CHANEL

2013 Holiday Beauty Wishlist

November 2, 2013

Whilst most people realize that the end of another year is fast approaching by noticing that the shops are starting to sell xmas goodies, as a beauty enthusiast I am reminded because of the Holiday Makeup Collections trickling into the stores! After scouring the internet for previews I have finally put together my 2013 holiday beauty wishlist. Except for the Suqqu Makeup Kit B which I have already ordered on Selfridges (in case you don’t know that Selfridges now ship Suqqu internationally with VAT deduction available!), I’ll just have to wait patiently for the rest of them to arrive in Australia.

1. Dior Sparkling Nail Powders Set (Nordstrom exclusive) – love the over-the-top opulent finish for party nails

2. Dior 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow in Golden Flower – a perfect combination of warm neutrals

3. Chanel Nuit Infinie de Chanel Collection Holiday 2013 – particularly the eye shadow palette which is another alluring set of neutrals that can be worn all year round

4. La Mer Treatment Lotion – eager to try out this latest product from La Mer

5. Suqqu Makeupt Kit B – bought this droolwhorthy set with a heart beat!

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Labels: CHANEL • DIOR • EYESHADOW • LA MER • SUQQU

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 86 Discretion Review and Swatch

October 9, 2013

I popped into the Chanel Makeup studio to check out the new Vitalumiere Compact Douceur. To my surprise I also spotted two new Joues Contraste Blushes 85 Evocation and 86 Discretion just being released. In the end I decided to pass on the powder foundation as it just feels too dry for my desert-dry skin at the moment, but I couldn’t resist the beautiful Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 86 Discretion.

The texture of Discretion reminds me of Fleur De Lotus that was released as part of the Le Blanc Collection last year (reviewed here) – it feels noticeably more buttery softer than the other JC of baked version in the permanent line. Even though the color is very light, the color payoff is greater than I expected. I only needed 1 to 2 swipes for the color to show on my face, as opposed to multiple swipes needed with other JC blushes that have a harder texture.

The color is also quite interesting. It looks like a pale baby pink with iridescent micro shimmer in the pan. When it is applied it shows up as a pale pink with a hint of coral undertone. As you can see in my comparison swatches below, going by that Narcisse is a true baby pink, Discretion is more warm and brighter. As with most Chanel JC, the finish of Discretion is natural and soft with a lit within glow, and you will never go overboard with this blush.

Bottom Line: A must have pretty and soft pink blush from Chanel in my opinion.

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Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL

Le Blush Cream de Chanel 65 Affinite and 63 Revelation Review, Swatches and FOTD

September 29, 2013

I finally get back into the swing of shopping and wearing makeup again! And my first purchase since my “break” was the Le Blush Cream De Chanel in 65 AFFINITE and 63 REVELATION. I wore these on several occasions and I absolutely adore them. They are now becoming one of my top three favorite cream blushes – on par with my Addiction Cheek Sticks and the Stila Convertibles.

My thought on these cream blushes is that the texture would go well with every skin type. The cream blush is extremely finely milled so it doesn’t settle into the pores. And it is extremely easy to blend into a natural and even finish. I only need a tiny dab of it to create a natural flush of color on the cheeks. The finish strikes a perfect balance between creamy and powdery (see the comparison swatch below), and it sets into the skin seamlessly without enhancing dry patches and pores.

There is no surprise that I picked up two of the most popular pink shades from the range. The must-have 65 AFFINITE which has been out of stock for a long time, and the 63 REVELATION that goes with any makeup look all year round.

65 AFFINITE is a bright strawberry pink with a hint of blue undertone that sets into a semi-matte finish. If you think the color looks quite ordinary when it is swatched on hand, then you should give it a try on the face. It’s one of those ‘magical’ bright pink shades that instantly transforms a dull and lifeless complexion into a fresh and youthful looking one.

63 REVELATION is a warm peachy pink. It is a no brainer soft pink shade that is easy to wear when you are on the go.

Comparison Swatches with Addiction Cheek Stick Amazing; Stila Convertible Gerbera, YSL Cream Blush 9 (reviewed here), Stila Convertible Lillium

FOTD 1 wearing shade 65 AFFINITE

FOTD 2 wearing shade 63 REVELATION

Other products used:

RMK Foundation, Lunasol Summer Eyes 2013, YSL Lipstick PINK IN PARIS in FOTD 1, and CORAIL INCANDESCENT in FOTD 2 (reviewed here)

Bottom Line: If these blushes can make me look like ‘have slept for 8 hours’ (which indeed I only sleep less than 5 hours a day…), then they really are doing something magical that’s worth the splurge. I bought the Chanel Cream Blush at David Jones for $60 each. Both shades are available here in the US. You can also get them from Harrods with international shipping and VAT Tax deduction available.

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Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • FOTD • YSL

Chanel Le Vernis Taboo and Levres Scintillantes Glossimer Rose Sauvage Review and Swatches

May 30, 2013

I haven’t physically been to any shops for a while..and when I finally decided to give myself a ‘workout’ today, guess what I found?! The beautiful Chanel Le Vernis Taboo 583 that has just been released in Australia, along with six new reformulated Levres Brilliant Extreme Glossimer which I also bought the shade Rose Sauvage 172. Taboo looked stunning in Chanel’s promo as well as in real life. It’s a typical edgy vampy shade with complex shimmer that Chanel is known for. I am not wearing much nail polish lately but this one is definitely worthy of purchase.

Swatches of 2 coats of Taboo -it’s a dark eggplant shade with a mixture of red and magenta iridescence. Texture is superbly smooth and opaque.

With the new Glossimers, I picked up the shade Rose Sauvage 172 which is what the model wears in the promo picture. It’s a soft rosy pink shade with tons of pink and silver micro-shimmer. I always have a soft spot for Glossimer because they all look lovely with that irresistible iridescence shining through the tubes, but sometimes they can look very similar on the lips. The new range has been slightly reformulated so the pigmentation is richer (you can actually see the color rather than going on super sheer), and it feels noticeably smoother and lighter on the lips. The result – beautifully plumped juicy lips with a tinge of pale rose undertone in a watery shine finish. Love it!

A FOTD (selfie taken with my iPhone) wearing Taboo and Rose Sauvage. It’s not the best quality picture but you get an idea of what they look like..

I bought Chanel Le Vernis Taboo for AUD$39 and Rose Sauvage Glossimer for AUD$46 in Australia. They are available here and here in the US.

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Labels: CHANEL • FOTD • LIPGLOSS • NAIL POLISH

Romantic Dressing

April 3, 2013

My outfit for a beach wedding I’m going to tomorrow – springy and romantic.

Cartier LOVE necklace (similar here)

DVF Elisabetta Dress (bought here)

Chanel 2.55 Classic Flap

Christian Louboutin Very Prive Black

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 42 L’Eclatante

Chanel Le Vernis Frenzy

Dior Miss Dior Cherie

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Labels: ACCESSORY • CARTIER • CHANEL • CHRISTAIN LOUBOUTIN • Fashion • OOTD • SHOES

Gradient Lips Tutorial with Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 42 L’eclatane Spring 2013

March 20, 2013

I’ve been really liking this lip look lately – application is relatively more complex than just smearing a layer of lip color on, but the end result is simply effortless sexy with a touch of innocence. If you think the look of perfectly defined lips is too serious and grown-up, then this tutorial might help you to achieve a baby-like sexy pout which has been dominating in the Japanese and Korean beauty magazines.

The main product featured in this post is the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 42 L’eclatante from the Spring 2013 Collection. I actually have purchased quite a lot of products from this collection and loving them all! Since there have already been tons of reviews available on the internet, I thought I’ll share my takes on how I wear them in my tutorial/fotd posts. The color of this lipstick is absolutely to-die for – you know you are wearing a beautiful lip color when there are girls on the street stopping you and asking for the shade number! It can look quite bright if applied directly from the tubes, and I normally like to apply it with either my fingers or a lip brush to tone down the color, and finish with some lip balm/gloss otherwise it can make my lips look flakey and dry.

Tutorial with Chanel Allure Velvet L’eclatante

1. Prep the lips with exfoliation first as it helps to remove the dead skin, moisturize, and improve blood circulation to make the lips appear more plumped.

2. Conceal the lip lines using a concealer – the key is to completely blur out the lip lines.

3. Use a very pale pink lip pencil (or a lipstick), go over the lip lines that was concealed in the previous step, all the way towards the middle of the lips.

4. Use a bright pink lipstick (about 3-4 shades brighter than the lip pencil), apply the color from the centre of lips outward but do not go over the lip lines. The key is to use your finger or a lip brush to blend out the harsh edge for a gradient effect.

5. Apply a sheer pink lip gloss over the lips with more at the center.

Finished look with the beautiful Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 42 L’eclatante

Before and After

Products Used:

1. Sarah Happ Lip Scrub in Blood Orange Flavour – my HG lip exfoliator

2. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage with Becca Concealer Brush

3. Sportsgirl Lip Pencil

4. Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 42 L’eclatante (LE) from the 2013 Spring Collection

5. Lancome Juicy Tubes in Marshmallow with Becca Lip Brush

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Labels: CHANEL • LIPGLOSS • LIPSTICK • TUTORIAL

Peachy FOTD with Chanel Pearl River Eye Shadow Palette

March 12, 2013

This is the look I have been wearing for the past week. It is refreshing to switch from my usual preferred color palette of pink and cool neutrals to a warmer look, and what could be a better palette to use than my new Chanel Pearl River Eye Shadow Palette from the Hong Kong Collection (reviewed here). The overall look is peach for a natural day look, which is inspired by some of the makeup looks I have seen in Korean beauty magazines lately. I always find that a natural looking makeup requires more skill and effort to master. But once you get it right it just looks so beautiful and fresh on any woman, and best of all it helps to take away a few years of age!

In this FOTD, I have spent a lot of time and products creating the base – I wanted to achieve a fresh, dewy and almost barely-there base so that my own skin texture shows through. On the other hand subtle contouring was applied to mimic the natural shadow so my face won’t look too flat. Once this was achieved, everything else was straight forward – just applied light layers of colors to enhance the features.

Face Products Used:

Brush 1: Giorgio Armani blender brush

Brush 2: Becca concealer brush

Brush 3: Suqqu face brush

Step 1: By Terry Teint De Rose as Primer, then MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation (reviewed here) applied with brush 1

Step 2: Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage followed by YSL Touche Eclat #1 applied with brush 2 for under-eyes concealing.

Step 3: Becca Finishing Powder applied with brush 3 over the t-zone.

Eye Products:

Brush 1: MAC 227

Brush 2: Stila Precision Brush

Brush 3: CHIKUHODO Z-10 (reviewed here)

Brush 4: Suqqu Eyeshadow Brush F

Brush 5: Suqqu Eyeshadow Brush L (reviewed here)

Brush 6: Nars #12

Step 1: With the Chanel Pearl River Palette, applied the gold shade with brush 5, then added the peach color along upper lash line with brush 4. Use brush 6 to apply the chocolate brown on the outer v. The champagne color is applied under the brow bone with brush 1.

Step 2: Applied the peach shade along the lower lash using brush 3, then added the brown to the outer corner. Brush 2 is used to add the pearly white color on the inner corner.

Step 3: Applied Majolica Automatic Eyeliner, and finished with Cover Girl Clump Free Mascara.

Step 4: Filled the brows using Shu Uemura Hard Formula H9.

Cheeks and Lips:

Brush 1: CHIKUHODO GS2 Contour and Highlight Brush

Brush 2: Suqqu Cheek Brush (reviewed here)

Step 1. Applied Nars Multiple Tint in Turks & Caicos with Coffret D’OR Blush on the cheeks using brush 2.

Step 2: Maquillage Face Creater 3D in #55 is used for highlight and contour with brush 1.

Step 3: Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Salmon finished with Lunasol Clear Lip Gloss.

One more pic!

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Labels: BECCA • BRUSHES • CHANEL • CHIKUHODO • EYESHADOW • FOTD • Giorgio Armani • MAC • Maquillage by Shiseido • SUQQU

Chanel Hong Kong Collection – Le Vernis Eastern Light Review and Swatches

March 5, 2013

I’m wearing Chanel Le Vernis Eastern Light from the Hong Kong Collection today. As you can see from the picture, it’s pretty much an opaque pure white color in cream finish with no shimmer. I wouldn’t say this color knocks my socks off, or a must-have for AUD$40 a pop. But as I am going through a pale nail color phase this season, I do find Eastern Light appeals to me for the following reasons:

– I like the contrast of the white color against my skin color. It makes the nails pop and gives a very clean manicured look.

– If you’ve grown weary of wearing vampy colors like me, it’s refreshing to wear a color that is completely on the other end of color spectrum!

Wearing 2 coats of Eastern Light. The quality is standard Chanel – 2 to 3 coats give an even and glossy finish.