I’m back, finally.
As I was cooking for the crazy Christmas dinner we hosted last Saturday, I kept thinking, “Please please please don’t let my nails break. I need to swatch the Spring Chanels again.”
The dinner party was a success (we served crostini with cheese pimiento, crab cracker salad, rice dumplings, goat cheese and tomato jam on wanton strips, sukiyaki, green chicken, herb and potato crusted tenderloin, mashed potato, rice, rice krispie sundaes, homemade billy’s cake, red velvet cupcakes and insanely strong jello shots) and the nail polish gods listened – none of my nails broke, not even after cooking for over ten hours.
And finally, here are swatches and comparison pics of the three nail colors of Chanel’s Harmonie De Printemps for Spring 2012 – April, May, June.
One thing I failed to mention when I posted my quick swatches is how glossy these shades are.
The collection was inspired by the changing moods and colors of spring.
And Chanel’s Global Director for Makeup Peter Philips, who created the three Le Vernis shades as an homage to the mischievous spirit of the most changeable of seasons, named them after the months of spring.
But I call them love. Love times three.
I know April comes first but let’s start with June.
Chanel says, “Pastel apricot, like a foretaste of summer.”
Apricot is the perfect way to describe this shade. And yes, I can totally see myself wearing this in the summer too.
It’s such an unusual, happy, vibrant shade.
It reminds me of popsicles.
Being a jelly-creme hybrid, June is sheer on the first coat but builds well and is opaque at three.
The formula is nice and creamy, none of the streakiness we’ve come to expect from pastels.
Yes, June, I’m a fan.
Even without checking, I already knew I didn’t have anything close to June in my collection.
Everything was either too peach or too beige.
See?
Same thing on the nails.
They all look different.
Miami Peach is peach and sparkly, Orange Fizz is a coral creme, Inattendu is a beige creme, Peche Nacree is a frosty pale peach.
And now, let’s look at May.
According to Chanel, May is “intense pink, the universal shade of happiness.”
I’ve said it before – I don’t think the shade is intense.
It’s a soft, sweet baby pink.
And while I disagree with the “intense” part, I totally agree about this being a happy color.
Just looking at this makes me happy.
May’s formula is similar to June’s.
It’s smooth, creamy and perfect after three coats.
I have a number of pink Chanels in my collection but nothing that looks like May.
Mistral, Morning Rose and Ming are all pale pinks, with Morning Rose and Mistral having sparkles. Rose Insolent is much too deep to be May’s twin.
There’s the pretty sparkle.
They’re all such pretty pinks.
Here’s another look.
And finally, April.
Chanel describes April as “the highly luminous garnet of wild berries.”
A gorgeous description for a gorgeous color.
I love all three shades from this collection but I have to say that April is my biggest love.
April provides a contrast to the pastels in this collection and, according to Chanel, “coats the nails with a touch of timeless femininity.”
I love how hard it is to figure out this shade.
Is it purple, is it red? Is it a reddish purple or a purplish red?
Chanel says it’s a “seduction of its ambiguous shade.”
I call it craziness. Craziness I love.
The formula is perfect – it’s super rich and glossy. I used two coats.
One way to know if a nail polish shade is really awesome is if it passes the Distraction Test. I didn’t remove April from my four fingers after my first Chanel Spring 2012 swatching session and in the middle of a conversation, a friend had to stop me and say, “I’m sorry but what is that shade?”
So yeah, April aced the Distraction Test.
Let’s compare April to a few other Chanels.
Again, no dupes.
Not even close.
Same thing on the nails.
Rouge Fatal is red and dark, Gondola is a sparkly shimmer and Fantastic is fantastic but not an April dupe.
Love.
Now if only Chanel would release a polish called October.
Chanel’s Harmonie De Printemps Collection for Spring 2012 will be available in Rustan’s by the first week of January.
