Last year YSL reformulated and repackaged their nail lacquers into their La Laque Couture. I haven’t had a chance to play much with the new formulas (although I do own three). They come in a lovely square-shaped bottle with a removable cap. The brush is wider than most brands, but also skinny (flat). I normally prefer brushes that are not quite as wide, but the YSL applies very easily with the shape of the brush. Bronze Pyrite #35 is the first YSL nail lacquer (in the new formula) that I’ve tried and so far I’m impressed. It’s part of the spring 2013 line ($25 for 0.34 fl oz./10 ml).
As you can see Bronze Pyrite is a beautiful metallic. It’s a true metallic in the sense that it goes on with a metal finish (rather than sparkle or shimmer). There is a lot of color mixed in. On the nails I would describe it as a pewter. Depending on the lighting, sometimes there is a very slight khaki/greenish glimmer. I was pleased that it applied with minimal visible brush strokes. The pigment is rich and only needed one coat, however 2 coats was best for me.
At an angle you can see a bit of the khaki glow:
Here are a few views of the packaging and brush:
Here it is swatched on me:
Compared to other metallic/high shimmers, YSL Bronze Pyrite is the most foiled/metallic looking compared to other similar metallics. Chanel’s Graphite has a more complex finish with larger sparkles, Tom Ford’s Silver Smoke is lighter and more neutral with a finely milled shimmer, Dior Timeless Gold has a more sophisticated shimmer and Chanel Diwali has more dimension.
Overall a huge thumbs up. I did get some tip wear on day 3, and on day 5 it started to chip a little. I found it lasted quite well throughout the week.
There is one more shade from YSL spring, a gorgeous seafoam green called Jade Imperial #34. I passed since it seemed so similar to one of the shades from last year’s OPI Holland collection but I didn’t try them side by side to compare.
I purchased mine from Nordstrom.
