Les Contrastes de Chanel: Paradoxal

Crush Maybe you remember my review on Chanel's previous hit: Nouvelle Vague? I was a bit disappointed to be honest... and then this beauty strolled along. Trust me, I was reluctant. But then the swatches started to haunt me and I knew I just needed to have it. I think I now know what it's like to have a nail polish crush. It won't be out here for a while, but a big sweetheart CP'ed it for me, thank you so much Brittni!!

Secret shimmer

And you know what? I'm happy to have it! This polish belongs to the Les Contrastes de Chanel fall 2010 collection. Paradoxal is a deep purple-y taupe, I really love this color. In brighter or sun light there's this pretty pink/blue-ish shimmer, it's stunning. The shimmer is barely noticeable in normal lighting though, but sometimes the purple sheen will catch your eye. I'm pretty sure I will be wearing this color a lot this fall!

Application

I normally don't use the phrase "it applies like butter", I save it for very very special occasions, and this is one of them. I've used two coats and they just glided on. A lot of people experienced major chip city within a few days, but for me it stayed on for five days with only one chip at my thumb (and that was on the 5th day AFTER I cleaned the house). I used Orly Bonder and Nubar Diamont and it held up really well!

Dupes?

If you're looking for a less expensive alternative you can look into Purple Grey by Models Own, it doesn't have shimmer but the base color is really close!

You can get Chanel Paradoxal online at www.chanel.com for $23.00 or at your local Chanel counter. It probably won't be for sale in The Netherlands until appr. October.