While shopping for some last minute travel items at ‘The Bay’ department store the other day, I literally stopped in my tracks when I passed the Dior counter: THE NEW FALL 2012 COLLECTION HAD ARRIVED!!! (and yes, that last part most definitely deserves to be said in capitals!). A beautifully crafted and limited edition collection, I could not resist picking up the ‘Golden Jungle Vernis Crocodile Leather Effects Nails’, along with the limited edition Le Vernis #605 ‘Amazonia’ (review forthcoming) – both items a perfect representation of fall’s trends: golden glamour and military chic.
The Dior ‘Golden Jungle Crocodile Leather Effect Nails’ duo is a multi faceted product, and for a high end brand, available at a surprisingly good price point. The gold lacquer that comes with this set is the perfect counterpoint to enhance the pattern of the effect topper, but can also be worn on its own for a more show-stopping, yet supremely elegant look. The khaki effect lacquer is not limited to this set either, as it can also be layered over a multitude of other base colours for truly original nail art. Available at CAD $29.00 for the two, it seems like a steal compared to the prices of some other single varnishes (CHANEL ‘Diwali’ – I’m looking at you & your US $30.00 price tag) … almost a shame to pass this by, wouldn’t you agree? All swatches are with base and top coat.
Dior Diorissimo Semi-Matte Black Crocodile handbag and the inspiration behind this effect lacquer (source)
the elegant silver foil outer packaging
clearly labelled on top
easy to follow directions card that accompanies this duo
The Dior ‘gold‘ lacquer that comes with this set (I don’t believe it has its own name, but the number on the underside of the bottle is #148) is a highly metallic looking gold foil, simply filled with bronze, silver and even sparser copper shimmer, which create a brilliant pewter gleam to it overall. With an absolutely fabulous formula, it applies in a self-levelling way and does not leave any visible brush strokes behind. Quick-drying as well, there is a vibrant gleam to the finished look, almost making a top coat redundant. Coats applied: 2
in sunlight
indoors
with flash
The ‘khaki effect top coat‘ that comes with this set (again, no name but the underside of the bottle bears the #608) is the star attraction of this duo, and rightly so. A loosely-flowing formula, it is ridiculously easy to apply – the hard part, is anticipating the final result … but so worth the wait! It should be noted that both bottles of this set come with a flexible, medium-thickness brush as opposed to Dior’s chiseled brush format that the bottles usually come with.
Here is a breakdown of how I created the following effects/looks:
For the larger “crocodile scales” effect
- I began by applying base coat, followed by 2 coats of the ‘gold’ base colour
- waiting no more than 1 minute, I then quickly applied a rather opaque/thick layer of the ‘khaki’ top coat
- at the 1-minute mark, I noticed the first signs of the pattern emerging at the cuticle area
- the 3-minute mark brought forth some large horizontal “cracks” across the nails
- by the 10-minute mark, the effect had been completed
- I then waited another 5 minutes more (for a total of 15 minutes from start to finish) before applying top coat to seal everything in
Even though the inserted directions card states using only 1 coat of the ‘gold’ colour, I applied 2 here mainly because I wanted the base shade to really stand out in between the larger cracks of this version.
in sunlight
indoors
with flash
For the finer “crocodile scales” effect
- I began by applying base coat, followed by 1 coat of the ‘gold’ base shade
- waiting no longer than 1 minute once more, I quickly applied a thinner layer of the ‘khaki’ top coat
- within a minute, the pattern began first emerging along the cuticle line
- at the 2-minute mark, there was a fine crazing visible all across the nail surface
- I waited a full 10 minutes for the entire effect to be complete, then another 5 minutes before adding top coat to seal everything in
It became immediately apparent that this thinner layer not only changed the pattern significantly, but the ‘khaki’ top coat also had more of a translucency to it, allowing some of the ‘gold’ colour to show through and visibly lighten the overall tone to more of shimmer drab olive look. In order for your pattern to show a clearly defined crocodile “scale” effect, make sure that your ‘khaki’ coat isn’t too thinly applied, otherwise it will appear streaky and prove ineffective.
in sunlight
indoors
with flash
Final thoughts: I thought I was all done with the whole shatter/crackle look, and Dior comes along and creates THIS … and just like that, I’m in love with an effect polish. Appearing as a more grown-up and sophisticated way (at least, in my eyes) of wearing a patterned look, it doesn’t hurt that the price is so agreeable or that you can use the ‘khaki’ shade over any other colour that you may wish, not to mention the stunning stand-alone look of the ‘gold’. Unlike other effect lacquers, another bonus to this Dior version is that you don’t need to wait until your base shade is fully dry before applying the ‘khaki’ top coat, thus speeding that part of the process up – although you do need to exercise patience for the completed pattern to emerge. Original, unique, and a little feral-looking, this is primitive glam at its über-finest!
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