Chanel Le Vernis 531 Peridot (Limited Edition, Illusions d'Ombres Collection Fall 2011)

I caved. I ordered Chanel Peridot. I couldn't resist it. Chanel purchases are always the source of much internal conflict for me- I'm lured in by the color, but then I'm let down by the instantaneous chipping and ridiculous price. I can't always justify spending $25 on one single polish that will undoubtedly chip within the first four hours of wear... But this time, I'm glad I splurged.

For your viewing pleasure, the lovely Chanel Peridot.

Peridot looks like a very strong duochrome in the bottle, with the two main colors being olive-gold and blue-green. Sometimes with these types of colors, the duochrome is only visible in the bottle and doesn't translate on the nail. In this case it does, albeit not quite so strongly. It shifts from olive and gold to a grassy green, from green to an aqua blue, and then to a golden orange and a hint of red.

I didn't like this at first. When it was freshly applied, it was streaky and had no duochrome effect. As it dried, the frosty streaks disappeared and the multichromatic aspect of the polish intensified. It constantly changes with each movement of my hands; watching myself type is currently very amusing.

I'm normally not a fan of Chanel's formula, brushes or application, but Peridot has a much better formula than any of my other Chanels. It's opaque in one coat and isn't overly thick or runny. It is a streaky, frosty mess while you're applying it, but once it dries the majority of the streaky frostiness disappears. It does take a rather long time to dry just like all the other Chanels I've used.

The color is really something else. You know what it reminds me of?


Peridot has that shiny green-gold-blue-red metallic color that I admire on beetles and houseflies. Such beautiful little creatures.

I've been wearing Peridot since about seven o'clock yesterday evening and so far it hasn't chipped. That's a record for me and Chanel polish, so hopefully it's a sign of improved formula!