There is no necessity for unnecessary css tricks.
If you wish to adjust any Bootstrap css (especially the colors of carousel controls), it can be easily achieved.
Below are the guidelines that dictate the color of the carousel controls:
.carousel-control-prev-icon {
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' fill='%23fff' viewBox='0 0 8 8'%3E%3Cpath d='M5.25 0l-4 4 4 4 1.5-1.5-2.5-2.5 2.5-2.5-1.5-1.5z'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}
.carousel-control-next-icon {
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' fill='%23fff' viewBox='0 0 8 8'%3E%3Cpath d='M2.75 0l-1.5 1.5 2.5 2.5-2.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 4-4-4-4z'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}
Replace the fff in the fill='%23fff' with the hex code of your desired color.
Here's a functional code sample where fill='%23fff' has been changed to fill='%23f00' to represent red instead of white:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-Gn5384xqQ1aoWXA+058RXPxPg6fy4IWvTNh0E263XmFcJlSAwiGgFAW/dAiS6JXm" crossorigin="anonymous">
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.2.1.slim.min.js" integrity="sha384-KJ3o2DKtIkvYIK3UENzmM7KCkRr/rE9/Qpg6aAZGJwFDMVNA/GpGFF93hXpG5KkN" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.12.9/umd/popper.min.js" integrity="sha384-ApNbgh9B+Y1QKtv3Rn7W3mgPxhU9K/ScQsAP7hUibX39j7fakFPskvXusvfa0b4Q" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.0.0/js/bootstrap.min.js" integrity="sha384-JZR6Spejh4U02d8jOt6vLEHfe/JQGiRRSQQxSfFWpi1MquVdAyjUar5+76PVCmYl" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<style>
.carousel-control-prev-icon {
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' fill='%23f00' viewBox='0 0 8 8'%3E%3Cpath d='M5.25 0l-4 4 4 4 1.5-1.5-2.5-2.5 2.5-2.5-1.5-1.5z'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}
.carousel-control-next-icon {
background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' fill='%23f00' viewBox='0 0 8 8'%3E%3Cpath d='M2.75 0l-1.5 1.5 2.5 2.5-2.5 2.5 1.5 1.5 4-4-4-4z'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");
}
</style>
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col">
<div id="carouselExampleControls" class="carousel slide" data-ride="carousel">
<div class="carousel-inner">
<div class="carousel-item active">
<img class="d-block w-100" src="https://placeimg.com/800/400/animals" alt="First slide">
</div>
<div class="carousel-item">
<img class="d-block w-100" src="https://placeimg.com/800/400/arch" alt="Second slide">
</div>
<div class="carousel-item">
<img class="d-block w-100" src="https://placeimg.com/800/400/nature" alt="Third slide">
</div>
</div>
<a class="carousel-control-prev" href="#carouselExampleControls" role="button" data-slide="prev">
<span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span>
<span class="sr-only">Previous</span>
</a>
<a class="carousel-control-next" href="#carouselExampleControls" role="button" data-slide="next">
<span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span>
<span class="sr-only">Next</span>
</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>