The year was 2000 and CHANEL had produced four totally unprecedented lacquers, two of which I had to immediately pick up! What made these varnishes so unique was A) the formula – a hybrid matte/satin finish, and B) the colours – duochrome combined with ultra fine shimmer, a complete departure from anything the brand had ever produced before. In addition, I remember the polishes being handed over to me in a small acrylic prismatic bag embossed with the CHANEL logo, which my six-year-old daughter proudly carried around everywhere! That bag’s still around here … somewhere!
This alternate view of ‘Recto-Verso’ and ‘Clair-Obscur’, shows yet another side of these varnishes’ multi-tonal personalities.
‘Recto-Verso’ (“double-sided”) is an opalescent as well as iridescent shade made up of violet, ice blue, and pink hues in a pearly base. The formula was of medium thick viscosity, and while there were no visible brush strokes, the brush was a touch splayed at the end, making application slightly tricky (three coats here). The bottle shade shows pale blue as the dominant colour, but every so often you catch glimpses of a golden flash. The satiny finish takes about 1.5 – 2 minutes to develop, with complete dry time slightly longer.
in sunlight
indoors
with flash
in sunlight, top coat added
with flash, top coat added
‘Clair-Obscur’ (“chiaroscuro”) is almost indefinable; an iridescent combination of lavender and old gold tones, it can flash bronzey-taupe one minute, then immediately turn into a dusky purple. The formula was much easier flowing than that of ‘Recto-Verso’, and while the brush was fine, I took my time with the application as brushstrokes were more visible with this shade – two coats were all that were needed for full coverage. Development of the finish and dry time were the same as above.
in sunlight
indoors
with flash
in sunlight, top coat added
with flash, top coat added
Final thoughts: Some lacquers are just worth holding on to, especially if they come with the name tag “CHANEL”, although to be fair, the uniqueness of these shades speaks for themselves. I love how avant-garde these two varnishes are; pre-cursers of things to come in the world of nail beauty! When CHANEL released ‘Peridot’ for summer 2011 (previously reviewed here), its mysterious multi-chrome finish brought these incredible ‘Vernis Facettes’ to mind, and as I swatched them, I marvelled once more at their originality – two treasured items of my vintage CHANEL varnish collection!
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