Chanel Frisson 543 Le Vernis is soft super-sheer baby pink infused with gold flecks and tiny multi-colored micro sparkles. From the promotional photos this one looked the most stunning out of the four newest shades, primarily because I found the gold shimmers to be breathtakingly gorgeous. I ordered mine online sight unseen but once the reviews started to surface, my heart sank when I saw how sheer it was. These sources were extremely helpful: Specktra.net, The Purse Forum and Best Things in Beauty’s blog. While all have posted great accurate photos, I was let down when I saw that it didn’t appear to be all that special. Frisson is indeed gorgeous in the bottle and although I know it was designed to be a sheer jelly-like color, I am disappointed. It requires 3 thick coats to show up on my fingers which I feel is too much for this particular shade (it ends up looking goopy). Those who love to layer might like this one. For me, I prefer 2 coats max (of the actual nail color) so I feel this as a topper won’t be good for me. Here are a few more photos.
Here it is swatched, your standard soft pale pink shimmer:
In direct sunlight you can see the gold shimmer:
It’s very similar to previously released soft pink shimmers from Chanel. I understand that repeats are bound to happen. After all there are only so many colors that one can create that are new, fresh and unique. Frisson is definitely among the most complex out of all the paler pinks that I own from Chanel. Not quite as epic as Pink Satin (which I adore for the silver glitter and opalescent sheen), but pretty close.
The good news is that if you missed out on Pink Satin, Mica Rose or Flamingo, the newest Frisson will fill the gap in your collection if you want something similar. Also, good news, if you own any of those shades, you can safely skip Frisson and save for something else. To me I could barely tell the difference.
- Pink Satin has more of an opalescent sheen and has silver glitter.
- Frisson is the most complex with bigger more visible gold shimmers.
- Mica Rose flashes green/blue in the shimmers slightly.
- Flamingo has the most smooth shimmer (rather than sparkle) with more white/silver veining.
I should be in love with this shade. It’s soft, natural, pink, shimmery, complex and Chanel. Right now I feel lukewarm. Perhaps it is all the other knock-out killer brights that have my attention right now? It is a stunning shade in the bottle and lovely on the fingers. I know this is something that will grow on me. Part of it is that I was expecting something as epic and unique as prior seasons like Steel, Black Pearl, Quartz, Graphite etc. As of late I feel that Chanel has been repeating themes that are a bit too similar (how many bright pink creams and reds can one possibly want?). This might just be me. When will I learn to wait before jumping to order?
Did you check out the new shades yet? What did you come home with? Or has something else caught your eye for this spring season?
