Chanel's Mimosa

'Mimosa'

*Please note, I did not enhance these pictures in any way, because I really wanted to show the true nature of just how bright this color is.*

Chanel did not hit the head on the nail with 'Mimosa', I'm afraid. This limited edition Le Vernis nail polish is part of Chanel's 2011 Summer collection.

Only Chanel could get me to don this color - a vibrant lemony yellow. I am not one to shy away from color, but even this is a bit bold for my taste. I had seen this color previewed by other beauty bloggers and I thought the color that transcribed onto my screen seemed more neon that it was in real life. I was happy and relieved it wasn't brighter. I have to be honest, I'm just not feeling this color,  as I type up this review I am distracted from the brightness of Mimosa on my fingertips.

Unlike, Le Metier, Chanel's polishes require more coats and sometimes I fumble and muck it up trying to get even coverage. So was the case tonight with Mimosa. I found it needed 2+ coats (I stopped at 2 due to thickness and didn't feel like starting over) to look evenly applied.

At $25.00 a bottle, I feel this color will only be appreciated by die hard Chanel fans and not the typical woman looking for something "pretty". I was disappointed with how it applied and I felt I just didn't have the attention span to get the optimal finish. Since I do my manicures myself at home, that is all I have to go off of, but I don't doubt for a moment that if you were to go get a professional manicure that you would yield better results.

I feel this color would look stunning against someone with a darker complexion, but I feel my hands have a ruddy tone to it that the yellow just does not compliment. As my sister remarked, "this color does not flatter you." I have to sadly, agree.

I can safely say I don't have another polish similar to this color, though, I have seen other yellow polishes in my local Target for instance. I'm not sure if this color could be easily duped, but I suspect if you are a fan of yellow then it is worth a shot. But if you need those interlocking CC's in your life, this can be purchased from any Chanel counter or online.

Full view of 'Mimosa' 

'Mimosa' compared to a real lemon

Clutching 'Mimosa'

Does Mimosa speak to you at all? 

Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine 'Boy' Review

'Boy'

'Boy' on swatched hand

'Petit Peche'

'Petit Peche' layered over 'Boy'

'Petit Peche' & 'Boy'

'Boy'

I'm going to say it...I'm not a big fan of Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine lipstick. It's not even a knock against Chanel. I feel like the only beauty blogger who isn't in love. It's just that after the anticipated arrival of the Coco Shines (I know I couldn't wait for them to debut after reading glowing reviews from our UK beauty bloggers who got the release sooner than America) I had a makeup epiphany. It dawned on me after swiping shade after shade on my lips trying in vain to find a color, I liked that it wasn't the admittedly nice array of colors or even the formula. It was the simple fact that it was a lipstick. I'm a gloss girl! I have more glosses than should be allowed and I don't plan on stopping.

I had the same conversation with the nice MA artist at Chanel, who wasn't wearing a Coco Shine lipstick (despite the fact that it is Chanel's newest baby), she was proudly wearing a gloss. She didn't make that admission until I pressed her a little inquiring about the gorgeous shade adorning her lips. I asked her what she thought of the shine's and she basically said they were nice, but just "ok". She and I bonded over the fact that we like love glosses. My poison of choice(?) Chanel Glossimers -  they are to die for!

With the resolute of walking out of Macy's with a new (or 3) Coco Shine lipstick, I eagerly began swatching the shades. I was practically counting down the days until April 6th arrived for their release. Being a mom to a bubbly toddler, it isn't always easy to go makeup shopping with her. I knew I really wanted to take my time at the counter and play around. So it wasn't until the weekend that I could get to a counter (while the hubby entertained said bubbly toddler). When I got there, they were already sold out of about half the colors (the MA did say they were selling like hot cakes). I swiped a couple pinks on my lips and I started feeling like the Goldilocks of lipsticks, one was too bright, another too dark, and another that reminded me too much of Mimi from the Drew Carey show. So I did what any other self proclaiming lipgloss lover would do, I proceeded to the Glossimers where with my swipe of 'Petit Peche' I felt like Goldilocks where it was "just right"!

I fell victim to Facebook's presale of Coco Shine and I ordered 'Boy' sight unseen. I had seen enough reviews to know that I would like the color. It arrived today on my doorstep and this may seem like a surprise but I like it. The color is very pretty and out of all the shades I think this one would suit my coloring the best. I'm just surprised that I didn't go as crazy as I previously thought I would, I'm perfectly content with my one Coco Shine and about two dozen Glossimers (yeah, I like that ratio).

Le Metier Beaute's Wango Tango Review

Wango Tango - isn't it adorable?

Size comparison

The brush

Overview

Whole Hand

I've really gotten into nail polish lately and have been on a bit of a streak with my polish posts. I'm personally loving the slew of colors available in stores. As you can see from previous posts, I am not one to shy away from color when it comes to my nails. From a bright cobalt blue to hot pink I like brights, now it's time to try orange. Orange is being hailed as the 'it' color of the season and I cannot think of a more appropriate way to usher in the season's hottest trend then with Le Metier De Beaute's 'Wango Tango'. This color is stunning and when gazing at the array of colors in their display case, 'Wango' is a definite attention grabber. I find the color to be vibrant and fun. One thing that jumps out to you and seems to be the main criticize about the polish is the size. The polish is  4ml and is tiny, this is roughly a third of the size of a Chanel polish (which is 13ml). Their lacquers retail for $15.00 vs. Chanel's $25.00. The way I see it is I have never used up an entire bottle of nail polish before it expires. The size of Le Metier and the fact that it is $10.00 cheaper than Chanel, for instance, is fine with me. I understand not every one will agree with me, but I  do think their polishes are a nice treat and I adore the bottle - it is a heavy glass. This brand and formula being compared to other high end brands (Dior, Chanel, etc.) is right on par. The brush as you can see is also very small, so it is a bit awkward to apply the polish. Once I applied it however, I was pleasantly surprised with how easily the color glides onto your fingertips. The color in the bottle was true to how it applied to my nails.

It is worth mentioning that just like Butter London, Metier's nail lacquers are free from formaldehyde, toulene, and Dibutyl Phthlate (DPB) an aspect I really appreciate. The polish glides in easily, and I get the coverage I covet in one coat (something I cannot get out of Chanel) -- which means I use less product.

I give myself manicures at home to save the expense of having someone else do my nails. Being a mom and housewife, I am hard on my nails. I typically find that my nails chip after only three days of wear, so I like to have nail polish on hand for touch-ups. Doing my nails myself helps in justifying the price of certain polishes (a girl has to do what a girl's got to do, right?).

So if you are a fan of orange and want to give an orange polish a whirl, I think you will adore Metier's 'Wango Tango', I know I did!

How do you deal with a beauty disappointment?

*Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a nail polish review, but rather my experience with a product disappointment.*

We all have one. The one product that we were suppose to love, but for some reason couldn't muster up the energy to. That one product for me, is Butter London's, Limited Edition, 'No More Waity, Katie', an ode to future princess Kate Middleton. This bottle just fell short of my previous experiences with Butter London (normally, I'm a huge fan). So onto the good (the lack of carcinogens), the bad (the way off color description), and the ugly (the chunky glitter). ...

'No More Waity, Katie'

I wanted to love it, really I did. In theory I should have loved it, but in reality it was a different story. Let's see...lilac? (love) glitter? (love) griege? (who doesn't?) Put them all together and you should have a recipe for true, feeling-it-all-the-way-to-your-toes love, but instead you 'ehh'  -- a take it or leave it bottle of polish. This nail polish is easily the biggest beauty disappointment I've experienced in a long time and at $14.00 a bottle, I realize it could be a lot worse. So I'll cut my loses here, and instead view it as a memento of the royal wedding du jour.

This, friends, is what happens when you order something sight unseen, in the middle of the night bored out of your mind, surfing the Internet trolling for your next beauty fix and getting caught up in the hoopla of royal weddings, limited quantities, and exclusive releases.

As soon as I opened the box disappoint set in, first, the nature of the color was not what they were touting it to be (a beige lavender mix), nor did it resemble the promo pics. In fact, I can find no beige in there for the life of me. Second, they claim this has a 'splash' of glitter, however, it was far too chunky for my liking and looked like something a little girl playing dress up would wear, not a future real-life princess. Thirdly, it took three full coats for it to really evenly show up on my fingers. Despite my initial disappointment the night I received it well over a month ago, it was the last time I touched it. It's now relegated to stay on top of my Clear Cube as if it is mocking me for my haste of jumping on the beauty bandwagon. Lesson learned, do not buy makeup without first testing it, or at least reading reviews on it. I just wished I had picked up Butter London's 'Yummy Mumm' instead.

To sum it up,  'No more waity, Katie' just wasn't what I was expecting. The glitter could have been more subtle and even though the lilac color is pretty, I would opt for Le Metier's 'Lavande' for a far more sophisticated lilac, after all, it was inspired by a Bergdorff Goodman shopping bag - doesn't get more sophisticated than that. Princess or not.

What were your recent beauty disappointments? 

Le Metier De Beaute's Mulberry

One of my biggest gripes with cosmetics companies is how misleading their swatches on the internet can be. Case in point, Le Metier De Beaute's Mulberry. If you were to look at this color online you would think you were getting a mauve color. The swatch looks nothing like it's true color. With the dawning of the internet and more and more people finding themselves doing online shopping I find it amazing that more cosmetic companies haven't gotten hip to updating their photos to more accurately reflect their colors.

I cannot help but think that this would help to prevent product disappointment. If it weren't for beauty bloggers taking such detailed pictures I wonder if many items would go unpurchased (probably not, but just a thought). With some brands, being so limited, such as Le Metier, it is not always possible to go to the store and see items firsthand. So, I wanted to help by showing you the true color.

Mulberry Eye Shadow

Mulberry is a very pretty bronzy taupe but, please note it is very sheer. It is of satin consistency with subtle sheen that is set off very nicely in the sun. Once I spotted this color, I knew it was suitable for me. The store didn't have a tester (they were out) but that didn't stop me from buying it. The fact that the saleslady (who had similar coloring to me) happened to be wearing it and the fact that she was gorgeous didn't hurt either.

Mulberry captured in the sun 

This swatch was taken with a very heavy hand (about five passes of my finger) just for the color to register. The reason these colors appeal to me is because you can build up the intensity of color to where you feel comfortable. They blend effortlessly and have true staying power. Le Metier's 'True Color' Eye Shadow retails for $30.00 and are 0.13oz. in size.

I know I will be picking up more shades in the future, will you?