Chanel Mistral 517 Le Vernis from Les Pop-Up Summer 2010 Collection – Review, Photos, Nail Swatches

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Hello my dears,

Today I thought I catch up on some of those nail polish reviews so I’m ready to tell you all about Chanel Le Vernis in Mistral 517. Before I start giving you my honest opinion I must tell you this is the first time I try Chanel nail polish and being that obsessed with pink I wanted to have both Mistral and Riviera polishes from Chanel Les Pop-Up Summer 2010 Collection. Riviera was sold out so I was left with Mistral. I’ve paid 17.60 Eur ($23 in the U.S.) for the 13 ml bottle and I was ready to start my first experience with a Chanel nail polish.

The color looks so pretty in the bottle, although I could tell it was a pale pink I was anxious to get it on my nails and see those fine glitter particles shine.

Wearing Chanel  Mistral 517 without top coat – natural light

After 2 layers of Mistral 517 this is what I got. 🙁 If this was a lip gloss I would said it’s sheer on the lips but being a nail colour and especially Chanel, well I was disappointed to see that after 2 coats the color is so transparent and lacks that shine that I was expecting from those micro-glitter particles. Of course with the help of a top coat any nail polish can look shiny but then what’s the point of buying from a famous brand if I’m going to add extra top coat to make it shine. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m always adding a layer of top coat to preserve the color but I expected that Mistral was glossy and shiny all by itself.

Wearing Chanel Mistral 517 with a top coat – natural light

After the second coat of Mistral and one layer of top coat things were starting to look better. You can still notice that transparency, but this is the best I could do.

The Truth

I’m just gonna go and say it, because there is not gentle way to put this. This was my second attempt of wearing Chanel Mistral nail polish. First time when I applied this color on my nails it didn’t even resist for 10 minutes. I just removed it, that bad it looked to me. I’m sorry that I didn’t took photos then. I had to apply 3 coats so I can get ride of that transparent pink shade. I was already wearing a base coat so I had 4 layers of polish on my nails which didn’t dry even after 10 minutes. The application didn’t go that great also because I had to wait between applying the second and third layer and this polish really was slow drying.

My first time with a Chanel nail polish was terrible. After spending 17.60 Eur on a nail polish that looked so transparent, was lacking that shiny glossy effect that I was expecting and on top of that takes a lot of time to dry out.

I’m usually used to having nail polishes in bottles of 15 or 16 ml but I guess Chanel offers little color for a high price.

The brush seems fine to me but the application was not that smooth. Is not that were lines left behind but the color was not spread evenly and I had a lil more product on this side while the other side was looking transparent. I really hope that other nail colors are better than this one and I just had the bad luck of trying this for my first time with Chanel Vernis. Now lets see how Mistral 517 is looking after 4 days.

Le Vernis Chanel Mistral 517 after 4 days

First let’s take a look at those nails that have been wearing a top coat for the last 4 days.

Chanel Mistral 517 with top coat – 4 days later – natural light

The color is fading away towards the ends and it starting to chip, but they this is not the only thing I’ve noticed. Although I was wearing a top coat the color was starting to loose shine and looks almost semi-matte to me. Where is that super glossy finish that I was expecting?

The other reviews I’ve read about this nail polish had photos after they laid 3 coats of Mistral and a top coat. I thought the color will still look shiny even without a top but I guess I was wrong. I really don’t understand what’s the point of posting swatches of a nail polish if you are wearing a top coat and you don’t show how the color really looks like?!

Wearing Chanel Mistral 517 + top coat – after 4 days

How about we get to the part where I didn’t used a top coat? Dare to see? 🙂

Chanel Mistral 517 without a top coat – 4 days later

I can’t say the polish chipped right of my nails but I can say it’s simply fading towards the ends. Yes that’s probably normal if we were talking about a drugstore brand but hey take a look at other colors that are similar with this one and don’t cost this much. Without a top coat you get almost a matte Mistral color. 🙁

Wearing Chanel Mistral 517 without a top coat after 4 days

I hope this review was helpful for you and you can easily decide if you want this color or not. If you already have this nail polish please let me know how it works for you because it happens sometimes that we are talking about same product but we get to see different results.

Should I give Chanel nail polishes another chance? 🙂