With the arrival of fall comes the arrival of dark, moody nail polishes – my favourite. Personally, I wear vampy shades all year round because I love the look.
Now, I have a severe nail polish addiction. With a collection at about 250+ bottles strong, I have started buying my nail polishes a little more carefully, as I believe I pretty much own every single colour under the sun.
While stalking one of my favourite nail polish blogs, www.pshiiit.com, I came across a fabulous dark green colour and thought to myself: “I need this in my life.” Before hitting the stores to see the dark green options, I thought I better check my collection to see if I had one already. Sure enough, I did, OPI’s Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow from OPI’s Lord of the Rings Collection. I remembered unhappily that the formulation was crappy at best, which is surprising for OPI. It went on really thin and streaky, and you’d need about 3-4 coats to achieve that rich, dark green finish. Additionally, it would take forever to dry which inevitably would lead to a terrible finish. Maybe I got a bad bottle, but eitherway, I didn’t like it and I wasn’t going to use it.
A couple of weeks ago while shopping with my husband at Nordstrom, I couldn’t help checking out the Chanel counter. My goal was to buy some face moisturizer, but I felt guilty knowing that I should be saving my cash for my beloved Chanel bag. As I turned to walk away while thinking that saving sucks, a rich dark green nail polish caught my eye. Chanel Vert Obscur stared me in face whispering “I am the perfect greeeeen you’ve been looking for…” Me, having no will power whatsoever, grabbed it and gave it a try. Well, WOW.
I would describe this colour as a rich black-green. It was sooo beautiful and unusual…I had to have it. I coughed up the $29 + tx (ouch), and mentally calculated that I’d need to add an extra $29 + tx to the Chanel Savings Account.
In true Chanel form, the polish went on rich and deeply pigmented, and boasts a beautiful shine without top coat. Now, you do need two coats of this colour to achieve that cool, dark blackish green. This polish has a thick, jelly-like quality, by the way. With two coats, it has an interesting translucency that I find beautiful and unusual.
Now, Vert Obscur (French for “obscure green”) is part of a trio of limited edition nail colours including Châtaigne (French for “chestnut”; a gorgeous dark reddish brown) and Écorce Sanguine (French for “fiery bark”; an amazing red with beautiful burnt orangey-gold shimmer).
I highly recommend this polish, but if you are looking for great dupes that don’t hit the wallet so hard, you should opt for Essie Stylenomics, MAC Cosmetics Deep Sea and Zoya Frida polish.
What are some of your favourite dark green polishes? Any other colours that you love for fall? Let me know in the comments!
xo,
Dominique is a Canadian-based fashion and beauty influencer with a strong voice in Ottawa’s black community. Since launching her blog Style Domination in 2015, she has amassed a global fanbase. Dominique shares her life through beautiful imagery and compelling story-telling that speaks to her fans on a personal level. She’s been featured in The Guardian, Flare, The Kit and Cityline. She also hosts events for Dress for Success, the Gem Conference, and has been named a United Way Person 2 Know for the past three years.
Great review! The Chanel is such a dark dark green but at the same time it has such a depth and a multitude of color. It’s like magic. Will have to try out.
Author
“It’s like magic” is exactly what I thought as I stared at my hands under the sun. Such a deep, dark beautiful colour. I’m obsessed! Thanks for reading and for your thoughtful comment! xoxo
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Author
Wow! Thank you so much!
What a pretty color on you! 250 polishes, wow! I thought I had a lot. I like dark colors as well. I have a reddish black color I got from Ipsy last year. I think I need to dig it out. Great post!
I don’t like nail polish but I have got to get my hands on this!! Lol!!
Author
You don’t like nail polish!!?? Wow – you must save so much money! LOL! This particular colour is really nice and flattering on all skin tones. I think you’ll really like it!!
I had to decide a long time ago.. Nails every two weeks or fabric? Lol you know which one won. I occasionally get my nails done, but I can’t stand painting my nails I always mess up! Hahahaha first world problems
Author
Haha! I do hate that about manicures….you always mess them up. Normally, I can’t sit still long enough to let them dry properly – thank God for those nail drying products. I got in the habit of doing my nails while watching a movie. That way, I can sit still and enjoy the story and let my nails dry! Good for you for choosing the fabric and gracing us with your awesome blog! xoxo
I have this colour too and it is a beuty but I don’t think it is flattering everybody, it is amazing on your skintone 😉
Author
Thank you so much! I do really love it! It’s such an interesting colour.
I love that you attempted to shop your stash! Lol! Great colour on you. 🙂
Author
Haha!! I tried so hard!! LOL! Thank you!!
I’m not big on nail polish, I suck at anything beauty related actually. HA! Not to mention, I actually thought it was a black shade, I had to reallllllly stare at the screen and it began clear that its a really dark shade of green. I kind of like it. Wouldn’t wear it, I don’t have the nails for it or any nail polish actually haha. But your nails – FAB and I do like the review!!!!
wishing you an awesome day
🙂
x
Author
Thanks, Dana! I’m a total nail polish fanatic…in fact, I was a manicurist for a long time. It was really hard to capture the true colour of this polish – I tried so hard to photograph the green quality! Thanks for reading the review. While I was a manicurist, lot of clients admitted to me that they weren’t really into nail polish, but once they had a great manicure and saw how fabulous their nails looked, they were instant converts! Thanks for reading, luv, and enjoy the rest of your weekend! xo
Deep dark green is so unexpected but pure class! I like this on you. 🙂
Author
Thanks, babe!
Lovely review! I never thought of dark green as a go to nail polish but you made it look lovely. My fav fall/winter mani colors are dark burgundy and chocolate brown. I find them perfect especially on my skin tone. Will definitely try the dark green and let you know what I think! xx
Author
I think you’ll like it! It’s unique and unusual, and a nice take on the usual dark tones we wear every fall. Trust me / the dark burgundy is my go-to, but this dark green had become a new favourite!