Chanel Spring 2014 Makeup Swatches

Chanel's Spring Makeup Collection for 2014 is beautifully understated, I was immediately drawn to the stand from its images and couldn't resist a swatching a few of the lipsticks and glosses. As a makeup lover I do find myself choosing to update my collection with a lipstick or a gloss. It is such a simple thing to do but it can make the world of difference and take your look from Winter to Spring etc. Also it is a fairly inexpensive way to embrace a trend.

This Spring, maybe predictably, there are a lot of pinks and corals on the stands but Chanel was one of the cosmetic brands that made me stop in my tracks. A fresh flawless skin with a pinky/coral lip is a real statement and one that I adore. Light and wearable, it is just utterly gorgeous.

Below, I have swatches of

136 Melodieuse Rouge Allure Lip Colour, 
60 Triomphe Rouge Coco 

and the two complimenting glosses 

Lèvres Scintillantes, Sonate - the sheer one

and the creamy peachy one that you can see in the pic next to 60 Triomphe that I am afraid I didn't get the name of! 

I am very, very tempted!

In Love With - Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Epatant

I fell in love with Chanel Illusion D'ombre in Epatant a long time ago. I swatched it in this post  and never forgot how beautiful and multi faceted the eye shadow appeared. I knew that it would really bring out the green in my eyes, with its silver/green tones.

Now that I finally have it in my possession I have been proved right. it is just as gorgeous as I remembered. It makes my eyes look absolutely stunning and it remains perfect all day. The wonderful silky, gel like texture applies like a dream, blends nicely and doesn't crease at all.

With flash - see all the colours!

My eyes glisten when the light hits the eye shadow and they are packed with colour. Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eye Shadow can be applied sheer for a wash of colour or layered for a more intense look. Next time I wear Epatant I am going to apply black liner all round my eyes for even more impact!

I would definitely purchase more in this collection (there are currently 9). I think a gold like Apparence would be the ideal addition to my eye shadow collection.

Have you tried Chanel Illusion D'Ombre?

Nails Of The Day - Chanel Le Vernis Quartz 525

Chanel Le Vernis 525 Quartz what a beauty you are.

It really comes alive when under the lights, glistening in a most marvellous manner. Multi faceted, I have admired gold, green and silver coming through depending on the angle that it catches the light. This is a gorgeous blend of silver (almost frosty) and warm champagne beige, that is anything but boring.

I applied 4 coats but you can get away with 3 to achieve opacity. I then added pink diamontes straight down the nail and finished with a top coat.

I wouldn't normally post a photo with such flashback but this was the only one that shows just how shimmery and bubbly (think champagne) Quartz is. Love.

What do you think? 

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum Review

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum is my all time favourite perfume. One spray of this and I feel like a million dollars. I always, always ensure I have a bottle of this on my bathroom shelf. The bottle is a simple rectangle but classy in gold and white. It is Chanel after all.

Description 

Oriental-fresh, a floral jasmine-rose accord, as light as a petal.

With Top Notes of Orange, Bergamot, Grapefruit. Middle Notes of Rose, Italian Jasmine and Litchi. Base Notes of Bourbon Vanilla, White Musk, Haitian Vetiver and Indonesian Patchouli.

Grown up, feminine and chic this is one scent that recalls memories and creates new ones.Truly beautiful and different from anything else I am drawn to. I love it.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum 35ml costs £46

Chanel Perfection Lumière Long Wear Flawless Fluid MakeUp Foundation - Reviewed

Chanel Vitalumière Foundation has been a long time favourite of mine so when I heard that Chanel were launching a new foundation - Perfection Lumière, being the foundation junkie that I am, I had to try it out. I went along to the Chanel counter to get colour matched for a sample, although it was suggested I tried shade 20 when I got home I realised that I had actually been give shade 30 Beige.  There was a sachet sample in the March issue of Red magazine which was also shade 30 Beige so I am guessing that this is a generic will suit quite a lot of the population shade.

Chanel Perfection Lumière has the same fresh peachy type scent that Chanel has in its existing skincare and foundation ranges, which I find really pleasant.

Perfection Lumière is described as providing 'multi-faceted radiance, colour, comfort and a matte finish'. Its Perfect Skin Affinity complex ensures a second-skin effect and perfect foundation hold for 15 hours.
Perfection has never been so simple.

My thoughts - 


The counter assistant at Chanel described this as comparable to Estee Lauder's very popular Double Wear Foundation.

This is a light, fluid textured foundation that gives good medium, adjustable coverage. It really doesn't feel like you are wearing a foundation, which for the coverage it provides is impressive and it does look really natural. Light and seamless.

In the photo below you can see how it covers the skin and how smooth the skin appears. This is most definitely a matte foundation, which seems to be the in thing at the moment with lots of new matte foundations being launched.

I really wanted to love this foundation and had visions of being blown away by it but I have two concerns with how it performed on my skin.

1. It didn't really conceal the redness I have on my cheeks which Double Wear does instantly. I had to go over that area adding foundation to it a few times, but I wasn't entirely happy at the end result.

2. I wore it out to dinner on Friday night, I applied it at around 5pm and at about 9.30pm I noticed that the foundation had faded and sunk into my t zone, which meant that now I wasn't entirely flawless...

As it has SPF10 you will get that whitening effect when your photo is taken with a flash, but I don't mind that.

Below is a picture of me wearing Perfection Lumière at the beginning of the evening, it looks nice and bright and I think looks good. What do you think?

To sum up, I thought it was ok but I didn't feel that it was a must have for me personally, right now I will stick with the Double Wear.


Chanel Perfection Lumière costs £36 for 30mls and is suitable for all skin types.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous EyeShadow Swatches

This Autumn/Winter 2011 sees the launch of some stunning eye shadows from Chanel. The new eye shadows have got the beauty world in a flutter with their gorgeousness.  So on Saturday I stopped by the Chanel counter and swatched a few of the new eye shadows to see for myself what was making everyone go crazy....

Swatches of Epatant and Mirifique

I was instantly taken by Epatant (shade 84) This is a stunning shade of silvery/green that I think really would bring out my green eyes. I wanted to buy it there and then but sadly the counter was out of stock, never mind I AM going to purchase it.

Mirifique (shade 85) is a fantastic black with lots of glitter, this is highly pigmented and if I am really honest I would never be able to wear it on my eyelids as they are just too small to do the shade justice. I could wear it as a liner but again I would have such limited use of it that on this occasion I will leave this on the counter.

The eye shadows that I swatched are incredibly pigmented and ultra soft and buttery to the touch (despite their glittery textured appearance). They are quite curious as they are a bit gel like but not wet, amazing. I found them easy to blend. They are compacted so when I lifted the pots they were packaged in and turned them upside down none fell out, a major plus point for me as I am not a fan of loose makeup and the mess that it creates!

There are 6 eye shadow shades in the Chanel Fall Collection to choose from but these were the ones that caught my eye on the day.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long Wear Luminous EyeShadows are £22.50 each and come with a small applicator brush

New! - Benefit Bella Bamba Blusher

I was recently invited to a launch party for the latest boxed blusher from Benefit (it is the 9th!) -Bella Bamba, we were treated to a mini make-over using the new blusher. What surprised and impressed me was how flattering it was for all shades of skin, from the palest to the darkest.

Fans of Benefit and blusher wearers in general will love this latest offering.

The box is bright and eye-catching, designed with a psychedelic, holographic print

Inside contains the powder, a mirror and sturdy brush with a wooden handle in matching purple - unlike previous boxes the lid is now attached.

Click to see the tiny flecks

The brush is excellent and soft.

This is a gorgeous pink watermelon shade that comes complete with a fruity scent. I love the addition of tiny flecks of gold to give the skin a subtle glow. Benefit describes this as a 3D  brightening pink face powder. With this blush you can brighten, sculpt and define. Lightly sweep all over the face for a brightening effect, under the cheek bones for sculpting and over the apples of your cheeks for definition.

It has really brightened up my makeup collection for Spring.

Below are a couple of pics of me wearing Bella Bamba

Here I am wearing it with Chanel's Brilliant Levres Lipgloss (shade 66)

Here I went for a brighter look - Bella Bamba with Estee Lauder's Hydra Lustre Lipstick in shade Apricot Sun - This was teamed with a matching scarf and tights....

Will you be buying this?

Bella Bamba Blusher is available now to purchase online priced at £23.50 (for a mighty 8g of product) at www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk and in stores from the 29th January 2011.

Chanel Vitalumière Liquid Foundation

Now I know this isn't the cheapest of foundations and I will be recommending some others as well in the next few weeks, BUT I have tried lots and lots of foundations in my time and this is the one I return to. When I wear this, it is the one to get me compliments, countless people have asked me what I use so I think I can happily recommend this.  It is suitable for younger and more maturer skins alike.

Chanel Vitalumière Satin Smoothing Liquid Foundation comes in a bottle with a pump action which dispenses the foundation with no mess. One or two pumps are all you will need. It glides on easily, is light, gives excellent, even, coverage which is adaptable and is great for day or evening. I find it gives a nice dewy finish and is really moisturising. It illuminates the skin and I love the way in photos I have a completely flawless look even if I am having a bad skin day - Have you noticed I seem to prefer this to a dry matte look?

Chanel Vitalumière is priced at £31 for 30 mls and is available to purchase at Chanel counters in dept stores and good chemists.