Manicure Monday: Cinéma

I graduated last Wednesday, and from what I can tell that now means I'm a grown up, as much as I don't want it to.

As far as I'm concerned, being a grown up means wearing grown up nail varnish. So step forward, Chanel.

For years I only ever wore red nail varnish, and swore by OPI's Big Apple Red. Unfortunately my bottle is now so old and used that the polish itself is super gloopy and the brush is stuck inside the as the cap is somehow glued shut. With over half of it left I could try and salvage it and force my way in, but let's be honest life is just too short! Plus, in the spirit of Manicure Monday I want to try new polishes so this gave me the perfect excuse to go shopping and buy a brand new classic red shade.

(Officially a grown up - no more silliness…)

I've long been a fan of Chanel nail varnish (and can't get enough of the Dissolvant Doux, as I've talked about before) but as it's a little on the pricey side it's not something I buy regularly. Graduating university seemed as good a time as ever to treat myself, and while agonising over shades I came across Cinéma. I'm not going to lie: I was won over by the name, and came to the conclusion that even if it didn't turn out to be the perfect shade I was deliriously happy to add to my collection a nail varnish from one of my favourite designers named after my favourite pastime.

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.harrods.com)

It turns out that it's a beautiful, classic red and I absolutely love it! This summer I've been a huge fan of white and pastel shades, but for me nothing can ever beat a bold, pillar box red.

As with all Chanel nail polish, it applies beautifully in two coats. However, after so many weeks of large Essie brushes I did struggle with the exceptionally thin brush in this, and even with my smallish nail beds it took more strokes than I anticipated for an even and neat coat. The best bit, though, is I smudged a couple while painting them (a result of trying to talk on the phone at the same time…) and after gently patting them with my finger tip while the varnish was still tacky, the smudge completely disappeared and also left no trace of a finger print when dry. This greatly impressed me, as I hate having to waste time redoing certain nails!

I'm also having a bit of a comic book moment after visiting the Comics Unmasked exhibition at the British Library last week and watching The Dark Knight (one of my all-time favourite films) at the Barbican yesterday. Marvel's Agent Peggy Carter (played by Hayley Atwell) from the Captain America universe is such a bad-ass character, and I adore how she can show up all the men around her in the military and prove she's consistently the most intelligent and capable person in the room, all with perfectly coifed hair, and striking red lips and nails. Having rewatched Captain America recently (a film I detested when I first saw it but now absolutely adore) I decided channelling Peggy with gleaming red nails wouldn't be a bad thing at all, hence why I picked it this week!

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.marvel-movies.wikia.com)

So, what do you think? Is there a killer red that will rival Cinéma and I simply must add to my collection? As ever, let me know in the comments below or drop me a tweet!

With all this talk of growing up and fancy nail varnish, I have to confess I painted my nails this morning while watching Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, so clearly I have no intention to succumbing to adulthood any time soon. Making Chanel a regular fixture on my nails, though, is another matter entirely...