Chanel: Paradoxal

Hey everyone!  SonyT was right.  I do love Chicago, BUT I don't know how I feel about the bone chilling cold wind.  Oh wait, yes I do - I hate it haha.  At least the bf surprised me with a room at the Ritz.  It's like sleeping in heaven.  We're heading to get brunch and a CUBS game later today.  I inadvertently ended up with a CUBS-esque manicure which I'll try to show you later.  Apparently the sun never shines in this windy city.  Today I have Chanel Paradoxal for everyone.  I mentioned that I had grabbed it at the mall on the way home and I'm pretty sure it was about $26 after tax.  This is the most I have ever spent on a polish at its natural price, so I had really high hopes. 

2 coats Paradoxal + 1 coat OPI top coat, artificial light

As you can see, it is really a beautiful color.  It's a taupe-y creme with a violet dense shimmer that shows up in natural light (of which I had no opportunity to capture).  The polish is 3 Free and comes in a very distinct bottle that is pictured below.  The black cap pops off to reveal a Butter London-esque ribbed top.  The brush is relatively short and thin, but pretty firm.  Application was not difficult at all.  I think this was actually a rare no-clean-up for me. 

There's the sneaky purple shimmer

Application and gorgeous color are about wear my glowing review must stop.  I painted this on Wednesday night as a work manicure.  I started with a coat of Seche Vite Crystal Base Coat and topped it with OPI's standard top-coat.   Everything dried and looked great.  When I woke up in the morning I noticed nothing strange, but after my shower I noticed that my right hand had chipped A LOT.  It looked like a week old mani.  No tip wear, but huge chips.  By that night things had gotten much worse.  When I reached into my wallet to grab my ID, an entire nail of polish just popped off like I had cheap stick on nails.  These things definitely do happen with polishes.  However, I really am disappointed that after spending so much money, I can't manage to keep the manicure pretty for 10 hours before it gets that trashy chipped look. 

Classy bottle shot

The infamous Chanel Logo

Verdict? I'm going to go into Macy's, next to the hotel, and complain/ask what the deal is.  I suspect they will try to sell me their top coat brand, and I will get upset and decline.  WAY TOO EXPENSIVE.  I'm not planning on giving this away yet, but I will need to do further testing.  It may just piss me off if I see it in my stash.

Has anyone else had this problem with Chanel?  Is it just the color?  Or do you have any suggestions for different base coat/top coat?


-Shbecky