Various Chanel Nordstrom counters all over the country have been having a special launch event for the Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks. I love Chanel events because I always leave with great tips, tricks and ideas on how to use new and existing shades.
Today the artist asked me what kind of look I was interested in. It helps to give the artist some direction so they know where to start. They almost always like to try new colors on you (“new” as in don’t own yet) but since I have virtually all the Chanel quads she decided to use Kaska Beige to show me how to do a subtle smoky eye. The face chart of what she used:
Skin and Face:
Ultra Correction Line Repair Fluid SPF 15
Base Lumière Illuminating Makeup Base
Vitalumière Aqua in B20 (see swatches here)
Eyes:
Concealer as a base (didn’t note which one)
Kaska Beige Quadra Eyeshadow
Ébène Stylo Yeux Waterproof (pure black)
Cheeks:
Terre D’or Soleil de Tan Bronzer (soft bronze)
Tweed Corail Bronzer (coral & peach blend also shown here and here)
Lips:
Deauville Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick (pinky-mauve-brown)
The look was subtle but polished. I loved how she did the eyes. In my experience, few artists know how to do Asian eyes without creases. What she did with Kaska Beige:
Step 1: Apply a concealer base to even the eye
Step 2: Dampen a small eyeshadow brush and apply the darkest plum shade on the eyes from the center of the eye outwards to the outer corners (in a smudgey messy way), it was applied about 1/3 up the bottom lid from the center out
Step 3: Take a new clean soft eyeshadow brush and apply the warm brown shimmer all over the plum and all over the lid and blend together
Step 4: Apply the upper right cocoa color in outer corners and under the eyes for extra definition
Step 5: Line with a black liner along upper lashes
Step 6: Take the light cream shell color and dip another clean detail brush and swipe from brow bone downwards for a soft highlight
Blending the golden brown shade over the darker plum was pure genius. The cheeks and lips went perfectly with Kaska Beige.
*Update* Several of my readers have asked for more thoughts on Tweed Corail – I personally love all the tweed blushes. I’ve linked prior features here and here. It gives a lovely soft peach glow that brightens the face with a refined slight shimmer.
For the lips, Rouge Coco Shine in Deauville is a lovely mauve-brown with pink. It’s a complex color in the tube with different shimmers but applies with a lovely glow. It looks different depending on the light angles. I thought it might be too brown from what I saw in the tube but on the lips it looked more pinky-mauve. Another view below, see how it’s more pinkish compared to the views the above photos (because of the lighting/angle). The texture is sheer and glossy. More thoughts on Rouge Coco Shines soon.
As a promotion, the counter gave out mini pink notebooks, a mini mascara and mini skincare item (shown in the first photo at the beginning of this post). For additional Chanel Makeover Features, click on the MAKEOVER tag at the bottom.
Have you attended any Chanel events? What Rouge Coco Shines have you tried? If you went to an event this weekend, please share the details! I’d love to hear what they used on you or what kind of look they put together for you 🙂
For Chanel Liberte v Misia: Liberte is more milky and less shimmery but more pigmented while Misia is brighter more vibrant and has a sheerer shimmery texture with more red.
For those wondering whether I prefer Chanel’s Miami Peach or Orange Fizz: right now the vote goes to Miami Peach. Do note that Miami Peach is less pigmented with a slight jelly-like finish. The gold shimmer is very fine and not very noticeable. Orange Fizz is clearly more orange and has that amazing rich smooth opaque coverage Chanel is well known for these days, it may be harder to pull off on all skintones.
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine was launched in the US yesterday. I stopped by Neimans to pick up the two exclusives: Rouge Coco Shine in Misia 45 (bright tangerine with a silvery sheen) and Le Vernis in Miami Peach 203 (repromote from years past but exclusive to Neimans). Both are perfect for summer.
Miami Peach & Misia (click picture to see the shimmers better):
Rouge Coco Shine Misia 45 is a bright tangerine with a slight silvery sheen. It does have shimmer but on the lips it doesn’t really show the frost. It glides on like a lip balm. Texture is sheer but since this is a brighter color it does show up on me. I do need a few swipes on the lip to get it to show. I’m unsure of the lasting power of this. I’ll report back later when I review a few of the other shades. It does feel weightless on the lips and moisturizing. It’s an easy to apply color with a flawless glowy finish.
Two swipes each lip (taken early morning, I think the lighting makes me look darker than I really am):
Miami Peach 203 Le Vernis is a repromote. It’s a soft but bright coral with a slight hint of pink. It has tiny bits of gold shimmer but you can only see it on the nails in direct light. It applies like a jelly color – slightly transparent. I asked for 3 coats because I wanted more color but 2 coats was just fine.
My skin recently had a mini freak-out session due to weather changes and work stress. My usual go-to items weren’t doing anything to speed up the recovery and given the weather/seasonal changes I felt that my skin needed a change. (This happens around the same time every year and most of the time my skin clears up on its own.)
I spotted this cute set at Nordstrom a little over a week ago – perfect timing for me. New and limited edition, Chanel has released a mini travel skincare set in the Ultra Correction Lift formula. It retails for $175 with smaller trial sized items encased in a black zip pouch. As much as I love Chanel, my experience trying their skincare line hasn’t been wildly successful since they discontinued my favorite Age Delay line. I have tried the Ultra Correction Lift and Ultra Correction Line Repair range during makeovers (Chanel will often give you a wonderful mini facial to prep the skin) but was never quite sold. I decided to give this line a second try.
The ingredients, description and benefits according to Chanel:
Sculpting Firming Concentrate (0.5 fl. oz. airless pump) “ELEMI PFA* Derived from a pure botanical found in Indonesia, the Elemi tree, for traditional use in healing, and purified to its most potent essence. The unique ingredient helps boost the production of tensin — providing benefits beyond those of elastin and collagen — to help rebuild and strengthen the supportive dermal network. Skin appears lifted from within.
Lifting Firming Day Cream SPF 15 (0.5 oz. jar) An anti-aging treatment with high-performing star ingredient elemi PFA* stimulates the production of tensin, improving the quality of skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, and helping to improve their bonds within the skin to create a firm supportive network. Lush cream, luxuriously textured and delicately scented, delivers a very soft, matte finish, with ultimate comfort, for a visible lifting effect.
Ultra Firming Night Cream (0.5 oz. jar) High-performing star ingredient elemi PFA* stimulates the production of tensin, improving the quality of skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, and helping to improve their bonds within the skin to create a firm supportive network. Velvety cream, luxuriously textured and delicately scented, intensely nourishes for a plumping and firming effect, specifically formulated for skin’s night function.
Comes with two mini black spatulas for the creams
I asked my sales associate how much of a “deal” this was so pulled out her calculator for the breakdown. We did it in a hurry but found the set was approximately the same price proportionally. Concentrate retails for $165, Day Cream retails for $150, Night Cream retails for $165. To buy all 3 items in the full size would have cost me around $500.
While $175 is pricey for skincare that might not work, it certainly was a lot more affordable than buying three full-sized items for $400+. I thought this was the perfect set for me to try out and test everything given a few raves from my friends.
Thoughts to date: I have been using these items since the 26th of March (so approximately 11 days). I’ve been using the concentrate and day cream everyday under foundation. With the night cream – I haven’t been as disciplined and have only used it 3 times. I think I will need at least a full 3 weeks to make a concrete decision on how I truly feel about these. Skincare can take time to really take effect.
The first two days my skin became a bit red on the cheek areas, but I thought this could have just been to my own personal stress. I kept using it to see if my skin would improve. In addition, I got a sample of the new Express Lifting Firming Mask at the counter and tried that as well. After 11 days of testing my skin I have smoother softer skin. My disaster spots are almost gone. I don’t know that I will see any lift as I don’t really have any sagging areas yet on my face.
The Concentrate is a gel-like texture that applies smooth and non-sticky. My SA recommends patting it into the skin rather than rubbing, but I’m still more of a slathering-type of person when it comes to skincare. There is no detectable scent.
The Day Cream is on the thicker side with a slightly tacky feeling. It does dry down a little to be non-sticky. There is a noticeable scent which I cannot describe. It’s not overpowering and fades within a few seconds. I have a highly sensitive nose and cannot stand strong fragrances in skincare.
The Night Cream is thick but smoother than the day cream with the same scent. I haven’t been using the Concentrate with the Night Cream even though it is recommended. I personally would rather save it for the daytime.
I need a few more weeks to see if this is something that I like or if my skin is just simply getting better on its own. I will update in about a month with further thoughts. The packaging however is beautiful. The pouch is a decent size for travel and the black holder inside is easily removable so you can fit more items inside. The only downside is that is made of a nylon material which I think can get dirty easily if not careful.
Have you tried Chanel Skincare? If so – what have been your experiences? Any favorites? I’ve received countless samples of their Sublimage over the years – most of which I have gifted away. Every now and then I’ll try one of my samples and I find it too rich for my skin. Still, they are nice to try and I can’t tell you how many of my friends are always eager to take my unwanted samples off my hands.
FYI – a number of you have asked about my update on Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. It was reviewed in more detail a month ago, re-linked here for your convenience. Hope this helps!
I think every week should have a three-day weekend. Two days simply isn’t enough time to do the things I want to do (the fun stuff). Today’s look is quick and easy with a simple black cotton dress, tan belt, black flats, ivory leather bag. Outfit is almost entirely J.Crew (I can always rely on them for a classic simple look). Leather bag is by Balenciaga. Makeup is all barely-there natural colors. I’m a minimalist at heart even if my natural “no makeup” look isn’t really minimalist if you break it down to what I’m wearing.
Inside the bag:
What I’m wearing today: Chanel Tweed Rose Blush, Chanel Taupe-Délicat Eyeshadow Duo, Chanel Espresso Stylo Yeux, Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara, Chanel Confidentielle Rouge Allure, Chanel Star Glossimer, Jo Malone Orange Blossom Cologne, Chanel Peche Nacree Le Vernis
I hope each and every one of you have a great week! Remember Chanel Rouge Coco Shines come out this week in the US!
Chanel’s summer collection is due to be released very soon, but I still can’t get enough of the Spring 2011 Le Vernis shades (all nail polishes featured, reviewed and compared here in Dear Chanel, I Love You!). I’ve worn Black Pearl 513 on numerous occasions on tips and toes since December and I’ve worn Pearl Drop 511 twice.
Right now, Laura from Jonesy Loves and I are both smitten with Pêche Nacrée 515, a beautiful soft luminous peachy pearl that has the perfect balance of shimmer and cream. We got matching manicures this weekend after a scrumptious lunch. It was the perfect way to cheer up a gloomy cloudy day.
Below is what it looks like on me (two coats and it just glows):
Here it is on Laura who is fairer and cooler than me (Chanel Pêche Nacrée went with her white dress perfectly, see her full dress here):
On me (left) versus her (right), both of us had two coats applied, I like it better on Laura:
Bottom line: We can’t stop staring at our nails! It’s subtle but polished. Plus we’ve both agreed that nobody beats Chanel Nail Polishes with their perfect color, texture and sheen 🙂
Bright blushes are a definitely must-have for me, although I usually layer two colors for more depth and dimension. Most of the time I will layer a soft wash of bright over a bronzer. For eyes I don’t really wear brights. The brightest shades I have are golds or pinky-peachy shimmers. I’ll feature a few non-neutrals, but for bright eye colors I’m a bit lacking.
Bright pink blushes (L to R)*: NARS Angelika, MAC Pink Swoon, NARS Desire, Chanel Tweed Fuschia
Bright peaches (also see my peach obsession here): NARS Taj Mahal, MAC Style , Bobbi Brown Coral Shimmer Blush, NARS Gilda
Bright corals (clockwise from left): NARS Cactus Flower Cream Blush, Guerlain Série Noire Blush G, Bobbi Brown Pink Coral Shimmer Wash, MAC Fleur Power
Brighter eye colors for me (not necessarily bright for everyone): NARS Goldfinger, NARS Étrusque, MAC Pink Bronze Pigment* (note the picture has been corrected, it’s Pink Bronze, not Pink Gold), Edward Bess Escape (which isn’t bright but I put it in just for a color reference)
The next and final part of this series will include a few tips and look ideas of how I incorporate brights with neutrals.
* Those who follow me on Twitter know that I no longer have my NARS Angelika Multiple since my Jack Russell pup Lucy ate it. Thanks to all who have asked about her! She is fine and dandy just like the vet assured me over the phone. In fact she is acting like it was any other puppy treat. The picture above at the very top was taken pre-puppy-consumption.
