CHANEL Fraicheur Le Vernis – A CHANEL Jade dupe?
Chanel Fraicheur Swatches, Review and Comparisons
I totally squealed, to the point of scaring my furry co-worker (aka my kitty Ren), when I spotted a new minty green nail polish from CHANEL on Instagram. CHANEL Fraicheur kept popping up on some Russian and Asian accounts, but I couldn’t understand the captions, and had to know more. I proceeded to stalk Chanel.com until it was finally available for sale and then I pounced. I even paid for shipping, you guys, because I had to have it.
Now, I love, love, love my bottle of Chanel Jade. I mean, I hoard my precious, use it sparingly, keep it capped tight, and regret not having a back-up, so I hoped Fraicheur would quell that need. The million dollar question is, is it a Jade dupe?
Chanel Fraicheur Swatches
Chanel Fraicheur is a yellow-based mint green with soft crystallized flecks that flash spring green. The shimmer is more apparent in the bottle than on the nail, but it’s pretty subdued overall. I bent my fingers in all sorts of uncomfortable positions trying to make that damn shimmer stand out, but it wasn’t happening.
Chanel Fraicheur
The formula is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor) and a little thin. The squishy texture makes it easy to manipulate on the nail, so I was able to achieve a pretty flawless application. I needed three coats to get it opaque. The first time I tried it, I had a bit of patchiness at the cuticle, but getting a little more polish on my brush the next time around was perfect.
Note: I photographed both attempts, so you’ll see the patchiness in some photos and not in others.
Chanel Fraicheur
Chanel Fraicheur
Chanel Fraicheur
Chanel Fraicheur
Chanel Fraicheur and Jade Comparisons
And now, what you’ve been dying to know… is Fraicheur a Chanel Jade dupe??
Chanel Fraicheur vs Jade
Chanel Jade
Unfortunately, it’s not the same as Jade. It makes sense I suppose. If they were going to reproduce Jade, they would just name it that, right? Though since I originally saw it on International accounts, I thought it might be one of those cases where an old color was recycled, renamed and sold exclusively overseas. Not so much.
Fraicheur is warmer than the blue-tinged Jade. Its shimmer is more subtle as well. They’re from the same color family, just not twinsies.
Chanel Fraicheur and Jade comparison
I decided to go a little comparison crazy since I know your questions are coming. These are ALL the greens I own that are in any way close to Jade or Fraicheur. If it’s not pictured here, I don’t own it.
OPI Hey! Get in Lime is a lot lighter, brighter and more blue. Milani Dress Maker is dupe-y of Jade, though a bit darker and with added golden shimmer.
Chanel Fraicheur comparison
Orly Ancient Jade has a clay-like feel next to the others. Like a dried Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque. Dior Waterlilly is gorgeous, but not a match. It’s darker and more muted than Dress Maker (above).
Chanel Fraicheur comparison
Finally, Morgan Taylor Mint Chocolate Chip has the pigmentation that the other two are lacking, but it is not a match.
Chanel Fraicheur comparison
Chanel Fraicheur swatches vs Jade
Bottom Line: I don’t regret a penny I spent on Fraicheur and I anticipate wearing the heck out of it this summer. As a Chanel collector, I’m all in on it. However, I’m a nut that wants ALL THE GREENS!
If I’m being practical, it’s not that special, especially with the pointless shimmer. And, it’s no Jade. But, when it comes to nail polish I’m rarely practical. Will I spend $20 on a lip gloss tube of liquid latex, no! Will I go overboard on a green Chanel? Hell yeah! I’m an enigma wrapped in a puzzle, people.
Chanel Fraicheur is currently available on Chanel.com for $27. It should be coming to Chanel counters nationwide, but since I don’t have official press info on it, I can’t say for sure. If you want it, I’d ask your counter rep to reserve you a bottle asap!
What do you think of Fraicheur? Are you planning to snag a bottle? If you missed out on Jade, would this satisfy that need? Which of the two do you prefer?
Disclosure: I purchased Fraicheur. Affiliate links appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
Its such a pretty green.
I was super lucky to get a bottle of Fraicheur (it got sold out in Moscow in no time) and I love it. Jade was my all time lemming (but I’m not ready to pay $500 on Ebay, thank you very much), and now I have the next best thing – and I actually think it suits my skintone better than the original would.
Fraicheur is super pretty and I love how it looks on me.
I love opi beige jing but sadly it’s discontinued do u kno of a good dupe
Oh Jade!! On my list of missed out on colors! I read this with bated breath! I like to buy one Chanel polish every season and while this isn’t really a dupe I do think I will be buying this one! Thank you for the post and comparisons!
Hey like you I like greens very much! So far I have yet to buy any Chanel nail polishes. Shall try it the next time I wanna buy polish.
I am sooooooo glad to see this post! I thought I was going crazy. (Okay, 2 separate thoughts that don’t necessarily negate each other.)
A few weeks ago I first saw Fraicheur offered on “the site that shall not be named” for $55. Jumped over to Chanel.com to see that it was “out of stock.” I wobbled back-and-forth and just as I was about to plunk down an insane amount for a bottle from Asia, I checked Chanel.com and IT WAS IN STOCK!!!! I did a complete mani the day it arrived and 4 days later it is still stunning. I don’t any greens close to this beauty. Can’t believe i was lucky enough to get her.
It is pretty, but wow, that Jade! I often think – how hard can it be to work on duplicating a prized polish! Someone needs to get on that, like STAT! LOL! Thank you for the great review and the wonderful comparisons/photos.
It looks amazing! Do you have a bottle of OPI “Damone Roberts 1968″ to compare it to?
I would like to see that comparison too – I have ’68 and it is a stunner. But always on the humt for the perfect green…
For a fraction of the cost of Jade, I’m calling it close enough and buying one. I’m a sucker for Chanel and for greens.
i regret not getting jade when it was out, but you know, one day it’ll be resurrected, you just wait michelle. and the we’ll all hoard!
Oh I’m in lust with these greens <3
I have not used Chanel, but I love that color!
It’s a gorgeous shade! WOW! I totally get your obsession
It’s beautiful and totally wearable in the spring or summer. Love it!
I love both of these colors. I usually stick to pinks and reds but lately I’m branching out. What do you think of the Chanel formula in terms of number of days chip free? As much as I love my Chanel the polish chips faster on me but I heard that it was re-formulated and it lasts longer. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
Now that´s a polish I won´t buy. It is very expensive and is a yellow-toned green, wich means it will look awfull on my hands :p
Nope, no good for me
Pistachio-my-goodness-that-is-beautiful! Thank you as always for the comparisons. And I can finally see what “more pigmented” means thanks to the close up of the last swatches. More saturated, not sheer, more opaque.