Sometime this past January, I began dreaming of summer … specifically a CHANEL summer. I lay the blame for this fixation directly at the feet of the early promotional photos I was privileged to see; one can’t help but fall head over heels for this fabulous and so totally wearable, limited edition collection. I couldn’t resist last year’s CHANEL summer offering, and this year was no exception either; if anything, it proved how weak my will is in the face of all this beauty!
Capturing the vibe of a glorious summer spent at some luxury locale (I’m picturing Cap Ferrat …), the three varnishes that make up this collection perfectly embody the key elements of the season, both in name & in colour: ‘Island’ – representing the ethereal bounty of the seas with its shell-like hue, ‘Delight’ – bringing to mind the soft beach sand under your feet, and ‘Holiday’ – a burst of colour the exact shade of a tropical sunset. The following swatches are all with both base and top coats.
‘Island’ tucked into a shell – a perfect mimicry of hues!
#597 Island, is an elegant seashell pink shade with slight flashes of blue and violet for added depth, and beige-y undertones which impart a nice warmth – all in a pearlized gleaming formula. A very wearable and “clean” hue, its delicate duo chrome makes it modern and fresh, although it must be noted that your base coat needs to be completely dry before you apply any colour, or it could cause some dragging issues. The pearly finish also means you need to take care with your application in order to avoid any visible brush strokes. The least glossy of the three, a layer of top coat really brings out all its delicate nuances. Coats applied: 3.
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
I was surprised to find that I really didn’t have anything closer to ‘Island ‘ than ‘Rose Baby’, an older CHANEL lacquer. While both shades bear a similar pearl finish, ‘Rose Baby’ is a straight up baby pink shade without the hidden flashes and beige undertones that make ‘Island’ so much more complex, and the formula was definitely streakier with the first coat. The following swatches are: index & ring fingers – ‘Rose Baby’, middle & pinkie fingers – ‘Island’.
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
#607 Delight, is pure molten perfection; a gleaming light bronze hue with a rose-gold cast and filled with silver & coppery metallic flakes, this medium-thick formula flowed exceptionally well, with hardly any visible brush strokes and leaving behind a beautiful foil-like look. A very goof-proof application, I was impressed by how quickly it dried, its incredibly reflective shine at the end, and how easy removal was. Coats applied: 2.
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
Naturally, I went hunting for a duplicate, but the closest I could come, both in colour and in finish, was ‘Designer…de Better’ (previously reviewed here) from OPI’s Holiday 2011 collection. What I found instead, was that these two shades appeared to be mirror images of each other, with the OPI appearing more silver and with larger golden/copper flecks throughout, next to ‘Delight’s’ richly smooth shimmer. The following swatches are: index & pinkie fingers – ‘Designer…de Better’, middle & ring fingers – ‘Delight’.
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
#617 Holiday, a colour-saturated, crème-jelly hybrid in a richly vivid tangerine shade, bears the type of formula that CHANEL has justifiably become known for. Almost a 1-coater due to its intense pigmentation, this über-glossy and completely self-levelling shade almost applies itself – the formula is THAT amazing. While practically every brand has their own version of this year’s “it” hue, what sets ‘Holiday’ apart is that is appears more as a true orange, without any visible red, pink, or even yellow undertones that I’ve seen with other similar shades. Coats applied: 2 (and that’s pushing it, really!)
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
Interestingly enough and while I have quite a few orange-hued lacquers, the only one that almost perfectly matched ‘Holiday’ was none other than another now-legendary shade, Dior’s ‘Aloha’ (previously reviewed here) from last year’s Electric Tropics Catwalk Duo. Bearing almost identical formulas (applies like a crème, shines like a jelly) and incredibly close colour-wise, the only notable differences I found were that ‘Aloha’ appears to have a hint more yellow in its base and just barely more sheer. My photos didn’t really capture any differences between the two, although seen with the naked eye you can definitely tell them apart. All swatches are: pinkie & index fingers – ‘Aloha’, middle & ring fingers – ‘Holiday’.
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
Final thoughts: No doubt about it, CHANEL has once more brought summer to gleaming life with these three limited edition varnishes. I love how different each shade is from the other, both in finish and in colour, and yet how beautifully they compliment each other, offering numerous mani/pedi options. With ‘Island’ and ‘Delight’, I was surprised that even in a collection as large as mine, I really didn’t have anything close, while if you were lucky enough to snag Dior’s ‘Aloha’ last year, you could probably pass on ‘Holiday’ (all these lacquer names are urging me to book a flight to Hawaii….!), although with a formula as sublime as this, I wouldn’t let this beauty get away – especially if you collect CHANEL varnishes like a certain beauty blogger ahem, cough!
So ends my first “chapter” of what I like to call my Wedding Anniversary Bounty … more to follow, naturally!
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