Feb 182010
 

Chanel Joues Contraste in Enchanteresse ($42) was originally released during Holiday ’07.

Essentially, Enchanteresse gives a warm, glowy bronzing finish to the cheek with a touch of shimmery rose that can lean toward red. Its a gorgeous neutral.

I’ve found that this blush is applied best with an angled blush brush (I use Chanel’s #4), which picks up just the right amount of pigmentation.  I typically use this just below the apples of the cheeks to contour, then blend upward and feather.  To avoid a streak, go light or concentrate the color on the cheek alone.

If you like, you can add a pop of color by adding a fresh pink over Enchanteresse.  Either this way or alone, this seems to bring out the blue in my eyes.  If you are looking for alternatives, Nars Lovejoy is in the same warm-brown-rose color family.

Feb 182010
 

Lumières Magiques de Chanel ($50) is a combination blush/highlighter released on Spring 2006.  To be entirely technical, the product is not marked “Joues Contraste,” although the format clearly seems to be same:

The pan includes three colors:  a red, a pink-coral and a light pink highlighter.  It originally came packed with a direction card that suggested that one could place each of the three colors on different areas of the cheek.As a practical matter, each area of the pan is quite small.  Getting a brush into each of the small areas makes individualized application of the colors a little difficult.

Separate swatches of each shade

Typically, I swirl a blush brush over the entire pan to get a very natural, soft pink glow. Afterwards,  I pick up some of the highlight color for the upper cheek.

All colors swirled together

The highlighter color takes up a good one-third or more of the pan and has very little pigmentation.  As a result, the pigmentation of the blush overall is not as strong as others in this series.  No matter how much I apply, I cannot get a very strong pink.  It does, however, give a very luminous pretty look.  Lumières Magiques has a strong rose scent that fades about an hour after application.

I believe that this blush is no longer produced, however there seem to be a surprising number of online sources for it.  The baked texture and black brush suggest that this blush (which was purchased in the U.S.) was identical both inside and outside the U.S.

Feb 172010
 

Chanel’s Joues Contraste Blushes come in two separate varieties:  the U.S. version and another sold throughout the rest of the world.  Both are round, both share the same “Joues Contraste” name.

Here is an example of a U.S. version, in this case Imprevu from the Holiday ’09 collection.  You can see that the blush is a pressed powder, and the brush has brown bristles:

Chanel Imprevu U.S. Version

The texture is soft and shimmery.  When applied, the effect is a glowy shimmer:

For comparison, here is a Chanel Reflex blush which I purchased in France.  Reflex used to be available in a softer, pressed powder U.S. version.  That was discontinued.  This Reflex is quite different.  Although both are peach-toned, the texture of the non-U.S. version is baked.  You can see the round pan has a marble-like surface.  You can also see that the brushes have black bristles, rather than the brown bristles packed with the U.S. product.

The international versions of the Joues Contrastes typically need a stiffer brush, because of their harder texture.  I sometimes use a kabuki.  Chanel sells a separate line of makeup brushes outside the U.S., and some have very stiff bristles which would work well with their non-U.S. blushes.

Note that the non-U.S. versions typically have more sparkle/shimmer than their U.S. cousins.  The non-U.S. Reflex has quite a bit of gold shot through the product, which gives a more pronounced highlighter effect:

Gold shimmer

Many of my U.S.-purchased blushes are marked “Made in U.S.A.”  However, this is not always the case.  For example, my U.S Imprevu blush is marked as “Made in France.”  Your best guide for the U.S. versus U.S. is the brush color  and the texture of the blush pan (pressed powder versus harder, baked texture).

Feb 162010
 

One of my most-used Chanel Joues Contrastes Powder Blushes is Orchid Rose ($42).

The color is hard to describe– it has both rose, mauve and peach overtones with a bit of multi-colored shimmer.  Perhaps because it includes such a mix of colors, it goes with virtually anything else.  It has the remarkable ability to pull my look together.  I’ve been told that it looks good on a very wide range of skin tones.

Readers outside the U.S. may not recognize this Orchid Rose.  That is because Chanel uses the same name for two different blushes which are remarkably different in color (the non-U.S. Orchid Rose has a different texture and is peachier).  If you are purchasing Orchid Rose from an online site, you will want to be careful about which version you are getting.

Here are a few different swatches, so that you can see it react under different lighting and application conditions.

Normal-to-heavy application

Heavy application to show the color. This because quite mauve/rose when layered on like this.

This photograph shows the shimmery tones

I’ve used one of these up and currently working my way through a second.  I can put this on a 5:00 a.m. and look as though I have a pulse appropriate all day long.

Feb 162010
 

Over the next several days, I’m doing my own version of the Winter Olympics featuring Chanel.  This marathon includes posting pictures and swatches of my over-sized collection of Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blushes (Fard a Joues Poudre) ($42.00).

Just a portion...

Here are a number of things that you should know about the Joues Contraste blushes:

  • U.S. Joues Contraste blushes are made of pressed powder, and are remarkably soft and easy to work with.
  • Almost any blush or powder brush will do.  I’ve used them all, including the tiny one that is packaged with the product.
  • These last for years of heavy use, depending on their pigmentation.
  • The compacts are luxurious, with a good usable mirror.  However, they can be a bit bulky for traveling.  Because I love them, I do bring at least one.  No major tragedies yet, except for a broken clasp.

I purchased my first round Chanel blush in the mid-1980′s.  As far as I can recall, it had a different texture than the pressed powder Joues Contraste blushes sold today –it was somewhat harder texture.  The color was a popsicle red, and I miss it.

Are you ready?  Let the marathon begin….