Vintage Chanel Clair-Obscur - Degrassi Showdown Finale Week

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I have for you one of my vintage Chanel polishes, Clair-Obscur. I chose this polish for Degrassi countdown week because it reminds me of my favorite character on the show Clare Edwards (hence the "Clair" portion of the name). Clair-Obscur (chiaroscuro in Italian) is a term that originated during the Renaissance period used to describe the tonal contrasts between light and dark in art. The backgrounds and shadows during this time were often quite dark and obscured, while the bodies depicted would be very light, bright and clear. Hence, clair-obscur.

*Degrassi babble ahead*

I felt like Clair-Obscur was the perfect polish to dedicate to Clare because she has really been having such a rough time lately. Her parents divorce, boyfriend crashing his hearse into wall, new boyfriend becoming stepbrother, getting arrested, etc. all seem to pale in comparison to what Clare has been going through this season. Sure, she has her boyfriend Eli and her bestie Alli back in her life but things have become a bit darker for Clare, obscured if you will. She landed her dream internship only to be fired for reporting that her boss sexually harassed her. She is afraid to tell Eli about the harassment, so she has been lying about the whole situation. A girl who once prided herself on the clarity of her writing and purity of her faith is now spiraling down into a dark and depressing place.

*end Degrassi babble*

Chanel Clair-Obscur was released in 2000 and is no longer available to purchase from Chanel anymore, so I picked up this bad boy from eBay. Vintage Chanels can be quite pricy but this one wasn't too bad. The formula on this was typical for a non 3-free polish, a bit runny and thin so had to do 3 coats here for opacity.

The color of Clair-Obscur is hard to explain. It has a dusky lavender base with a very strong flash of greenish-gold. I have nothing like this color in my stash and I've never seen anything like it! It is subtle but has an unexpected edge with the hint of green in the gold. It dries to a satin finish, but I preferred the look with a topcoat so that is what I have pictured here.

So here is 3 coats of Chanel Clair-Obscur with topcoat. Enjoy!

And here is the character who inspired this post, Miss Clare Edwards, who has been described as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery stuffed inside an enigma." (Notice the use of clair-obscur in this picture....mind blown!)

Thanks for stopping by today! See you all tomorrow =)