After playing with the new Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Eyeshadows, I now have some thoughts to share.
Wear time: I experienced very good wear time. My personal assessment is that these last as well as a powder eyeshadow on my lids, or better. I have normal skin on the lids–not particularly oily, not dry. I advise trying one color to judge your individual wear time–products can perform differently on different people.
How to Apply: Liz and I both agreed that dabbing these on with fingers worked best for us. For use as a liner, we used the brush that was included with the shadow. The thin edge did a nice job laying down the product in a precise line.
Incorporating the Look: I advise keeping the rest of your look matte, especially to start. It is no surprise to me that Peter Philips paired these with Rouge Allure Velvet matte lipsticks on the runway. These shadows can add a lot of glow. To keep the emphasis on the eyes, and to avoid looking too shimmery, I powdered down my foundation. I avoided high-shine lipgloss and added no highlighter on cheeks.
We’ve tried simple looks so far. Here’s a close-up of Liz with a simple wash of Chanel Illusion D’Ombre in Ebloui (reviewed here) touched with Mirifique (reviewed here) under the eyes as a liner:
Although these shadows can be very dramatic, I found that this simple dark wash would be fine for the office.
We also played with layering. Here’s Liz with Chanel Fantasme (reviewed here) over Ebloui for a high-glitter look:
We both found the formula fool-proof. After playing with the combinations on the backs of our hands for a few minutes, we found them very easy to use.
7 Responses to “Chanel Illusion D’Ombre: Update and Application Tips”
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i love the bottom shimmering one
Vonnie
Thank you for providing these tips. Recently I discovered a simple trick that keeps my eyeshadows from creasing for hours: I apply Burt’s Bees skin tonic to a cotton pad and cleanse my eyelids with it. The tonic is alcohol-free, so it is not drying, and it removes all oil deposits that would otherwise impair the wearability of my shadows. Even after a heavy workout at the gym, my shadow is unscathed.
Thanks for the tips Amy. I have been going over and over these swatches trying to decide which color(s) I’d like to try first. Did you or Liz use an eye shadow base when you applied these? Just curious which one it might be. I’m just worried about having oilier eyelids and the lasting power of these beautiful shades.
Hi Jen–no base or primer for us. We used the shadows themselves–we start with a very thin layer. Then build up a thin layer over the 1st, and so on. If I were to use a primer, I’d use Chanel’s–I’ve been impressed with it in the past. If you play with them, I’d be so pleased if you could comment here and let us know how it is going?
I will. I didn’t order them with my first purchase of Prelude & Khaki Platine but I’m planning on picking up 2 or 3 colors over the weekend but I will let you know regardless. Thanks for the additional info as well!
Thank you for posting this, Amy–and I’m so glad you aren’t gone forever, after all!!
I got a mini-makeover yesterday at an unfamiliar Chanel counter, and sadly got glitterbombed with Fantasme. I’m going to my regular counter today to try again. While the effect with Fantasme was pretty, I was looking for an understated eye with strong lips…I got a light coat of Braise with no lipstick underneath (quite subtle on me) coupled with a full-on glittery eye that migrated into my brows, lashes, and onto my cheekbones.
Now that I know some application tips, I’ll head back for a redo with someone who knows my tastes better and we’ll hopefully have more success.
Shannon
Oh dear, Shannon–what were they thinking–that’s the opposite of what you asked for!! Yes, Fantasme is a for special occasion look! And Braise is very sheer!