Summer 2009
Chanel Summer – Orange Fizz and Golden Sand
 The look for Chanel’s summer collection, Cote D’Azur, is an upscale take on beachy and bronzed. As I mentioned in the preview, the collection was inspired by Coco Chanel’s favorite resort locales. So while you’ll find traditional summery hues; coral, bronze, beige, peach, they’re done in an elegant, understated (i.e. anti-glitter bomb) way.
Of course we get two new lacquer shades for summer… Orange Fizz and Golden Sand. Check out my review and swatches after the jump! |
Orange Fizz is a creamy coral that leans towards pink. It’s not uber-vivid yet not muted. It falls somewhere in between. Now, when I heard the name Orange Fizz, I imagined a sparkly tangerine heading our way as I’m sure most of you would. While this shade is unlike any corals I own, you kids know I would have died for some orange-y glitz.
In my stash’s color range Orange Fizz falls between the very pink coral, Essie Carousel Coral and last summer’s Robertson Boulevard exclusive, L.A. Sunset.
Golden Sand‘s coppery metallic hue is an ideal accent color to faux-glowed skin. It’s got that burnished, sun-soaked look. I just wish metallics were easier to work with. Granted this one isn’t the worst I’ve dealt with but avoiding brush strokes isn’t happening, making it more suitable for pedicures since imperfections aren’t as visible from far away.
In the bottle, I thought Golden Sand would be a MAC Metalist dupe but it’s clearly more pigmented and deeper. Next to China Glaze Poetic, you can see that Poetic has a lot more brown in its base.
The Chanel Summer Cote D’Azur collection Le Vernis lacquers ($23) are on counters now and available online at Chanel.com
How are we feeling about these? Who already purchased? Thoughts?
Dior Cristal Collection – Sweet Orange
 Dior’s iconic watches helped inspire this playful collection of radiant berries, corals and pinks. Running the gamut from edgy to sweet, the striking colors of the Cristal collection capture the fresh, flushed look of summer.
While visiting the Dior offices back in October, I was treated to a preview of the Cristal collection and I’ve been chomping at the bit to get my hands on the polishes ever since. Seriously, I sat down and immediately focused on the three pops of color peering back at me from inside their sample bottles. Among a table full of beauty goodies, the summer shades sucked me right in. The Dior Vernis shades in the collection include Sweet Orange, Bubble Gum and Purple Candy. I had the opportunity to try out Sweet Orange and have bottle images of the others to show you. |
Sweet Orange is a pink tinged sorbet hue flecked with golden shimmer. The formula reminds me of CND Toxic Perfection one of my all time fave corals and the base color is very close to Essie Cantaloupe. It’s on the semi-sheer side so even though I’m showing it with only two coats, a third wouldn’t hurt. Using the Dior Vernis flat brush, the polish flowed on smooth and even with no streaking or pooling.
Dior Vernis lacquers retail for $20/ea and launch in May 2009. Sweet Orange is a Sephora exclusive shade. Bubble Gum will be carried in specialty stores with Purple Candy at department store Dior counters.
Barielle Sugar Rush for Summer 2009
 Sugar Rush is the alternative to last year’s neons -celebrity manicurist, Elle
Barielle spokesperson, Elle, created six hot candy colored lacquers for the Shades by Barielle summer collection and I’m loving every single one of them. We’ve seen candy inspired collections in the past but never with this kind of pigmentation, consistency in formula and hello, TWO GREENS!! To steal a line from Clueless, they give me a toothache just looking at them. |
I had the chance to speak with Elle about her latest polish confections and get her take on the collection. “It’s high voltage color but they’re more wearable. I wanted to keep it creamy, like taffy, with a lot more pigment rather than on the sugary edge.”
You know I’m a girl that loves her brights and Sugar Rush hits that spot dead on. Neons are fun and all but they can be too harsh if you don’t have the right coloring so these shades are definitely more my deal. I applied two coats of each polish and they flowed on perfect and even with pigmentation to spare.
Let’s start with my hands down winner, Sweet Addiction. I’m so loving these variations on dusty, minty greens. Sweet Addiciton, Misa Dirty Sexy Money, MAC Peppermint Patti and Essie Greenport are all on the same vibe yet surprisingly different enough to own them all.
Swizzle Stick‘s light azure hue makes me think of my college days. My sorority’s colors were white and azure blue and now I want to go dig out one of my old t-shirts to wear with this shade.
Can I just say that I’m so not over yellow? Lemondrops totally revived it for me. Yes, the pastels are safer and easier to pull off but give me a fab golden yellow and I’m in. Think of Lemondrops as a more pigmented, creme version of China Glaze Solar Power. Very similar base shade but with a different finish and pigmentation.
Cotton Candy really is the perfect descriptor for this hue. It takes me right to the fair. And the subtle sparkle reminds me of the iridescent quality of spun sugar threads. It adds playfulness and depth to the polish. I know my skin looks a bit ruddier than normal in this pic but that’s just to get the polish color right. It’s actually a bit more vibrant in person.
Grape Escape even more vivid in person that it appears in pics. It’s a pretty dead on purple. Not too dark, not too light. In comparison with the other summer purple, Lippmann Call Me Irresponsible, Grape Escape is definitely more pigmented and a couple shades lighter. All I can say is, LOVE!
Decadence is unlike any teal I own. It has amazing depth and fire, very much like a jewel. Being the only metallic-ish shade in the bunch, it definitely stands out. I like to think that if ChG Turned Up Turquoise and Passion In The Pacific hooked up, you’d get Decadence.
The Sugar Rush collection from Shades by Barielle retails for $8/ea and is available now on Barielle.com. And if you buy 2 colors, you get one FREE with free shipping on all orders over $50.
Chanel Summer 2009 Preview – Orange Fizz & Golden Sand
 From elegant Monte Carlo to the seaside of Deauville, Mademoiselle Chanel’s favorite resort destinations are re-imagined in the CHANEL Summer 2009 Makeup Collection. Cool corals, sun-soaked reds, sandy-pink beiges, lush peaches and shimmering coppers with a touch of rose define this Summer’s vibrant beauty.
Summer is finally on its way, thank goodness, and with that we have some more gorgeous, warm shades to covet thanks to Chanel. Part of the Cote D’Azur collection, Orange Fizz (coral) and Golden Sand (copper) look to be the kind of pedicure shades that will perfectly compliment your bronzed, faux-glow skin. |
I’m already drooling over Orange Fizz and I can’t wait to see how Golden Sand will look in person. The collection is set to hit counters in April but they’re already available online at Chanel.com.
China Glaze Sneak Preview – Kicks Collection
 Exciting news kids!! Just when I thought we’d seen everything China Glaze has to offer for Spring & Summer, along comes another fun collection, Kicks. It’s an explosion of bright, fun color in twelve vivid shades. The best part… there’s TWO FANTASTIC GREENS! I vote that, as a rule, China Glaze includes at least one new green in each collection. You’re 3 for 3 in 2009 so keep it up!
Check out my preview swatches after the jump! |
I don’t have names yet but how perfectly summer are these colors? I want to wear them all at once. I just need two extra fingers! Eight of the polishes contain subtle shimmer to add depth and a hint of sparkle while the other four are cremes. 
So I was just dying to try the lighter, limey green. Plus, I wasn’t happy with how it looked in the art wheel picture. It just didn’t represent the color accurately. So I added a quick nail swatch for you. As you can see, it’s extremely vibrant but not neon. Looking at it compared to last spring’s Tree Hugger, TH is more muted. As if you turned the brightness up on Tree Hugger. Loves it!
The China Glaze Kicks collection will launch in late April/early May. Stay tuned for a full review and nail swatches.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
