Last August, Chanel released their Rouge Allure Laque collection in the US which included new rouge allure lipsticks, a new liquid lipstick and new nail polishes. I wrote about Ming, Dragon, Santal and Mythic last fall, but I soon added Coromandel Nail Polish to my collection – a very bright and very warm tomato-orange with slight red tones and has the slightest bit of iridescence in the bottle. The shimmer doesn’t really show up once you apply it. I don’t know that I can pull it off on the fingers but I love it for the toes even though it’s pretty vibrant. It’s one of those colors where I can’t really tell if it’s more orange or more red. It’s one of those right in-between colors.
I tried photographing a comparison of Dragon v Coromandel, but they pictures turned out pretty much the same so you can’t tell the difference. In real life, Dragon is similar, just more red and less orange.
Chanel Coromandel – 2 coats. Sandals by Tory Burch from Nordstrom.
1. Paul & Joe Alice in Wonderland Fantasy Set – So cute, I can’t help but smile everytime I look at my P&J Alice sets. I wish I could take it with me in my purse, but it’s not really practical for toting around. The lipbalm goes on basically clear even though it has a pink tint. I haven’t seen the new movie – anyone who has, what are your thoughts?
2. Chanel Sillage Eyeshadow – From the spring collection, this is a lovely shimmery light highlighting color. It’s along the same lines of Lotus, Liberty and Island eyeshadows but has a bit more pink with slight peach to it. It gives a lovely glow to the lid.
3. Chantecaille Sel Eyeshadow – Yes, of course, I’m always loving at least one taupe shade every month. This month my favorite is Chantecaille Sel – a complex color that has shades of silver, taupe, grey, and gold making this very uniquely stunning. It looks different depending on what angle you hold the compact at. I have a hard time pulling off most silvers. Taupes I can do, but pure silvery shades end up making me look tired. On my skin Sel is more silvery but the gold in it makes it wearable for me which is a plus. I love this over Laura Mercier’s Platinum Metallic Cream Eyeshadow.
4. Giorgio Armani Maestro 23 – This color replaced the original Eyeshadow #4. It’s a deep navy-black with a satin finish that has a slight shimmer. There are definitely other similar colors, but I like that the Maestro 23 isn’t too harsh like most blacks or navys which are typically flat matte shades. The texture makes the finish a bit softer since you can blend and layer it to the intensity you prefer.
5. Lancome Pop Petrol 014 Nail Polish – See the full review plus some other views here. Such a lovely murky steel green blue shimmer. I prefer it on the toes rather than fingers, but I’ve never received so many head-turns, compliments and random women coming up to me to ask “what color is that you’re wearing?” just from a nail polish.
6. NARS Ophelia Lipgloss – Also from spring, this is a sheer healthy pink with shimmer. Looks lovely over the new Cruising lipstick or Tutti Frutti lipstick. (Pictured below, swatch is at the top.)
7. Chanel Maline 141 Glossimer – From the spring 2010 collection, it’s on the sheer side and basically goes on clear, but I love the sparkles in this. It looks great over lipsticks to add a pretty sheen. I really like this over nudes like Chanel Como Aqualumiere and MAC Marquise D. (Pictured above, bottom swatch.)
8. Chanel Gardenia 13 Rouge Coco – This is exclusive to Neiman Marcus. It’s a soft shimmery warm pink on me. I’ve already reviewed/featured this before, but here it is on me below again. It might be replacing my Chanel Waikiki for HG (holy grail) status.
Also check it out on Tali at The Gloss Goss here to see how it looks on a different skintone. It’s gorgeous on her!
9. Chanel Caprice Blush – This came out years ago in the US and is by far the prettiest pink blush I have ever seen. I was really sad that it was discontinued but luckily I have a back up! It’s like a soft pink version of Chanel Rose Bronze/Armani Blush #10 without the bronzey looking finish that these have sometimes. There’s no dupe for this that I know of and I’ve searched hi and lo through almost every high-end brand. No luck.
10. Chanel UV Essential – For the past week, I’ve been using this on top of my moisturizer, underneath foundation as a primer. It’s very liquid and has a thin texture so a little goes a long way. The recommended use is to apply it as the last step of your daily skincare regimen. It works really well for me to make my makeup last all day.
I’ve been meaning to swatch my Rococo Nail Polishes but usually feel you can get a better idea of the color on a full mani or pedi. I realized it would take me forever to get a manicure of every single Rococo nail polish I have. I have been meaning to do my RBLs but still haven’t been able to get through many due to a few other distractions along the way from MAC Abalone Shell, Lancome Pop Petrol and Chanel Rose Paradise. So I’ve decided to swatch each shade on each finger.
You can see my Rococo Nail Apparel line up here at this post Rococo Nail Apparel from Space.NK.apothecary and a full manicure of Reissue here. Rococo Nail Apparel can be purchased in the US at various SpaceNK locations. I got mine from the NY store and Bloomingdales SpaceNK. Each color retails for $16.50.
I highly recommend these other amazing resources I’ve found for additional swatches, reviews, photos (these are the ones I know of):
Swatches Part 1 (two coats each, no top coat) No Shrinking Violet, Tokyo Nites, Organza, R2T2, Andromeda
No Shrinking Violet – vibrant rich shimmery purple
Tokyo Nites – pretty fuschia red iridescent
Organza – pretty nude with pink iridescence
R2T2 – note in my previous photo, I thought it was called Molten Lava, someone kindly corrected me, the shade is actually R2T2, the formula is Molten Lava, this has a non-glossy foiled finish
Andromeda – complex black/grey base with holographic sparkles
In natural sunlight:
The formulas are excellent and easy to apply and last a decent amount of time without chipping or peeling. The price is decent in my opinion for the size of the product. Check out my previous Rococo posts for additional info/reviews.
I’m in desperate need of a real mani ASAP, so I’ll probably be swatching the second round of Rococo’s in a week or so.
This is an up-close feature of the new Chanel Rose Paradise Nail Polish I purchased from Neimans a week ago from the Beauty Week Event. (Read about the other Neimans Exclusive Items Here.) In the bottle, it looks like a complex warm bronzey-pink shimmer, but on the fingers, it went on a bit lighter than it looked in the bottle. I guess it depends on what angle you hold the bottle at. I wouldn’t call it a duo-chrome, but there are so many different colors of shimmer in this little bottle, it looks different depending on how you hold it.
Here it is, 2 coats, and it’s pure love:
Compared to some other Chanel Pinkish Colors:
I am super picky with pink nail polishes. Chanel usually comes out with great pinks. I love other brands like OPI and Essie, but warmer pinks don’t always work for my skin. They end up looking too coraly or have some color in it that makes my skin look very yellow.
I was so smitten with this new color I went back and got a couple more for my sister and mom. It was available on neimanmarcus.com a week ago, but it appears to have sold out. Call your nearest counter – you might have better luck finding it in store. The color is also available at chanel.com as a limited edition color.
My friend and I just checked out the new Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks and we hit up all four major department stores near me to investigate on any store exclusives (yes, we went to all four). We found that only Saks and Neimans had exclusives and we both were delighted with the ones at Neiman Marcus: Rose Paradise Nail Polish and Gardenia Rouge Coco.
In addition to their full Rouge Coco display, Neimans also has a mini unit featuring:
* Rose Paradise #185 Nail Polish (Retails for $23) – a warmer pink rose frost
* Gardenia #13 Rouge Coco Lipstick (Retails for $30) – a soft warm pink base with & cool pink shimmer
* Bel Air #147 Glossimer (Retails for $27) – this is the second repromote for this shade, it’s a classic creamy pink-rose (pinker than giggle)
We both had to get the newer shades and I already had Bel Air from the Les Naturels Collection from last April/May 2009. All the Chanel reps were either wearing the exclusive Gardenia #13 or Mademoiselle #05 (featured on Vanessa Paradis in the Rouge Coco ad). Both colors were stunning on all the artists regardless of skin-tone and coloring.
To clarify – the lipstick is not an exact match for the gloss. It appears they simply decided to repromote the Bel Air to compliment the new lipstick. The artists told me they were also combining Pagoda Glossimer (another favorite of mine) with Gardenia Lipstick for their makeovers.
No flash, natural light:
It looks like Rose Paradise Nail Polish is available on Chanel.com, but it’s currently Out Of Stock which makes me think they might not have got it in quite yet. So perhaps these aren’t really “exclusive” as the little display showed. I’ll do a manicure post on this later in the next week or so, but here it is compared to a few other shades, Ming, Rose Blossom, Paparazzi. The Rose Paradise is a warm shimmery rose, similar to Tarte Love Child Cheek Stain in a nail polish form.
I am sad to see the Hydrabase go away, but the new colors and formula is amazing. I swatched as many as I could fit on my hand and ended up coming home with way too much. If you had or tried any Hydrabase colors you know that there was a strong floral scent and that some of the shades felt a bit dry to apply. Once on the lip they were perfectly fine, but the texture tugged the lips a bit upon application.
The new Rouge Coco Lipsticks have a creamy moisturizing formula that just glides on the lips without feeling too shiny or glossy. I find that it really is the best of all Chanel lipsticks – like if you mixed all three formulas from Aqualumiere, Hydrabase and Rouge Allure together. There is a slight scent, but I could barely notice it. I am thrilled with the new colors and formula. You really can just apply and be done in one swipe. No liner or gloss needed in my opinion.
I thought my wallet would be safe from MAC’s Spring Forecast, but I broke my resolve after peeking at a few items in person. I was intrigued by Abalone Shell Cream Nail Polish from the Amber Collection Series. It looked like a pretty nude in the bottle and it looked stunning in all the pictures/swatches I’ve seen so far on other blogs and message boards.
Yes, I confess, my last manicure was only 2 days ago, but I felt the green was better suited for my toes. The Pop Petrol was getting too much attention and kept turning heads. It made me feel self conscious. I went to get a color change with Abalone Shell and here is what it looks like with 3 coats.
So what do I think? News alert: There is a nude that’s too nude for me. Shocker, I know! It’s a lovely nude, but it just looks too matchy with my skintone making it feel too nude. I feel like it would be amazing if I had a tan. I would like more of a contrast between my skin and the nails for this color. If it had shimmer/pearl, perhaps I wouldn’t mind so much.
It just feels flat and lifeless – and dull. If you’re looking for a nude-nail look, then you’ll love this. I’ll just be saving it for the summertime when I finally get the tan that I so desperately need.
I just received a package from London, thanks to one of my favorite UK bloggers who was so kind to arrange a custom purchase for me. I was ecstatic to be able to get my hands on the Lancome Pop Petrol 014 Le Vernis Nail Color and immediately ran out to get a manicure.
How would I describe it? It’s not quite as teal as the promo pictures showed, but it’s still stunningly gorgeous. I’d describe it as a complex murky deep ocean blue-green. In natural light, it looks dark and almost black, but when the sunlight shines on it, the color flashes smokey greenish blue.
I took quite a few photos to try and show you how it looks at different angles and with different lighting. I hope this gives you an idea of how the color looks.
Please do not republish these photos, thanks!
With flash:
No flash:
With flash against Balenciaga First in Anthracite (2007 s/s):
Without flash against Balenciaga First (2007 s/s):
I did another post on some other teal-greenish nail polishes here. The closest color I have is Lippmann’s Don’t Tell Mama. They are extremely close to each other, the Lippmann is just greener and Lancome has a more smokey finish.
Overall thoughts: I love the color. It’s a beautiful unique smokey green. The formula itself isn’t easy to work with, but it’s no different from other dark greens which seem to have a very sheer/streaky blackish base. Like all the other greens I have, the first coat looks horrid, but after the 2nd and 3rd coats you get the full frost finish. The salon put on 2 thick coats which took really long for it to dry. I would have rather had her apply 3 thinner coats, but was in a rush for a meeting. Overall, huge thumbs up. I’ll try and update in a few days after I see how it wears.
