Chanel Mouche de Beaute Swatches and Review

 Chanel, Highlighter  12 Responses »
Feb 102013
 

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Previously, Cafe Makeup under the delirium of a Chanel emergency, posted some preliminary pictures of the Chanel Mouche de Beaute here. Since that time, Chanel has placed the item online for purchase (U.S.).  We’ve also had the chance to play with this rose gold illuminator, and to fall in love with its warm flattering sparkle. Below, Liz used a MAC 168 brush to brush a “C” around her eyes, up over her brows and into the slope of the sides of her nose. This gave her a subtle glow.

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Here, Liz is wearing Guerlain Attrape Coeur (review to follow), Tom Ford Cherry Lush lipstick, Burberry Coral Pink Light Glow Blush (reviewed here). The look is very subtle indoors, absolutely beautiful. We detected some sparkle outdoors, which we actually liked. No one does shimmer sparkle like Chanel, that’s just the fact of the matter. On myself, I love using this as a highlighter and all-over eyeshadow for a pretty, eye-brightening lid effect with a soft black liner. 

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Here are some swatches comparing Mouche de Beaute with the Spring 2013 Poudre Signee de Chanel and Chanel Pearl Glow powder (reviewed here).

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I also enjoyed this video review of the Mouche de Beaute by Seth Barton Roberts. He’s right, highlighters are hard to review and swatch. One needs to apply them so heavily to get them to show on one’s arm, but when worn on the face one wants to go lighter so it looks like part of the skin. We tried our best with this review (we tried several different setups, indoors, outdoors, etc.) I hope you find this helpful.

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Chanel Mouche de Beaute Illuminating Powder Quick Look

 Chanel, Highlighter  19 Responses »
Jan 272013
 

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Here are a few images of Chanel Mouche de Beaute Illuminating Powder ($80/ .42 oz). My beautiful friends, this is what Cafe Makeup refers to as a Chanel Emergency. Because I have a feeling that this product is about to go onto Chanel.com for only a very little while, I thought I would post these now, rather than wait until sell out to do a full review. I purchased mine from the Chanel Boutique in San Francisco, although I understand that Chanel Studios (Nordstrom Seattle and elsewhere) will stock as well. I do not know (but I doubt) that these will be sold at department store counters.

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 I am currently mustering the courage to try this. The Best Things in Beauty, who is braver than I, has swatches here.

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Chanel Mouche de Chanel comes in an elasticized velveteen pouch housing a sponge applicator and a standard size square Chanel compact.

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The illuminating powder is a reproduction of the decor at the Château de Versailles. To my mind, it evokes the Hall of Mirrors or perhaps a ceiling architectural detail. The pan has the image of a bee, the symbol for French royalty.

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Close up of the pan which show that this is a gelee type product:

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This is a beautifully worked pattern. 

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This was released in connection with the Chanel Cruise 2013 show, which took place at Versailles.

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I hope you enjoy these images. I haven’t learned anything official, concrete or specific about its availability–I simply called the Chanel boutique as the items arrived late last week. If you like, I suggest calling your own Chanel boutique to reserve one or to have it sent to you. Otherwise, I would look for the item on Chanel.com in case it appears there. 

Poudre Signee de Chanel Review

 Chanel, Highlighter  13 Responses »
Dec 262012
 

Poudre Signee de Chanel04

The Poudre Signee de Chanel ($68) is the star of the Chanel Spring 2013 collection. The color is a soft shell with a touch of pink. The compact is a standard size, the same as the Chanel eyeshadow and blush palettes. However, the velveteen sleeve is larger than most:

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Inside, the pouch houses a spongetip applicator.  We ignored the sponge (typically, sponges give very heavy application) in favor of a soft face brush (for these looks, we used the Burberry Face Brush No. 2):

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This pressed powder is embossed in a Chanel makeup-lover’s dream pattern, scattered with images of Camilla blossoms, lipsticks, glossimers and other pretty Chanel symbols.

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Close up of the powder:

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Overall, this is a very giftable palette, ideal for Valentines or perhaps even Mother’s Day (for those thinking ahead):

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Liz and I found that the palette gave a soft candlelight glow indoors. Here, Liz applied the Poudre Signee de Chanel on her browbone and all over her cheek. You will not get the high-shine or metallic effect of a liquid like Benefit High Beam or NARS Copacabana.  Rather, in soft light she has a luminous soft candle-lit glow as Poudre Signee provides a pretty fine finishing powder effect. In this type of soft lighting, the effect is very subtle.

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Another (with flash). This is with Chanel Joues Constraste Frivole Blush, as well the Chanel Raffinement Eyeshadow quad, also from the Spring 2013 collection.

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Liz and I loved the little Chanel embossed touches on the powder compact of the Poudre Signe de Chanel, which brush away after a few uses of the compact. We thought that the Poudre Signee de Chanel would be appropriate for an indoor day event (such as a wedding), or for an evening look. We did get a bit of a sparkle effect in bright sun, so we’d prefer other finishing powders for a daytime/outdoor look.

This post includes an affiliate link (if you’d like more information, please see the “About Cafe Makeup” link.

Nars Andy Warhol Satellite of Love Blush Review

 Blush, Highlighter, NARS  3 Responses »
Sep 302012
 

Sephora has begun stocking some of the Nars Andy Warhol collection, include the Nars Andy Warhol Satellite of Love Highlighting Blush ($28). This is a nearly-nude shade, which is very sheer. When worn, it gives a nearly-nude finish with sparkling glitter. Essentially, this is a “chilled and party ready” glimmer powder.

Here is a comparison with another Nars Nude, which is far more pigmented and shimmery (rather than glittery), Nars Lustre:

Unlike Lustre, which gives me a bronze-peach glow, Satellite of Love is a sheer wash that imparts very little color and a touch of sparkle. Here’s is Satellite of Love on Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog, who has a skin tone deeper than mine. As you can see, the sheerness of the blush does not impart a strong color on her skin tone either.

Bottom line, Satellite of Love Highlighting Blush is a sparkling highlighter. Like much of the collection, the blush is lovely in concept. Unlike Lustre, which seems to go anywhere, Satellite of Love is perfect for an evening look. You’ll want to be careful for day, and unless you are going for a nude look, pair this with a warm blush, bronzer, or contour.

Nars Cosmetics sent Satellite of Love Highlighting Blush to Cafe Makeup without charge for consideration for review.

Sketchbook: Playing with Contouring and Highlighting

 Highlighter, MAC  15 Responses »
Sep 132012
 

This past week, I became fascinated with some of the looks created at New York Fashion Week, some of which used contouring rather than conventional blushes or bronzers. Here are some from Diane von Furstenberg:

Another, same show:

These were created  with MAC Face & Body Sculpting Creams ($20 each). Although there are a few reviews of these online, there aren’t many so I thought I’d post a few random thoughts. Unlike some reviews you read on Cafe Makeup, this one will seem a little unfinished because I’m still learning. At the bottom at the post are a number of resources that I found helpful.

MAC Sculpting Creams are a cream-to-powder finish, which means that these are creamy in the pot and dry to a powder. The lasting power is quite good, and the texture is very nice. These act like foundations each with distinct undertones, some warm, some cool, one red-based, and one intriguing color called Coffee Walnut (which I don’t have). Like foundation, there are no detectable shimmery bits or glitter in these.  All of the highlight/contour effect is done with color. There are many alternatives to MAC’s Sculpting Creams, so I’m not necessarily recommending that you investigate these–for example, you could likely get a very similar effect by using darker shades of a full-coverage foundation.

As an NC15/20 who runs warm, I tried a few shades:

  • Accentuate is a highlighter color (without any shimmer or shine)
  • Naturally Defined is nearly my skin color. When buffed into my skin, it runs from very subtle to almost invisible. Had I known how close it is to my own skintone, I would have skipped this one.
  • Pure Sculpture is the best “dark contour” shade for my skin tone. It runs very warm. Those with cool skin tones will find this looks quite orange on their skin.
  • Richly Honed is a dark color with a red base. I was hoping to sheer this out, but I’m going to have to mix it with something emollient and clear. When I try to blend it out now, the product still seems too muddy and dark.
  • MAC 163 brush is essentially a foundation brush that’s very stiff. It’s great for placing products on my cheek. I was able to buff out the contours really well with it. However, I understand that some like using the product for placement only, and they buff it out with other brushes. Before this brush arrived, I used my Chanel Foundation Brush, which worked remarkably well.

 

Here are swatches of these shades:

I’m still playing with these, but I’ve enjoyed the effect that these give. I don’t typically use blush with them, or maybe just a soft pink on the upper cheek. The combination of Accentuate and Pure Sculpture has given me the best effect so far. Having said that, Pure Sculpture is quite warm even on my golden-toned skin.  Pure Sculpture is in the same family as  Chanel Bronze Universel in tone and color.

I think that the same effect can be achieved using different tones of standard medium-to-full coverage foundations. Given that, I’m not sure you’ll want to invest in these MAC products (which I believe are limited edition). Other products that might be fun to explore are the Hourglass Bronze/Light Duo. Tom Ford has a Shade and Illuminate palette (reviewed here by The Best Things in Beauty) that has gotten rave reviews.

Helpful resources:

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