The Chanel Hong Kong Collection has quietly made its way to Australia. The capsule collection contains the Eyeshadow Palette Ombres Matelassees Pearl River which will be my review for today, and two Le Vernis Western Light and Eastern Light with reviews coming soon.
Pearl River is a beautiful palette of five eye shadows in mostly neutral shades. I always have a soft spot for Chanel eyeshadow palettes as they always manage to release a set of shades that are highly complementary to each other, classy yet with an edge, and with some degrees of variation to what they have done in the past. As much as I appreciate some makeup brands releasing color palettes with creativity and fun elements into it, at the end of the day wearability is my top priority when I shop for makeup, and Pearl River reaffirmed my choice. The quality of this palette is top notch and worth the high price tag, and it is different to their quads. If you aren’t convinced by Chanel’s regular quads, then you should definitely give this palette a try. These eye shadows feel noticeably softer, creamier with a velvety touch to it compared to the US/European quads. They are all nicely pigmented and swatching them was a breeze.
More close up pictures:
Shade description from left to right:
- Shimmering silvery white
- Shimmering golden champagne
- Shimmering muted gold
- Shimmering peach with a hint of rose-gold undertone to it. To me this is the star shade of the palette as it is stunning on its own, and can be easily mixed in with other colors in the palette.
- Dark chocolate with multi-colored micro shimmer. Texture of this shade feels slightly dryer than the rest.
closeup shot
with flash
Swatches:
I will be posting a FOTD wearing Pearl River this weekend and will provide an updated review if it’s different to my initial thought. For reviews of the nail polishes, check out The Beauty Look Book and The Makeup Blogette.
I bought the entire Hong Kong Beauty Collection at Chanel Makeup Studio in Sydney, and they are selling out fast! The Pearl River Palette retails for AUD$100. You can also purchase this on Chanel US.
Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW
I found this amazing skirt by CAMEO at this shop. What can I say, other than it’s just so perfect! The cut is very reminiscent of Proenza Schouler’s signature’s skirts, but at a much affordable price and the quality is superb.
Sweater – Witchery
Skirt – Cameo (bought here)
Booties – ShuBar (similar here)
Bag – Chanel 2.55 Reissue
Necklace – House of Harlow
PS. If you are heading to Westfield for XMAS Shopping this weekend, they will be holding some great deals across all stores in all Westfields this Super Saturday. Check out more details here.
Labels: CHANEL • Fashion • OOTD • Witchery
Whilst everyone’s attention is on the drool-worthy Eclats du Soir de Chanel Collection (reviewed here), Chanel has quietly released two new Joues Contraste Blushes in #74 Ultra Rose and Rouge as part of their permanent collection. I picked up #74 Ultra Rose recently, and the Rouge is a re-promotion from the Byzance de Chanel collection which has been reviewed here.
I first heard about the release on Jen’s blog here, and I literally stomped out to the shop straight away. In my opinion, Ultra Rose should be renamed to Ultra Neon Bubble Gum Pink. I have a fair share of cool pink blushes in my makeup stash but this one completely outshines the others in terms of color and opacity. It’s the brightest, most pigmented bubble gum pink blush I have ever owned!
As far as I know, Ultra Rose only comes in the euro baked version. In general JC in baked version can be slightly less pigmented than the US version, but rest assured the pigmentation of this one is insanely pigmented (on par with Rouge if you know I mean…). There is no visible shimmer in this blush, but it gives a beautiful glow to the skin and that’s exactly what I love about the baked version. The formulation somewhat manages to add a touch of translucent lit-within glow to the finish. As you can see from the comparison swatch below, the JC Ultra Rose has the most beautiful sheen compared to blushes of other formulations.
Some comparison swatches:
clockwise: Chanel Tweed Fuchsia, Chanel JC Ultra Rose, Dior Rosy Glow, Nars Desire
Compared to Chanel JC Pink Explosion and Malice
I have been wearing this blush a lot lately and I will show you a FOTD with it shortly. When it is applied sparingly, Ultra rose gives a beautiful cool pink flush that really brightens the complexion and yet is still very wearable on fair skin.
Chanel Joues Contraste Blush retails for $73 in Australia.
Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • DIOR • NARS
Chanel Le Vernis Malice (available here) is definitely one of my favorite Chanel nail polishes so far. Two coats gives a perfect application. Malice is a beautiful vampy shade of burgundy color with a hint of deep red undertone, but the mix of ruby and magenta shimmer makes the color so interesting and stand out from the norm.
Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH
As promised, this is a FOTD post wearing the Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow HARMONIE DU SOIR from the 2012 Holiday Collection. This quad is beyond my expectations, as I have to admit I thought the overall mulberry tone of this quad could be a little tricky to pull off for someone like me who is used to the earthy neutral shades. And to my pleasant surprise, Harmonie Du Soir is just simply stunning and easy to wear. The four shades look complementary when blended on the lid (for swatches please refer to this post). I especially love the effect when the taupe is blended with the reddish burgundy shade as it creates a beautiful sultry plummy color without looking too warm. The final look is very autumy and goes particularly well with vampy lip color.
Upper Lid:
Wearing the light gold shade all over the eye lid up to the brows, then applied the taupe shade over the eye socket area. The shimmery pale pink shade is used to blend out the harsh edge. Lastly the burgundy shade is applied along the lash line and blended into the taupe.
Lower Lid:
The pale pink is added on the inner corner and the burgundy is applied at the outer third.
Other Products Used:
Face: Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer (reviewed here)
Blush: Les Tendres De Chanel in Les Roses (reviewed here)
Lips: Tom Ford Black Orchid as a very light stain (review coming soon!)
Bottom Line: A stunning, unique and classic eye shadow quad for the fall and festive season! I actually prefer this over the Topkapi Quad from the Byzance de Chanel collection. Harmonie Du Soir is now available online here!
Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FOTD • Sunday Riley • Tom Ford
The highly anticipated Chanel 2012 Holiday Makeup Collection – Eclats du Soir de Chanel has hit our shore today. The collection is not on display yet but they are available upon request. I picked up two products on the way home and here is a sneak preview of what I bought and my first initial thoughts.
Chanel Le Vernis MALICE (retails for AUD$39) – If I could only get one product from this collection, it would be this one! Check out The Beauty Look Book’s review here.
Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow HARMONIE DU SOIR (retails for AUD$98) – Both the design and the texture of HARMONIE DU SOIR are successfully inherited from the Topkapi Quadra Eye shadow from the Byzance de Chanel collection. Each eye shadow feels noticeably more buttery soft and smoother than the regular line, and all are highly pigmented. I haven’t had a chance to wear them yet, and I’m curious to see how the darkest reddish mulberry shade paired with the pale pink will look on me. Check out Makeup Magpie’s review here.
The entire collection is sold on-line here with international shipping available.
Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • NAIL POLISH
The Chanel Pearl Glow Powder has been on my radar for sooo long ever since I read about it on Sabrina’s blog. It’s a limited edition Asia exclusive highlighter which was released as part of the Le Blanc collection a while back. Although Chanel had similar highlighting powders in the subsequent releases worldwide, I just felt this one could be the best one ever made by Chanel based on Sabrina’s reviews and swatches here and here. I was finally be able to procure this product at a duty free shop through my friend. *Yay*
I don’t think I have ever mentioned how much I love contouring and particularly highlighting – a few highlights/shades here and there on the face makes a huge difference to define my typically flat Asian bone structure, as well as adding a nice glow to the skin. I don’t contour everyday as it requires more skill and patience, but I use highlighters religiously. My go-to highlighter is in powder form – it’s fuss free and quick to use as the last step of my makeup.
On to the product itself, the size of the compact is the same as Chanel JC. Instead of including a not-so-functional mini brush, the Pearl Glow Powder comes with a large and fat sponge applicator which feels very soft and velvety. It picks up more product than a brush and it’s great for blending.
The powder is very buttery soft, smooth, and highly pigmented. It contains tons of pearly gold micro-shimmer but rest assured, they won’t make your face sparkly. It shows up as pearly soft beige on me with a tinge of gold undertone. The color is very user-friendly and works brilliantly for my skin tone as it brightens as well as adds a bit of warmth rather than silvery or metallic. What makes this product stand out from the norm is the incredibly radiant finish. It adds a lovely soft pearly sheen to the skin that almost has a wet-effect. I’m always curious about how they make the models’ complexion look so fresh and glowing backstage, and I think I have found the answer to that!
Comparison Swatches:
From left to right: Chanel Lumiére Sculptée; Chanel Pearl Glow; Chanel Ombres Tissées Iridescent Effects Eyes in Beiges; Giorgio Armani Sheer Shimmer 1, Nars Nico, Nars Albatross
Wearing Chanel Pearl along the cheekbone, T-zone including the nose bridge, along the Cupid’s bow and the chin
Bottom Line: Possibly the best powder highlighter I own!
Labels: CHANEL • HIGHLIGHTER
Sales are irresistible! I have become so much better with sales shopping over the past few years as I have come to the realization that 90% of the things I bought during sales were for the reduced price tag rather than what I really loved/needed . BUT there is the 10 percent that I’m absolutely thrilled of the “bargain”! In this case – I fell in love with this beautiful printed dress by DVF as soon as I spotted it. I was going to get it at full price anyway, and it slipped my mind when I was overseas. So I couldn’t be happier when I found out this dress was on sale on shopbop after I returned from my trip! 2 clicks + 3 days later, it is part of my wardrobe now. And as usual, DVF dresses fit like a dream.
DVF Achelle Dress (bought here!)
Chanel Heels
Celine two-toned Envelope Clutch (similar here or here)
Hermes Clic-Clac H Bracelet
Labels: CELINE • CHANEL • Fashion • HERMES • OOTD
