Growing up, I always had an overactive imagination. Sometimes, it was great, because all I needed were two branches and an empty flowerpot to entertain myself for hours (I’d pretend I was hosting a cooking show).
But sometimes, it wasn’t great, like when one of my aunties visited from the Philippines and stayed with us for a month in the spring when I was in second grade.
For some reason, it was a good year for butterflies. There were way more of them than usual, and my auntie, who had a fondness for what my family refers to as “Filipino old wives’ tales,” (here’s one: “Don’t fall asleep with wet hair, or you’ll wake up blind.”) said that the butterflies were the spirits of dearly departed relatives coming to say hello.
Um…
Of course, instead of taking that as a quaint, poignant fairy tale, I kept thinking, “WOW! There are SO MANY dead people flying around my front yard,” and I assumed that it was only a matter of time before one of them, or perhaps a swarming mass, would open an otherworldly gateway in the yard, like from Poltergeist and Salem’s Lot.
I spent that entire spring running away from butterflies…
Butterflies play an inspiring part in Chanel’s new L’Été Papillon de Chanel summer collection, and it shows in the $27 Azuré Le Vernis Nail Coulour.
The first time I saw it, I gasped! — but not in fear. In sheer delight! The conjurers at Chanel captured the beauty of butterfly wings in a bottle.
Sometimes, depending on the light, it’s difficult to describe Azuré’s color (just like a butterfly’s wings).
One minute, I think I see a bright teal with bright blue edges…
…but then I move my fingers a certain way and see a deep sea blue.
And just when I think I have the color finally figured out, a gunmetal shade flashes at the edges.
I think Azuré’s just…interesting. Not exactly a standard holographic polish, where colors dance across it as you move your fingers back and forth. The effect reminds me more of colorful wings and feathers.
I think it just replaced YSL’s Vert D’Orient as my top teal this summer.
PRICE: $27
AVAILABILITY: Available now online and at Chanel counters
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A
DMV me
Don’t laugh, but I have to go to the DMV this morning to renew my license, and I’m thinking about wearing false lashes for the pic.
I know, a little over the top, but why the heck not? 🙂
You have a great Thursday, ‘kay? Keep an eye out for butterflies.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
omg I was told the same story re dead spirits, except I was told moths, not butterflies. imagine my horror when I was at the arizona memorial & a huge black moth got tangled in my shoulder-length hair for about three minutes!
Hi Nai,
That’s pretty scary. What is it about these stories? Are they purposefully designed to frighten children?!
This color is so pretty! It reminds me of the ocean and sitting on the beach with a tropical drink. 🙂
I say go for the false lashes! Hopefully the DMV isn’t too stressful!
Hey Ruchita,
I know! I desperately need to take this on beach vacation sometime soon.
So…THURSDAY, yay! Do you have any exciting weekend plans yet?
I’ve been dreaming of a beach vacation too. The weather here is crazy. We had a freeze warning last night. 🙁
My husband’s brother and sister have birthdays coming up so we’re going out for dinner tomorrow. Saturday is band practice day so I’m planning baking a cake for my brother-in-law. I saw a recipe for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that looks really good. I don’t usually bake layer cakes, so I decided I needed some practice. 🙂
SO PRETTY! It reminds me of The Little Mermaid.
Haha, yes! It does have that mermaid’s tail thing going on. 🙂
pretty one 🙂 🙂
Super pretty!
LOVE THAT TEAL.
I haven’t heard about the butterfly spirits, but my mom always told me about waking up blind if I slept with my hair wet. I also heard, “If you bite your tongue or start coughing out of the blue, someone is talking about you” and “if your hand itches, put it in your pocket– you’ll be getting money soon!!”
Hi Julia,
I’ve heard the itchy hand one too! I think when someone told me that at first I purposefully scratched at my palms, haha.
Did you ever hear about spoons and forks at dinner? If a fork drops on the ground, it means you’ll have unexpected male company coming over. A spoon means a woman.
Yes, I’ve heard that one about spoons and forks! It was always funny when it turned out to be true (though rarely).
Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous. The picture of the bottle itself didn’t do it justice. Perfect teal! And as far as the false lashes,I say go for it, girl!
Hey lady!
So what did your hubs end up getting you for your anniversary? I’m guessing makeup!
I got a pearl necklace- a brown pearl on a rose gold chain. Beautiful and very delicate and elegant. And he got me 3 nail polishes- one from Givenchy and 2 Sephora brand UV gel nail polishes 🙂 And cheesecake.
FALSIES!!!! YESSS!! do it!
I need to see if any of my stores have Chanel summer out yet. I am dying to get Azure.. =)
Hi Karen,
Haha, I think I might have to! Maybe not the crazy ones, but the ones that bump up the lashes just enough.
I heard from my Nordie’s guy that it should be out in the next week or so! What’s on your wish list?
That is super pretty! And definitely go for the falsies, LOL!! Yikes, that wet hair thing is harsh…and I now I also have a mental image of a moth getting stuck in my hair (SO GROSS those things!!).
Then what are dead butterflies?!
What a beautiful polish. Chanel keeps tempting me this season!
What a stunning shade! I can’t wait for this collection to arrive in the shops here!
Karen,
A German blogger has declared China Glaze Deviantly Daring to be dupe-ish to Chanel Azure. I know you blogged about this color, have you gotten them out to compare yet? Would love your thoughts on this.
thanks for the story about your auntie. She must have been a trove of sayings and stories! I collect folklore, and I am always looking for good tidbits- Filipino ones have been hard for me to find. I married into a Filipino family but, unfortunately, we don’t have access to too many relatives who still live there.
Hmm, I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re exact dupes. They have the same sort of blue-green quality, but the China Glaze shade is darker, with more of an emerald to sapphire shift. Chanel’s seems lighter, brighter and has an additional shift from teal to gunmetal.
Pics of the China Glaze shade:
Thanks for clearing it up- I think perhaps we need both? Really, I mean, who can resist teal duochromes?
So beautiful!
So beautiful !
Amazing! I’m so happy it’s not streaky and I love the colour shift. I just really need this in my life!
Oh yeah, this is right on top of my Chanel Le Vernis shopping list (along with Taboo)! May is almost here riiiight? 😉
No one in my family ever told neat old wives tales like that. My grandmother would sing a little song if we tried to stick our heads out the car window that went, “Don’t stick your head out too far, it might go home in another car”, but that’s as close as we got.
I’m in love with this and the raspberry Glossimer from this collection. But I’m thinking that Essie’s Trophy Wife is close to this, so I’m probably going to just put my money toward the Glossimer and hang on to my bottle of Trophy Wife for dear life as it’s an extraordinary teal. There is a major love affair going on with me and teal this spring…
I keep hoping someone will do a comparison of Azure and Trophy Wife, too! I think deep down I want them to be so similar so I don’t feel the need to buy Azure, lol! 🙂
I need that polish! Also, I totally think wearing fake eye lashes to get your new license is a great idea! I got a spray tan right before my most recent license pic (not for the picture specifically, but it was good timing!) and it is actually a great picture!
It’s definitely a pretty teal, but I feel like it should be easy to dupe with more budget-friendly options…
I had not heard any of the old wives tales. We always say that if your nose itches, you’re going to kiss a fool. My mother is German so she always said (paraphrasing) “spider in the morning brings sadness, in the afternoon brings joy on the 3rd day and in the evening brings good health”.
I often wonder what people in the future will think of our beliefs and science. Like how we think about lead paint or asbestos use now. They’ll probably all be like “Um, of course everyone was dying of cancer, the dummies were cooking everything with MICROWAVES” or something like that. 🙂
This made me laugh so much. Filipino aunties with their old wives’ tales are the best! Every time I go back for a visit, I learn a new one. As for Chanel, the colors of this collection are beautiful, but I already splurged on Fracas…
I LOVE your idea to wear falsies to the DMV! I learned many years ago to overdo my makeup for license photos after a bad experience where my eyes basically disappeared in the picture and I had to tote that awful thing around until I “lost” it and needed to have my photo retaken. 🙂 This polish is ridiculously gorge. I already own Essie Trophy Wife, which is similar, but I think Azure is a bit brighter and therefore, extremely fabulous.