Transform your look with Chanel Le Vernis Rouge Red & Le Top Coat Black Metamorphosis

If you (like me) missed having a new Chanel red polish for the holidays, you will most likely enjoy the offering this Spring 2017. I am always excited by a Chanel red polish because they are such classics. But things get interesting with a transformative black top coat, and here is a closer look at the 2 that I picked up from the Chanel Coco Codes Collection!

The piece that caught my attention was the Chanel Le Top Coat Longue Tenue Black Metamorphosis. Taking on black for spring is controversial indeed, and Lucia Pica has done it with a sheer playful black. Chanel seems to be building up quite a mini-collection of these sheer nail colors with Hyperrose Glass last season [see here] and Rouge Radical from Fall 2016 [here]. I love the concept of being able to layer and create personalized makeup, and these sheer nail colors are perfect for that.

Black Metamorphosis is designed to be a top coat so it does not have much opacity.  The first coat is so sheer it applies almost like grey against my natural nail color.  It is buildable with additional layers, but never achieves full opacity.  In the swatch above, I had applied 5-6 layers for the color to how up.

Personally, I found the formula to be rather thick and dries too fast to be played around with much.  It is easiest to start by picking up as much as possible with the brush, without trying to thin it out by sweeping the brush against the lip of the bottle as I remove it. Thereafter, I touch the brush to the center of my nail and push the formula down towards the cuticles, and in 2 additional strokes spread it to the sides. The less strokes the better as it dries almost instantly and will leave streaks if you go over the same spots again and again.  Black Metamorphosis wears well for 5 days with minimal signs of tip wear.

The new Chanel Le Vernis Longue Tenue Rouge Red is a medium neutral-toned red with a cream finish. It does pull a lot warmer under sunlight though, as you may see in the nail swatch below.  Chanel cream reds are always excellent and Rouge Red is no exception. It applies easily without streaking, is almost opaque in a single coat, and wears for 5 days with minimal signs of tip wear.

Where things get fun, is when you layer Black Metamorphosis over Rouge Red (or any other bright colors that you fancy). It reminds me of when my husband stuck a black plexi-glass over my phone, and I spent the next few weeks wondering why my screen was so dim. Essentially Black Metamorphosis darkens any nail color beneath it, and the more layers you apply, the darker things get. In the swatch above, I had applied 2 coats of Rouge Red on all my fingers except the 4^th ring finger (where I had 5 coats of Black Metamorphosis on for comparison), and added 2 coats of Black Metamorphosis on the 2^nd pointer and last pinky. You can see how things change when you mix and match!

I am hoping to get the review for the rest of the Chanel Coco Codes Collection up in the next day or so, so stay tuned!

_{This post featured products that were kindly provided for my consideration.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}