Jade Is the New Green

Jade Is The New Green

Last Spring, while showing his Fall 2009 collection in Paris, Chanel mastermind Karl Lagerfeld, along with make up artist Peter Phillips, sent models down the runway adorned with Jade green nails to match the threading woven into Coco’s classic suits. Fashion and beauty editors buzzed about the shade. WhowhatWear, Fashionista, People, and InStyle, all published features on the polish. Within a month of its limited release, Chanel Jade les vernis, which originally retailed for $28, became the most coveted beauty item of last fall.

Wishing to acquire this little treasure straight away, one brisk October day, I phoned the Chanel counter at the King Street Saks Fifth Avenue. “Ohhhh no…” a flamboyant male voice responded to my inquiry. “THAT won’t be available anywhere until Holllliday.”

After years of being a consumer, from experience I knew better. I promptly logged on to Chanel.com, and ordered a bottle. It arrived at my doorstep in Charleston within a week.

Unlike the editorials, runway to real life didn’t translate.

The reviews were mixed. My roommates thought it was too light and sort of a rip off. My boyfriend asked me “Are your nails green?” as if I had been bored in class with a bottle of white out and a green sharpie. As much as I loved it and tried to manipulate myself into thinking I was “on the cutting edge of fashion”, I had my doubts.

One Friday afternoon, I dropped into a Charleston nail salon to get a manicure. When I placed the polish into the Vietnamese manicurist’s little hand, her face illuminated as if she had swallowed a light bulb, “The Jade!” She held it up to show the other manicurists in the salon. They gathered to awe, and one even brought over a copy of that week’s People magazine to show me Chanel had a waitlist for the mint green hue.

A few weeks later I was in Boston for Christmas break. I was at Chanel picking up a quilted bag I had repaired, and the man at the counter said, “I see you are wearing our Jade.” The Boston Chanel is a relatively small store and the beauty sales women daintily grabbed my fingers to look. “Did I get that for you, dear?” “No, I ordered it awhile back.” I chuckled internally thinking how much I love fashion, but this was getting a little ridiculous. At this point, mes Amis, this blog entry may be a tad much. But I love my Jade. More so than anything else, it was valuable as a conversation starter. The encounter at Chanel was not the last time it came up.

Recently, I’ve seen bottles of the shade on eBay for upwards of $150. I toyed with the idea of selling mine, used at a discount of course, and cashing in for whatever this season’s “it” color is (word is it’s taupe). Jade was tattooed to my nails through Christmas. Now I’m back to my good old Essie mademoiselle, a pale ballerina slipper pink. Maybe I’ll break out the Jade for St. Patrick’s Day. Heck, my nails are bare. I’ll paint a coat now.