Collection: Chanel Fall 2014, Rouge Allure

Chanel’s Rouge Allure collection from Fall 2014 included three nail colors: Exception (brown cream), Expression (red cream), and Intention (beige shimmer). Of course I chose the red cream!

Luckily, I got it for “free”! When Canadian drugstore Shoppers Drug Mart recently ran a Spend Your Points Event, I was glad to hand over some of my accrued SDM Optimum Points and receive some Chanel polishes in return.

This week, I’ve been covering the three polishes I picked up from SDM: Expression, Lavanda, and Vibrato.

Expression (635), described by Chanel as a “strawberry red”, is a nearly true red cream. I die for this kind of color. It is such a gorgeous, clean red, with the slightest pink tone to it. I find it difficult to believe that this color wouldn’t look amazing on just about every skintone. (But then, I think there’s a red out there for everyone!)

Surprisingly, unlike the other Chanel creams I’ve reviewed on my blog (Lavanda, Vibrato, Blue Boy, and Laque Rouge), Expression’s formula is perfection. Two coats gives you full opacity, and the coats apply so smoothly and evenly. My jaw just about dropped, it was so nice. If only they were all like this.

But you can’t fault Chanel for their colors. All the non-vampy red creams I’ve ever loved have been on the warmer side: OPI Double Decker Red, Essie Russian Roulette and Pouf Daddy, Zoya Maura. Chanel Expression is the first time a blue-toned red cream has made it onto that love list.

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour retails for US$27 / CA$31 and is 0.4 US fl oz / 13 mL. The polish is free of toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and is made in France.

Chanel is a private company based in Paris, France.