Good morning everyone. I’m in a good mood today. That’s what happens when you listen to the Glee soundtrack on the way to work. I know some of you may disagree (looking at no-on in particular) but I think there is nothing wrong with a little musical theatre on the way to work.
So, for your viewing pleasure today, we have the notorious Chanel Kaleidoscope. This is a limited edition nail varnish released in Autumn 2008, and is a bit of a hit with laquer heads the world over. In fact, when I mentioned on Twitter last night that I was going to be doing a full manicure with this, I got a barrage of messages back saying how generally adored this polish is.
This was very kindly gifted to me by my good friend Luce of Get Lippie fame, who found that despite loving the colour, it just didn’t work for her. How kind. I’m never one to look a gift horse in the mouth so I gladly took it off her hands (not literally, she did that herself with some cotton wool and remover).
I’m not sure about the name of this one. I loved playing with kaleidoscopes when I was little and am still fascinated by stained glass today, so I’m not entirely sure what Chanel were thinking when they named this one as it doesn’t really resemble the bright colours and effects you get when you look into a kaleidoscope.
So – it took me a couple of attempts to get the application right. At first I did three thick layers and realised that was never going to work, so wiped it off and started again. I ended up with thick layers as I found it to be ery brush strokey when wet and it was annoying me, so I tried to even it up. I was left with a gungy mess, so after removing it, I did two very thin coats. Bingo! It dried in moments (even without a fast drying topcoat…if there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing this blog, it is that Seche Vite is no friend to metallics).
Also, once dry, the brush strokes miraculously vanished. So far, so good. On to the colour. Inside my house, late at night, this looked like a dark silvery 
pewter. Now, sat at my desk in the early morning light, it appears gold. It has a very subtle shimmer to it, and is unbelievably shiny. Almost mirror-like.
This is not for the faint hearted. It is like having foily, chromey nails. I don’t *love* it as much as some of the Chanel addicts out there do, but it looks nice, is a little bit different, and is certainly eyecatching. It flatters my skintone, and after all, there’s some kind of satisfaction to be gained from wearing something by Chanel (dahling).
Helen
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