Chanel's La Collection Paris-Moscou Nail Polish

Review By Melanie Parker

From Russia with love, I fly to you.
Much wiser since my goodbye to you.
I've traveled the world to learn,
I must return from Russia with love.
I've seen places, faces,
And smile for a moment...

In the midst of the holiday rush and weak economy, CHANEL snuck in a new nail lacquer collection that is sure to make beauty devotees smile. With a price point of $30 per bottle, that's up $10 from their previous retail of $20, it left me wondering what was so special about this Moscou Collection. For this trio, it's all about the sparkle. So, I splurged on Nuit and Feu de Russie.

Nuit and Feu de Russie in natural light:

Nuit and Feu de Russie with flash:

For starters, the Moscou Collection features sparkling, sultry colors--all three of which are nearly black at the base and feature a red (Feu de Russie), blue (Nuit de Russie), and gold (Or de Russie) microglitter. Secondly, this collection is only available at CHANEL boutiques and on chanel.com. I spent most of my Monday night refreshing the Web site when they put a placeholder up and I was unable to order by phone. Yes, new CHANEL polishes that sparkle are the perfect little indulgence this holiday season.

Nuit de Russie is the gem of the collection. It's sparkle is as deep and captivating as the late Princess Diana's sapphire engagement ring. Upon close inspection, there are blue, green, and the tiniest bit of fuchsia glitter in a deep navy blue base color. Just lovely.

Feu de Russia gives an overall sparkling merlot appearance. The base is a deep plum with red and bronze microglitter. In some light, this hue looks raisin, but in other light it sparkles like a fine merlot in a crystal glass. It's not red like a ruby due to the edgy bronze tone scattered throughout the lacquer.

Because of the inflated price point, I opted not to purchase Or de Russie. While it's certainly beautiful the way the gold glitter in the deep base cast an olive glow, it's just too similar to the new China Glaze Wagon Trail to justify the steep price. For me, China Glaze polishes wear better than CHANELs, and that's important when you choose such a dark color. If you want the look of Nuit for less, CND Blueblood is the closet that I have. This polish has been discontinued for some time, but if you already have it, you won't *need* this one. Of course, CHANEL Blue Satin is also similar, and it's not really necessary to have both unless you really love the look of the microglitter over the shimmer of the Blue Satin. Feu is pretty unique due to the raisin hue that it casts in indirect lighting. It reminds me a little of OPI Midnight in Moscow, China Glaze Branding Iron (from the same collection as Wagon Trail), and NYC Cognac Sparkle.

I was thrilled with the chanel.com customer service. I ordered on Tuesday and had the order arrived promptly on Thursday morning. The box was wrapped in gold CHANEL paper with the most adorable black satin ribbon. The ribbon has white loops on the edges and says CHANEL in silver. I was probably more excited about the possibilities for this ribbon than for what was actually in the box. It's long enough to use as a headband, but would look so charming tied in a double bow on a ponytail this Spring with a simple white button front shirt with black pants or a pencil skirt.

They also include a Rouge Allure lipstick sample that is a perfectly neutral pinkish brown. I love when samples are so wearable.

And mentioning the ribbon, gift wrap, and lipstick first should not diminish the goodness that is the box itself. This substantial black vinyl wrapped box with the white CHANEL logo is the perfect place to store nail implements, eye shadow quads, or even jewelry.

I almost feel sad that I already sent Annie her holiday gifts early because this gold CHANEL wrapping paper is so cute that I feel compelled to reuse it. And although I felt a little bit of pain spending $30 a piece on the polishes, I should note that the shipping and gift wrap is free on the Web site.

Credits: To Russia with Love lyrics by Matt Munro and photos by Melanie Parker