Choix Subscription Box #3 (with mini reviews of Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer, Chanel Le Vernis in Vamp, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow, Tom Ford Matte Lip Color in Pussy Cat, and Laura Mercier Baked Eyeshadow in Black Karat)

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For more information about this subscription, take a look at the detailed review of my first two boxes. For now, I'm going to jump right in to the products I sampled in June (I'm already way behind, since I got my July box over a week ago already). This subscription is a fun way for me to test and review some higher end products that I normally wouldn't pick up.

My third box was full of surprises--things I liked more that I expected, and things that made for disappointing swatches but worked much better in actual use. Here are the samples I picked this time:

Chanel Le Vernis in Vamp and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx01.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow, Tom Ford Matte Lip Color in Pussy Cat, and Laura Mercier Baked Eyeshadow in Black Karat. They actually managed to preserve the "bacon" marbling in the Hourglass blush when repressing it! Impressive.

I also got these applicators, which as usual I could pretty much do without. I actually have no idea what the third thing is. This is the second time they've sent one of those. Any ideas?

Many, many photos below!

Is Sinful Colors nail polish ($2) better quality than Chanel ($27)?

That's what this Consumer Reports test determined, at least in terms of wear time. I guess they just tested one color from each brand though? There are usually significant differences within each line, in my experience. I guess it's enough to show that higher price does not necessarily guarantee a better product (shocking!).

Meanwhile, I've never had a nail polish last more than 4 days, no matter what combination of products I use, and I think even that has only happened once or twice.

Turn all of your creme nail polishes into shimmers (temporarily): Review of e.l.f. sheer topcoats

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Collecting a few cheap effects topcoats is a good way to double (or triple, etc.) the number of nail polishes you have available, in a way. I've posted before about using a holo topcoat so that you instantly have as many different colors of holo polishes as you have polishes. Using these $2 e.l.f. shimmer topcoats similarly multiplies your options. If you have a color you love, but have seen a shimmer version of it that you're debating buying, getting the right shimmer topcoat might be a cheaper option (and it can be used with all your other colors, of course). I've included one example below where I was able to dupe an Orly nail polish using an ULTA creme I already had and an e.l.f. topcoat. These shimmers are also just really fucking pretty, so that's maybe enough reason to check them out.

Here are swatches of all the e.l.f. topcoats I own over Revlon Parfumerie Wild Violets. I also included the other glitter and flakie topcoats from e.l.f that I have, for the sake of completeness. The last time I checked, it was hard to find swatches of these shimmers, so I hope this is useful to someone. The only shimmer topcoat from them that I don't have is Twinkle Twilight, which I think is a silvery shimmer. (I want it too.) Each of these is one coat over the dark purple base, photographed in natural light.

Swatches (left to right) of Revlon Parfumerie Wild Violets (alone) and then topped with e.l.f. Summer Solstice, Supernova, Big Bang Blue, Fairy Dust, Love Me, and Enchanted.

More photos below:

e.l.f. dupes/alternatives for Chanel, MUFE, etc. (from Wayne Goss)

In this short video, Wayne Goss favorably compares the e.l.f. Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow (which I posted about here - I also have the bronze one) with Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow. He also recommends the e.l.f. Lock and Seal (which I used here), pointing out that it's exactly the same as versions from Make Up Forever and other brands that cost 5-6 times as much.

$2 dupe for Chanel Azure nail polish (picture heavy)

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People seems to be pretty fucking excited about the new Chanel nail polish, called "Azure". It's a greenish-teal-blue metallic duochrome - which, frankly, is not an original or unique shade of nail polish. It could be that this is one of those situations where you have to see in person to appreciate it's super-specialness, but I seriously doubt it. I think instead that this is a case of Chanel bringing its trend-making power to making an already common type of nail polish trendy (redundant much?). And then charging $27 for it. The formula isn't even anything special, apparently.

But I have a $2 nail polish that is mind-bogglingly gorgeous, and it looks like a dupe for the Chanel polish - or close enough. Check it out: