First Look – Chanel Black Pearl Nail Polish
My Fedex guy is a champ but he always comes so late in the day. I’ve been stalking my door waiting for this lovely package to arrive and when it finally did, there was not a flicker of daylight to be found.
Regardless, I couldn’t wait to play with the new Chanel Spring 2011 polishes, especially Black Pearl. Even though I had to resort to using artificial lighting, I figured since the collection went on sale this week you’d appreciate a quick peek before it sells out. Not to worry a full review of the collection will be up once I have some decent light. |
In the bottle I could see little flecks of green shimmer peeking out at me creating exquisite oil slick ribbons in the graphite base. On the nail Black Pearl certainly doesn’t disappoint. It feels like Vert Sacrilege’s murkier sister though it isn’t plagued with VS’s opacity issues. What you see below is two medium coats of polish and it completely covered the nail which makes me wonder what the manicurist at the Spring 2011 collection show was doing to result is such a poor looking manicure.
Overall I’m pretty jazzed with the color based on what it looks like at night. I can’t WAIT to see it in the daylight tomorrow and see if it holds its luster. I think Black Pearl may have completely wiped out my nail polish depression. Way to go Chanel!
Chanel Black Pearl and the rest of the Spring 2011 makeup collection is on sale now at Chanel.com and should be at Chanel counters soon if it isn’t out already. The Spring Chanel nail polishes retail for $23/ea for a .4oz bottle.
Early thoughts on Black Pearl? Any comparison ideas you want to throw out? Who already bought the Spring colors? Did you get them all or just Black Pearl?
Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Chanel. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
anyone know the free shipping code for Chanel?
I’ll have to see pics of it in the daylight but that looks just like my Wet n Wild Morbid polish which I got for $1.99 I think. Couldn’t be farther from the nail polish cost spectrum.
I totally agree, I have Morbid as well, and while might not be a 100% dupe it is sure close enough.:)
Is this only available online or will it be available in stores? (i.e. Nordstrom)
I am still undecided about this color. I think I like the name more than the actual product. Looking forward to seeing your day shots of it!
This is available at Nordstrom now! I just picked up my bottle =) it’s SOOO pretty
I’m a huge fan of green polishes, so I like Black Pearl with its green shimmer. But I agree with the person above who said it looks like China Glaze’s Gussied Up Green.
Never bought a Chanel polish before. I’d need to wait for a more unique colour before I splurge.
Even though I know this has a lot more character, it would be interesting to see how it compares with Illamasqua Snap.
ohhhhhh….Luvn the black pearl! Definite must try.
These three are NOT limited edition. So no need to worry about sell outs! I got the black pearl and pearl drop and are just awaiting their arival.
Neiman Marcus’ CUSP is selling them online at $18 w/ free shipping. It’s looking more and more tempting
does it look like OPI’s cuckoo for this color? in that lighting it certainly does
Nope. Not at all Cuckoo for this color has a definite green to it while this has none.
This is perfect for my new goth look.
I think that I´ll pass this one- I don´t like black pearl at all, but I´ll have a look at the white.
I am looking everywhere for a brown-grey-beige nailpolish (and NO, i don’t mean particuliere). The name should be something with “etto” at the end, and it starts with a t, if I remember well. Does anyone have a clue?
I love the black pearl but I can’t wait to see the Pearl Drop one. I have OPI’s Pearl of Wisdom. I use a cream nail polish that matches my skin tone (like two coats OPI dulce de leche)and then one coat of pearl of wisdom. I love the subtle but beautiful effect!
I don’t think this color lived up to the name. Maybe if it was named Tahitian Pearl I’d be more impressed. Nice color, but I’ve seen similar/better for much less than $23 a bottle.
I have both a Cover Girl and a Sally Hansen polish that look extremely close to this. Chanel is such a rip-off.
Love it!
Looks a little to me like Sally Hansen’s Extreme Wear Gun Metal which is to die for! Although this is darker and more of a green base so maybe i’m off…..
I was once an intern at Chanel, and after spending hours behind the makeup counter I was so turned off by Le Vernis… for over $20, I thought the colors were pretty average and found the formula to be thin and streaky.
But, last week I gave it another shot with Black Pearl and I’ve completely changed my mind about Chanel polish. I’ve been so tired of short dark nails and found this color to be just as appropriate for the fashion set, but with an understated twist of the unexpected. The formula is great and the blue-green sheen is just delicious! I wore it to some job interviews in New York City and got lots of compliments friends and strangers alike… even a fabulous drag queen riding the N train at 3am said she liked my nails!
As for the rest of the collection, Pearl Drop is very similar to Intermezzo, a shade that can be found in their permanent collection… it might just be slightly more opaque. I’m DYING to try Pêche Nacrée when the snow starts to melt, but for now I’m loving Black Pearl. Once again, Peter Philips is the man!!!
I like Black Pearl but I don’t think its a must have. I got it for the hype and I’ll probably sell it on craigslist.
I was a bit disappointed after seeing several swatch photos on this blog and others. In my issue of Vogue it looked like a really cool oil slick but on the nail it looks like a pearly green jade.
How does Black Pearl compare to RBL Anne? I own Anne right now (she’s on my fingers as I type
and they seem somewhat similar to me. I sorta expected Black Pearl to be resemble an oil-slick puddle with a full-spectrum of colors reflecting.
I was anxious to get Black Pearl as a must have for my collection…I have already spent a few bucks chasing the dupes, but I must say I still caved and bought the Chanel Black Pearl (CBP) when it finally hit the counter at my local department store. After I put it on I thought Sally Hansen Gunmetal (SHG) was an almost exact match, that being said I painted a few nails with each polish to test. The SHG runs a bit more grey and the CBP is on the green side. Black Pearl is definitely worth the money if you are a collector. If you don’t want to spend the money stay with the SHG but if you want to splurge you won’t be disappointed.
Loved the Black Pearl and bought it right off the counter on first sight.
…But I have to say I am disappointed by the lack of pigment and streakiness. It’s taken three coats + touch-ups to get a decent effect. Part of the problem is the unhelpful brush design – seen better on varnishes costing a couple of quid, against Chanel’s £17.
I expect premium brands to have a premium formulation. This is a bit of a rip off… : (
Looks like Inglot #966 is almost exact dupe of Black Pearl. And it’s half of a price…
I find that Revlon’s “Black with Envy” looks very much the same… Not sure if it is an exact dupe, but for a quarter of the price, I gave it a shot.
Do you think that Black Pearl now is call Perfecto???
I’m not sure what you mean.