Chanel Soho Story – Strong and Steel

Chanel Strong
Chanel Strong

Last fall I was trying to be reasonable about my nail polish purchases, and the Chanel Soho Story came out mere days before the Khakis de Chanel were released, and I was not very into dark nail polishes then.  So I told myself I could pass them by.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, I was looking at the Nordstrom’s website and noticed they were still listed.  And then I looked at swatches.  And now I have swatches of my own to show.

The two Soho polishes are Strong and Steel.  I lived in New York City for six years in my twenties and have a weakness for things New York, so when I saw from the swatches that these polishes don’t look purely black I thought I should give them a try now rather than dooming myself to searching for them on eBay.  The first is Strong.  I did use three coats for each of these, but they had the nice, slightly dry Chanel formula, so they were easy to direct.  Strong is a very dark brownish color with red, brown and slightly purple shimmer.  I like it!  It’s probably a little too dark for me to wear to my office, since it does look very dark on the nail, but it has a strong, pretty shimmer that makes it luxurious and weighty.  It seems ever so slightly like Dior’s Lemon Balm, although it’s darker.

Chanel Strong
Chanel Strong

It looks brooding and heavy, especially in the shade, but sometimes that’s okay.  Or good!

Chanel Strong, shade
Chanel Strong, shade

The other polish is Steel.  It’s  a VERY dark grey with silver shimmer.  There’s more than a few polishes around that seem similar to this, but I think this one may be the darkest grey.  At least the darkest that I have.  It’s like a black that is somehow grey, and the shimmer is noticeable enough to lighten it up and make it more interesting.  It’s not really “steel” color, but it’s gritty and somehow kind of harsh.  I like it, too!  It reminds me of the subway.

Chanel Steel
Chanel Steel

 

Chanel Steel
Chanel Steel, shade

This nail polish purchase convinced me that I am an emotional polish consumer and wearer.  Just the name “Soho Story” makes me think of wandering around in Soho and the cinnamon almonds and the Prince Street subway station.  Somehow these colors evoke images and memories for me partly because of the names, and the designer New York “story” that is attached to them.  I love them, and I’m so happy to have them.  If you have a similar New York fixation and have held off so far, I think you should check these out soon on the Nordstrom’s website.  They’ve been gone from the Chanel website for a long time.

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