Review: Chanel Paradoxal Nail Polish

When we first saw Chanel Paradoxal nail polish, a dark gray-violet that is part of the Chanel Fall 2010 Beauty Collection, we couldn't wait to get our hot little hands on it.  It looked to be a rival to our number one favorite polish ever, Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud. What we love about Opulent Cloud -- and what we hoped for Chanel's Pardoxal -- is that it practically changes color from silver to gold to lavender, like a rich piece of silk.

When we first saw the bottle of Paradoxal in real life, we were a bit disappointed as it's much lighter in color than the press photo. Even considering the strength of our flash in the photo above right, it's significantly lighter in person and a bit less sparkly. Still, we know that you can never judge a polish by the color in the bottle, so we hightailed it to our local nail salon. On our fingers, it's a pretty purple-y gray and, like expensive blonde highlights, the subtle sparkle is most notable in the sunshine.

The verdict: It's a nice addition to our fall collection of polishes, but you don't have to camp out at Neimans or the other stores that will be selling it overnight to get it.