my stash. I have seen dupe attempts pop up online though some look quite close. The closest I have is Dior’s Bronze Libertine (Neiman Marcus exclusive from last year), but it’s not quite the same.
Some more comparisons on the nail wheel, L to R: Chanel Khaki Rose, Dior Aztec Chocolate, Exquis, Underground, Czarina Gold, OPI Melody in Mocha, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Sephora by OPI Already Famous, Dior Bronze Libertine.
Coming eventually, each shade from Dior’s Holiday 2011 collection but for now, here are the four lined up (all are limited edition so I recommend you act fast if these are on your wishlist):
