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Chanel Sable-Émouvant Eyeshadow Duo Review

 Chanel, Eyeshadow  15 Responses »
Apr 302012
 

Chanel Sable-Émouvant Eyeshadow Duo ($42) is quite possibly my favorite item from the easy, soft, feminine Chanel Summer 2012 collection. It’s a stunning, soft, pigmented shimmery confection of a shimmery sandy creamy ivory and a warm reddish shimmery brown.

The duo in soft light:

In sunlight, so you can see the shimmery sparkles:

Swatches:

Comparison with Chanel Misty Soft eyeshadow duo, which is far more mauve:

Sable-Émouvant Eyeshadow Duo is highly blend able, easy to work with, really this duo is perfection. It’s going to coordinate well with this season’s corals and pinks, however this classic combination is going to be an awesome duo for almost anything that you’d want to throw at it. Just layer the lighter color on the lid, and smoke the darker color in the crease. Or use the darker color as a lid-wash, then add a touch of the cream in the inner corner.  It couldn’t be easier or more foolproof. Gorgeous perfection.

….And this is why I love Chanel. They take a classic combination and simply do it more beautifully.

Chanel Blazing Gold Eyeshadow Review

 Chanel, Eyeshadow  8 Responses »
Oct 292011
 

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Blazing Gold ($28.50/#407) is a medium yellow eyeshadow with large shimmer particles.

I feel the same way about Chanel Blazing Gold as I do about many of the items in Chanel Holiday 2011.  That is, these Holiday items are amped up, or glitzed-up, versions of other items that Chanel has done before. I’m not criticizing–Holiday is not the time for fashion-forward, necessarily.  Niche collections like Fashion’s Night Out or mini-collections for boutique-only release are for pushing the envelope.  Holiday can be for making the beautified version of the familiar, a classic with a little more, I suppose.  Sometimes I wonder if Holiday collections are for women who buy makeup once a year.  We see the large, blockbuster palettes (Bobbi Brown), the well-priced sets (everyone), another highlighter with a twist (everyone) and the metallic infused color versions of the permanent line (Dior, perhaps?).  Those with more extensive collections should be selective.

Here is a comparison swatch of Chanel Blazing Gold next to Chanel Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Gold–as you can see, the colors are very, very similar.  The difference is that Blazing Gold has larger shimmer pieces for evening wear and the texture is not as smooth.

For context, I included a soft yellow Lancome Moonlight which is only sold in Europe (reviewed here).  Also, I’ve included  a metallic gold (Bare Escentuals True Gold) to show that Blazing Gold is far more in the “yellow” category rather than a gold metal.

Someone’s going to look amazing in Chanel Soft Touch in Blazing Gold.  Unfortunately, I’m not one of them.  I can make it work (sort of), if I confine its use to a very small lid area or inner corner highlighter.  But in general yellows don’t favor my fair, warm toned skin.  Those who already own Chanel Gold should evaluate whether Blazing Gold makes sense given their similarity.

Chanel Beige Lamé Eyeshadow Review

 Chanel, Eyeshadow  6 Responses »
Oct 282011
 

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshdow in Beige Lamé ($ 28.50/ #417) is a very subtle, sophisticated eyeshadow.

 As many readers know, Cafe Makeup has a soft spot for beautiful neutrals with a kick.  In the case of Chanel Beige Lamé, the color is a soft neutral beige embedded with barely visible pink, teal and clear microsparkle adds a little depth.  Never over the top, Beige Lamé is a soft spoken shade.

 Here is Chanel Beige Lamé on Liz’s lid:

 Chanel Beige Lamé is a Chanel version of MAC Naked Pigment.  It’s a very neutral medium beige with a hint of shimmer. The texture is lovely, it goes on easily with one swipe.  Its a very easy sweep of color for a pretty, neutral lid.

Chanel Vanites Swatches and Review

 Chanel, Eyeshadow  22 Responses »
Aug 192011
 

Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in Vanites ($57 /#08) is a re-release of an eyeshadow quad that was formerly launched years ago, then discontinued.  It is now back as part of Chanel’s Sophisticated Eye Collection.  For some reason, I missed the earlier version and so picked Vanites up this time.

Pursuing old reviews, it appears that the first release garnered efforts to duplicate the shades using MAC eyeshadow shades.  Now that MAC custom quads are only a few dollars less at $53, I suspect that some of the steam has gone out of that engine.

In the pan, Chanel Vanites has a mix of colors that include a pink highlighter, a light lavender, a duochrome purple/gold and the deep violet-blue liner.  Applied, these colors have a strong purple tone that predominates.  Even the golden bottom right color applies with a strong, smokey purple tone.

Swatches, with arm tilted to show the shimmery shades:

With my arm tilted, you can see how the two right shades have a duochrome effect.  I found that this is the way that the gold/purple duochrome shade (the third) looked applied to my eye (below):

One more:

 

I found that the colors had very good pigmentation, texture and tone.  Overall, I’m very pleased with the quality of the quad, which is right in line with Chanel’s recent U.S.-powder formulated options.  The tones in this collection compliment my blue-green eyes, as violets tend to bring out the green tones.

Overall, I recommend Vanites.  I found that the overall purple/violet tones had a slight red undertone, particularly the two deeper shades (swatched on the right, above).  Those who dislike wearing pinks and red in the eye area will want to note that.  Also, these colors looked best on me using an opaque base layer (such as a MAC paint pot, Laura Mercier Eye Basic, or the like).  That seemed to keep the colors at their most vibrant and flattering.

Chanel Twilight and Gris Exquise Swatches and Reviews

 Chanel, Eyeshadow  9 Responses »
Aug 172011
 

Chanel has recently released two new Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadows, always an occasion for rejoicing.

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Twilight ($28.50 #89), part of the Sophisticated Eye Collection, is a cool candy pink:

Twilight has some sparkle and pigment. Here it is compared to Chanel Fauve (reviewed here), also released in the U.S. with the Sophisticated Eye Collection, the pink side of Chanel Irrellee Duo in Orient Express (now discontinued), Chanel Pink Lamé (a long-ago limited edition tweed effect eyeshadow, no longer available), Chanel Lotus and Chanel Sillage (reviewed here).

 Swatches:

As you can see, Twilight bears the closest resemblance to Chanel Pink Lamé.  Note that Twilight has more sparkle compared to Pink Lamé.  No other color is similar to Pink Lamé.  Also, you can see that Twilight would coordinate well with Chanel Fauve.  Another set of the same swatch colors:

Because Twilight runs blue, it does not have the unfortunate tendency of some pink eyeshadows to give a “rabbit eye” effect.  Like Pink Lamé, I can wear the color comfortably, preferably with Fauve or Chanel Taupe Grise (reviewed here).

I would expect that Twilight would coordinate beautifully with Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Gris Exquise ($28.50 / no number provided).  Then again, Chanel Gris Exquis is a color that will coordinate with virtually everything.

Gris Exquis is a medium matte gray, that can be softly applied to create dimension in the crease, or softly smoke out a liner.

This is the color that Chanel suggests be used with Chanel Ombres Tissees in Beige (reviewed here).

Here are some comparisons with the second layer of Le Metier de Beaute’s Splendid Frost (reviewed here), Bobbi Brown Steel (discontinued), the darkest shade of the Edward Bess Soft Smoke eyeshadow palette (reviewed here), MAC Silver Ring, Guerlain Instant d’une Emotion (reviewed here).

Comparison swatches:

Another swatch set, same colors:

I’m a huge fan of gray eyeshadows (as you can probably tell from this post).  Because they tend to be slightly cool, they add a little kick of drama to my warm skintone but still manage to be quiet neutrals.  They work as a wash, or as a way to add depth to the crease.  Overall, I did not find an exact match to Chanel Gris Exquis in my colleciton, although the second layer of Le Metier’s Splendid Frost was the closest.

The texture of Chanel Gris Exquis is excellent–it is very soft and pigmented.  Unlike so many mattes that can go on chalky, Gris Exquis goes on buttery smooth.  It’s an excellent quality shadow that is very versatile.

Note that Chanel has also re-released Chanel Magic Night (reviewed here), and Chanel Fauve to the U.S. market (reviewed here).

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