The Chanel fall collection for eyes this year consists of some beautiful neutrals in the khaki family. I immediately picked up Gri-Gri Ombre Essentielle a beautiful sparkling taupe. I resisted the Chanel Mystère Les 4 Ombres and the Khaki Précieux Stylo Yeux Waterproof for a week before caving. Khaki colors are challenging for me to pull off. The olive color on olive skin often results in a sallow muddy look. I was hesitant to try any of the khaki items but a quick mini-makeover with the quad at the Chanel counter fixed everything.
Quick swatches, left to right: Mystère Quad, Gri-Gri Single and Khaki Précieux Eyeliner, I find it interesting the taupes pull more mauve on me while it pulls more neutral and brown on others (similar effect happened with Taupe Gris and some other taupes). See Mystère on Café Makeup and Weekend Ramblings, also Gri-Gri on The Non-Blonde. Clearly your mileage may vary depending on your skintone.
Some close ups of each item. First up, Mystère Quadra Eyeshadow ($59 for 6.8g) is a stunning mix of pale sparkly champagne with gold flecks, soft neutral mauve-taupe, dark blackened-khaki with gold shimmer and a neutral brown satin with green tones. What makes this work for me is that none of the shades are a pure khaki, but two have some khaki elements. The lightest and darkest shades have slightly larger shimmer particles. A base is absolutely necessary or else you will have some glitter fall out on the cheeks and smudging for the dark shade. I used this over Edward Bess’s Eye Base and also RMS Beauty Solar Cream Shadow. The colors are well pigmented and easy to blend. I found it flattering on my olive skin. Easy to wear for day and versatile enough to take into night by adding more of the smoky khaki/gold/black color.
Next, Gri-Gri Soft Touch Eyeshadow ($28.50 for 1.6g) is a must-have for any taupe lover. On me it pulls more on the mauve side versus a straight taupe. It’s very sparkly. I love it. Some close ups and comparisons below.
Khaki Précieux ($30) is a lovely metallic khaki green. I find it to be both a good liner and a smudgey base for a smokey eye. It’s dark enough to define the eyes but the shimmery quality makes it soft. The texture is soft and easy to apply on the eyes, but firm enough so it doesn’t smudge. Some close ups and comparisons below.
For me, I think the Mystère quad is the winner for eyes. The taupe is similar to the Gri-Gri single (although not an exact dupe). There’s more versatility in the quad.
So far I’ve spotted the collection in store at Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms and the Chanel Boutique on Rodeo Drive. It should start trickling in all stores by next week, as well as online. For now you can find the collection online at Nordstrom.com.