Chanel Byzance de Chanel-Topkapi Quad and Rouge Blush

Chanel Byzance collection has started to land at the Chanel boutiques. I grabbed the Topaki quad and Rouge blush from the 57th st. location.

Joues Contraste in Rouge and Regard Signé de Chanel in Topkapi

Close-up of the quad:




Closer look at the blush:



I think the 2nd pic reflects the pan color a bit better.

After swatching, the blush does have a bit of excess powder

Dry swatches:


Topkapi quad has a mocha bronze color, a dark bark brown(this color has the lowest shimmer/sheen), shimmery golden yellow and silvery taupe. These shadows are top notch and were so rich and smooth.

Natural light


With flash

The Rouge blush is quite pigmented but has a lovely soft shimmer:

Natural light


With flash

There was also a blush in Or (a golden yellow) that can be used as a highlighter and a Rouge Byzantin lipstick (a cherry red). These two items were pretty but I knew I would not really use either item much. The Topkapi quad and Rouge blush were definitely the stand outs for me. The pigment in both are great and applied very well.

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre-Epatant, Fantasme and Emerveille

The Chanel Illusion D'Ombre shadows were also released in the Fall collection. In the display, the testers do not actually correspond to the actual packaging that you get. There was a display model for the actual jar. I picked up 3 shades; Epatant (a grey khaki), Fantasme (a shimmery white), and Emerveille (a peachy seashell pink).

L->R: Epatant, Emerveille and Fantasme

Each Illusion D'Ombre comes with a mini brush. I actually really like this brush for this shadow. The bristles are in a flat paddle shape with a bit of an angle. It can be used to apply an overall sweep to the lid or as a liner. Swatches below were applied with the brush.

Compact form


The cap becomes the handle


Close up of the brush tip

Pics for the individual shadows:


Epatant
(My favorite)



Fantasme



Emerveille

Epatant and Fantasme are more shimmery than Emerveille so I don't think my swatches below do them much justice. Epantant is a dark khaki grey with silver shimmer. Fantasme doesn't show up as silvery in real life, it's more of a multi-colored shimmery white.

No flash, indoors



With flash indoors

In case anyone was curious, here is how the Illusion D'Ombres compare to the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill shadows packaging wise. Both shadows are listed as 4g/0.14oz.

Illusion d'Ombres have a wider jar but a more shallow container. It is taller than the Eyes to Kill since it has a taller base. Texture wise, Illusion D'Ombres have a more airy mousse feel than the Eyes to Kill.

I've worn the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre shadows for 2 days and I like them a lot. It's been a bit hot a muggy on the days that I've worn them so by the end of the night there is creasing and fading but I think the Illusion D'Ombre overall staying power is decent and the colors are quite nice. I hope they will expand the selection in the future.

Chanel Fall 2011 Polishes-Graphite and Peridot

I made a trip to uptown today and spotted the Chanel Fall 2011 collections at the 57th street Chanel boutique and Bergdorfs. *update* This collection is now also available at the Soho boutique. The most exciting item for me were the polishes :) There were 3 shades released-Graphite (Shimmery silvery grey with a gold overtone), Peridot (Duochrome green/bronze) and Quartz (Taupe with silver sheen) which was the only one I passed on.

Swatches are with 2 coats, no top coat.
Index, Middle: Graphite; Ring, Pinkie: Peridot




Graphite Close-Up
Love how sparkly this color is








Peridot Close-Up
Depending on the angle, it can look more olive green or bronze-y





I like how you can see the color shift at the edges of the nail.



*update*

These polishes applied really well, so far the best out of the other Chanel polishes I can recall at the moment. I think both are great colors and although they are meant for fall, I can't wait to wear them now. From the fall collection, I also picked up the Rose Ecrin blush and Giggle glossimer. Also released were the Illusion d'Ombre shadows~very pretty mousse shadows. I picked up Khaki, Fantasme and Emerveille. Is it too early for Fall collections?

Paul & Joe Confetti and YSL Summer Polishes

Just a quick post on a few new polishes I picked up at Bergdorfs recently.

First up is another polish from Paul & Joe Summer. I was initially going to pass on Confetti because I thought I may have a few too similar polishes but turns out it is pretty unique among my glitters. It's clear with multi colored glitters. I thought it would appear more silver on the nail but you can still see the different colors.

Swatch is about 3 coats


Mobile phone pic. This was 4 coats

The other polishes I snagged were from YSL. Love the bright yellow and blue that are offered as part of their summer collection. I also picked up a creme blush and lipstick but I have not used them yet. The polishes were really smooth and opaque. Swatches below are 2 coats.

Left: Surreal yellow, Right: Utopian Turquoise




Love the brightness of this yellow.




(Sorry for the smudges)