Nail polish Review and swatches- Chanel Azure 657

To teal or not to teal...

Newly launched, as part of the L'ete Papillon de Chanel collection, the Azure 657 nailpolish made me really happy.  It glimmered in a teal-gold-blue trifecta of perfection in the bottle and hinted at a beach vacation somewhere fabulous.

Unfortunately, my reality tends to be more of a harsh wake up call and that's exactly what happened.

For the gory details, pray continue..

Color:

The color is a beautiful teal with shimmery gold overtones and a deep blue undertone.  It looks like a teal-gold mostly with hints of blue as the light hits it at different angles.  All in all, it's a color I'd expect a mermaid to wear on her nails.  It's beautiful and perfect for summer. The pigmentation is however, not as strong as Bel-Argus or other Chanel nail polishes I've tried in the past.  It took me 3 coats to achieve full opacity.  That's a slight letdown because Chanel nail polishes are typically exceptionally pigmented and it usually takes me just 2 coats to get a perfect, opaque finish.  At this pricepoint, I'd expect better pigmentation.

Texture:

Smooth to the touch and metallic in finish.  That being said, the polish was definitely thinner and more liquidy than Bel-Argus which basically resulted in visible brush strokes and streakiness.  While the nailpolish didn't pool at the edges of the nail, the brush strokes were visible with every coat I put on.  I think the only way to perhaps minimize the glaring visibility of the brush strokes would be to layer a thin coat of topcoat after applying Azure on your nails.  This was basically the dealbreaker/heartbreaker for me because I really, *really* wanted to love this nailpolish.  

Longevity:

I wore 3 coats on my nails for a week with no chipping and very minor tip wear.  This is a testament to Chanel's nail polish quality because when I've used other nail polishes, I've found that layering multiple coats usually makes it more prone to chipping.  You'd think the opposite, right? Me too :)

Price:

Azure retails for $27 and is on the higher end of the nail polish market.  It's a gorgeous color and I'm not aware of any dupes for Azure on the market yet but I'm sure that there should be more options in the coming months given that green is the color of the year!

Honestly, despite the fabulous color, the texture and  finish are deal breakers for me.  At $27 a pop, I expect better quality and consistency and unfortunately, this product failed to deliver on those two counts.  

Product Images and Swatches:

Chanel Azure- green-gold overtone

Chanel Azure- Dark blue undertone ( I tried taking the pic from another angle to capture the blueness!)

Chanel Azure swatch

Did you buy this shade from the L'ete Papillon de Chanel launch?  What was your experience with it? I'd love to hear your thoughts..

have a beautiful week,

B

Product Review and Swatches- Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows

Eyeshadow sticks for Spring/Summer

Chanel's latest collection, L'ete Papillon de Chanel, launched recently and has whipped up quite a frenzy in the makeup world and with good reason, the collection is inspired by butterfly wings!

I was lucky to snag a few shades of the Stylo Eyeshadow and will be reviewing them in this post.

The shades I bought were:
 

Top to Bottom: 07 Moon River, 17 Cool Gold, 07 Jade Shore

37 Jade Shore: Green-blue with green-gold micro shimmer 

37 Jade Shore

17 Cool Gold: Light yellow gold with gold micro shimmer

17 Cool Gold

 
07 Moon River: Taupe with subtle bronze micro shimmer


 

07 Moon River

Pigmentation:

According to Chanel, the water-infused formula creates a shimmering veil on the lids.  I actually agree with them.  All the shades I tried went on sheer.  However, the color is buildable if you go back and forth a couple of times.  I also compared these to the Illusion D'ombre eyeshadows that Chanel carries and the Stylos are definitely more pigmented than the Illusion D'ombres. 

Swatches:

These are heavy swatches (I went back and forth a couple of times to bring out the color of these shades).

Note: Jade shore showed up more blue than green in the swatch below.  It's more greenish in real life.

Left to Right: Moon River, Cool Gold, Jade Shore

Ease of Application:

The stylo eyeshadows are in a stick form and packaged in a pen applicator that twists up.  

The packaging ROCKS because:

1. Easy to travel with-  The lid to the applicator snaps down with a sharp click and is very secure.  I don't have to worry about the lid coming loose in my bag and all sorts of gunk sticking to the eyeshadow.
2. Precision- If I'm in the car or on the train, I can just whip the stylo out and swipe my eyes with it.  The shape of the eyeshadow stick is contoured to the shape of the eye and that makes it easy to get a precise swath of color.

Longevity:

The Stylo eyeshadows have a water-infused formula and they were cooling to the lids when I applied them.  The cooling sensation lasted while the eyeshadows set- about 10-15 seconds.  They didn't budge once they set and I wore them for 7 hours without any issues.  There was slight fading after 7 hours but it wasn't horrendous.  Also, I have the world's oiliest lids so this product is definitely long lasting!

Overall Rating:

These eyeshadows perform as advertised.  However with the exception of Jade shore, the other shades seem to be easily dupeable.  Several drugstore brands and premier brands carry long wearing eyeshadows nowadays and while the shades are lovely, the price point ($34 for 0.05 oz) makes it more of a splurge than a "must buy" in my opinion. 

I hope you found this review helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

have a lovely day,

B

Nailpolish Review and swatches- Chanel Bel-Argus 667

I'm blue and  loving it...

 

Why, Chanel? Why?

Everytime I promise myself I'm not buying any more nail polishes, you come out with a shade that makes me weak in the knees.  I become a Chanel nail polish zombie and faithfully go online to immediately buy the offending nail polish.

Which brings me back to my original question.  Why, Chanel? Why?

Bel-Argus 667 is a fantastic new shade that's part of the L'Ete Papillon de Chanel Collection I wrote about in an earlier post.  It's a shimmering metallic blue shade that looks like the Caribbean on a warm, sunny day.  It also reminded me of the deep blue in peacock feathers, an overcoat I saw in a Paris flea market that I loved but didn't fit in and a Kashmir sapphire that I deeply lusted after!  Sigh, a girl can dream....

Here's the breakdown/the nitty-gritty/the whatnot that makes Bel-Argus a *must have*, in my humble opinion:

Color: 

A deep metallic blue with a purple-teal duochrome.  Seriously, it's like a butterfly wing on your nail.  The color change is striking depending on the angle of the light- it shifts from deep blue to purple to teal.  It's a shapeshifter! Buy it now! :)

Also, most deep blues in my experience have a black base that makes them a bit unwearable.  However, this color is perfectly balanced and wearable.  2 coats were enough to achieve an even, opaque look.

Texture:

Smooth to the touch.  The polish flowed evenly over my nails without bubbling, streaking or pooling.

Longevity:

I wore 2 coats without a top coat for a week with no visible chipping or tip wear. This is great because I am extremely clumsy and usually chip my nails within a day or two with other nail polishes.  Chanel's polishes are pricey but they also do offer longer wear times so it's a good value, I feel.  

Price:

This is pricey at $27 but if it's a color you'd enjoy wearing and want to treat yourself, I recommend buying it because of the durability of the wear and the gorgeousness of the color! :)

Here are a few pics taken in my patio in daylight so you can admire the sheer power of shimmer in this baby!

Product Images and Swatches:

Deep blue overtone

Purple undertone

Teal undertone

I almost dropped the nail polish here!

Does this nail polish rock your world like it did mine?

until next time,
Batul

Chanel Summer 2013 Launch- L’Ete Papillon de Chanel

A Summer of butterflies- Info and photos

Chanel is timelessly chic and let’s face it, horrendously expensive :)
 

Just keeping it real…

That being said, their latest collection, L’Ete Papillon de Chanel is worth splurging on.  The color palette is  inspired by butterfly wings...Resistance is futile..

Check out the promo pictures below.  They made my heart sing with joy.

The Limited Edition collection features the following:

Stylo Eyeshadow

 

These eyeshadow pens have a cooling, water infused formula that leave a shimmering veil on your lids.   

They’re $34 each and come in the following colors:

• Platinum: Moon River
• Gold: Cool Gold
• Pink: Pink Lagoon
• Silvery Turquoise: Blue Bay
• Sage green: Jade Shore
• Silvery black: Black Stream 

Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eye liner

·     

      There's only 1 eyeliner in this collection and it retails for $30.

•      Turquoise: True Blue

 

Inimitable Mascara  

 

Waterproof and multi-dimensional mascaras.  The way I see it, you can cry tears of joy once you have them on and NOT have color streaking your face.  These are perfect for summer and I will be doing a few looks with the ones I've ordered.  

They're $30 each and come in the following colors:

• Blue Green: Aqua Blue
• Lemony yellow: Zest
• Bright Green: Lime Light
• Bright Blue: Blue Note
• Black: Noir (This is part of their permanent line)

Les 4 Ombres

A baked eyeshadow quads with matte, satin and shimmer shades in the blue-green-gray family.  For a gentle wash of color, apply dry.  For an intense, dramatic look, apply wet.  

This retails for $59.

• Metamorphose

 

Rouge Coco Shine

These are hydrating, sheer lipsticks that leave a very soft shine on the lips.  They give a hint of color without depth/saturation.   

They’re $34 each.

• Raspberry: Pygmalion (The literary geek in me loves the reference)
• Peach: Idylle

Levres Scintillantes

Chanel is famous for their glossimers. They’re shimmery lip glosses that aren’t sticky or gritty.  Layer them over a lipstick or wear them over bare lips and you’re set!   

They're $29.50 each.

• Coral: Envolee
• Shimmery Beige: Zephyr (this is a perfect neutral for any season)
• Light Raspberry: Eden

Le Vernis 

Nobody does nail polish like Chanel.  Their formulas are amazingly multi-dimensional, opaque, complex and spread evenly without streaking.  This is one little luxury I splurge on…:)

They’re $27 each.

• Deep, Caribbean blue: Bel-argus
• Blue-Green: Azure
• Bright Coral: Lilis

The collection is now available online on Chanel.com, Nordstroms, Saks and Bloomingdales.  It's also available at Chanel counters.

I ordered a few products and will be posting reviews shortly. Stay tuned.

Happy Friday,

B