Chanel Particulière, Inattendu & Tendresse Swatches & Review
The palette for the Spring 2010 Chanel collection, Les Impressions de Chanel, is all about chic, wearable neutrals. Creative Director Peter Philips wanted to honor Coco Chanel’s legacy of creating classic, timeless pieces with a wardrobe of color that never goes out of style.Included in the collection are three new Le Vernis nail lacquers including Particulière, Tendresse and Inattendu. You may recall the frenzy that erupted when Particulière was spotted on the Chanel Spring 2010 runway. We all wondered, is it a khaki, grey, mushroom, dusty purple, mauve? Would it just end up being a You Don’t Know Jacques knockoff? See for yourself after the jump! |
Turns out, Particulière is a grayed taupe creme much lighter than YDKJ and cooler than other taupes like OPI Over The Taupe or Orly Prince Charming. It’s not quite what I was expecting but still unique. I must admit when I first saw the color on the runway I expected it to be part of an edgier makeup collection. To think that this type of hue is considered a timeless classic says a lot about where we’ve come in terms of acceptable nail colors.
Application of Particulière was pretty much perfection. It applied smooth and even in two coats drying to a high gloss shine. I went looking for a low cost alternative and I’m sad to say Particulière has no dupes. The closest I came was Essie Mink Muffs which is more brown and dries darker even though the bottle colors are similar.
When I first saw Inattendu I thought perhaps I had found my “mannequin hands” shade but it’s way too peach. The peachy nude is actually much more flattering than I expected but the formula left me disappointed. When you’re paying for Chanel quality, it shouldn’t take three coats to go opaque. I can deal with three coats for a unique, special shade but for a neutral, not so much. Not when there is undoubtedly a dupe somewhere on the market.
Tendresse is a baby pink sheer. It’s meant to be worn sheer but I wanted to see if it was buildable. What you see below is three coats and we’re still not anywhere near opaque’s neighborhood. Though for you sheer fans, Tendresse is streak-free so one coat adds a healthy pink glow to your tips. It’s got that lipgloss effect.
Les Impressions de Chanel is on sale now at your local Chanel counter and online at Chanel.com. Polishes retail for $23/ea.
What are your thoughts on these polishes? Did Particulière live up to your expectations or is it a letdown? What about the other colors? Are they staples you’ll be adding to your collection?
Disclosure: A product sample was furnished to me by Chanel. For further information view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I really like Particuli
Very pretty but too expensive!!!!
Your nails are amazing as always! But to comment the polishes; I don’t think any one of these will make it into my Helmer, too expensive for not so special colors. Particuliere are beautiful, but not worth that much money, not to me at least.
I loooove mine
had it on the nails since I got it Monday, it didn’t disappoint me that’s for sure 
my first brownish color actually so it was a big surprise that I liked it so much 
I’m glad I picked up Particuliere!
I have Particuli
Is it possible to see it swatched next to Over the Taupe? I’m hoping that OTT will be a cheaper alternative!
Particuli
Tendresse seems like a gorgeous color, but I’m so annoyed I can’t find a decent opaque pink. The others are ehh for me.
Your nails look pretty in all the colors. NOT worth the $23, imo.
I have Particuliere on its way to me but not soon enough (it’s backordered!). I rarely purchase Chanel shades because of their cost but I had to have it! My only other Chanel is Haute Chocolate and its my absolute favorite!
I have Butter London’s Fash Pack (don’t have Particuliere though) however it seems to me that it is very close – not having both of them I cant compare…
for inattendu, i think american apparel’s nail polish line has a similar colour called palm springs. thanks for the swatches!
I just bought Particuliere today and I love love love it. The application is smooth and pigmented and even; however, it is the texture is a little thicker than what I am used to. Now that I have seen your swatches, Inattendu and Tendresse are quite cute but they are not as unique as Particuliere.
I love both Particuli
OMG…These are TOO gorgeous!!!
Oh no! These pictures formats are not compatible with my iPhone! I have been able to see the pics in your other entries – are these a different format? I have particuliere and love it!!!
At a first glance I liked them (I love Chanel and I bought Blue Satin after reading your wonderful rewiew) but I’m not fond of sheer and “fleshy” colours. Particuli
If you do a swatch comparison, I’d like to see Particuliere up against OPI YDKJ, Zoya Pasha, and Butter Fash Pack. It seems like it might be more tonally like Pasha (which I have), but without the grey shimmer.
have you heard about the american apparel nail polishes? because i think Mouse is a close dupe of Particulere… its a lovely color though! great swatches!
I agree with Gina, very pretty but expensive!
I think i’ll try Inattendu this summer. Not too sure about the peachiness but it might be a good fit for my dark complexion. I actually like the fact that I have to build to get it to an opaque level. I have a choice going sheer or opaque instead of buying two different types of polish.
has anyone compared Particuli
I have both and Particuliere is nothing at all like Metro Chic. Metro Chic is WAY gray compared to this wonderful live forever among the classic shades from Chanel.
Any dupes for Tendresse? I don’t have any polishes that give that lipgloss effect, but I’d love to try it for less than $23.
Lindsay – I heard that Zoya’s Jessika might be a good dupe for Tendresse.
Now does anyone know a good dupe for Inattendu? I tried it at the Chanel counter and I think it’s my mannequin hands color.
Along the lines of some previous comments, I am really curious to see how Particuli
I really want Particuli
I bought Rimmel’s New polish in Steel Grey (which is NOT grey). I thought that it was a dupe for Particuliere, but comparing my nails to your pics, they are not alike at all.
Steel Grey is more of a grey-purple. Man!! I was hoping I wouldn’t have to cough up $23 for a Chanel nail polish. But I might just have to cuz I <3 brown.
Inattendu reminds me of a ChG I saw, one of the ones with roman numeral names … I don’t have it, so I can’t say for sure. I LOVE the look of Tendresse, but no way no how am I paying $23 for a polish (well, not yet)! I’ll have to search for a dupe. I looked up Zoya Jessika on NG, and it doesn’t look close …
Oh dear… am seriously lemming Particuli
I was holding out against buying Particuli
you are SO right – it’s a classy ‘classic’ color!
Loving Chanel s new polish particuliere just bought it!!!!
I see quite a few people have asked you to do some other comparison swatches for Particuli
Please , please suggest a dupe for inattendu. I LOVE the shade…
best dupe for particuliere is a ‘sparkle and fade’ shade. not sure of the name but found in urban outfitters. i cant tell the difference between the two!xx
What about Nails Inc Jermyn Street as a good replacement for Particuli
I’ve had fash pack from butter london for a while and last week got particuliere – i can categorically state they are exactly the same shade! i was a bit annoyed at first but now think i’ll just sell the particuliere on ebay for a nice profit!
What makes Over the Taupe different from Particuli
Over the Taupe has a more reddish undertone while Particuli
How does Particuliere compare to American Apparel “Mouse”?
i love your reviews! thanks so much for the great photos too…you inspired me and I just got Chanel particuliere. I loooove the color…cant wait to get it.
I love Particuliere! It is so pretty and does really go on better than any other polish I have ever used. I also got my hands on a bottle of Nouvelle Vague about a day before it disappeared from Chanel’s site. It is gorgeous!!!!! Just like a Tiffany’s box!
How close is Eyeko’s Posh Polish to Particuliere??
Thanks!!
I love Particuliere – such a gorgeous shade of mushroom brown – not even the fact that lily allen loves it can put me off – it’s so pricey though – the new free nails inc nail polish from boots is similar but not quite as good!
love the Chanel brown
I have Essie Mink Muffs and itdoesn’t look like this on me at all! It’ much less brown,and i think it has more character and style than Particuliere, and here is a big Chanel fan talking!
these colours kinda suck for chanel
They are nice shades but not overly unique in my opinon. I’m not a huge fan of sheer and I already have a lot of nude/neutral polishes, and although I like the mushroom grey colour I could just buy the Jacques colour by OPI if I really wanted one.
Not my favorite Chanel collection!
hello, do you have in mind any dupes for inattendu? chanel gives me allergies for some reason, :’(