Chanel Holiday 2011-A few product pics

I got the chance to meet with the lovely Macnunu and Asiyakei today. We made trip to Saks and found that the new holiday items from Chanel were available. Here's just a few quick product pics of what I purchased~

Luminère Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting powder


Closer look at the gorgeous embossing


Glossimer in Sweet Beige


Ombre Essentielle in Beige Lamé on top and Glossimer in Sweet Beige


Les Tissages de Chanel Tweed Brun Rosé blush


Will try to have more pics and swatches up soon!

Chanel Joues Contraste vs Maybelline Fall 2011 Blushes

I stumbled upon a new Maybelline display at one of my local drugstores.

In the display were a few interesting blushes. There was a sale on Maybelline Face products so I picked up all of them XD I had to fight with the cashier for the discount because the items weren't ringing up in the system but thankfully, the manager put the discount through.

L->R: Pressworthy Pink, Ravishing Rouge and Stage Glow

No flash, indoor light

With indoor flash

Anyway, Macnunu mentioned they might be dupes for Chanel Joues Contraste so I dug in my stash to see if I had some possible equivalent colors. Here's what I came up with:

Top Row: Chanel Pink Explosion, Rouge and Pink Cloud
Bottom Row: Maybelline Pressworthy Pink, Ravishing Rouge and Stage Glow

(I'll try to update with pan pics later tonight)

So they are pretty close!

Chanel Pink Explosion is a bit warmer in color and more subtle in shimmer than Maybelline Pressworthy Pink.

Chanel Rouge is a brighter red and more shimmery than Maybelline Ravishing Rouge which feels more burgundy.

Chanel Pink Cloud is leans more white and subtle in shimmer than Maybelline Stage Glow which I think leans a bit more silvery.

Overall, the Maybelline blushes were pretty nice. I haven't tested them for wear time but they feel pretty smooth and I had no problems picking up the color. A nice drugstore substitute but I wouldn't say exact dupe for the Joues Constrastes :)

Les Aquarelles de Chanel~Ombres Tissées, Pink Cloud and Vanités quad

Les Aquarelles de Chanel collection has landed at Bergdorfs. It's a very pretty and shimmery collection. The main palette is the Ombres Tissées Beiges. I haven't had the heart to swatch this baby yet. There is a shimmery overspray that disappears with use (Front Row Beauty has tester pic and swatches here). It's labeled as an eye shadow palette and comes with a sponge applicator but the colors do lend themselves to be used as a face highlighter.

Another piece from this collection is the Joes Contraste blush in Pink Cloud. This shade does not really impart any color on my face but gives it a nice highlight.

The Chanel boutique that I visited did not have the Ombres Tissees or Pink Cloud but they did have a few eye shadows and quads that had been previously released in Europe only. I picked up Fauve and Twilight (pics to come in another post), along with the Vanités quad.

Hope to post swatches soon.

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?