In general the Les Beiges powders are among the sheerest of the sheer when it comes to pressed powders. They aren’t quite as sheer as MAC Blot Powders though (which I always found chalky-looking). You can definitely layer the Les Beiges over tinted moisturizers or foundations. Buffing in a circular motion with a denser brush helps build color.
I would say the Les Beiges are most similar in concept to the discontinued Poudre Douce Soft Pressed Powders even though these only came in lighter shades. Pêche Tendre 20 (no longer available in the US) has a more glowy finish with visible shimmer. Les Beiges No. 20 has no visible shimmer and goes on the skin more pinkish.
Below you can see that the Double Perfection Lumiere in 20 Beige has significantly more coverage than the Les Beiges powders and that in general the darker Les Beiges powders are quite a bit warmer in undertone. They aren’t quite as brown as MAC Golden Bronzer (which also has more of a glow at a cheaper price) but Les Beiges have a similar natural finish.
The more I use the Les Beiges the more I like them. My initial thoughts were slightly less than impressed due to the sheerness. I’ve found that buffing in a circular motion creates a nice glow – something definitely more natural and suited to my preference than mineral powder foundations (pressed or loose), but similar in result by blending out imperfections (only when layered over liquid foundations though for me).
Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour powders have finally arrived in the US ($57.50 for 12 g/0.42 oz). There are seven shades available in the powder. Each come encased in a black pouch and a beige colored square compact. The Les Beiges Powders come with a half-moon domed-shaped brush, but there is also a separate Les Beiges Retractable Kabuki Brush ($70) that has been released as well specifically for use with the Les Beiges powders. The compacts for Les Beiges are the same size as the now discontinued Poudre Douce, but with slightly less product. I was able to preview and test Les Beiges last month at a Chanel event. The artist used the shade in N° 20 all over as a soft finishing powder over the Vitalumière Aqua Compact Foundation in B30 (a full coverage foundation), then used N° 40 as a face contouring powder to add definition. The result was a flawless glow.
The Les Beiges powders are very finely milled powders with a sheer
translucent finish. The colors I picked out have a subtle glow in the
compact but the shimmer is not really visible on the skin except for N° 30 which has visible glow particles (at least on me). There are a number of ways to use these powders. My local Chanel
counter had some useful sheets to explain how the powders are meant to
be used. You can enhance the skin by using as a setting powder. Add a glow with a color that is one shade darker. Or use as a bronzer with an even darker shade by layering.
More ideas on how to use the powders:
The colors I picked: N° 20, 30 and 40
Each color side by side:
Since each color is very sheer, I tried to do a heavy swipe to show the color.
Swatched with a brush with a heavy hand:
Comparisons to come in the next post, but for now I’ll share my thoughts on how these powders performed. I’ve tested these several ways over the past few days. Overall these are very sheer even when buffed heavily into the skin. I’ve tested with several different brushes that Chanel recommended. Each brush will give a slightly different effect although no matter how you use these shades, the result is a similar soft glow. The Les Beiges create the same soft sheer effect as a loose setting powder but in pressed form.
1) Dusted over a full coverage foundation with the Retractable Kabuki or Touch Up Brush creates the best effect for me. There is a big gap between N° 20 and 30 and unfortunately I fall in that range. If I could only pick one, right now the N° 20 works best for me when dusted lightly over foundation. I’ve found mixing both N° 20 + 30 gives the best color finish even though the powders are sheer.
2) Buffed over a sheer foundation or tinted moisturizer needs a denser brush like the Retractable Kabuki. My skin is not good enough to just wear a sheer tinted moisturizer and sheer powder. I need something with more coverage. Dipping the brush into the powder and buffing the color into the skin helps create a heavier coverage but it’s still a bit too sheer for my taste.
3) Buffed over bare but moisturized skin (like in Lisa Eldridge’s video). I tried this over Chanel Le Jour de Chanel mixed with a bit of Chanel Sublimage Le Fluide (small sample). I used the same buffing method that Lisa demonstrated. This would work best with those who have near flawless skin. This method did give a lovely sheer glow with soft coverage however my skin isn’t in the best condition right now and in need of something with more pigment. If you have any imperfections you need to hide this method won’t cover them.
4) Used as a dark contour with the darker shades. N° 30 isn’t dark enough for me to use as a contour, but anything darker like N° 40 work perfectly. There’s enough warmth in these to look natural on the skin but not too much brown so that these look like a bronzer (at least on me). N° 30 does work to add warmth by dusting it over the cheeks and temples but in a very subtle way.
5) Used as a touch-up powder with the half moon brush. I will probably need to test this more, but I found that the half moon brush did not pick up enough color to do much of anything. It’s made well with high quality bristles and cut for a compact, but the bristles are not dense enough for me to pick up much color to deposit on the face. If you’ve had luck trying it I’d love to hear about your experiences.
Overall the Les Beiges act as a good setting powder if you want a sheer soft finish (emphasis on the sheer). It has less coverage but a more matte finish compared to the Poudre Douce (discontinued). I’ll have a separate post with more details on how it compares to other powders from Chanel. In general with the Les Beiges I found the biggest downside to be the color selection. There are gaps in the middle shade range where I think many women fall (like myself). I tried N° 20 in the evening and photographed with a flash and it did leave a white cast. I haven’t photographed N°20+30 or N°30 alone with a flash so it could just be that N° 20 is a tad too pale for me as it is. I do think these are good high quality powders with a decent price of $57.50. If you are one who prefers heavier coverage then using this as a setting powder might not be the best option for you. You can still get a good finish when buffed over a fuller-coverage foundation but again, these powders are very sheer.
Les Beiges powders should be at all Chanel counters now. I found mine in store at Nordstrom. You can also find these online at Nordstrom, Chanel.com, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer: Le Charm #112 ($18 for 13 ml/0.43 fl oz, Sephora) is a glitzy warm coppery pink. Le Charm is loaded with tons of sparkle in gold, pink, silver, copper – it has a similar complex finish to Petra (reviewed here). The formula for this one seemed to be slightly thinner than the other two I purchased, but still thicker than most polishes I own. Out of the three shades I bought from Sephora, Le Charm had the best application. It goes on smoothly and covers the nail entirely with just one coat. Dry time seemed to be very quick. I’ve worn this color for a few days now – you definitely need a good top coat to extend the wear. I’ve tested it with Chanel’s Top Coat on one hand and no top coat on the other. Without a good layer on top, tip wear and chipping happens within one day. The complexity of the color makes it look pinkish at some angles. In different lighting it flashes more copper. This one is my favorite out of the three I purchased.
Here are swatches with two coats, no top coat. You can see how it looks slightly pink in some photos while in others it’s more coppery/peach:
I found it unique compared to other shades. I don’t have anything that comes close in undertone or complexity. For a glitzy pink, I love that it has just enough coppery/peach that it doesn’t look too metallic with the silvery glitters. The balance of color is perfect. Compared below to Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle, Shu Uemura P996 (old discontinued shade) and MAC Soiree.
Bottom line: love. Marc Jacobs Beauty is available at Sephora as an exclusive. Have you checked out the Marc Jacobs line?
Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer in Gatsby #110 ($18 for 13 ml/0.43 fl oz) is a metallic champagne pink. It’s rich pigmented shade with a metal-like finish. I found the color to be unique compared to other metallic pinks. Gatsby has a slight mauvey tone to it. The formula was a bit difficult to work with – I found this one to be thicker than most shades that applied with a streaky finish and visible brush strokes. Once dried and with two coats applied the strokes blended out a bit. The metallic quality is a bit sharp with this one contrasting with my olive skintone. I’m not sure whether I like it or not – I’m on the fence with this color. More photos and swatches below.
In sunlight:
Swatches:
A few comparisons below to Le Metier de Beaute True Romance, Guerlain Petite Robe Noire and Chanel Violette.
Overall – still undecided. I know it’s expected that brush strokes are visible with metallics. I’m not sure if the photos captured those streaks. Gatsby is a lovely striking shade that’s neutral but with that edge from the shimmer. You can find Marc Jacobs beauty exclusively at Sephora.
Marc Jacobs Petra #140 Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer ($18 for 13 ml/0.43 fl oz, Sephora.com) is a rich complex sparkly plum-taupe-silver. It’s one of those shades loaded with multi-colored shimmers giving a foiled metallic look (think along the lines of Chanel Graphite and Delight). Petra has a thick formula that requires a slow and steady application. You need to let the first coat dry entirely before you apply the second. I had to redo several nails as I tried to smooth out the first coat (which didn’t work too well). The finish is smooth and streak-free. It has a smooth texture and feels like one of those shades that will adhere well to the nail and last a long time.
Here it is swatched with two coats, although one coat covered the nail entirely. It’s mostly a purply-taupe on me, but looks silvery depending on how the light captures the silver flecks.
In sunlight with flash:
In sunlight, no flash:
I couldn’t find anything quite like Petra. In the store it looked like it could match a few OPI shades but when I pulled comparisons, I couldn’t find any dupes. Here it is compared to Rococo Metal Jacket, OPI Holiday Glow, OPI The World is Not Enough and Dior Aztec Chocolate (now called New World Purple). All of these shades are rather complicated shimmers. Here are 2 sets of the same shades so you can see the shimmers:
I love the color. I wish I had this in an eyeshadow and eyeliner form. I wish I had this color in my closet as well. It’s perfect for this time of year and I found it unique. It’s a beautiful complex metallic without being too glitzy. I love that Petra has a lot of purple, taupe and brown mixed into the color with a tiny bit of silver. I’m currently testing and swatching half a dozen nail polishes or else I’d have this color on my nails the rest of the month – tips and toes. Marc Jacobs Beauty is currently exclusive to Sephora.
Marc Jacobs Beauty launched at Sephora last week. I stopped by my local store to check out the line and picked three of the Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquers ($18 each for 13 ml/0.43 oz). There is a wide range of colors and textures to pick from. I saw creams, shimmers, frosts, glitters and some sheers. I picked out three of the shimmery shades in Gatsby, Le Charm and Petra as my first intro to the line. I’m working on reviews and swatches as fast as I can on each shade. For now, here is a sneak preview. The bottles are so cute. They have a pull off cap and I love that the bottles feel very sturdy. Part of the display at Sephora.
The packaging and brush:
Gatsby, Le Charm and Petra close ups:
Detailed report to follow shortly. Did you check out the Marc Jacobs Beauty collection at your Sephora? Did you pick anything up? I’m all ears for what everyone has tried 🙂
