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An exclusive release by Chanel means many people are looking for duplicates to avoid having to track down limited items. This last release of Les Khakis is no exception. Pretty, muted polishes just begging to be purchased. But, can you get the same look for cheaper? Ahh, yes, the $100,000 question. Let's see, shall we?
Up first, Khaki Brun. I dug out my two other deep taupey brown polishes, Barielle Cowl of the Wild and OPI You Don't Know Jacques, to see if they were a match.
Nope, not even close. You can really see the green undertones of Khaki Brun, and the purple undertones of You Don't Know Jacques also stand out. Cowl of the Wild stands out as a true neutral taupe, no warm or cool undertones whatsoever.
Next, Khaki Rose. I pulled out Barielle Cashmere or Loose Me and Zoya Dea since they are both warm, medium browns.
I thought Cashmere or Loose Me might be close, especially since the shimmer is pretty subtle. However it much more rosy than Khaki Rose. Same for Dea, which I had pegged as being a latte color. Sandwiched between Cashmere or Loose Me and Dea, Khaki Rose comes off a quite brown and well, khaki. Those rosy undertones just disappear.
That leaves Khaki Vert for last...and I've got nothin' for ya. Sorry!
Here is the second half of my Barielle polish order. I really love all the colors I picked out, and with the exception of one, the online color representations are fairly accurate.
Misbehaving Mistress is a deep, metallic tapue or dirty, metallic charcoal. In some lights it is more silvery-charcoal, and in others, the taupe base shows through. Either way, it's a really interesting color. It's in line with the taupe trend, but the metallic finish makes it stand out. Plus, I really like that it applies non-streaky.
Hidden Hideaway is a metallic raisin color. This one was the interloper...see how pretty?! It's not as metallic as Misbehaving Mistress, but it still falls in that category. Indoors, it is nearly black. Outdoors, the slightly brown base is more evident, and in the sunlight the fuchsia shimmer really glows, giving it a lit-from-within look.
Blackened Bleu really lives up to it's name, as it is a sheer, black base chockful of sapphire blue glitter flakies. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that I'm not a blue fanatic, but this one is drop-dead gorgeous. Indoor, it's a pretty navy sparkle, but out in the sunlight, that blue shimmer just glows! I'm shocked how much I love this color.
Glammed-Out Garnet has a sheer red base and is loaded with iridescent magenta flakies. This polish is basically the red sister to Blackened Bleu, except the sparkles are iridescent. You can see the lilac flash in the bottle and on the nails, too. You might also detect a gold flash, but that kinda disappears. It's the magenta and lilac flash that are most evident. This is a really pretty polish, and a nice alternative the the plain ol' red. It would make for a great holiday mani, too. This, and the one above were four coaters.
Pin Up pretty much describes itself. A creamy tomato red with pink shimmer that just screams 40's screen star. You can see there are gold flakies, but they just disappear. A bit of a shame, as I think the gold flakies would add just another pretty dimension to this polish.
Out-grey-geous is a sheer, grey shimmer with gold flakies that flash multi-color in the sunlight. This is the one that I think is misrepresented on Barielle's site. It is described as a silver shimmer, but in my mind, silver is much lighter and more metallic. I initially passed on it when I did my online order, but this polish caught my eye in Ulta, so I picked it up. This base is nearly a jelly, and took four coats to reach opacity, but I really love it. So many of the grey polishes have a blue cast to it, but this one doesn't. It is a true grey shimmer and the gold flakies (which are visible!) give it just a bit of a warm cast. As far as edgy, grey polishes go, this one is very wearable, thanks in part to the fine shimmer and gold flakies. (Please ignore the nail dents...I did the final coat before I went to bed. Yes, I should know better.)
Find Barielle online (buy two, get one going on right now!) and a small selection available in-store at Ulta.
First of all, I want to say Barielle has a great customer service department. I ordered a bunch of polishes with the buy two, get one free deal (still going on, btw) and when my order arrived, there was a polish in there I didn't order in place of one I did. I called Barielle, explained my problem, and they sent out my polish ASAP...and I got to keep the interloper. Extra bonus, it's a color I would actually wear! Score!
On to the polishes, they are 3-Free with a fairly decent formula. It is a little runny (like many 3-Frees are), but most colors I was able to achieve opacity in two coats (a couple took three, and a couple more took four). The brush is standard sized (not the prowide kind), and maybe just a tad bigger than the Chanel brush. I like the size since I have small and narrow nails.
As I mentioned, I purchased mine directly from Barielle, but great news, Ulta is carrying a selection from the brand in-store! I don't mind purchasing online, but I know some people like to see for themselves before handing over a wad of cash.
Now for the first batch of swatches.
Aura Angora is a brownish-yellow cream, and is part of the fall 2010 collection, Style in Argyle. I had a hard time figuring out how I would describe this color...until I picked up a jar of peanut butter. An exact match. Peanut butter nails. Me likey!
Cashmere or Loose Me is a rosy brown cream with fine copper and gold shimmers, and is also part of Style in Argyle. Even though the shimmer is nearly invisible unless you're in the light, it does lend a certain glowy-ness to the color. I'm not sure how close this is to Chanel Khaki Rose, but offhand, I'd say they're at least cousins.
Cowl of the Wild is a deep taupe cream from the Style in Argyle collection. Original? No, but I love these types of colors, so I really don't care. Again, this one is faintly reminiscent of a Chanel Khaki color, Khaki Brun, but it doesn't have that green tinge to it that Khaki Brun does. I will post comparisons with the Chanels (hopefully by the end of the week), and maybe save someone a few bucks.
Tight Knit is a plush, plummy cream with a touch of brown to it (from Style in Argyle). The plum tones in this one definitely come through, as compared with the brown-based colors from the collection. This one is a little more unique, as it is a plummy violet, rather than a greyed mauve. Plus, the stronger red-based purple makes it a little less edgy and wearable than a greyed mauve.
Belly Dance is a gorgeous nude with just the slightest hints of mauve, pink and taupe, and shot through with silver shimmer. I really, really love this color. It's one of those that transforms on your nails and brings out different hues on different skintones. The beautiful silver shimmer keeps the color from looking pasty and dead. Truly a favorite of mine.
Get Mauv-ing is a pretty mauve cream. Very much a color we've been seeing a lot, lately. This one does fall on the warmer side of the spectrum, but still not really unique. A pretty color nonetheless, and with the warm undertones, quite wearable.
These polishes are available on Barielle's website or at Ulta. As I mentioned above, Barielle is still doing the buy two, get one free promotion, and has free shipping for purchases over $50.
