CHANEL and SEVENTEEN are proud to announce the 2008 winner of the CHANEL Colour of the Year Contest. Amy Gonzo, 19, of Port Washington, WI, created Haute Chocolat, a shimmery chic brown nail lacquer with flecks of gold. It was inspired by her favorite holiday drink, hot cocoa, and is available in October 2008 at department and specialty stores nationwide as well as on CHANEL.com.

Thousands of entries were reviewed by Seventeen and CHANEL to determine the selected winner whose shade name and inspiration would be launched exclusively in the United States as part of the limited edition CHANEL Holiday 2008 Makeup Collection. The winner will be officially announced in the October 2008 issue of Seventeen (on newsstands September 16th).

Amy Gonzo Winner of 2008 CHANEL and Seventeen
Colour of the Year Contest.

Since the introduction of Vamp in 1995, CHANEL has become famous for trend-setting, cult classic nail colours. Haute Chocolat, destined to be a sell-out shade, will retail for $20.00 and be available from October through December 2008.

Available on CHANEL.com and department and specialty stores nationwide.

The below Q&A provides insight into Amy Gonzo’s creativity and inspiration!

Where did you gather your ideas for the CHANEL and Seventeen Colour of the Year nail contest?I gathered ideas for the Seventeen nail contest from my own memories of the holidays. I wanted to combine the comfort and warmth of the season with the chic elegance that is indicative of CHANEL.

Where did you hear about the CHANEL contest? From reading Seventeen magazine, or from friends?
I was paging through Seventeen and I saw the announcement for the contest.

What are your favorite makeup products to experiment with?
I love to play around with different lip colors. I really like CHANEL Glossimer and Aqualumiere lip glosses.

What are your favorite fashion trends right now?
I really like the painterly quality that is being shown on fabrics. I also like scarves inspired by the countryside.

Where are your favorite places to shop?
My favorite places to shop are Boston Store, J.Crew, Anthropologie and fair trade stores.

Where are you from?
Port Washington, Wisconsin.

What are your favorite foods?
I’m addicted to iced chai.

What is some of your favorite music?
I like to listen to The Kooks, Jack’s Mannequins and Sheryl Crow.

What do you like to do with your friends on the weekend?
We watch a lot of movies, go to the beach and shop.

Do you use Facebook or MySpace to communicate with friends?
I use Facebook.