Chanel's Black Nail Polish Selling for 100 Bucks a Bottle and Up

After nail polish posers around the globe caught sight of Lindsay Lohan and others sporting Chanel's black nail polish - technically called Chanel's Le Vernis Nail Colour in Black Satin - demand for Chanel's No. 219 black polish greatly increased.

So much so, that bottles of the limited edition Chanel nail polish No. 219 Black Satin Le Vernis polish that originally sold at make-up counters for only $18 per bottle are now commanding prices of three, four and five times that amount and more as fashionistas struggle to get their wannabe darkened hands on the black nail polish.

Though Chanel's Black Satin is the most sought-after polish of the moment, other nail connoisseurs tend to prefer Licorice from Essie, a favorite brand of polish for industry professionals because of its durability.

Bottles of Chanel's sleek No. 219 black nail polish first hit the market during the summer, but soon after sold out so quickly that Internet entrepreneurs began to purchase any bottle of the black polish that they could scrounge up, which they quickly turned around and posted on resale sites like eBay.

Once the magazine world began touting Chanel's black polish, which by that time was primarily sold out, nail polish mavens called Chanel counters at stores like Nordstrom's to determine if Chanel would release more of the limited edition polish.

By autumn, more publications were writing about Chanel's famous polish, including The New York Times. Chanel later created more of their highly sought-after black polish, but pre-sold it all through local makeup counters to boatloads of customers on waiting lists.

Those wanting to flaunt the shiny black nail polish were able to get Black Satin pedicures at places like Silk Nail Salon in San Francisco. Those not as fortunate had to make do with substitutes.

During Halloween, demand for the dark polish increased, driving eBay prices for Chanel's limited release product as high as two and three times its original retail price. But wannabe black polish wearers had a hard time finding a bottle before October 31st.

Reportedly, one shipment of 36 bottles to Chanel's Waikiki boutique sold out by the end of the day, with most put on hold by a single buyer. Crafty consumers turned to other onyx-hued polishes like Wet N' Wild's Black Creme, much cheaper at 99 cents a pop.

The scant number of bottles of Chanel's Black Satin tilted the supply-and-demand fulcrum well in Chanel's favor, driving No. 219 to become one of the biggest - and most desired - fashion hits of the fall. As of this writing, some of the most expensive "buy it now" prices of Chanel's black nail polish listed on eBay are $200.