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Chanel Ocean Shimmer, Seashell, Rose Sauvage and Daydream Glossimers

April 12, 2013
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This spring season has brought us a wide selection of new lipgloss formulas and colors. Many lines are expanding their color options or developing new-improved formulas through mini-extension releases. The Revelation de Chanel collection focuses mainly on Glossimers ($29.50 each, Nordstrom.com) with some new colors mixed in with some repromotes. I purchased mine almost a month ago and have been using Rose Sauvage non-stop. The shades I bought:
  • Ocean Shimmer 171 is a clear gloss with delicate tiny sparkles suspended
  • Seashell 87 (repurchase) is a pale shimmery champagne pink
  • Rose Sauvage 172 is a soft rose pink shimmer
  • Daydream 174 is a rosey pink with metallic fuschia sparkle particles

The colors are typical of Chanel glossimers: naturally gorgeous, delicate with high shine. Daydream’s shimmer is borderline glittery but the color blends out evenly and smoothly on the lips. Those who love Chanel Glossimers will love Rose Sauvage and Daydream. Seashell is a good natural staple I think is universally flattering on all skintones. Ocean Shimmer is definitely a pass for those who have clear gloss in their makeup wardrobe (I still caved).

Swatches:

I managed to get in lip swatches of Rose Sauvage and Daydream:

Comparisons to others show that you these are different from other Chanel glosses, however due to the sheerness, you can get a similar effect with other shades:

I love the color of Rose Sauvage. It’s rosy enough to show up on my lips but still very natural. I love it layered over Perle Rouge Coco. Daydream is also lovely although might be too sparkly for some. Given all the new lipgloss offerings this season from Chanel, Dior, Guerlain and Armani you might feel a bit overwhelmed (like me). I am still waiting for Armani’s Flash Lacquers to arrive at counters to test (although I usually do like Armani). I just tested out Guerlain’s today instore briefly but haven’t played extensively. I personally have a soft spot for Chanel and Dior glosses (they are my favorites) so I knew I couldn’t go wrong with either. Those who have been waiting for all to arrive will be happy to know that most new gloss formulas should be available at counters to test now. Based on my testing, I feel all the glosses from Chanel, Dior, Guerlain and Armani are all excellent in quality and pigment. My suggestion is to look at the colors you are drawn to first since the formulas are all very similar (in my opinion).

The full Revelation de Chanel collection is listed:

Check out swatches and reviews on some of the newer shades:

I purchased mine from Nordstrom. The collection is also available on Nordstrom.com and all other Chanel counters and boutiques.

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Chanel Taboo #583 Le Vernis

March 20, 2013


There are a series of mini-releases coming out from Chanel this spring-to-summer. One is called Revelation de Chanel which features several glossimers and a new nail polish called Taboo #583 ($27 for 13 ml/0.4 fl oz, made in France). I found Taboo Le Vernis in Beverly Hills this past weekend at Neiman Marcus (although they did not have testers).

Taboo #583 is a glorious vibrant purple metallic. There is a rich deep purple base that is infused with an iridescent red plum sheen loaded with micro sparkles of silver, blue and purple. Taboo’s shimmer actually shows up on the nails (yay!) but it’s not over-the-top. In the sunlight you can see flashes of plum-red in the bottle. On the nails it’s pure purple, the red isn’t visible but it does prevent this from looking too dark. It’s that red iridescence and sparkle that brings this shade to life even though it is a darker shade. The complexity of this shade made it a bit difficult to photograph, here are several shots to give you a better idea.

Coverage is rich and smooth. Application was flawless with two coats. I used with Deborah Lippmann’s Rehydrating Base Coat and the Dior’s new Gel Top Coat. I did see a tiny bit of shrinkage on three fingers (but not all) with the top coat.

Swatches with any kind of lighting brightens the effect of the shimmer. Taboo’s shimmer is visible, but it’s still a dark purple on the nails without any visible red metallic flashes (except with a flash or in direct sunlight).
In direct sunlight:
Under artificial light:
Another shot with flash, you can see the complex rich sparkles:

Under artificial light:


I couldn’t find a dupe from Chanel or Dior, although I suspect there might be some OPI shades that are similar (I didn’t pull any to compare). Taboo has a beautiful rich sparkle that I find unique. Here is Taboo next to Vendetta and Strong:

Three sets of nail swatches, all the same order and shades, just different lighting to show you the various undertones, shimmers and colors: Chanel Provocation (reviewed here), Chanel Strong, Chanel Vendetta, Dior Licorice (reviewed here), Tom Ford Dominatrix (reviewed here).

I adore Taboo. It’s a beautiful vibrant yet deep purple
that glows without looking fluorescent.  It does have a fall-ish feel
(rather than spring or summer) but I still love it. I am dying to check
out the glossimers in the Revelation de Chanel collection. Hopefully
this week!

Taboo is a limited-edition shade. Available while supplies last at Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Chanel.com.

Will you be picking up Taboo? If you have, did you find any dupes?

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Chanel Western Light Le Vernis

February 18, 2013

Chanel has released a small beauty collection of three limited-edition items to celebrate the opening of a new fashion boutique in Hysan Place in Hong Kong. The three items include a 5-pan eyeshadow palette called Pearl River ($80) and two nail polishes in Eastern Light and Western Light ($30). It’s my understanding these will arrive in most Chanel Boutiques and select Studio Counters (Saks NY, Nordstrom Seattle, boutiques like the Wynn in Vegas). I ordered mine from Saks NY, however last week they did not have Eastern Light.
First up is Western Light Le Vernis, a dark vampy chocolate. Like some other classic Chanel colors, this one has a beautiful complex but subtle shimmer in the bottle. Unfortunately on the nail none of the pretty shimmer shows up. On me it applies like a very dark cream that looks like a pure black. The color has a thin slightly streaky finish with one coat, but with two thin coats transforms into a rich opaque blackened-brown. I have mixed feelings about this one. The quality and finish is stunning, but the color seems unoriginal to me. I can’t say it’s love simply because it’s so so basic for a $30 nail polish.

Close up of the shimmers:

A few more swatches:

In comparison to other vamps, you can see there are a lot of others that are more unique. Below are some Chanel bottles to compare. Further down there are a few more swatches from other brands.

Two wheels, same set of colors, just different lighting. First set is what the colors look like applied, very dark and vampy.

Second set in full sun with full flash to show the undertone a bit better.

I’m still undecided. Perhaps it’s the original Rouge Noir reincarnated? I don’t have the original to compare. But for now, I feel that it would have been so much better had they included some visible sparkle like the gold from Haute Chocolat or the silver from shades like Pink Satin.
Did you pick up anything from the Hong Kong Chanel collection? Thoughts? I’m debating whether or not to track down the white shade.
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Chanel Raffinement vs. Edward Bess Cosmic Bliss

January 15, 2013
Per request, here is a comparison post of Chanel’s Raffinement Quad ($58) and Edward Bess’s Cosmic Bliss ($68). Both are glorious neutrals. To me they are different enough to justify owning both. The differences:
  • Chanel Raffinement has shimmer that is more frosted than the colors in Edward’s quad. The pales are also quite a bit lighter. Overall the quad pulls a bit warmer and slightly more pinkish/plum on the eyes. The darkest shade is also a matte.
  • Edward Bess Cosmic Bliss is more of a neutral/satiny palette. The colors are a bit darker and more neutral. The shimmer factor is not quite as high as with Chanel.

Both are equally good in pigment, texture and lasting power. I cannot choose between the two – I love them both.

One more view, not in direct sunlight:

Swatches:

Hope this helps!

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Chanel Or Rose, Santal and Beryl Stylo Yeux Waterproof

December 27, 2012

Chanel has released three new eyeliners in the Stylo Yeux Waterproof formula for spring ($30 each, made in Italy). The three shades are Or Rose #89 (a luminous sparkly champagne), Santal #100 (a neutral shimmering brown) and Beryl #102 (a pale lavendar). Currently, only Beryl is listed as limited-edition on Chanel.com. The Stylo Yeux Waterproof pencils come in a twist-up packaging with a hidden built-in sharpener at the end of the pencil (see example from Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog for close up). They are designed to be a long-wear pencil and I find them to be among my longest lasting eyeliners. For me they stay put all day.
The new shades for spring performed just as well as others in the same formula. Shimmery champagnes like Or Rose are good for lining the inner corners or lower waterline. I’m still experimenting with Beryl – it’s such an unusual shade for a liner! Santal is a pretty classic warm brown shimmer. Chanel does lovely neutrals and Santal works perfectly with the Raffinement quad that was released for spring.

Swatches: Or Rose pulls a bit peachy on my skin.

In terms of dupes, I couldn’t find any. Some comparisons are featured below. Or Rose is a lighter version of Peche Cuivre. Shown next to other champagnes you can see Or Rose is definitely on the peachy side. Santal is quite unique and warmer than other brown neutrals. I didn’t compare Beryl to anything since I don’t own any lavendar-colored eyeliners.

Based on my preferences and normal makeup routine, I like Santal the best. Or Rose is gorgeous but I would prefer it as an eyeshadow instead. Same with Beryl. I occasionally use champagne eyeliners but not frequently. They are both stunning though.

Did you pick up any of the spring eyeliners?

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Chanel Raffinement #39 Quadra Eye Shadow – Spring 2013

December 24, 2012

The winter-to-spring season brings quite a few lovely neutral palettes from Armani, Burberry, Edward Bess and Chanel. The Printemps Precieux de Chanel brings us Raffinement #39 Quadra Eye Shadow ($58 for 6.8g/0.24 oz) which is every neutral-lover’s dream. The quad has a mixture of three shimmery earthy warm neutrals and a dark warm matte brown. This is hands down my favorite neutral of all the recent releases. The pigment is excellent, much better than most Chanel palettes in my opinion. The texture is soft and easy to blend. The shimmer is visible but not over the top. It’s a definite must-have.


Here it is swatched, on me it pulls very warm:

Chanel recently discontinued Kaska Beige (which I found to be a good staple, I had to get backups) so I thought that Raffinement would be very similar. However looking at them side by side you can see how they are very different. The color/finish of Raffinement is similar to Armani’s #6 Boudoir. The difference is that Armani has 2 light shimmer/2 mattes while Chanel’s has 3 shimmers/1 matte. If I had to pick one, it would be the Chanel. I added Prelude below to show the undertones.

I could only fit three sets on my arm, so I picked the ones that were most similar, Armani #6 and Chanel Kaska Beige. There are two views below with different lighting. Right now I’m a Chanel B30.

Overall love. Raffinement is a gorgeous palette. The quality and pigment are excellent. Did you pick up Raffinement? Or anything else from Chanel spring?
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