Lumiere Sculptee de Chanel Review

 Chanel, Highlighter, Powder  6 Responses »
Nov 012011
 

The Holiday 2011 Holiday Sculptee de Chanel Highlighting Powder ($72/ .46 oz.) has a gorgeously textured, glazed finished.  The compact is the large Chanel version that matches the size of Chanel’s powder foundations and bronzers and comes with a well-designed, usable brush.  The compact and velveteen sleeve:

Designed as an elegant gift, the glazing on the highlighter looks beautiful and brushes off easily with a few brush swipes:

 The powder is soft and the pattern wears down quite easily.  Here is the same compact with the glazing removed and after the highlighter was used once on Liz:

This highlighter did not live up to my expectations.  I found that the texture was not as finely milled as Chanel’s Pearl Glow, and the highlighting was so subtle that the product acts more as a very slightly glowy finishing powder.  Here is the powder applied heavily on Liz’s cheek over Chanel’s Tweed Brun Rose blush (reviewed here) in sun:

Typically, this type of lighting maximizes the highlighting properties of any powder product (compare Guerlain’s Parure de Nuit here).  Neither Liz or I found that Lumiere Sculptee de Chanel had reflectivity.  Here is a comparison between Chanel’s Lumiere Sculptee, MAC Lightscapade, Chanel Pearl Glow (reviewed here) and Guerlain Parure de Nuit (which picked up some color from the peacock color shapes):

To be honest, I was disappointed (and a bit surprised) with Chanel Lumiere Sculptee. As beautiful as the product looked in the promotional pictures (really, it absolutely glowed with the pretty glazing), I found the product delivers a finishing powder-type look. Worse, I didn’t find the powder very finely milled.  I’d give this a “pass,” even for collectors.  Particularly at this price point, this did not work for me.

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Chanel Holiday: Let the Reviews Begin!

 Blush, Chanel, Eyeliner, Eyeshadow, Highlighter, Lipgloss, Lipstick, Nail Polish, Powder  5 Responses »
Oct 262011
 

Chanel Holiday 2011 is released and ready to review.  I’ll be reviewing all of the new items released with this collection except for the Glossimers (which I did not purchase).  If an item is merely a re-promote of the existing Chanel line, I will not be reviewing it (although if you run the product name through the search engine on this page, you may find a review for the item already has been done).

Chanel Lumiere Sculptee de Chanel highlighting powder

Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick- Famous

Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick- Eniveree

Ligne Extreme Eyeliner in Or

Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Carat

Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Empire

Chanel Universelle Libre in Feerie

Chanel Ombre Contraste Duo in Noir-Ivoire

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Triomphal

Chanel Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Brun Rose

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Blazing Gold

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Beige Lame

Liz and I are still sorting through the pile, and we’ll get our reviews up as soon as we can.  So far, we’ve got a few rants and raves, so stay tuned!

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Guerlain Parure de Nuit Highlighting Powder Review

 Guerlain, Highlighter  11 Responses »
Oct 222011
 

Guerlain’s Holiday 2011 offerings include a star product, Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder and Blush ($67/0.35 oz.).  The product comes housed in a formal, lacquered housing that is well-designed and sturdy.

One half (or more) of the bulk of the compact is due to the brush housing, in a lower compartment:

I must admit that this product is not within my particular demographic. The peacock pattern, I’m guessing, may be released to evoke the New York City Waldorf’s Peacock Alley to celebrate the re-opening of Guerlain’s Day Spa at that location. However, peacock feathers seem to evoke my mother’s generation rather than my own.

This violet-scented product has a glittery clear glaze that sparkles like diamonds in the sunlight, but sweeps away easily after the first few brush strokes.  If you look in the mirror reflection in the photograph below, you can see how dramatic the overspray diamond effect is:

Is clear glaze the new overspray?  It appears to be; although I suppose its slightly preferable because one can see the product colors underneath a glaze (whereas metallic overspray covers it entirely).  However, I’m a texture fanatic.  I don’t like anything that gets inbetween me and the powder, thank you very much.  I’m now patiently awaiting the demise of a clear glaze trend.  After brushing away the glaze layer, Liz and I started to use the Guerlain Parure de Nuit highlighter.

Here is the result–above is a picture of Liz wearing Guerlain Parure de Nuit in full sun (thank you, Liz, we know posing in full sun is not so fun).  There is some bronzer on her lower cheek under her hairline.  The largest percentage of the Guerlain Parure de Nuit powder is a nearly-invisible peach tone that is near a fair skin tone.  The circlets of more intense apricot give the powder some very subtle color when applied.  The effect is a more shimmery, pinker version of Nars Sex Appeal blush (reviewed here).  The effect when wearing foundation is very faint pink-peach color, a near-nude that glimmers in full sunlight.

My sense is that you are either going to be very attracted to the packaging and presentation of Guerlain Parure de Nuit, or you are not.  Or perhaps there is a friend or family member that would adore this compact based on their individual taste–for a bit, I flirted with the idea of shipping mine off to my mother rather than reviewing it here (my mother prefers accessories to makeup, so I declined to do so).  For me, this Guerlain does the highlighting/subtle blush job beautifully but no more so than others available at a lower price point with a less elaborate presentation.  My sense is that you could do just as well with a Dior Star Shimmer Powder at $44, or several other options reviewed on this site, and tuck the remainder away toward the Spring ’12 collections.

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Chanel Brompton Road Highlighting Powder and Blush

 Blush, Chanel, Highlighter  4 Responses »
Oct 172011
 

Chanel recently had an exhibition at Harrods London, which has been documented by British blogger Pixiwoo here. At the same time, Chanel released a mini-collection that included the Brompton Road Powder (£46/ Poudre Tissee, Brompton Road Highlighting Powder and Blush).  Miraculously, this item is still for sale on Harrods website and can be shipped to the U.S.

Like the Poudre Tissees in Beiges released with Les Aquarelles Collection late this summer, Brompton Road has a cleverly quilted top that gives the impression of Chanel tweed.  Brompton Road is topped with a sparkling glaze with silver glitter, which brushes away easily with a soft stroke.

The glazing is not as extreme as Les Aquarelles Beiges, but still you will notice a diamond effect when the compact is  first opened.  The powder is a combination of white highlighter in Chanel’s trademark “CC” shapes, and a soft medium pink that surrounds the logo.  Here is a comparison of the tones mixed (on the left), and the pink alone (on the right):

The white shade is pretty, but the band too narrow to negotiate a brush through the area for cheek application.  As you can see, the color is quite subtle.   If you use a very soft brush, it can be used as a finishing powder applied lightly all over the face.  If you use a stiff, dense brush then you will get a blush effect.  Below, Liz used this Chanel Contour brush, which is quite stiff:

There are also three Rouge Allure lipsticks released with this collection which are not on Harrods website, but are available at the store.  Above, Liz is wearing Chanel Rouge Allure in Belgravia, which was our favorite of the three.  We’ll be reviewing all three over the coming days.

Overall, Chanel Brompton Road is a soft pink shimmery powder with a subtle effect.  Some collectors will love the compact on its own, and those with pale skin tones will love the subtle pink color.  Those with darker skin tones may find that this color is not sufficiently strong to act as a blush, but will be more of a soft highlighting finishing powder.

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Trend Watch: The Contoured Cheek

 Bronzers, Chanel, Highlighter, Hourglass, NARS  5 Responses »
Oct 102011
 

This Fall, I’ve begun to notice a heavily contoured cheek used on the runway and in magazines.  For example, look at this look from last week’s Paris runway show of Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2012:

I noticed another heavily contoured look in this feature from the October ’11 Vogue in this androgynous take on the trend:

I was tempted to try this look, because I love nude blushes, light bronzers and highlighters and have several in my stash.  However, I did not want to apply the product so heavily and dramatically because the heavy application that you see in these examples seem best suited for a runway or fashion studio.  Some ways that I played with the look include using a deeper foundation shade on the lower cheek, and a subtle highlighter on the upper cheek.  This is the most subtle version of the contoured cheek that I can create.

Another is to use a deep blush and highlighter combination, such as the Chanel Soho blush/ highlighter that was released last Fall (limited edition)

If you prefer a cream version of the colors in the Chanel Soho palette, Nars Multiples in Maui and Luxor is a good substitute (swatches below).  I bought the Nars multiples as mini’s in this Sweet Disposition set.
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A third way is a highlighter/combination, including this Hourglass Illume Creme-to-Powder Bronzer Duo in Bronze Light ($40), which is sold at Sephora.  On the top of the compact, there is a champagne gold sheer highlighter.  On the bottom, the compact holds a warm-toned cream bronzer that runs to a medium-toned depth.  The top mirror keeps the compact sleek when stored, but can be swiveled up so that the large mirror can be used.
This Hourglass duo can be worn with the two tones applied separately to create a defined, contoured cheek.
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Alternatively, I can wear the bronzer more traditionally with the highlighter all over the cheek and on the brow bone. The Hourglass Bronzer duo holds one of the deepest bronzers that I can get away with, and I have to apply it sheerly to get it to work.  If you have a medium warm skin tone, you can be more liberal with the use of this bronzer. Those with cooler skin tones may find this duo is too warm.
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I also own Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base ($48) (swatched below).  The Hourglass bronzer is a traditional creamy texture that dries down to a powder on the skin and can be beautifully sheered out.  Chanel’s cream bronzer feels drier in the tub, and feels as though it contains some silicon.  Chanel’s is lighter in tone than the Hourglass.  The Chanel tub is a rather enormous 1.0 ounce;  the Hourglass duo holds .39 ounces of product in total (both bronzer and highlighter).
Here is a comparison of Nars Multiples in Luxor and Maui, the two shades from the Hourglass Illume Bronze Light compact, and a combination that I created the Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base and Edward Bess All Over Seduction in Sunlight ($38) (reviewed here).
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 Have you played with a contoured cheek?  What are your thoughts?
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