I hope you are all having a great Sunday! I am slowly getting back to schedule. During my travels, I spotted Chanel Summer Collection at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. With duty free prices, I was unable to resist and ended up going overboard. I shared my haul with you on Instagram, together with the fun fact that the ladies at the counter suspected that I was a beauty blogger and wanted the link to my blog. This is how we haul right?
Expect to see lots of Chanel next week. As I mentioned earlier, I have an important appointment on Tuesday but I am doing my best to keep up with the blog. A few comments may look like ignored at the moment, but they are not. They will all be answered very soon. I have played with Chanel Summer nail polishes yesterday and today. I wore the purple one yesterday and switched to Terrana today because I was not satisfied with the swatches. I will explain more about it, so let me start my review for one of the most exciting nail polish release of this year, Chanel Le Vernis #717 Coquelicot, #707 Meriterranée, #727 Lavanda and #697 Terrana for Méditerranée Collection.
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| Chanel Le Vernis #717 Coquelicot, #707 Meriterranée, #727 Lavanda and #697 Terrana |
I would like to start with the classical option of the four, Chanel Le Vernis #717 Coquelicot. It looks like Chanel Collections are only complete with a gorgeous red nail polish, which Chanel does to perfection. #717 Coquelicot is not an exception. It has great formula, consistency is perfect. It applies smoothly by the first coat but two coats are needed for opaqueness. I am wearing two coats below. IU didn't expect to love this one but I do. It is not too bright, not too orange, Coquelicot is a very pretty summer shade. Coquelicot means poppy and it describes this shade perfectly.
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| Swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #717 Coquelicot |
I have swatched a few bright reds from my stash together. I don't claim that this is a complete comparison, I have around one hundreds reds at the moment. Each time there is a red release, it takes forever to find the right shades, lol, I hope the ones you would like to see are covered. A recent release, Chanel #687 Phenix (reviewed here) is quiet close but a tad cooler. Chanel #635 Expression (reviewed here) is a little deeper. Chanel #38 Rouge Flamboyant (reviewed here) is also deeper. Dior #750 Captain (reviewed here) is brighter. Chanel #617 Holiday is warmer, more orange. I also included a classical Chanel red, #475 Dragon, which is deeper and cooler.
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| Comparison Swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #717 Coquelicot |
An interesting shade release is Chanel Le Vernis #707 Meriterranée. Chanel released light baby blues and shades of blues as well as some turquoise but, to my knowledge, this is the first teal in the line. I hear that it is going to be permanent, which is great news for blue/green nail polish lovers. The formula of Meriterranée is a little thick but applies smoothly and it covers the nail in only one coat! I prefer two coats for longevity reasons, below swatch is done with two coats.
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| Swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #707 Meriterranée |
Here are some blues and greens from my stash. I thought I had to have a shade which is very close to #707 Meriterranée but it seems I don't. The closest teal shade, a-england Galahad, is a tad lighter. Dior #401 Saint-Tropez and Chanel #527 Nouvelle Vague are both much lighter, turquoise. Chanel #555 Blue Boy is close from the intensity and more blue (less green). I included Chanel #657 Azure although it has metallic finish, the shade is close. Burberry #418 Aqua Green (reviewed here) and Rescue Beauty Sunny Skies are both greener.
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| Comparison swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #707 Meriterranée |
Now that one shade I was waiting for, a vivid purple, so not like Chanel. In the past, they had released deeper purples, almost blackened shades and lilacs. Chanel Le Vernis #727 Lavanda though surprises Chanel fans and pleases team purple, such as myself. A big yay! But... have I seen this shade somewhere? Before we check this out, a few notes about the formula. It is self-leveling, applies beautifully, consistency is great. It is somewhat streaky with the first coat but evens out nicely with the second, so no issues there. I love the balance of red and blue in this one, breath taking.
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| Swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #727 Lavanda |
Once I swatch close colors on the nail wheel, my feeling of having seen his somewhere is justified. Dior released very limited amount of nail polishes, with their Anselm Reyle Collection a few years ago. One of the colors, called Ultra Violet is an almost spot on dupe for Chanel Le Vernis #727 Lavanda although it is very slightly warmer. From permanent YSL line #16 Mauve Naif is also quiet close, again a tad warmer. OPI Do you have this color in Stockholm (one of my favorite recent OPI colors) is slightly cooler but also close. Other Chanel Shades don't come close, that way this shade is unique in Chanel line-up. Chanel #277 Rodeo Drive is more lilac and lighter, Chanel #641 Tenderly is more brown, Chanel #483 Vendetta is deeper and one of my all time fav Chanel purple, #121 Mythe is warmer (because it has gorgeous red hidden shimmer, *happy sigh*).
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| Comparison swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #727 Lavanda |
I saved my favorite to the end. Chanel Le Vernis #697 Terrana is a plummy brown with multi colored shimmer under the sun. It is a very pretty complex shade which make a nail polish lover's heart skip a beat. Also don't worry if you think it is too brown, because it isn't, it has cool undertones which would make it look good across complexions with different undertones. The only issue with #697 Terrana is that the consistency is a little thin. It is completely opaque with two coats and it doesn't show streakiness but if you don't wait enough after the first coat, you may get bubbles, which I have at the moment because I rushed through the application. Still I think this shade is a must have from this collection.
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| Swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #697 Terrana |
I have swatched all interesting shades from my stash in vain. I don't own anything like #697 Terrana. The closest shade must be Chanel #247 Haute Chocolat, which is deeper and warmer. Chanel #54 Spirale is deeper and has more red. Chanel #41 Palpitant and #42 Troublant looked like they might be related in the bottle but swatched there are worlds apart. Also Dior #992 Galaxy and Chanel #457 Tulipe Noire has more red. An older Dior shade, #819 Brown Damask is a warm version of Terrena. Chanel Metallic Vamp is too purple, it would indeed fit better to the comparison with Lavanda.
By the way would anyone be interested in a post about Chanel Vamp Collection? I have collected them all some years ago and I would be happy to share.
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| Compariosn swatch: Chanel Le Vernis #697 Terrana |
Final thoughts: I am loving the nails polishes from Méditerranée Collection for Summer 2015. After very boring releases from other brands, these are like fresh breeze from the sea. My favorite is #697 Terrana which is a lovely complex shade and the only limited edition one, so make sure to get your hands on one. #707 Meriterranée and #727 Lavanda are both not that much Chanel but so pretty too. If you prefer a poppy red for summer, check out #717 Coquelicot.
Are you eyeing any of there? Which one is your favorite?
Disclaimer: The products in this post were purchased by me.
