YSL La Laque Couture in Bronze Aztec

This is yet another purchase from my trip to Paris a few weeks ago. I promise I'm nearing the end of reviewing things I bought there! My friends and I were in an absolutely huge Sephora opposite Galleries Lafayette, feeling a little bit like children in a sweet shop, when our eyes fell upon a little YSL stand, upon which stood a selection of beautiful nail varnishes. The one that stood out was Bronze Aztec. I've never quite seen a colour like this before, it's a multidimensional shade, which is mainly a darkened bronze colour, which gold shimmer running through it. 22,90€ (£18) is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on one nail varnish...but I just had to get it.

The Packaging

This is YSL, so of course the packaging is going to be exquisite. I love the packaging, it is just gorgeous. The thick, square glass bottle and the golden lid, with the famous embossed initials ooze sophistication. The square lid, like most nail varnishes from luxe brands is a fake lid, which pops off to show the real, small, rounded lid underneath, which is a lot easier to hold when painting one's nails!

The Product

First off, this applies like a dream. I've tired a number of reputable nail varnish brands, including OPI, Nails Inc. and Essie, but this YSL varnish knocks the socks off of these. The brush is wide and flat meaning that the bristles splay to fit the width of the average fingernail. This also means that is picks up the perfect amount of product, so no need to brush off the excess. It applies perfectly evenly and smoothly, with no streaks to be seen. I swatched these on my nail wheel at the same time as swatching some budget nail varnishes, and the difference was unbelievable.


The colour isn't as multifaceted as in the bottle, but is interesting nonetheless. In the dark it looks just like a dark bronze, which is incredibly sophisticated on its own. When the light hits it, however, the golden shimmer becomes apparent, and it looks beautiful. Dry time and wear time for this was pretty average, with it taking a couple of minutes to dry and lasting for about 4 days without chipping.

The Verdict

What better way to treat yourself than with a bit of YSL? Splurges like this are always worth it, as this looks beautiful when I display it on my shelves. It's a really interesting colour, and I'm so glad that I bought it, as I still can't find anything similar. In terms of performance, apart from the application, this is a pretty average nail varnish, but I just love it. I think it's the perfect nail varnish to wear if you're going to a really posh event, I can imagine it going really well with most coloured outfits too, especially navy blue or red.