Hello! So today, I have a gorgeous polish to show you. Back last year, photos and blogposts of a pretty beautiful nail varnish started to surface… by the name of Chanel Taboo. It quickly became a cult favourite – everyone wanted it! It was actually only available in the US for quite a while, which I think stirred the proverbial pot here in the UK even more and it became a BIG favourite for Summer/Autumn 2013. I know I really wanted it!
Retailing at around the £18 mark, it was not only hard to get, but hard to justify! So thankfully… (as often happens with Chanel favourites) Boots No7 came up with the perfect dupe.
Galaxy is an absolutely exquisite blend of reddish-brown shimmer and iridescent blue sparkles, in an inky blue-purple base. It’s just stunning. My pictures don’t quite do it justice – the red shimmer is always visible but subtle, and the blue sparkles always catch the light. I honestly haven’t been wowed that much by photos of Galaxy or Taboo, but I know now how hard it is to capture its beauty! What I find interesting is that the colour on the nail is totally different to that in the bottle… weird! I don’t like it in the bottle half as much as I do on!
Application:
I’ve honestly always had problems with No7’s formula. ALWAYS. Which led me to avoid them for a long long time. I think the last one I bought was in early 2012. But they have REALLY picked it back up for this lacquer. It’s opaque at 2 coats. While it’s a little streaky on the first coat, it’s so dense that at 2 coats it’s all covered. It dries in perfect timing, not too slow but not so quick that it dries as you apply. The formula is lovely and smooth and I had no issues in getting a neat curve around my cuticle – the flat brush (the stem of which is much less bendy than it was) makes applying it all really easy (no cleanup here, folks!). The finish is glossy, but for it to show it’s true magic I’d wear it with a coat of topcoat. It has a ‘gel-effect’ claim on the front of the bottle… to be honest, I’m not sure about that, but I certainly do love the finish!
This is actually one of the most elegant-looking colours I’ve worn on my nails in a LONG time, and I am totally, totally in love with it! But… dupe or not? I’m afraid I don’t have the original Chanel to show you, however Polly Polish did a great Taboo/Galaxy comparison here which shows them side-by-side – I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. How about you?
Boots No7 Galaxy costs £7 and is available both instore and online (not sure why they use the ridiculous colour tab under that name… however I have no idea whether they are on the ball at Boots online so personally I’d try and get it in a physical shop instead). It’s currently on a buy one get one half price offer, which I took full advantage of 🙂
x