I’ve Tried The New Chanel Long-Wear Nail Polish. Here’s What I Think About It

Chanel has long been the color authority on nail colour. The brand that gave us such cult polishes like Vamp, Black Satin and Jade have launched a whole new range this year. It’s a line of 16 lacquers called Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour. Five of the shades are Chanel classics – Rouge Noir, Particulière, Ballerina, Pirate and Vamp but 11 of them are brand new. The line also includes a high-shine long-wear top coat called Le Gel which I’ll review seperately.

Since the launch of this range on March the 16th, beauty sites have been abuzz about the new ‘must-have’ Chanel Long-Wear range. But is it really that amazing?

Chanel claims that using the new Le Vernis polish with the Le Gel top coat offers wear for up to seven days.  Plus, you get a super-glossy, gel-like finish without a UV lamp. To put it a simply, Chanel has joined the no-light, gel-effect nail trend more than 2 years after  Sally Hansen, Maybelline, OPI, Nails Inc and pretty much every other professional and drug store brand did so. So in this particular instance, Chanel is not quite setting any trends but rather following the trend.

Let’s find out if the wait has been worth it!

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REVIEW:

Formula: The new formula, like the one before it, is 5-free and also contains ceramides, which are lipids that protect the health of the nails and bioceramics, which are strengtheners that prevent chips.

Application: These polishes go on flawlessly and even the jellies are 100% streak free! I’ve tried Garson, Monochrome, Roubachka, Camelia and Shantung. Jelly polishes, like Roubachka and Shantung are fully opaque in 2-3 coats, cremes (most of the new range) are fully opaque in 1 coat. Big plus to Chanel on that one.

Finish/Colour: A very glossy jelly and cremes. These polishes can be easily worn without a top coat but it will affect their longevity. I noticed one nail without top coat started wearing out at the tip of the nail on the second day. Pictured swatches – Chanel 508 Shantung with a top coat.

Nail Art: These polishes are great for any kind of nail art.

Dupes: I won’t name dupes for every colour but the cult Chanel shades have been cloned by many brands.

Wearability: Very long lasting. Chanel 508 Shantung lasted 7 days with a top coat. Having said that, any decent nail polish with a decent top coat will last at least a week so there is nothing ground breaking here, sorry Chanel.

Extra Notes: The same disappointing brush like in Chanel Sunrise Trip is in all nail polishes that I’ve tried. This fluffy wonder definitely is a big step down from the old luxurious soft Chanel brush.

Overall Impression: Chanel Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour range is a typical gel-like polish. Yes, it’s ultra-glossy and yes, it’s also more long lasting than the old Chanel polishes, but not any more than any of the latest Chanel colours such as Vibrato, Fraicheur and Rose Fusion. Everything they released in 2015 was super!

Nonetheless, the new Le Vernis flawless jellies and 1-coater cremes are very impressive but what’s the deal with the colours? If you want to launch something with a bang, than deliver the revolutionary colours. Instead Chanel releases a palette of ‘classic’ colours (read: boring). When I went to buy the new Chanel polishes I couldn’t decide because I already own a gazillion of similar shades. For ‘research reasons’ (someone had to review the new Chanel for you! hehe) I picked up the bright Chanel 508 Shantung, which looks very beautiful on nails. I also swatched a few other colours to road-test the formula.

To sum up, if you’re a hard core Chanel fan or don’t have any Chanel polishes yet, then yes, get a few new improved Chanel lacquers. For all seasoned nail polish addicts however, there’s nothing particularly new about this range. Hopefully Karl Lagerfeld will wake up from his enchanted dream, read this review, and then surprise us all with new trend-setting colours (and a better brush!). Until then, we’ll be picking up the old formula’s remaining interesting colours because soon they’ll be gone. For good.