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Chanel Glossimers Bon Bon, Pétillant & Bagatelle for Spring 2012

December 19, 2011

I have a weakness for Chanel Glossimers. The colors created by Chanel are always so gorgeous in the tubes with the prettiest shimmers and sparkles – they make my heart skip a beat. The newest colors for spring are Bon Bon 73, Pétillant 159 & Bagatelle 161. All the shades are light and shimmery but unfortunately not unique. I still love the newest items from spring but the colors are fairly sheer and seem like lazy rehashed from seasons past. Note my weakness overcame me and I still caved.

The colors:

Bon Bon 73 is a pale pearly pink gold. It’s one of those luminous glowy glosses without glittery specks. The shimmer is very smooth and almost milky. Back in 2008, Chanel released a series of Aqualumiere Glosses, one was also called Bon Bon. I don’t have it anymore since used it up, but from my memory, the new Bon Bon Glossimer seems identical to what Bon Bon Aqualumiere Gloss looked like. It’s a paler version of Sundress. The color is very sheer and goes on clear on my lips. I suspect it will be best used as a layering color over a pigmented lipstick.

Pétillant 159 is a soft luminous peachy glow with an iridescent pinkish shimmer. On the hands and lips it goes on more of a clear pinkish shimmer for me. Odd right? I attribute this to the sheer silvery pale sparkles that show up more than the sheer peachy base. Do check out Best Things in Beauty for swatches in different light and skintone. I agree with her that I also could have skipped this too – it’s so sheer on me even the sparkles barely show up.

Bagatelle 161 is the most pigmented gloss in the collection. It’s a beautiful fresh salmon pink with gold shimmers. I found it to be a lighter fresher version of Magnifique. Years ago Chanel also released a color called Pink Oyster. I no longer have that either (used up) but Bagatelle reminds me of Pink Oyster. Scroll down to the bottom for comparisons. It’s more pigmented so this shows up on my lips but it’s still rather natural.

More close ups:

Comparisons below to other Chanels and one Le Metier gloss. The photo of the actual product was taken with my iPhone. I couldn’t get a decent shot with outdoor lighting – the sunlight and flash blurred all the pinks and corals together.

Have you seen the spring collection in person yet? What were your thoughts of the glossimers? I didn’t lip swatch them for this blog since they were so sheer it didn’t seem worth trying to post here. Thank you everyone for your patience as I slowly work my way through Chanel’s spring collection. November and December have proved to be very challenging months for me in my non-blogging life. The good thing with this collection is that Chanel scheduled the release very early this year so most of you have probably had the chance to go to the counters to play.
If you’ve seen the collection in person I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂 Or even if you haven’t I’d love to hear your first impressions based on what you’ve seen online or read about.
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Chanel Rose Envolée 31 vs. Éclosion 34

December 17, 2011

As promised, a comparison between Rose Envolée 31 (from Le Blanc, an Asia Exclusive Collection and Nordstrom Anniversary 2011 Exclusive) & Éclosion 34 (from Spring 2012). The underlying theme of both quads seems to be similar. Rose Envolée 31 is more pink/cool while Éclosion 34 is more peachy/warm. Do you need both? I don’t think so, but since Rose Envolée was limited to Nordstrom for a short time so other counters did not have this quad to show customers a side-by-side comparison.

Those new to Chanel might ask why one quad has round pans while the other square. The round-pan quads are made for distribution in Europe, Asia and Canada (I think) while the square-pan quads are made for distribution in the US. Other differences:

Round-pan:

  • baked formula which means a harder texture
  • typically more chalky in finish
  • comes with white tipped applicators
  • net weight is 1.2 g / .04 oz

Square-pan:

  • more finely milled smoother finish
  • comes with black sponge applicators
  • typically more pigmented and non-chalky
  • net weight is 6.8 g / .24 oz

Both Rose Envolée 31 vs. Éclosion 34 were made in France. Some of my other quads have been made in USA. Swatches below:

My preference has always been for the US formula, so if I could only have one, it would hands down be Éclosion. It’s warmer but not too warm.
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Featured on Feather Factor

December 14, 2011

Although my blog focuses on beauty items, I’m still an avid reader of fashion blogs. I’m honored to be featured this week on the Feather Factor’s interview series! She is one of my favorite daily reads and if you haven’t already check out Katherine’s blog, I highly recommend you click over to browse through. You can read more about her here. She’s a mix master – always coordinating a unique set of items to create some of the most chic outfits I’ve seen. Her style is inspirational and her blog a joy to read. I adore her purse and shoe collection (to die for)! She was kind enough to ask me to participate in a 2 part interview. Here is Part 1. I hope you enjoy!
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Chanel Éclosion Quadra Eyeshadow

December 14, 2011

Chanel Éclosion Quadra Eyeshadow ($57 for 6.8 g/0.24 oz) is the a beautiful warm-neutral palette for spring. The shades have a beautiful refined shimmer – each color has a slightly different variation of sparkle. The colors are on the warmer side but not overly so. From the top left clockwise you have:
  • Soft satiny glowy pale peach
  • Sheer sparkly gold with slightly larger shimmer flecks
  • Rich shimmery reddish plum brown
  • Sandy gold-beige with a slightly multidimensional iridescent glow
I applied this on the eyes from darkest to lightest in a layering method and it created a soft but defined glowy eye look. The overall effect was very warm with the plummy brown shade. It has gorgeous reddish tones without being too red. It works perfectly with the Blush Horizon de Chanel. Here are a few more shots and swatches, first without flash:

There is something familiar about Éclosion but I couldn’t find a dupe. Perhaps it’s just that I find each shade resembles something similar to other separate quads. Here it is compared to Shimmering Dunes and Spices:

Swatch comparisons below. A side note: for some reasons my swatches look more shimmery/frosty in the photos than these quads look in real life.

Bottom line worth every penny. It’s classic, flawless and stunning.

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Blush Horizon de Chanel for Spring 2012

December 12, 2011

The new Blush Horizon de Chanel ($58) is the star product of the Harmonie de Printemps Collection for Spring 2012. The new Glowing Blush Harmony is a stunning palette of soft luminous pinks, white, plum, peachy-pink and gold. I believe this will be a universally flattering pink. It has a good mixture of cool and warm tones with the alternating stripes. There are several variations of pink to suit everyone’s taste. This powder I took a soft blush brush and swirled the colors together before applying. On the face this is a very soft glowing pink, not overly frosty, but a hint of shimmer is visible on the face. Each stripe appears to have a different degree of shimmer which I find lovely. On my medium-toned olive skin (Chanel Perfection Lumiere B30) it gives a soft medium pink glow. On darker skins I think this will be more of a lighter highlighting pink, still visible, and absolutely gorgeous. Be sure to check out Makeup Magpie and Best Things in Beauty if you haven’t seen their photos yet.

Here at an angle you can see the glow better and the variations in the colors between each stripe (I believe the gold goes all the way through to the bottom of the pan):

Swatched & swirled (the heavy blended swatch looks frosty because of the high flash, but on the face it is not quite as frosty, I recommend you check out Best Things in Beauty’s swatches):

While striped blushes aren’t new, Chanel has created a beautiful fresh new variation with the Blush Horizon de Chanel. In the past few weeks, Amy from Café Makeup and I pondered how the new Chanel compared to compared to Guerlain’s Série Noire Blush G from last spring. On my skin, the Guerlain looks brighter and more peachy. The Blush Horizon de Chanel is more subtle & pink. I feel it’s a combination between Brompton Road and Narcisse without the chalkiness.

I haven’t seen any other spring collections in person yet, but I can already tell you this is a must-have for the season.
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Reminder: Beautybloggers.org Auction Ends December 12th

December 12, 2011

A reminder to everyone that bidding for the Beautybloggers.org Auction ends at 5 pm CST on Monday, December 12. There are some amazing items that have been donated by various brands and bloggers. My favorites:
Don’t forget to get your bids in soon! Winning bids will be donated directly to Doctors Without Borders. Bidders anywhere in the world are welcome, and shipping is “free.” That is, the full amount of your winning bid will go to charity — the bloggers have agreed to donate the cost of shipping, in addition to the items themselves. Visit Beautybloggers.org for more information.
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Chanel April, May and June for Spring 2012

December 10, 2011
© The Beauty Look Book

Chanel Spring has started to trickle into stores in the US. Nordstrom should be receiving their items any day now and Neimans already has the product instore at counters (most of the items have arrived). Chanel.com just launched the spring items online. Of course I could not resist the three new Le Vernis Nail Colours in April, May and June – all cream non-shimmer shades with smooth rich coverage. Although these shades do not appear to be special or unique, I find that Chanel once again has mixed the perfect amount of color to create shades that are amazingly beautiful. Lined up together they remind me of a sunset.

April is a cream mauve plum. In the bottle it looks like almost reddish but it swatches with a hint of purple.

May is a baby soft pink. It’s a neutral-cool, similar to Melrose, but April is slightly warmer in undertone.

June is a soft pastel apricot cream. It’s a lighter brighter version of Miami Peach/Orange Fizz.

Comparisons to other Chanels and 1 RBL, L to R: Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruised, Chanel April, Chanel Fantastic, Chanel Rouge Fatal, Chanel Rose Confidentiel, Chanel May, Chanel Melrose, Chanel Morning Rose, Chanel Riviera, Chanel June, Chanel Peche Nacree, Chanel Miami Peach and Chanel Orange Fizz.

Bottom line: I don’t know what else to say but “love”. *UPDATE* Check out The Purse Forum: Chanel on your nails #2 thread page 408 for awesome comparisons from Elisaq (I think you have to login to see images).