Couture A/W ’12: How to Create the Two-Tone Pink and Silver Manicure at Chanel

Fri, 6 July 2012 9:48AM

The pretty-as-a-picture colour palette of pinks and silver extended down to the nail polish at the Chanel couture show this week. Rather than nails being painted with one colour – considered a Chanel runway signature, and a cult beauty buy – this year the traditional French manicure was given a modern twist. For the first time, Chanel stepped into nail art territory with a variation on the crescent moon manicure.

Models’ nails were painted with a two-tone combination of an intense, fresh pink, with a hint of silver metallic polish peeking through as the outline at the base and sides. This pink shade made its debut at the S/S ’12 shows and is now part of the Spring 2012 Harmony Collection, Le Vernis in May, $39, 1300 CHANEL, while Le Vernis in Silver was from the 2007 collection (now discontinued).

It’s modern, youthful and pretty, and everything that the new Chanel collection represented. And my weekend nail art must-have. Follow our step-by-step instructions for recreating it at home.

What You’ll Need:

• Base Coat
• Chanel Le Vernis in Graphite, $39, a similar, albeit a little darker metallic silver
• Chanel Le Vernis in May, $39
• Top Coat

And here’s the how to…

Step 1:

Lacquer your nails with one thin coat of base coat. I used Chanel’s Protective Base Coat, $39.

Step 2:

Once dry, apply 1-2 coats of the silver polish across your whole nail, like Chanel’s Le Vernis in Graphite (I applied one coat). Ensure that you paint as close to your nail edge and cuticle as possible, as you want to be able to see a fair amount of silver polish once the pink has been applied. Quick tip: Remove any mistakes with a cotton tip dipped in remover.

Step 3:

Once dry, I picked up the pink shade, Le Vernis in May, and painted a coat, almost as though it was a second smaller nail within my fingernail, beginning from approximately 2mm from the base of my nail to the tip. You want to create a thin, even outline of the silver polish showing around the edge.

Step 4:

Wait for the polish to dry thoroughly and then paint a second, slightly thicker coat so that you can’t see any of the silver polish peeking through the middle section.

Step 5:

Because you have painted 2-3 coats of polish, you need to make sure that your nails are really dry. Then, apply your top coat. For a glossy, high-shine finish, I used Chanel’s Extreme Shine Nail Lacquer, $39.

And that’s it! How do you like this manicure, Primpettes?

Do you think Chanel should bring back Le Vernis in Silver? (Hint, hint …)

Would you recreate it at home?

If so, would you try these colours? Or what other colour combination would you use?

Hayley x

For Chanel stockists, please call 1300 CHANEL.

Images: Courtesy of Chanel

Posted by: Hayley Bennett

Google Profile

Comments (14) Print Send to friend Share

Tags: chanel, chanel aw '12 couture, chanel nail polish, couture, crescent moon, featured, french manicure, graphite, how to, may, nail art, pink nails, reverse moon, reverse moon manicure