Category: Makeup

Spring is fast approaching and this year Chanel delivered one of the prettiest drops for the season.

The collection includes some new and interesting products in a gorgeous colour palette!

I was most excited to see the Ombre Premiere Laque liquid eyeshadows. I love a good easy eyeshadow when i’m rushing off to meetings or running errands; these have been my go-to most days.

Here’s what I have for todays review :

Les 4 Ombre 354 Warm Memories

Ombre Premiere Laque 24 Rising Sun, 26 Quartz Rose, 28 Desert Wind

Stylo Ombre Et Contour Contour Brun

Les Vernis Day Dream, Mirage

Warm Memories is a striking mix of reddened mauvy plums and a muted peachy orange.

Overall the payoff of these are on the sheerer side, with quite a bit of powder kick up in the deepest plum (shade 3).

I’ve tried various looks but somehow the three mauves always tend to blend together into one and end up with pretty much the same look every time. The main culprit was the deepest plum, it applies on the lid much lighter than seen in the pan.

Other than that, the palette will work better paired with the liquid shadows to help them adhere better.

For todays look I chose eyeshadow placements that would clearly separate the colours so they don’t blend together too much.

Overall I feel it’s one of those rare ‘misses’ from Chanel releases in recent times. The palette should show up much better on someone with a lighter complexion even though the colours seem a lot darker in the palette.

The Ombre Premiere Laque are soft shimmery liquid eyeshadows with a transluscent quality to them. The pigmentation on these are good but sheer out when blended; fortunately they are buildable, and the formula is fairly thin so they won’t feel uncomfortable or heavy. Once set, these wear all day, (with some  minimal creasing around the 6 hour mark on me) but more or less budge proof.

My verdict, they are awesome. The colours are sooo good! You really can’t go wrong here.

I reach for Desert Wind for a subtle eye look when I’m in the mood for something neutral; it’s a great everyday shade. In comparison to the others, this contained more pronounced shimmers that catch the light making it livelier. The sparkles are elegant and very typically Chanel. Never ott.

Quartz Rose as of now is my favourite and most worn. A must have in my opinion if you are keen to try these eyeshadows. It’s a sparkling metallic pink which on me tends to pull almost sandy and not outright pink. I find this adds a little something extra to the makeup look while keeping things polished.

Rising Sun is a medium copper. You can see why it fits so well into this collection! It perfectly compliments the Warm Memories Eyeshadow palette and brightens up the mauves. I like to use these as a base to extend the wear of powder eyeshadows on days I skip a primer. But on their own they look stunning too just a lot more sheerer than expected. I find the more you blend, the more pronounced the shimmers look as the base colour sheers out. I’d suggest a patting motion for application to retain as much colour possible on the lid.

Here’s a look at the Chanel eyeshadows along with one of my favourite liquid shadow formulas, the Armani Eye Tints.

If you already own these you probably LOVE them as well. The deeper shades are far more pigmented than the Chanel counterpart, and less sparkly. The lighter Armani Eye Tints can be blended out on the lids to look like what can be best described as a ‘glow’.

Stylo Et Contour are some of my favourite eye products from Chanel, I have a few from previous launches and Contour Clair is one the most used. I was happy to see Contour Brun (a medium brown) in this years Spring lineup and it’s perfect for a smudgy smokey eye (you can see it in action in todays makeup look below). The product is a twist up style jumbo eyeshadow stick and perfect to scribble on and blend with fingers (or a brush). The formula is emollient and doesn’t tug when applied, once set these are matte and long wearing,

For spring Chanel nailed it with the most gorgeous nail polish colours! There’s two shades, Day Dream and Mirage. Day Dream is a light mauvy nude, and Mirage a creamy grape.

For both colours I did two coats for a fully opaque finish; without a top coat it lasted beautifully for 4+ days with minimal tip wear.

I feel between the two Mirage was something I didn’t expect to love as much as I did, once applied I really appreciated the contrast Mirage provides and the somewhat unexpected colour choice for spring.

Bottom Line

The must have’s from the collection are the nail polishes & the liquid shadows. I wouldn’t mind adding more to my collection. Rayon looks like a great highlight to compliment the lineup. The truth is i’m a sucker for easy wearable makeup and these fit the bill! The quality of the product is A+ with luxurious glass packaging. They are exactly what’s expected from Chanel.

On the flip side, Warm Memories palette wasn’t really WOW for me; the quality could have definitely been much better and the colours lacked enough contrast (when applied). Overall it looked dull on the eyes. I feel all the shades look better worn as singles rather than together.

The products I skipped were the highlighter palette and the other eye quad Elemental. The highlighter was too subtle for my skin tone and the eyeshadow palette barely showed up on my light medium skin. I usually prefer well pigmented deeper colours for decent contrast on my eyes. Taupes and shimmery bronze is usually my jam since i’m a light-medium in complexion.

Have you picked anything from this collection? I know i’m terribly late to post up the review but currently in the process of warming up to blogging more consistently again and clearing up the backlog.

I hope you enjoyed todays post and found it useful. x

Late last year Chanel extended their shade range of Rouge Allure Inks while releasing a brand new matte version. The Rouge Allure Ink Fusions (SGD52 each).

Rouge Allure Inks have been a staple in my lipstick collection. Ultra light on the lips with impressive wear these have come to be my go-to for night outs and events. See original review here.

The new Rouge Allure Ink Fusions come in 12 shades.

I was gifted some by the Chanel PR team but later added more to the collection since I loved them so much. Shockingly I’m obsessed with the deeper tones, something I never usually go for!

Top to bottom we have,

204 Metallic Bronze (Rouge Allure Ink) – A metallic bronze

208 Metallic Red (Rouge Allure Ink) – A metallic true red

224 Harmonie (Rouge Allure Ink) – A neutral rose brown

804 Mauvy Nude – A medium rosewood

806 Pink Brown – A rosy nude

812 Rose-Rouge – A vibrant hot pink

816 Fresh Red – A bright poppy red

818 True Red – A true red

822 Deep Pink – A deep rich pink

824 Berry – A medium toned berry

826 Pourpre – A berry with heavy purple tones

828 Rouge Noir – A deep burgundy red

The shades i’m missing are Beige Naturel, Vibrant Pink & Coral Peach.

Chanel describes this formula as ‘A new generation liquid lip colour that immediately fuses with the lips to leave it’s imprint and make a bold impression. A second skin coating with intense, ultra matte colour that stays in tact all day for a weightless sensation of comfort’.

In my experience I found these to be truly weightless, pigmented (but thin) and ultra long wearing. I find these don’t accentuate lip lines (like cheap liquid lipsticks do) and have a subtle softness to them. They truly do look elegant on the lips.

Between the original Rouge Allure Inks and the Rouge Allure Ink Fusions, I find both have their merits though I do like the Fusion formula better for the reds especially as they doesn’t wear off easily. It’s thinner consistency makes it super lightweight, dries down completely matte with no tacky feeling and lasts longer with minimal need for touch ups.

The wand of the new Fusion formula is a tapered doe foot as opposed to the flocked paddle type wand of the Rouge Allure Inks. It makes for easier application and gives more control for applying the runnier formula of the Rouge Allure Ink Fusions. I like that there’s plenty of play time to lay down the application too. Liquid lipstick can be tricky when the formula is thinner and takes time to apply carefully with neat edges!

The lipsticks have a slight floral scent. Something to keep in mind if you prefer minimally scented or unscented lip products.

So far my favourites are Mauvy Nude, Pink Brown, True Red (which I practically reach for every time I do a red lip) & Berry which was one of my faves for fall.

The deeper shades Rose Rouge, Berry & Pourpre seemed to swatch slightly runnier and needed a little layering to even out the application. However they apply a lot more evenly on the lips and a little smoothing out gives you good coverage free of streaks. This formula also can be layered a little and never feels heavy.

The only shade with tricky application is Rouge Noir. I found this really needed patience and a lip liner to help it go on streak free. I wish the formula was a bit more workable since the colour was just stunning, it’s probably the only vampy shade i’d ever consider wearing.

On to some more swatches,

Bottom line,

These are absolutely lovely and I can’t get enough.

Within the extended shade range of the Rouge Allure Inks, Harmonie is now my new love, they feel soft and cushiony on the lips and definitely something to look into if you prefer a less matte feel on the lips.

Have you tried these yet? If not, which shades are you keen on trying?

Three years in a row, CHANEL Cruise has been my favourite collection each year. It’s that final drop as summer hits and loaded with great colours for summer vacations. Usually the nail polishes are my first pick, glorious shades that work superb for sunny manicures and powders that are eventually must-haves in my makeup bag.

Lumiere Et Contraste is based on light and shade. The glow on summer skin with depth to make the features pop. I love smokier eyes for summer paired with nude lips and glowy skin. Isn’t it pretty much summer makeup 101?

Here’s the list of newness that’s Chanel Cruise 2019,

Duo Bronze Et Lumiere Clair & Medium

Les 4 Ombres Lumieres Naturelles

Ombre Premiere Gloss Lunaire & Solaire

Stylo Ombre Et Contour Pure Flesh, Metallic Flash & Vague

Rouge Coco Gloss Fraicheur, Aurora

Rouge Coco Flash Lumiere & Contraste

Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue Warm Beige

Le Vernis Afterglow, Open Air & Purple Ray

Duo Bronze Et Lumiere described as ‘matte’ bronzer/pearlescent highlighter duo. This comes in two shade variants, one intended for fair complexions (Clair) and Medium for medium skin tones. The formulation for the bronzer seems new, incredibly fine, luminous and blends like a DREAM. It almost feels a cream-powder hybrid when swatching.

The undertones are very neutral and work perfectly for a bit of sculpting. I love that the bronzers aren’t flat, there’s definitely some golden shimmer, for a more satin luminous finish.

The highlighters in these are equally stunning. Both with golden shimmer.

Clair overall has a slight peachy rosy undertone that makes it beautiful for fairer skin tones. I don’t think the bronzer in this will ever work for anyone, perhaps those with an alabaster complexion, even so as a finishing powder at best.

Here’s a look at the swatches.

Clair contains a peachy pink powder and a peachy pink highlighter with golden shimmer.

Medium is a neutral brown with a gold shimmery highlight.

I rounded up a few comparisons to see how these compare with my current stash.

My go-to is the Givenchy (which looks pretty beat up now!) and is my perfect shade. A mid tone warm brown with no orange tones. In comparison the Chanel is the deepest of them all, with hardly any yellow. probably why this works so well for some sculpting. It’s also much less warmer compared to everything else.

I also included the (NEW) Tom Ford Soleil bronzer Gold Dust which will be reviewed next along with the Soleil 2019 collection. It’s a peachier gold with a fantastic formula.

For the eyes it’s neutrals again (I feel like CHANEL’s been churning out neutrals non stop these days!). This time an easy to use no fuss combination of matte browns, shimmering taupe and bronze to help define this seasons sultry smokey look. The colours are easy to work with and the textures are beautiful. As always Chanel shadows are very easy to blend and always allow effortless application.

Lumieres Naturelles is one of those palettes that can definitely be an everyday staple. I found myself dipping into shade 3 and 4 the most, a quick eye look with some subtle contouring and bronzy lid.

Also within the collection are three eyeshadow pencils that can be used on its own or as eyeshadow bases. Metallic Flash is a shimmery silvery taupe and Vague a satin medium brown.

These glide on easily and can be smudged out with a brush or fingers before they set. They are pretty much budge proof then on for long wear. I notice a little creasing and fading around 5-6 hours later since I have very oily lids but overall they last much better than most cream pencils.

Also in the eye category are two interesting gloss toppers Solaire & Lunaire. Personally I shy away from high maintenance makeup. Specially in weather that’s pushing over ninety degrees! But I find myself drawn to Solaire. There’s noticeable gold flecks suspended in the gel that catches the light beautifully. If you skip eye makeup, a light veil of this looks sophisticated and fresh. A waterproof mascara is a must of course.

When testing these out I also added some to the tops of the cheek bones for a wet highlight effect and decided I prefer to wear them this way. When placed strategically these are gorgeous on the skin (as you’ll see from the look I created for the collection).

For the lips I was sent the two Rouge Coco Flash lipsticks. These are a brand new lipstick launch for 2019. An instant love for me. I have been accumulating quite a few and live for these glossy, vibrant shades. As expected from a glossy formula they don’t last as much but I don’t mind reapplying time to time so these work perfectly fine for me. Overall sheer lipsticks are my go-to for summers warm months and they look great applied.

Lumiere is a soft peachy rose and Contraste a deep neutral mauve. The pay off as you can see is quite sheer but they are somewhat buildable and look beautiful on the lips. The deeper shades do show up better, especially if you have pigmented lips.

The nailpolishes are always high on my wish list and the three new additions did not disappoint. I found they are sheerer in terms of pigmentation, though with two medium coats deliver a satisfying result. Purple Ray is my must-have and a gorgeous shade for summer, so is Open Air. I love how paler, neutral toned shades like Purple Ray compliment my warm skintone as I tan. Definitely something to check out when you visit the counter.

Afterglow is a beautiful neutral toned sheer beige with subtle golden shimmer. I wasn’t sure how much I was going to love this but it’s one of those polishes that can look great for a barely there groomed look.

As always the wear is approximately 4-5 days.

Moving on to a look I created with some of the collection.

I used the Duo Bronze Et Lumiere in Medium for the cheekbones, the eye gloss Solaire with Lumiere on the lips. I wanted to experiment with a slightly different look since I always post the brown neutral eye looks.

The gloss is absolutely gorgeous for summer, but obviously crazy high maintenance and creases if you apply too much. But as you can see topped over the highlighter it gives the most incredible wet glow. It’s probably one of my favourite looks so far!

Bottom Line

My must-have from the collection is the Bronzer duo Medium, the lipstick in Lumiere and the nailpolish Purple Ray. I would also add Vague to the mix as it was a great everyday shade that I’m sure you’d grab often. Just perfect for those rushed days when you need something on the eyes that wont take much time.

What are your favourites from the collection?