Friday, October 1, 2010

Nail Files - Fall 2010 - Chanel Paradoxal...it's about time...

Wow...just wow...that's all I have to say about this color.  It's funny, I had been visiting Chanel Paradoxal at Nordstrom for about 2 months.  Every time I went by the Chanel counter, I'd stop at look at Paradoxal.  You see, I just wasn't sure I needed it, especially when I had Dior's Lemon Balm from last fall.  But a few weeks ago, after realizing that I was doing this *every* time I walked through Nordstrom (in my defense, the Chanel nail polish does face right out to the mail aisle to get to the rest of the mall), I finally sprang for it.  And couldn't wait to get home and put in on my nails.  I love it.   I do.  I love love love love it.  The next day, I called one of my fellow nail junkies to coo about Paradoxal...yes, it's that bad.  And she agreed about the gorgeousness because she borrowed it when we got pedis together a few days later.

Of late, I had stopped buying Chanel polish, because I wasn't loving anything enough to pay the price for it.  I thought Pariculiere was a fab color, but OPI's YDKJ was enough taupe for me.  And I wasn't feeling any of the summer colors.  And I finally realized that much as I like Blue Satin, OPI's Light My Sapphire is a better navy for me - less bright, more gray.  And I heard reports of chipping issues with Jade... And... And... And...  For me to spend that much on a polish it has to be pretty spectacular.

This one is.  To start, Chanel polishes usually show on the nail a bit different than in the bottle - most often, it's that there is less sparkle on the nail than in the bottle.  With Paradoxal, if I had known what it would look like on my nails, I would have gotten it sooner.  In the bottle there is a very bright purple iridescent quality to it.  But on the nail, the color morphs a bit darker, with subtle sheen in the sunlight. 

How would I describe the color?  Hmmmmm.  It's just a gorgeous bit of smoky violet-taupe mysterious goodness.  Application is fantastic.  Even without my fave OPI wide brush, it applies like a dream.  Not too thick, but not too thin.  2 coats really is all you need.  It's funny as I post this, because I just put it on my fingers again last night. 

Closest comparisons with my polish collection, with notes because, as I said, Paradoxal definitely presents as much deeper on the nail than in the bottle.


Sephora OPI Metro Chic:  Paradoxal is definitely deeper/darker.
OPI You Don't Know Jacques: Paradoxal is more purple, less brown/gray.
Dior Lemon Balm:  Paradoxal doesn't have as much shimmer - and it's deeper.

Bottom line - HIGHLY recommend this one, if you've been feeling the urge.  It's still available online at Chanel.com, and my local Nordstrom had several bottles left in the case - so your local store may have it as well.

9 comments:

Pamela said...

I bought this one too and luv it. The color is great for fall. It's my first Chanel polish purchase and I'm glad I bit the bullet. I second your recommendation!

sparrowsandsparkles said...

Oh I have been thinking thinking thinking about this one for awhile and you have just pushed me over the edge! I'll be getting my Paradoxal next time I'm at Nordstrom! Have a great weekend :) xo

Anonymous said...

I bought the NARS color "purple rain" but this looks a little more blue - which I love. I really like the NARS color however, and it was my first purchase of their nail color - it goes on really nice.

Kathy said...

This color looks beautiful with your skin! I do have the OPI and I find it kind of grey against my skin and not very flattering. This fall, I have pulled out my bottle of OPI Boris and Natasha, which goes nicely with the greys and blacks I wear this time of year.

Slastena said...

I love it too. Purple is my favorite, and Chanel is a quintessential chic in a botlle. Thank you for the review!

Anonymous said...

This color looks so nice on you! I'm curious how many polishes you have and how often you change your polish.

HeidiG said...

Pamela - oh, I'm sure it's gorgeous on you with your coloring!!

sparrowsandsparkles - ha, sounds like you're exactly where I was about a minute before I purchased the polish! Hope you enjoy it - I remember you really loved the Give Me Moor from last fall's OPI Espana collection - so I'm sure this will be great on you as well.

Anon/5:43 - glad you are enjoying the NARS Purple Rain - I remember seeing it at Sephora. I haven't tried many of their polishes but been pretty happy with the quality of those that I have.

Kathy - thank you! I know Slastena is a big fan of Boris & Natasha as well.

Slastena - this one would be so great on you, too. Give me a holler - I'll meet you for a mani/pedi around town sometime and we can go Paradoxal...

Anon/11:09 - Oooh, good questions. Number of polishes? Too many, I'm afraid. I actually segragated E's polishes out of mine. Close to 50 myself. I need to do another weeding out of the colors I don't wear. And so I'll share my castoffs with others. I think I probably still end up saving since I usually do my own mani/pedi, and I guess it's a less expensive than that many designer handbags??? (my usual defense, I know, it's weak.) How often do I change polish? It depends. I just put on Paradoxal again last night and am hoping it lasts at least a week. I change more often when I don't like a color. But I've also decided that even if I don't really like a color I should live with it for a few days. It's not good at all for my nails to change it up too often. I do love the Sephora OPI Nail Hydrator as a base coat - it really helps my nails.

Ema said...

I haven't bought Chanel polishes in a while but I used to find them a little bit streaky.
Sephora by Opi "On stage" (from last fall) is as far as I can go with purple. By the way my bottle has dried up, any suggestion as how to fluidify it? I don't want to throw it away as I barely used it twice.

I just used the self-pedi excuse to buy a scarf at Jcrew (same price than going to a nail salon here) and I am actually waiting for my polish to dry while I am typing (I went with a true red called My Old Flame by Deborah Lippman that I got for free in the spring at Nordstrom).

HeidiG said...

Ema - I'm not usually much of a purple person either, but this was un-purple enough for me.

As far as how to save a dried up bottle - I love Seche Restore. It works great to thin out my Seche Vite when it thickens up, but it also is wonderful with other polishes. Well worth the $$, as I use it a lot.