I try to make the meetings when I can, but it’s hard. There’s always so much to do and so little time…
What meetings, you ask?
Oh, the meetings of the Chanel Couleurs Culte de Chanel (“Cult of Chanel Colors,” merci to those years of high school French) — not to be confused with the Cult of Chanel Quads, Cult of Chanel Fragrances, or Cult of Chanel Quilted Bags, to which I also belong.
I’ve often wondered aloud to my plus-size, Chanel-loving tabby cat/freeloading boarder, “Why don’t they [Chanel] just consolidate all of the many mini Chanel cults into a single mega one?” But he just stares back at me, purrs and blinks his big, dumb eyes.
God, I love that cat…
The agendas for Chanel Cult meetings are closely guarded, and I can’t reveal the topics we discuss or the secret handshake, but I am at liberty to say that we spend hours asking ourselves, “What would Karl do?”
(We also pet long-haired, fluffy white cats that resemble Choupette.)
Sometimes, we’ll put our hair up in ponytails and pull on pairs of black fingerless gloves. Then we’ll form a circle, hold hands and sway back and forth to Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order.
Of course, ongoing membership requires the wearing of Chanel nail polish. 🙂
These days, many of our members have been wearing one of the five new Chanel Couleurs Culte de Chanel shades ($27 each). The creative types among us will often mix and match shades, which there’s a policy against (but we’ll usually look the other way).
Chanel Couleurs Culte de Chanel is a precise, concise collection of five iconic Chanel nail shades that I feel accurately convey Coco’s aesthetic, but I can’t help but wonder — where the hell is Vamp??
Wait — Rouge Noir? Vamp? Are you guys twins?
Four of the five are permanent collection products, while the remaining one, Rouge Noir, is limited edition.
One coat seems to be enough for each of the darker colors — Pirate, Rouge Noir, Particuliere and Black Satin — as well as Beige, the lightest lacquer in the group, which looks cute to me, albeit very sheer, applied with one coat, or fully opaque with three.
Okay, enough talk. Hold onto your pearls, and let’s take a look…
Rouge Noir: A creamy blackened red the color of sangria or, um, dried blood (I think I watched one too many episodes of Law & Order: SVU last weekend).
Pirate: Don’t forget to wear this eye-catching, super classic cherry red on September 19 (Talk Like a Pirate Day), or the next time you sail the seven seas (whichever comes first).
I love this color, and I bet Captain Jack Sparrow would, too, as the red should contrast with his black liner nicely.
Particuliere: This creamy taupe goes with everything! It reminds me of the smooth river rocks I collect and the painted walls in the pictures inside catalogs from Crate & Barrel or West Elm.
Beige: Look closely, and you may see this polish’s pinkish, pearly sheen. I like that extra touch, but this color can be a little streaky if I’m not careful.
Black Satin: Like the shiny patent-leather toe on a pair of Chanel flats… 🙂
So who might love this collection?
Well, you — if it takes you less than a split second to tell the difference between a Chanel Classic Flap Bag and the 2.55 Flap Bag, or if you’ll buy a jar of Sublimage Eye Cream without batting an eye, which is just to say that each bottle costs $27…and it wouldn’t be too tough to find similar colors for less.
I’m a long-time drinker of Coco’s Kool Aid, though, so I’m a big fan.
PRICE: $27 each
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Chanel counters and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A- (pretty pricey and dupable)
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love the bracelet! Must have! Where can I get it??
It’s a headband I got at Sephora a while back: http://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/heads-up-get-chanel-style-for-7-with-the-sephora-collection-gold-chain-headband/
Been a longtime admirer of the cult from afar but ever since Malice and Vertigo were released, I admit to drinking the Coco kool-aid! Funny thing, a dear polish loving friend of mine was so content with her single bottle of Black Pearl and many pretty Essies and Revlons. Until she started visiting Nordstrom counters with me, that is. Now she has more bottles(2 from this list!)than I do and I am jelly!!! Of course, she lends me her bottles and I do the same, so it is like having an even bigger collection. Cult! We need to start making that hand sign when we go to Nordstrom, they may just reserve some LE’s for us. 🙂 and I second the motion to include Vamp in that list. That one is my can’t-live-without Chanel Vernis.
I kind of love that you’re an enabler, Lorraine. 🙂
Apparently Rouge Noir IS Vamp…Rouge Noir is/was the original name for the shade, save for the US release, where it was called Vamp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vamp_Nail_Polish
http://ommorphiabeautybar.com/2012/01/06/vintage-chanel-the-vamp-trilogy-rouge-noir-rouge-tres-noir-and-rouge-argent-swatches-review/
Oh cool, thanks for the links.
Oh Chanel <3 For some reason I've always associated this with "when I grow up…"!
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That’s how I feel about the No. 5 fragrance. I bust it out here and there, but I’m really saving it to wear consistently on my 50 birthday.
Aah Le Vernis de Chanel, how it soothes me 🙂 Rouge Noir is one of my all time faves.
It soothes me too. 🙂
“I only have eyes for you”… Ahem, that was me, singing to Tabs!
Aww, he sends purrs right back at ya!
Ah, Chanel! The polishes are THE BEST! I have a bottle of Rouge Noir aka Vamp since my university times, so for more about 16 years! It is still great, when I’m in the mood.
Nice! It’s great to have those polishes with history isn’t it?
I have Vamp and Rouge Noir… While the original Vamp didn’t have sparkles, the new Vamp does. Rouge Noir is closer to what Vamp was in its first incarnation! I also have Particuliere… stellar color! It’s just perfection!
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Cool! Although I don’t mind sparkles. 🙂
Love both of them, but the new Vamp with that complex shimmer is the one I die over. Let’s see Revlon try and dupe that! Not happening IMHO, so I will gladly fork over my cash to the cult. 🙂
I know they’re pricey and dupable, but Rouge Noir and Black Satin are lovely. 🙂
Oh, yeah. Totally. For toes in the fall? YES!!
I have all colors but for Pirate. My fave and has been my fave for the last 10 years is Rouge Noir. I also have Vamp but Vamp is a bit lighter and has shimmer. Rouge Noir is a gorgeous darker reddish black and has no shimmer. I love Chanel nail polish and it is my number one brand for polishes. I usually get them all but now that my Chanel collection is getting too cray cray HUGE I try to control myself…not doing so well… I just got Bel Argus and Azure and thinking of going back for the coral one…