Chanel Le Vernis Blue Boy

For 2011's Fashion Night Out, Chanel released a trio of blue nail colors in a collection called Les Jeans de Chanel.  A limited edition, and sadly for us, retailed at a higher price point at $29 a bottle.  I had to overcome my sticker shock, which didn't take long really, and submitted my order immediately after it was made available on the Chanel website.  Even with all frenzy and excitement of this release, I was able to show some restraint and picked-up only 2 of the colors from the collection; the other being Blue Rebel.  I couldn't justify putting down another $29 for Coco Blue, a color I know will not look good on me.

Blue Boy is the medium blue crème in the set.  It is slightly faded, muted medium tone blue.  I love the touch of grey in it; the dusty blue color really does resemble a pair of broken-in comfy jeans.

The formula was a little thinner than usual, so the first coat was a bit streaky.  A second was very much need to even the color out.  I actually used a third coat here.  I actually found this pretty quick drying for a creme, and I really didn't need a top coat for added shine, so I skipped it.  I don't own many blues in the medium tone, so I know I don't have any dupes.  I absolutely love the dusty quality of this color, and would be wearing it again come spring.

Chanel Le Vernis Graphite 529

This past weekend, I had a intimate company holiday dinner to attend.  I bypassed the glitter since I didn't want anything too flashy.  Then I realized my bottle of Graphite has been sitting in the drawer for months, and it would be the perfect color to wear for my event.

From the Illusion d’Ombres, fall 2011 collection, Graphite, limited edition color, is a metallic mix of silvery-pewter and gold, very foil-like and glittery shimmers.

The formula was really nice.  I usually find foil-like colors to be very watery and sheer, but Graphite seemed to have a better consistency than most I've tried to date.  As nice as the formula is, it's not a one coat polish.  A second coat is needed to even out the color.  Graphite may look a bit gritty to the eye, but it's not; it dried to an absolute smooth finish.

I found the color to be very pretty, even though it's not the most flattering shade on me.  I think it brings out the warm tones in  my skin, though I tend to be more cool-neutral.  However, I will say this is a very elegant and classy color, perfect for a celebration.

The Versatile Blogger Award

Me?  Wow...  Really?  This is my first award and I am so flattered!  Thank you so very much to Adina.J at blue collar red lipstick  for nominating me.  With my blog being so new, there's not much traffic coming through here; so I would say this was such a honor to be nominated.  Hopefully, I will be able to share more, and that people will like what they see and want to follow along.  I guess with this award, I need to start getting more "versatile" in my posts too.  So the pressure is on! LOL

Rules for the award are:

• Formally thank the award-giver (with link back) in a post.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Pass on the award to 15 more bloggers that you enjoy reading, and let them know they were nominated.

Thank you again to the sweet Adina.J for nominating me.  Please go visit her over at blue collar red lipstick  when you have a chance.  Aside from being a fellow nail polisher lover, she's also one of the best-dressed stay-at-home moms I know.  She's got great taste in clothes and accessories (love her new handbags), and has totally put me to shame.  This work-at-home mom, is feeling the pressure to back on track again.

So I need to come up with 7 things to share about myself...  Well, I can't promise the will all be interesting, but here goes:

1. I'm an only child.  I never really wished for a sibling, but if I had to and given the choice, I would have liked an older brother.
2. I love cats, but I also like dogs.  Currently we have 2 cats, and discussing the possibility of adding a puppy into our family.
3. I can't swim.  
4. I can't ride a bike.
5. English is not my first language, but has become my primary.
6. I'm a Pisces.
7. I have 2 wonderful kids that drives me batty... a lot!  But I love them to death, and can't image my life without them. 

Now it's time to pass on the award.  These are the blogs I really enjoy and frequent:

à la peach

Mi Vida Aburrida
Pointless Cafe
thegoreprincess.com

Hermetic's polish blog

Once Bitten

My Lucid Bubble
The Daily Varnish

The PolishAholic

Emerald Sparkled

Nouveau Cheap
The Hungry Asian

Scrangie

Fashion Polish

Vampy Varnish

OPI Pepe's Purple Passion

It was so excited to see OPI's 2011 holiday collection, inspired by and named, The Muppets.  I grew-up watching The Muppets on television, so to see them making comeback with a movie release (aslo in form of nail polish nonetheless) was definitely a happy trip down memory lane.  What a fun collection this turned out to be.  I was excited to be sharing this collection my little girl, as well as seeing the movie with my kids.

For my first Muppets mani, I went with Pepe's Purple Passion:

OPI I Brake for Manicures

This is one of my favorite kind of colors, dusty brown plum, or is it dusty plum brown...  When I saw OPI's preview for the fall 2011 collection, Touring America, I Brake for Manicures was on the top of my list.  Strangely enough, it has taken me this long to finally wear it.  Yes, I have a huge backlog of "untrieds" to go through...

I admit, this may not be a very unique color, but regardless, I still really love it.  This is what I would consider my "comfort" color, a fabulous cozy crème that I will always love wearing.

L'Oreal Owl's Lust

Overshadowed by it's popular sister, Owl's Night, Owl's Lust is a brick red creme from the same limited edition Colors Take Flight collection, created with Project Runway.  It's a beautiful and perfect red, without being too bright, or too dark.

I really loved wearing this color.  The color was rich and inviting, perfect for the cooler months.  It had a great formula, very easy to apply, and dried to a shiny finish.  I truly believe this color was over-looked by many.  It's too bad, but it's definitely a winner in my book.  Owl's Lust is a very worthy color addition to any nail polish collection.

Butter London The Black Knight

The Black Knight is one of three colors from the Holiday 2011, limited edition collection.  Not sure what happened to my bottle, but looks like all the purple glitter decided to collect itself in area, but it's still pretty, right?  Even with all it's beauty I know there has been some mixed reviews on this one.  Despite of the less favorable reviews, I still had to run out and get it; and I was also very determined to make it work.

I was very prepared when it came time to try it out, making sure I had what I needed to make this color as beautiful as I hoped it would be.  It's a black base packed with multi-colored glitter, a perfect combination.  I used three coats; and as expected, it dried to a gritty finish, looking a little flat on the nail.  That was easily solved with a nice thick coat of Gelous, and finishing it off with two coats of Poshe Top Coat.  I would admit that this was a high maintenance polish, but really, it's totally worth it!

Just look all the beautiful glitter shimmering throughout the nails!  The multi-color glitter really pops against the black base.  Seriously, my picture is not doing this mani any justice whatsoever. 

I loved the way it looked on my nails.  I couldn't stop staring at it.  It was so magical looking and festive.  It totally reminded me of driving around the neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights at night.  It's so amazingly beautiful, I can't really explain it.  I really do think this is the PERFECT holiday color.  All the extra layers was so worthwhile when the end result is so beautiful.  I will definitely wear this one again.  Next time, I'm going to try layering it over a base of black.