Violet Groove and LE 54 from the Lancome Spring 2011 Ultra Lavande Collection – Swatches and Review

Lancome Spring 2011 - Ultra Lavande
Lancome Spring 2011 - Ultra Lavande

Today I have swatches of the two nail polishes from Lancome’s Spring 2011 Collection, called Ultra Lavande.  This collection is full of bright lavender and violet colors, and feels very springy!

The first polish is called Violet Groove.  It was used in the Chris Benz Spring 2011 runway show during Fashion Week in New York, which I think makes it kind of more fun.  It’s a bright violet creme.  One thing that makes it slightly less fun is that the square part of the Lancome cap is attached directly to the brush, unlike other bottles like Chanel or Dior where the big square part is separate and pops off, so it’s a little bit unwieldy to hold.  This color was also kind of streaky as I applied it, so I felt a little skeptical, but by the third coat it had evened up, and it dried very glossy and pretty.  I don’t have any other purples like this–it’s darker than all of the other springy, pastel purples that I have, but it’s not dark.  I think in real life it looks even brighter than in my photos-it’s the color of a purple jelly bean.

Lancome Violet Groove
Lancome Violet Groove
Lancome Violet Groove
Lancome Violet Groove

The next polish is called LE 54.  I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean, which is just a tiny bit irritating to me–I get things like limited edition?  Studio 54? running through my head.  It’s a warmer violet sheer base with lots of light blue sparkle.  When I painted it on, I was kind of surprised to find that it also has a bit of small, pinkish-purple shimmery sparkle as well, which doesn’t really show up in the bottle.  I like the sparkle of this one, but it’s so sheer that for me it will only be a topcoat for layering.  I put on three coats for the picture below, but you can see that this is just not going to build to be more opaque.

Lancome LE 54
Lancome LE 54

Layering LE 54 over Violet Groove is pretty-the light blue sparkle really complements the violet color of the base.  So nice for spring!

Lancome Violet Groove w/ LE 54
Lancome Violet Groove w/ LE 54
Lancome Violet Groove w/ LE 54
Lancome Violet Groove w/ LE 54

The Ultra Lavande Collection is available now at Lancome.com and Nordstrom.com.

2 thoughts on “Violet Groove and LE 54 from the Lancome Spring 2011 Ultra Lavande Collection – Swatches and Review”

  1. I’m dying to try this color! For a while I stopped buying all the trendy colors because I think I should remember I am 35 and not 15 but then I think ‘Hey, you only live once!” Purple is my favorite color and since winter never seems to end this might just be the perfect pick me up! Thanks for sharing!

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