The New Black Gets Shamrocked By Dell, But Does Not Wow

Review By Melanie Parker

Timed with the release of the new 2010 Hong Kong Collection by OPI, the Dell Design Studio now offers six of the collection’s shades. The OPI by Dell line was originally launched in November 2009, and the Dell Design Studio is replacing the initial Holiday Collection selections with the new Hong Kong Collection options. There are also 20 classic OPI colors in the permanent collection of color choices for Mini, Inspiron and Studio laptops. The Hong Kong Collection features fun shades in deep orange, jade green, red, berry, purple, and blue.



Just hearing that Jade is the New Black was one of the OPI by Dell colors had me thinking that now was the time to buy a Studio 17 notebook. I imagined getting it for my birthday at the end of March, which coincides with when I usually get a Federal tax refund. However, Mercury being in retrograde and all, my printer broke on a Saturday and my 8-year old Dell tower refused to boot up the following Monday. The time was right to order the new laptop and printer now.

I momentarily thought about ordering the shell in I'm Not Really a Waitress because it is such a fun and classic shade of red. I love the shimmer. But, I went with Jade Is the New Black sight unseen. I'd seen some swatches of the nail lacquer online, and it really did look like a kelly green jade stone or a green onyx. That would make a lovely laptop color. I'd already named my new techno-baby "The Green Machine" and committed to painting my nails with the lucky looking OPI's Jade Is the New Black until my new computer arrived.

Unfortunately, it took a long time for my new techno-baby to get here. The gestation period amounted to about 3 weeks, which is an eternity when you are sans home computer. And then I was at the office during the first delivery attempt and it pained me to have to wait another day. I am not sure what I was more excited about, switching to one of my new Alice In Wonderland holographic OPIs once I got the laptop or the laptop itself. Three weeks is much longer than I like to go with any one nail color, despite how much I do love this shade of green and that it looks good with about 70% of my wardrobe being kelly green, navy, or black.

So, imagine my surprise when I cracked open the box for my new techno-baby and saw what essentially looked like a Shamrock shake swirl on the top. It's much lighter than the polish, and it's a very grainy image. In fact, in the upper-left corner, there is "OPI by Dell Jade is the New Black" in print, and the font looks grainy too. BIG LET DOWN.

The more I look at it, the more it reminds me of that faux green marble finish that was so popular to paint on the walls in the 1990s. I can't even say that it looks like malachite instead of jade. It looks like a vanilla shake getting mixed with some horrid green mint gel at the local malt shop. It's that white veining that makes my stomach churn.

This designer shell was a total waste of $85. I still love the machine with it backlit keyboard, web cam, and extra RAM. It's the "designer" OPI by Dell shell that I could have lived without. I don't even think a vinyl design from etsy.com could save this shell. It would just be contributing to the wrongness to add another layer. It's a good thing I don't have to look at the shell when I am actually using the notebook.

When I posted my disappointment about the color of the shell on Facebook, I got a comment from a friend who said she was disappointed with the Princesses Rule! one that she got. For those who aren't familiar with that color, it's a pink microglitter. Instead of having a glittery or metallic sheen, she said there are white blobs where the glitter is supposed to be. WTF? The flinish of these shades is what makes them unique to OPI. Merely putting a "wet paint" look of a small swatch magnified to 400% and drowning down these glorious hues dismays this nailphile.

If you are interested in ordering a designer shell for your new computer, I suggest trying to find photos or video of the actual product online first. QVC.com has some of the classic colors. The Hong Kong Collection color options are available now for $85 per device. All customizable colors for Dell Mini, Inspiron and Studio laptops are available at www.dell.com/DesignStudio. The newest additions will be retailed first in the U.S. and later in other countries. Select OPI colors will also be available at select Dell retailers nationwide.

Disclaimer: This product was purchased by the reviewer.

Credit: Melanie Parker for Blogdorf Goodman

40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 36, Chanel Black Satin

Black Satin was created to replicate the depth and shine of black satin ribbons. It is a raven glossy black with just a light sprinkle of silverish shimmer.
After the sucess of Vamp, Chanel did not have another massive nail polish hit until Black Satin. Black nails were already being worn by many but Chanel managed to make it legit. After the launch, everyone was wearing black nails from the young starlets led by Lindsay Lohan to Eva Longoria.
Black was the "it" shade.
As with every "it' anything...the gushing and swooning ceases.
Black Satin was soon replaced by the popular Navy Satin. Navy was a huge color trend for fall nails. Navy polishes could be found in Zoya, Christian Dior, OPI and Sally Hansen collections.
I can only imagine what Chanel has in store for us for fall.
Will we be losing our minds over Gray Satin?
Or will it be British Racing Green?

Let us know what you think of black satin in the comments. Also tell us what you think will be the next color trend for nails.


Credits: ribbon information from an article By Lesley Jane Seymour in The New York Times Published: October 16, 2006
Disclosure: I purchased this nail polish at my local Chanel counter

Coco Mademoiselle Commercial

Chanel Tour Part 2



There were many moments that impressed me during this trip. The one that stands out is the incredible dedication of the Chanel staff to preserving the vision of Mademoiselle Chanel.
Every detail from the choice of perfume bottles to the commercials have been inspired by the loves and tastes of Chanel. She passed 30 years ago but she is still directing the path of her beloved company.

Every director, photographer, set designer and muse are brought to the apartments for inspiration. Jean-Paul Goude was inspired by a tiny gilded birdcage on an end table. He used this piece to inspire his famous Coco commercial with Vanessa Paradis swinging in a life sized birdcage.

The latest director to collaborate with Chanel is Joe Wright. Mr Wright directed Pride and Prejudice. This film captured the attention of Chanel's artistic director, Jacques Helleu.
Mr Helleu quickly fell in love with the look of this movie that he immediately hired the director, the actress, the cinematographer and the crew responsible for the set design.

This team was also inspired by the apartments of Mademoiselle Chanel. Throughout the 60 second commercial you will spot glimpses of coramandel walls, chandeliers,jewelry, crystals, camellias, mirrors and the Place Vendome.

The short film was shot over 5 days in the Bry-Sur-Marne studios. Keira Knightley portrays a modern day version of Coco Chanel. The commercial opens with Keira skipping down the fire escape stairs wearing just a men's shirt with a bowler hat. The background view was actually inspired by the breathtaking views from the rooftop over the Chanel workrooms.

There are three versions of the commercial. The 60" version is a personal favorite of Jaques Helleu. The 45" version gives the viewer a lingering shot of Miss Knightley's Black Satin nails. These spots are scheduled to debut Sept. 24 through Oct. 7.

Photos: Blogdorf Goodman and KeiraKnightley.com

Disclosure: This Paris trip was made possible by Chanel.

Chanel Black Ceramic Nail Polish

Already gone in NorthEast Ohio.

According to the SA's at Macys and Saks this little bottle did not last long at the counter. I am on a waiting list for the 2nd shipment. I must be a silly girl to ask to be placed on a waiting list for a nail polish.
But there I was handing over my Saks card and giving them my home number.


Is it worth the hype? Maybe.
It has an added kick of shimmer with flashes of midnight blue.
It was the flash that sold me.

As of right now....the polish is available on Nordstorm's website. Grab bottles while you can.
Huge thanks goes out to reader Ash for the heads up on that!!!!

Anyway...
Griffie felt that the shimmer was very similiar to Lippman's Hit Me With Your Best Shot.
What are everyone's thoughts? Anyone purchase it?

Nail Polish Addicts:
Which one is better....Chanel's Noir Ceramic or Misa's Wishing on a Star?



Lippman's Hit Me With Your Best Shot is available at Beauty.com for $15
http://www.drugstore.com/templates/notcoldept/default.asp?catid=9730&trx=GFI-0-ROTABS&trxp1=9730&trxp4=9730

photos: blogdorf goodman and beauty.com
hand model: griffie

More Ramblings about Black Nail polish...the last time I promise! (crosses fingers behind back)

Picture from gettyimages:
Chanel's Black Satin again.
This time on Hilary Duff.

At first it was fun finding celebrities wearing Chanel's Black Satin nail polish.
Now I just can not seem to get away from it.
This has to mean the trend will be dead and buried before I get my hands on a bottle.
This offered me some closure and I am letting it go.

But before I closed the book on the lemming I googled Black Satin and came across an article in the International Herald Tribune. This is actually the NYTimes piece that Beauty Addict spoke of a few weeks ago.
Read it here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/16/features/nails.php

Here are the most interesting parts of the article:

Chanel, employing technology inspired by the luxury car industry, developed Black Satin to replicate the depth and shine of satin ribbons used by the original Coco Chanel. With its silver undertones, it is a shade different from Vamp, the other big Chanel black nail polish, which took off in 1994 after Karl Lagerfeld showed models sporting black nails on the runway

I had no idea it was inspired by ribbons.
Now I might need it again.

And the interest goes beyond Chanel's new black. There is also OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark and shu uemura's ME083, a gun-metal black. Mac has a new color, Nocturnelle, due Thursday, that is a pure creamy black, with no undertones. In salons, OPI's Black Onyx and Essie's Wicked are popular. And Chanel is creating a black with blue marine tone that it plans to release in the spring.

Shu makes nail polishes???
I feel like I have been living under a rock. I have been dazzled by the eyeshadows and brushes that I have never noticed nail polishes in the Shu store or online.
I am a bad beauty blogger.

Revamp, from Rescue Beauty Lounge in New York City, has red flecks and sparkles that Ji Baek, Rescue Beauty's owner, says were "inspired from the sequins and metallics" she saw layered with black on the Marc Jacobs runway for fall.
"Instead of go-for-it black," she said, "which I think is hard to wear, especially in a corporate environment, this has a layer of red flecks underneath." Baek's first three batches, each in the thousands, have sold out, she said. You can find out when the next shipments are available
by signing up with waitlist@rescuebeauty.com.

They have a online wait list.

All beauty companies should have this.

All information and direct quotes from an article By Lesley Jane Seymour in The New York Times Published: October 16, 2006

My Gothic Romance gone Sour:

My Chanel counter has not called me about the Chanel Black Satin nail polish. I was #50 on the list so I was a long shot.
I snoozed...so I lost.

So I am going to let Avril show how I feel toward the Chanel company.
I will get over it.
Chanel just gave me the best makeover I have ever had in my entire life.
I will post pictures of my mini haul soon.

Pictures of stars who I think have on Chanel Black Satin.
gettyimages

Midnight At The Black Nail Polish Factory: Chanel's Black Satin

Nail polish week begins at Blogdorf

I thought we should begin with the biggest nail polish story of the year. If you are a nail polish junkie then you know I am going to dish on Chanel's Black Satin.

It was a limited edition polish that was offered with the spring collection. This black polish is sold out across the country and has fetched prices of over $100 on Ebay. This has fueled the lemming on makeupalley and other beauty blogs. This frenzy is very similiar to the Chanel Vamp craze in the early 90's. According to Color Stories by Mary Lisa Gavenas, Vamp was created by a makeup artist backstage at a Chanel show. The makeup artist mixed a batch of almost black nail polishes and used it on the models for the show. Beauty Editors and photographers seized on the look and promoted it in their magazines. Chanel quickly released Vamp to capitalize on the buzz. Soon there were dupes in every nail polish line. It sold out as soon as it arrived at a Chanel counter. You had to be on a waiting list to get your hands on it. The height of its popularity arrived with the movie Pulp Fiction. Uma Thurman's character Mia Wallace wore it throughout the movie.



Today Black Satin is the new cult favorite. It is an impressive black polish. I thought it was a soot-like black(like ashes) color with a very subtle shimmer.


I thought it was one of the best blacks I had ever seen until I started researching for the blog. There are lovely vampish colors out there such as Milani's Black Magic and Misa's Wishing on a Star.

I will focus on each one this week.

photos: Griffie models Chanel's Vamp and Chanel's Black satin, Pulp Fiction photos from Yahoo and Chanel
Black Satin's pic from Bravo.com
Title is from a Death Ray for Davies song/album