Nail polish Review and swatches- Chanel Azure 657

To teal or not to teal...

Newly launched, as part of the L'ete Papillon de Chanel collection, the Azure 657 nailpolish made me really happy.  It glimmered in a teal-gold-blue trifecta of perfection in the bottle and hinted at a beach vacation somewhere fabulous.

Unfortunately, my reality tends to be more of a harsh wake up call and that's exactly what happened.

For the gory details, pray continue..

Color:

The color is a beautiful teal with shimmery gold overtones and a deep blue undertone.  It looks like a teal-gold mostly with hints of blue as the light hits it at different angles.  All in all, it's a color I'd expect a mermaid to wear on her nails.  It's beautiful and perfect for summer. The pigmentation is however, not as strong as Bel-Argus or other Chanel nail polishes I've tried in the past.  It took me 3 coats to achieve full opacity.  That's a slight letdown because Chanel nail polishes are typically exceptionally pigmented and it usually takes me just 2 coats to get a perfect, opaque finish.  At this pricepoint, I'd expect better pigmentation.

Texture:

Smooth to the touch and metallic in finish.  That being said, the polish was definitely thinner and more liquidy than Bel-Argus which basically resulted in visible brush strokes and streakiness.  While the nailpolish didn't pool at the edges of the nail, the brush strokes were visible with every coat I put on.  I think the only way to perhaps minimize the glaring visibility of the brush strokes would be to layer a thin coat of topcoat after applying Azure on your nails.  This was basically the dealbreaker/heartbreaker for me because I really, *really* wanted to love this nailpolish.  

Longevity:

I wore 3 coats on my nails for a week with no chipping and very minor tip wear.  This is a testament to Chanel's nail polish quality because when I've used other nail polishes, I've found that layering multiple coats usually makes it more prone to chipping.  You'd think the opposite, right? Me too :)

Price:

Azure retails for $27 and is on the higher end of the nail polish market.  It's a gorgeous color and I'm not aware of any dupes for Azure on the market yet but I'm sure that there should be more options in the coming months given that green is the color of the year!

Honestly, despite the fabulous color, the texture and  finish are deal breakers for me.  At $27 a pop, I expect better quality and consistency and unfortunately, this product failed to deliver on those two counts.  

Product Images and Swatches:

Chanel Azure- green-gold overtone

Chanel Azure- Dark blue undertone ( I tried taking the pic from another angle to capture the blueness!)

Chanel Azure swatch

Did you buy this shade from the L'ete Papillon de Chanel launch?  What was your experience with it? I'd love to hear your thoughts..

have a beautiful week,

B