Chanel Khaki Vert Nail Varnish - I gave in to temptation

So I have no will power when it comes to Chanel nail polishes, but the benefit of that is I get to show you some swatches of the new limited edition Les Khakis de Chanel Collection. This post will be all about Khaki Vert, but I have ordered Khaki Rose and it should arrive in the next few days. I am still deliberating whether to go for Khaki Brun, I find it the least appealing of all the shades and am somewhat put off by other beauty bloggers descriptions of it as 'baby poo'.

Chanel nail varnish in Khaki Vert - £19

But as I already said, I have no will power and would like the complete set, if only for comparative reasons.

Now onto the important stuff, the pictures!
(apologies for the shiny looking fingers, I applied cuticle oil and didn't realise how much it would show up in the photos)

Before I saw the colour in person, I was a little concerned that it would be very similar to a couple of OPI shades I already own, mainly You Don't Know Jaques and Over The Taupe. I took pictures of the bottles side by side so you can see my fears were unjustified, the Khaki Vert is most definitely green when compared to the other 2 shades.

OPI Over The Taupe, Chanel Khaki Vert, OPI You Don't Know Jaques

I think many people are under the impression that all three of the khaki shades are very much brown based but Khaki Vert is green. I have shown it side by side with Particuliere and Jade to show the differences.

Chanel Khaki Vert & Chanel Particuliere

Chanel Jade and Chanel Khaki Vert

2 coats of Khaki Vert applied + top coat

As with all Chanel polishes I have tried, it applies like a dream and I could have left it at just one coat it is that pigmented. However, I always apply 2 plus a top coat so that is what is shown in the photos.

2 coats of Khaki Vert applied + top coat

The colour is most definitely a green and although this collection has proved rather like the marmite of the beauty world, you either love or you hate it, I love it (also love marmite). It is unlike any other shade I own and I think it will look great with my camel wool trench coat which I am looking forward to wearing as it gets colder. Camel is meant to be the fashion trend this season and I think all three of the Khakis will compliment this look.

I finally took a few photos using my camel coat as a background so you can see the contrast and a dark brown background.

Khaki Vert on camel background

Khaki Vert on camel background

Khaki Vert on brown background

I think the final photo really shows how green this colour actually is. In reality it is very similar to my own eye colour. It is an opaque, cream shade that is perfect for Autumn. It doesn't scream military to me, I find it more of an olive shade.

The one problem I do have with the product is how Chanel are justifying charging £19 for this when it is no different to my eye from any of their other varnishes that cost £16.50. It does feel like they are taking liberties, knowing that limited edition colours will be sought after whatever the price.

Having had to pay over the odds for Khaki Vert to get hold of it at all, I guess their assumption is right.

What do you think of the colour? Is £19 too much? Has anyone tried the other shades?

I will post about Khaki Rose as soon as the postman (I'm seeing a lot of him lately) bring it, but if you can't wait that long, www.londonmakeupgirl.com has posted about it already.

Manicure Monday - Chanel Le Vernis in Pirate

No rest for the wicked, even though it is a Bank Holiday. Having spent most of the day watching Poirot and Miss Marple, I am feeling a great sense of nostalgia for the glamour and sophistication of the 1930s. The women of that time looked absolutely immaculate and so in a homage to that period, I have chosen classic red for my nails this week.

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in Pirate - £16.50

I own many different reds, all with slight variations in shade or finish, but to get a real thirties feel, I chose Chanel's Pirate, what I would class as a true red.

It gives a gorgous finish in just 2 coat and I instantly feel more elegant having applied it, even as I sit here in my pyjamas!

1 coat OPI Nail Envy, 2 Coats Pirate & 1 coat Seche Vite

I am not a big fan of reds in summer, but with the gale force winds we had today in Kent, for me, summer has officially finished and I am fully embracing autumn and the colours that go with it. I have naturally very fair skin and I love the way the contrast of the bright red of Pirate sets this off. I would class this as a neutral to cool red as a more orange toned red would not produce this effect.

Chanel Le Vernis in Pirate is available nationwide or online at http://www.debenhams.com/, http://www.boots.com/ or http://www.garden.co.uk/ for £16.50.

Chanel Fall Collection has arrived at www.garden.co.uk

Just a quick heads up to everyone that the latest Chanel Fall Makeup Collection has now arrived online at www.garden.co.uk. The collection hit the stores last Friday so it is a week late at the Garden Pharmacy. However, the good news is that products that might have already sold out in store last week are available to buy online. In particular, the Nail Vernis in Paradoxal is still showing as in stock on the website.

Having already bought Paradoxal myself last week, I was looking through my nail polish collection to see if there were any dupes and yesterday I think I found one! Nails Inc Fulham Road looks almost exactly the same in the bottle (I haven't tried it on the nails yet). I think that it may be veering more on the lilac side as opposed to the Chanel that is more dove grey, but if you either can't get hold of Paradoxal or want a cheaper alternative, Fulham Road could be for you.

It is available for jut £5 at www.bathandunwind.com/brands/Nails-Inc-Fulham-Road-Nail-Polish.htm

Welcome to English Rose Beauty

Hi everyone,
Welcome to my blog. I hope to be able to share with you anything and everything in the beauty world, likes and dislikes, product reviews, trends and maybe the odd makeup look if I am brave enough to post photos of myself (maybe in time!). Let me know if there is anything specific you would like me to blog about. I have no idea if anyone will read this and I may well end up talking just to myself but I will remain eternally hopeful that at some stage in the future someone might talk back to me!

Firstly, i'll say a little about myself and why I love the world of beauty so much. I grew up playing with dolls since I can remember and used to cut their hair and try and apply my mother's lipstick to them, doesn't really work on a Barbie Doll, had slightly more success with Girls World. However, I soon realised that applying it to plastic was futile and that putting it on me was far more exciting, so the dolls ended up in the attic and my first foray into real makeup began.

Apart from stealing or as I like to say, borrowing, makeup from my mother's dressing table, the first item I remember buying was a trio of nail varnishes from Miss Selfridge. I was feeling very grown up and chose some hideously garish metallic blue, turquoise and pinky/lilac shades, although I like to think that one of them was not too different to Chanel's Nouvelle Vague, so maybe I was just ahead of my time!

A few years later I upgraded from Miss Selfridge to my local department store and my love affair with Chanel began. A very kind sales assistant applied the limited edition gouache collection - a set of eye, cheek and lip products in artists tubes which came with a mini palette, and that became my first purchase. I still have it today and sadly, most of the products have been hardly touched. I don't think I had the necessary skills at that young age to really do it justice. However, that product started something, the shiny black packaging, the interlocking C's of the logo, not to mention the quality of the products and I haven't looked back since. If this has stirred any memories of your first makeup purchases, feel free to share and comment.

So there we have a very brief history of my romance with makeup. I have already described it as a love affair and although some might consider that melodramatic, I really consider it as such. I am constantly amazed by the transformative properties of cosmetics, how a touch of the right lipstick can give you a much needed boost on a bad day and how beauty is constantly evolving. I remember an old boyfriend once said that although most guys say they prefer girls natural, he would never knock makeup as he has seen the difference it can make to a woman. I'm not too sure if that was aimed at me, there is a reason he is an old boyfriend, but he had a point. I can look in the mirror in a morning and do a good impression of the waking dead, but some foundation, blush, mascara and lipstick and I look almost human, even if I don't feel it, and I am ready to face the day.

I hope that this blog will be a celebration of makeup of all shapes and sizes, prices and brands from the UK and beyond. My priority this week is to hit the Chanel counter first thing on Friday to get my hands on the new Chanel 2010 Fall Collection as I have been desperate to buy it since I saw the previews about 6 weeks ago. So, if you are a fellow Chanel devotee put Friday 13th August in you diary, especially if you want to pick up what is set to be the nail colour of the season, Paradoxal (RRP £16.50), a stunning deep grey that is shot through with metallic lilac. That description really doesn't do it justice but if it is not sold out by the time I get to the counter, I will take some pictures of it on my nails so you can judge for yourselves whether it is worth the hype.

Well that's it for my first ever post, Chanel updates will be on the way this week as well as a look at the new No.7 Autumn Collection, created by top makeup artist Lisa Eldridge. It looks fantastic.

Bye for now,

English Rose x