Chanel’s new blush for the holiday is Star Dust #73 ($43 for 6g/0.21 oz). I found this blush to be more of a glimmering highlighter rather than a regular blush. It has a sheer soft pink base loaded with tiny micro sparkles in shades of pink, silver and platinum. It’s quite stunning in the compact. In testing this, I found that I need some kind of a cream highlighter or blush on the cheeks to make this show up (I experimented with NARS Luxor, a few other NARS Multiples, Edward Bess Sunlight and a couple Armani fluid sheers). Alone over foundation and powder (like a regular blush) resulted in a barely noticeable powdery pink cheek. When layered over a cream product, it goes on a soft pink loaded with sparkles. The effect is similar MAC Silver Dusk or Laura Mercier’s Star Dust powder but even more sparkly with a pink base (versus silvery/champagne). Overall the name Star Dust fits the product performance – it gives a sparkle effect to the cheeks. I can only see myself wearing this for evenings out – for me it’s too sparkly for everyday wear.
Close up:
Swatched you can see it’s very sheer. Even with heavy layering, it’s a soft warm sheer pink:
Star Dust is a warmer pink when compared to other soft pink shades, but it’s still clearly pink (not a peachy pink). I pulled a few comparisons to show, I couldn’t find a dupe in my Chanel or MAC collection. Here are a few views to show the shimmer and undertones. First in direct sunlight: Chanel Ombres Tissees in Beiges (limited-edition from August 2011), Chanel Winter Shimmer (discontinued), MAC Porcelain Pink MSF, NARS Miss Liberty, Le Metier de Beaute Whisper:
Comparisons under artificial light (same set of colors):
Swatches, two views:
I’m not completely in love with Star Dust mainly because it didn’t apply on the face like I expected it to. Based on what I saw in the compact and what I’m used to for Chanel blushes, I expected something more pigmented and not as sheer. I’m usually a die-hard Chanel blush fan but this one was just ok for me – the lightness of the color can look a bit chalky for my skintone and emphasize pores if not applied with a super light hand. Still, as a highlighter it’s very pretty and nice for evenings to add that extra sparkle. It’s unique enough compared to other highlighters in the sense that the shimmer/sparkle isn’t your standard silver or champagne. It’s subtle but makes the skin have a really pretty glow as long as you have a dewy base first.
Did you try Star Dust? What were your thoughts? If you’re interested in this I suggest you check your counters soon to try it. Three counters near me were already sold out – although I think it will be easy to find online for a while.
