L'Oreal Femme Noir and Luminescence

As promised, here are some swatches of the two polish shades I purchased this week from the new limited edition L'Oreal Midnight Muse collection (click here for pics of the full display).

First up, Femme Noir:

Both of the above pics were taken indoors with flash, and I think it's interesting how, depending on the angle, this shade can look almost completely black or it can have that "burning embers" type of feel to it. I LOVE Femme Noir so much it's not even funny. It's got that lit-from-within quality that I adore, but I'd like to make it clear that the shimmer is not as red as it looks in the above photos. It's actually more of a cognac color. Sort of a cross between blood red and rich chocolate brown. Gorgeous.

Here's a pic of Femme Noir taken in full sunlight:

I think the color in this pic is more accurate, but I'd still like to make it clear that, indoors, this shade has a tendency to look black on my nails. You really need to angle it correctly and have the light bounce off it in order to see that rich cognac shimmer. The above pics were taken with two coats (plus base and top coat) and I didn't have any real issues with application. I'm happy to report that the formula of Femme Noir is much better (thinner) than other L'Oreal polishes I've purchased lately, so that's definitely a big bonus.

And finally, we have Luminescence:

Depending on how I hold the bottle, when the light hits this shade, the bottle color looks either inky-blue, or deep purple (as you can see above). Now please don't get your hopes up about this one. If you're a purple polish lover, I want to make it clear that the beautiful purple shimmer you see in the above pics is due to my camera flash. The color does not look this way to the naked eye. Indoors, this really looks like a dark, inky-purple-blue-black creme. It's impossible for me to even detect the shimmer when I'm indoors.

BUT, when you go out in full sunlight, Luminescence comes alive a bit more:

(Be sure to enlarge this photo to really see this shade up close)

To my eyes, the plum undertone of this color really comes out in the sunlight. It's not the cooler purple that you think it's going to be when you see it in the bottle. It's frustrating that I have to strain to really see the beauty in this shade, but it is gorgeous in sunlight so...if you're black polish fan, you might want to check this one out. If you don't like wearing black or almost-black shades on your nails, I'd probably skip this one. By the way, the formula was just as good as Femme Noir (two coats, no issues, not too thick or goopy).

I hope these swatches help some of you who have been considering picking up some polish from this collection. You've definitely got to love dark vampy colors to really appreciate either of these shades!

Do you already own anything from the Midnight Muse collection? Are thinking about picking anything up?