NARS – ‘Koh Lanta’ Nordstrom Exclusive (swatches & review)

For this year’s Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, NARS released an eyeshadow palette, as well as three nail lacquer shades exclusive to the department store, but the only one that caught & held my eye was ‘Koh Lanta’ – an intense aubergine crème hue. François Nars, the creative force and founder of NARS Cosmetics, is continually inspired by his travels and frequently he will create products with hues that transport him to a beloved region. Koh Lanta, the place, is a 26 km long island off the coast of Thailand, well off the beaten path, and boasts not only idyllic vistas, but absolutely glorious sunsets, which I feel has been perfectly captured in this shade. All swatches are with Seche Base Ridge Filling Base Coat and three thin coats of lacquer. Revlon Top Speed Top Coat was only added to the last three swatch photos.

In this view of a spectacular sunset over a beach in Koh Lanta, I can see how the purple colour limning the sky could very well have been the inspiration behind this varnish. I can almost hear the sound of the water gently lapping at the shore……sigh……

As this is a rather dark shade, capturing its true essence eluded me photographically, however you can see its blueish based purple colour along the bottle’s edges. Surprisingly for such a deep hue, it wasn’t as opaque as I thought it would be, and had I applied two thicker coats versus three thin ones, I may possibly have achieved a similar finish.

How amazing is it, when you get a polish that finishes this shiny, without the addition of top coat? Seen here in full sun, ‘Koh Lanta’ takes on a more raisin hue and it seems like the purple cast was left in the bottle. Nevertheless, I love the elegant vampiness of this shade just the same.

Seeming rather chameleon-like, shaded light now seems to draw out a reddish-plum tint in this lacquer, but it also fully emphasizes the incredibly glossiness of this hue.

Even though I was disappointed that I couldn’t fully capture the deep purple leanings of ‘Koh Lanta’, this view taken with flash shows how this shade is not just another blackened berry colour, but the deepest, truest burgundy I’ve ever come across.

With the addition of top coat, ‘Koh Lanta’ takes high-gloss finish to a whole new level. Something about a “wet” looking finish, especially on a dark shade, just seems to work for me.

Shaded light, while lending a more cooler tone to this polish, is also the perfect backdrop with which to showcase its mirror-like finish and lend a screen siren sultriness to the overall shade.

Finally, in this last shot taken with flash, I get my first hints of the purple duality of this shade, but just barely. Still, I love everything about this lacquer and it will definitely compliment every skin tone across the spectrum.

In honour of the island that played muse to the shade, I just had to show you what it was that inspired Monsieur Nars to bring his vision of ‘Koh Lanta’ to life. Seeming at once tranquil and almost primitively fierce, this is truly raw beauty in its natural state.

Final thoughts: NARS’s ‘Koh Lanta’ has the elegant sophistication of a deep wine hue, with some gothic edginess mixed in to keep things interesting. The formula was excellent, flowing rather thin but still providing great coverage. The rubberized square bottle cap, makes it grip-friendly and the brush is small and flexible enough to fan out perfectly across your nail. The glossiness is mesmerizing and even dry time was fairly quick. Another bonus was that it was completely non-staining and removal was solidly mess-free. The downside is that this is a shade exclusive to Nordstrom and may therefore be a touch difficult to track down. Still, as far as deep, sensuous wine shades are concerned, NARS’s ‘Koh Lanta’ is a stunning vision, without the cost of an island getaway!