Chanel’s Fashion Night Out 2012: Delicatesse

 Oh wow, two posts in one week!  I promise it’s not a sign of the apocalypse, haha.  I just was going through my computer and realized I have so many manicures that I photographed and never wrote about! 

Today I have for you the second polish from Chanel for last September’s Fashion Night Out, Chanel Delicatesse.  Delicatesse is a beautiful blend of rose, mauve, and brown and is a perfect neutral that didn’t fade into the background when I wore it.  The formula was great and buttery, as to be expected from Chanel.  This is two coats of Delicatesse.

This first photo may not be the best angle of Delicatesse, but I loved how it looked in front of the burnt red wall.

Here is Delicatesse in sunlight.

And another close-up of the color.  See what I mean about complementing my skin tone without fading into the background, a la mannequin hands?

Similar to Chanel Infidele, I found Delicatesse to not be the most unique color but a welcome addition to my collection.  I’ve worn manicure a few times and I find it to be a great neutral option for the work week.  Delicatesse was a limited edition release for Fashion’s Night Out, but is still available online at Chanel.com (it was also sold at Chanel boutiques, but I think it’s sold out in stores for the most part now).  Chanel Delicatesse retails for $27/bottle (thanks for the price increase, Chanel!  Sheesh!).

What do you think?  Do you own Chanel Delicatesse, or any of the polishes released for Fashion Night Out 2012?  I would love to hear your thoughts – sound off in the comments!

Chanel Diwali

It’s a new year, and one change I’ve made lately when it comes to beauty is to focus on quality over quantity.  After spending some major $$ over the past few years exploring every brand under the sun, I finally have an idea of which products from which brands work well with my skin, so I’m focusing now on sticking with those favorites and taking it easy on the exploration of random brands/products.  Yea, $40K tuition will take the wind out of makeup hauls.  On the nail front, I’ve significantly cut down my collection and this year am pretty much limiting new purchases to my favorite brands only – Chanel and Dior.

Chanel Diwali is a limited edition release from the Bombay Express de Chanel which I think was released last fall.  It’s a pale champagne gold with an incredibly smooth texture.  Last December I was looking for a great gold for the holidays, and after searching swatches and swatches I went for the pale gold of Diwali instead of the intense yellow gold of Chanel Gold Fingers.  These swatches are 3 very thin coats of Diwali; I certainly could have left it at 2 coats, but wanted to get full coverage on the nail.  The polish was amazing applied, and gave me such a glamorous feel on my nails.

Here’s Diwali on a bright, sunny morning (apologies for my nails, they’ve been breaking like crazy this winter):

I don’t know which I loved more on this day – the polish or the great weather! Days like this are why I endure the craziness of life in Los Angeles.

The next photo was taken in the shade, and best shows off the texture of Diwali on the nail:

 
 
I simply adore Chanel Diwali.  I haven’t had a polish get me this excited in awhile.  It was great for the holidays, and I know I’ll be bringing it out in the spring and summer, just as soon as flip flop and summer dress season is upon us.  Diwali is a limited edition release and is only available at Chanel boutiques and Chanel.com.  It is slightly more pricey than regular Chanel polish (I think this was $28 or $29) but completely worth it in my opinion. 

Do you have Chanel Diwali?  Let me know what you think in the comments!

Chanel's Fashion Night Out 2012: Infidele

Hi Everyone!  Yes, I'm still alive!  Grad school is kicking my butt!  It's been a crazy first quarter, with meeting so many people and learning to juggle work with two classes.  How I'm going to survive this for three more years, I'm not sure!  Ha.  But I'm having a lot of fun figuring it out.  The quarter is winding down, with finals next week, so hopefully I can do more blogging over the winter break.

Because even if I haven't been blogging, I've certainly been polishing!  And doing more hauling! Ha.

Today I want to share with you a lovely polish I picked up in September for Fashion Night Out.  I've come to look forward to this event so much, and primarily for the limited edition polishes Chanel releases for the occasion.  In 2010 it was Les Khakis de Chanel, with the much loved Khaki Brun, Khaki Rose, and everyone's favorite Khaki Vert.  Last year gave us Les Jeans de Chanel, with three stunning takes on blue in Coco Blue, Blue Boy, and Blue Rebel.  What did Chanel have in store for us for 2012?  A slightly different take - three exclusive polishes, but three matching lipsticks as well - Les Twin-Sets de Chanel.  I passed on all three lipsticks (and am sorely regretting not picking up L'Provocante now), but did snatch up all three polishes,  the first of which I have to show you today - Infidele.

Chanel describes Infidele as an 'intense pink with a burst of energy', and that it most definitely is!  And while it's certainly bright, it has a slight dusty quality that made it perfect for the sunny fall day when I wore it.  This is two coats of Infidele, and the formula was buttery perfection.  Normally I don't notice formula -as in, I don't really have problems with most - but when a formula is exceptional, I notice.  And Infidele is definitely exceptional.

 Infidele was certainly ready for its close-up:

... and here is a super warmed-up version of Infidele, in bright direct sunlight - it shows the hint of rosy dusk in the color:

Is Infidele the most unique color I've ever seen?  Probably not.  Did I have anything like it in my collection?  Nope.  Am I happy it came home with me with the other two beauties, Delicatesse and Provocation?  Absolutely!  (Reviews on both coming  soon!)


If you missed it in September, you can still purchase Infidele from Chanel.com.  Each polish retails for $26 - a steep price tag, so only take the plunge if you love Infidele or you're a Chanel addict like yours truly.  :)

Dior Acapulco

 Happy Wednesday!  How’s everyone’s week going?  Life has been super busy for me lately with all the planning to go back to grad school, and it’s only going to get worse as grad school actually kicks off next week! Ha.  Anyway, even when I’m not blogging, I’m still using mani/pedis as my relaxation technique, so I have tons of photos for these precious moments when I do have time to blog!

Today I have for you a bright polish perfect for summer, Dior Acapulco.  Earlier this summer Dior released the Summer Mix collection, four bright jelly-finish polishes with a gorgeous, high-gloss finish.  I picked up two polishes from the collection, Lagoon (blue tinted teal) and Acapulco, a bright, bold yellow.  Now, I’ve not had a lot of luck in the past yellows, as they tend to be very streaky and so difficult to get full coverage.  So how did Acapulco do?  Judge for yourselves!

The first photo is in direct, bright sunlight, while the second has a little shade.  I had to do 3 coats for this mani, and I think it was totally worth out – Acapulco is gorgeous!  There's still a little visible nail line showing through even after 3 coats, but I don't mind - this is such a buttery, rich yellow that I love it even with a little VNL!

Dior Acapulco, along with the rest of the Summer Mix collection, is available through Dior boutiques and retail for $23 each.  I don’t know if this collection ever made it to Dior counters (such as Nordstrom or Saks), but you may want to call around or do some googling if you have a difficult time finding it.  Happy Hunting!

Blog Sale Update!

I've overhauled my blog sale!  I've added a lot of HTF glitters, holos, and fun new releases too.  If you're in the US, check it out here!

China Glaze Ride the Waves

 Happy Sunday!  How’s everyone’s weekend going?  Any fun events!  I’ve been hanging around the apartment all weekend, cleaning, re-organizing, and de-cluttering.  Two rooms done so far, and it feels like success!  I also did some nail polish hauling yesterday for some international friends, and bought myself a polish or two (but not too many – as I said, I’m trying to de-clutter! ha).

One of the polishes I picked up yesterday was China Glaze Ride the Waves, a somewhat neon blue from the new neon collection for summer 2012.  Ride the Waves isn’t exactly neon, but it’s definitely vibrant, a bright, squishy jelly-like true blue polish.  I saw this in the bottle and immediately thought MUST. HAVE.  The photos below have 2 coats of Ride the Waves.  As you can see, there’s still a little visible nail line; for my next mani it will definitely be 3 coats and I also need to wrap the tips, so the color doesn’t pull back at the tip as it does here. 

Because it’s Sunday Funday, I also added a coat of Nubar White Polka Dots to jazz things up.  All in all, I love the combination!

A look at Ride the Waves in sunlight…

 … and in shade…

 … and the close-up:

A great bright blue for summer, right?  I am in love with Ride the Waves, and will probably be using this as a pedi color very soon.  White Polka Dots was a little difficult to work with – the larger glitters had all settled to the bottom of my bottle, so were a little tricky to get on the nail – but I still love it, and can’t wait to play more with this simple yet pretty glitter soon!

Chanel Rose Cache

Hey nail fanatics!  How’s your Thursday going?  It’s another overcast day here in LA – June Gloom is in full effect – which means crappy weather for photographing.  So instead I went through my photos to find a mani I haven’t shown you yet!

Today I have for you Chanel Rose Cache.  This is a sheer, nude colored polish with a pretty light pink shimmer.  Normally I don’t go for these nude colors at all, but this past winter I was in a nail polish exchange on one of my favorite forums and saw this polish; at the same time I was getting ready for grad school interviews and new I didn’t have anything conservative in my collection, so I grabbed this one up.  I’m so happy I did!  It’s a great neutral-but-not-boring polish.  This is 3 coats of Rose Cache. 

 Here’s a shot in direct sunlight….
 

…and another in indirect sunlight (it was a glorious day in LA!)…

I really like Rose Cache, but I also really dis-like visible nail line, which still shows through after 3 coats.  I’d heard that Dior Incognito, released in the Spring 2012 Color Block collection, had a similar base color as Rose Cache without the shimmer, so I picked up a bottle.  I’ll photograph a comparison of the two soon for you!  Either way, I’m holding on to Rose Cache for now; it’s not an instant love, but it’s a strong like, and maybe I’ll give it another chance…

Rose Cache was released in December 2011 and is currently available online at Chanel and at my favorite department store, Nordstrom.  Each polish retails for $26 for a 0.5 fl oz bottle. 

Make it a great day!