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:
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!
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
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.
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.
I love it too. Purple is my favorite, and Chanel is a quintessential chic in a botlle. Thank you for the review!
This color looks so nice on you! I'm curious how many polishes you have and how often you change your polish.
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.
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).
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.
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