Blogdorf Goodman is a mishmash of beauty product reviews, musings on fashion and swooning over fragrances.

Monday, July 21, 2008

The Girls with Kaleidoscope Nails
By Melanie Parker

Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

You won't want to be a girl with kaleidoscope eyes when girls with Chanel Le Vernis Kaleidoscope nails are all the rage. The standout nail lacquer from the Chanel Fall 2008 beauty collection is the Limited Edition (LE) Kaleidoscope. When I first heard about this new polish, I had hoped that it would have a holographic quality and reflect multiple colors that shifted shades with every turn of my fingers, much like the inner workings of my toy kaleidoscope that I held up to the window and gazed at as a child. But on me, this polish is a highly metallic (also known as a foil finish), molten gold. If anything, it reminds me of the outside of an old brass kaleidoscope. However, the word kaleidoscope is derived from the Greek words kalos (meaning "beautiful"), eidos ( meaning "form or shape") and skopeĊ (meaning "to look at"). Based on that description, this color is aptly named.

Reviews of this polish's color vary greatly. Some sales associates were telling customers it is cool toned, despite the distinct green hue that it casts in indirect light. Others find it to be a tarnished silver, while on me I see it as an antique brass or foiled khaki hue. I've provided indoor and outdoor photographs in natural lighting conditions. With flash, you can definitely see the high impact of the shimmer. This is definitely a color that changes depending on your skin tone, so your results will vary. I have seen it look stunning on both cool and warm toned hands. Le Vernis Kaleidoscope retails for $20, which reflects a $2 increase in the price of this brand's lacquer.

Another Limited Edition polish from the Chanel Fall 2008 beauty collection is Gold Fiction, which boasts a $30 price tag and provides the wearer with the look of an 18 kt. gold finish. I do not find yellow polishes flattering on any skin tone, and this polish has too much yellow for my taste. And be careful, the glass is sheathed in a gold finish, so you can't see the true polish color in the bottle. I recommend swatching this one at a department store before spending this much money on Gold Fiction.

The third polish in this collection is Fantastic!, and I'm not saying that it is, but that is actually the name of the lacquer. Fantastic! is a deep berry color with a slight shimmer in direct light. In indirect light, it appears to have a creme finish. It's elegant and the most conservative polish in this nail collection. If you have OPI Berry Berry Broadway, you already have a more shimmery version of it and can take a pass. Like Kaleidoscope, it is priced at $20. At this time, all three polishes are still available at Nordstrom.com.





This picture shows how Chanel Kaliedoscope compares with the oxidized silver and gold on a two-toned watchband. I think it favors wearing gold finished jewlery.


Photo Credit: Author Helen Groth photographed by Edwina Pickles Lyrics: John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
All other photos: Melanie Parker
Disclosure: The product featured in this review was a personal purchase by the reviewer.

Labels: Chanel, Melanie Parker Reviews, Product Purchase

posted by Annieytown @ 6:30 AM   9 Inspired Comments

9 Inspired Comments:

At 9:17 AM, Blogger Pink Sith said...

Kaleidoscope! I am wearing this shade today. I love this color. It is the perfect gold (not too yellow)....and for some reason this polish seems to last longer than other Chanel polishes I have worn in the past. This is one of my favorite Chanel purchases of all time. That includes Narcisse blush and Safari eye shadow!) I may need to get a back up...but at $20 I think I might just try to conserve it. Thanks for the review!!

 
At 9:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! It's like Erika F in a bottle! Unfortunately it won't make it to UK until the 25th of August! I'm so getting one!

 
At 10:17 AM, Blogger Always In Style said...

What a fabulous color...I'm running to the Chanel counter at lunch!

Btw, we've featured this post on our home page: www.alwaysinstyle.com.

Cheers!

 
At 10:34 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

I am a huge fan of this store called Susie's Deals!
They carry clothes for everyone, men's, women's, and kids too. I always know that I can walk in to one of their stores a come out with a big bag of really cute stylish stuff for $25! Everything in the store is sold for $5.99 or less and you can even find things that are 2 for $5.99!
I have bought some really nice name brand things at this store and given them to friends and family for Christmas. People have NO idea that these nice items only cost me $5.99 each .. It's Awesome!
I urge you to check them out, because you only have one store on your site that carries clothing and this store appeals to everyone! And they have a web site where you can also shop online or snatch an e-coupon to use at the store, and if you spend $50 the shipping is FREE which is a definite plus!
They have a website and stores in Utah, Nevada, and California.

 
At 11:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

GROSS! both the gold and now this!!

 
At 12:11 PM, Blogger Sarah said...

Ugghh, I might be alone in this, but those pictures of Kaleidoscope gave me quite a visceral reaction! I really dislike this color.

 
At 3:53 PM, Blogger Storybookheroine said...

I love this shade! On me it goes from an antique gold to a metallic pewter depending on the light. I do also get the green flashes as well. It's a great shade for people who try to stick with neutral shades but wants something a bit more interesting and looks fabulous as a pedicure shade. In sunlight it's amazingly sparkly and beautiful. My husband loves it and he's so over anything MU at this point that is high praise indeed.

Anyone on the fence better decide quickly as I feel this will be the first of the 3 polishes to sell out.

 
At 3:31 PM, Blogger Hillary said...

Chanel just make quality nail polish that lasts long and goes on smoothly. I'm deeply in love with their lacquers.

 
At 11:28 PM, Blogger WinterWheat said...

Heeeeyyyyy! So THIS is your blog! I seem to recall that you pegged me as an obese-woman hater -- when I have published research on obesity stigma (in an effort to combat it) and spoken out about it internationally. Bad call.

I do love Chanel Kaleidoscope, though: at least we have that in common. :-)

 

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Name: Annieytown
Location: Ytown, Ohio, United States

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