CHANEL

Chanel Vendetta Swatch

July 24, 2011

This week I have been wearing Chanel Le Vernis in Vendetta – it is such a classic edgy vampy shade that has become one of my all time favorites.

In the bottle it is a deep rich eggplant shade with tons of red micro glitters. Swatched with 2 coats on the nails, it shows up as a deep purple with a hint of navy. Under direct sunlight you can see the magenta sparkles in it. Application was a breeze, 1 coat gives an opaque finish. I prefer an ultra rich and glossy finish hence I always go for 2 coats.

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Focused on the bottle.

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The only close Vendetta dupe I have is by Sportsgirl in Galaxy.

chanel-le-vernis-vendetta-483-dupe-by-sportsgirlLeft: Sportsgirl in Galaxy. Right: Vendetta by Chanel

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After lying on the bed and surviving on  instant korean ramen for the past 2 days,  I am finally feeling better today and have the energy to do a blog post for the Chanel Joues Contraste Blushes in ROUGE and OR from their Byzance Collection. I had to admit..I initially only wanted to buy the gold blush (OR), as the red blush just looks too shockingly red for my fair skin which I would never wear. Obviously I had a change of mind after the SA told me if I layer the red with the gold, it gives a beautiful rose gold effect. Yes..the word Rose Gold totally sold me..

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Everything from the Byzance Collection is much more pigmented than the regular Chanel’s.

Heavy Swatches (by fingers):

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Swatched by brush:

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Chanel Joues Contraste in OR is a true gold blush (although from some certain angles I can see a little bit of bronze sheen) with tons of gold flecks. The texture feels quite grainy and powdery hence there are a lot of fallout in the pan once you start using it.

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It is definitely more of a highlighter rather than a blush to me. When I use it as a highlighter on my skin it transforms into a very subtle golden sheen.  The gold surprisingly blends into my naturally yellow skintone really well – it brightens as well as warms up my complexion without looking too yellow.

Applied OR on the top of my cheekbone.

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Chanel Joues Contraste in Rouge appears as a true bright red with pink shimmers in the pan, but on the skin the shimmer is less noticeable. Unlike OR, the texture of Rouge feels smooth and soft. It is also insanely pigmented – a tiny amount of it is enough to do the whole cheek.

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I had a really hard time applying just a sheer wash of color with Rouge. It was my 6th attempt to get a sheer finish shown in the picture below. It is so pigmented,  applying with the softest and fluffiest blush brush with the lightest hand doesn’t help much.. I still ended up look like a clown.  To get the result I had to dip the brush into the pan at the sofest pressure I could, then swipe the brush on my hands to remove most of the product first before applying it on my cheeks. Once I got it right, it gives a natural flush of color – reminiscent of  a “just went for a jog” look.

Applied Rouge on the apple of my cheek

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Layer OR on top of Rouge:

I am glad I got both blushes in the end. They look the best when they are layered on top of each other. They red balances out the warmth of the gold, and the gold sheen softens the brightness of the red, making it more glowy and dewy.

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Stay tuned, I might update this post or do a new post showing you some possible dupes of these blushes.

BTW Chanel Joues Contraste retails for $74 in Australia.

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In the word of Rachel Zoe I went ‘BANANAS’ today’!! Because the Collection Byzance De Chanel just arrived in Australia. I actually planned to take a rest at home for the whole day today as I was feeling quite sick, as soon as I got a call from my beloved Chanel SA,  I rushed down to my closest Chanel counter and got myself a few goodies. First thing I wanted to show you is the Regard Signe De Chanel Quadra Eye shadow Palette in Topkapi. It may look like another boring neutral eyeshadow palette from the promo picture to some people, but you HAVE to see it in real life if you have any faith in Chanel. It is simply breathtaking!

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It is a limited edition palette and as far as I know the quantity is very limited –  there are only 100 of this available in Australia! Different to the regular Chanel eyeshadow quad, this palette comes with a black insert and has a Chanel Logo embossed on each shadow, which is a bonus for the die hard fans like me 🙂

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How does this one compare to the regular quads? I declare with my hand on my heart – the quality and texture of these shadows are by far the best Chanel has ever done! They are so silky smooth and soft, not powdery and extremely pigmented. What you see in the pan is what you get on the skin. I hope this quality will be carried over to all the future releases from Chanel…

CLOCKWISE:

Cool toned silvery taupe

A shimmery yellow gold

A dark burgundy brown with fine red shimmers, on the skin it shows up as matte

Shimmery bronze

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SWATCH

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On my eyes:

The taupe shade all over my eyelid

The dark brown shade smudged all along my upper lash line

The bronze at the outer v and along the outer corner of my lower lash line

The gold at the inner corner of  lower lash line

The gold and the taupe are the stand out for me.  This gold shade looks good as a highlighter for the inner corner of the eyes, or can be worn all over the eyelid which is also stunning.

The taupe shade reminded me of the recently released stylo yeux eyeliner in Rose Platine but in the form of powder.

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Overall Look

Thought would give it a go as I am not feeling well , glad the pictures didn’t show much sign of it..haha the art of makeup 😛

without flash

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with flash

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Last but not least, along with Regard Signe De Chanel Quad I have also picked up two limited edition blushes which are also absolutely stunning. Will review them in my next post 🙂 Hopefully I will get better soon as I have so many blogs to catch up on!

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FYI Regard Signe De Chanel Quad retails for $100 in Australia.

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This week I have been wearing Fash Pack by butter LONDON which is a 3 FREE company – No Formaldehyde; No Toluene; No DBP. I am quite impressed with the formulation as I thought the texture might not be as good without all these chemicals. It has a runny watery texture that allows for a smooth and even application. Two to three coats is enough for an opaque finish.

Fash Pack is a nice brown muddy shade that works well with my yellow skintone.

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From a different angle, you can see a lot of gold shimmers in the bottle but it doesn’t show up on the nails.

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If you have missed out on the much raved Chanel Particuliere, I highly recommend Fash Pack – quite a close dupe of it.

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Comparison swatches: 1 coat each

Butter LONDON is slightly more streaky than Chanel

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Fash Pack lasted up to 5 days without any chipping on me! FYI, Butter London retails for $20 ( a bit expensive I know…), you can find them in a variety of health food stores in Australia.

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les-tissages-de-chanel-blush-duo-tweed-effect-pink-swatch

Chanel Tweed Jacket is one of the most coveted items for me..I hope one day I can cross this item off my ultimate wishlist..one day… For now I am happy with Les Tissages De Chanel in Tweed Pink. It looked so beautiful when it was brand new, a two toned pink in the signature Chanel tweed pattern covered in an overspray of gold shimmers. Sadly the gold shimmer will disappear once it is used.

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It contains 2 shades of pink – a light pink and  a bubblegum pink, and it translates into a soft neutral pink with a hint of shimmer onto my skin. The pigmentation is quite sheer, typical of Chanel, but can be built up to full color.  I tend to reach for this blush when I just want a natural flush of pink with a soft glow on my cheeks – one of those fool proof blushes that is office appropriate.

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This blush blends in to the skin beautifully. I am normally only half awake in the morning when I do my makeup. With this blush I can apply it with my eyes closed and it would look like I spent a lot time blending it.

les-tissages-de-chanel-blush-duo-tweed-effect-pink-swatch-1What is your favorite get up and go blush?

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NOTD – Chanel Mimosa

June 11, 2011

Chanel Mimosa has brought a ray of ‘warmth’ to the dull weather in Sydney. It is growing on me. I wasn’t sure about this shade at first, but I can see myself rocking yellow nails in summer time.

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Overall Thought: I have had Chanel Mimosa for a while but this is the first time I am wearing them out. I was prepared for the worst as most of the reviews I have read were that Chanel Mimosa has the streakiest formulation out of all the Le Vernis. To my surprise it wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was streaky for the first coat, but by the 3rd coat I was able to achieve an even and opaque finish. Unlike Morning Rose, the beautiful golden shimmers showing through the bottle is almost invisible once applied on the nails.

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Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner in Rose Platine has been featured in many beauty blogs so far. It is definitely one of the must have items from the Chanel Summer 2011 Collection. A taupe eyeliner is just hard to come by – not many brands have a taupe eyeliner in their permanent collections. I am a big fan of this color so I bought this one without even checking out the tester.

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Now you have seen the closeups and the swatch, here is my thought after using it for about a week.

Texture: It is not eye khol hence don’t expect this liner to be as buttery soft as your eye khol pencils. Nor it is hard. To get a decent color payoff as shown in the swatch above I need to swipe it 2 to 3 times.

Lasting power: Amazing in this department. It literally lasts on me for the whole day considering I have quite oily eyelids.

Usage: I won’t use this eyeliner to define my upper lash line. It just won’t do anything for my eyes – the shimmery silver taupe will make my eyes look more puffy than more awake. I need a liquid eyeliner for that.. On the other hand, I like to use it along my lower lash line as a highlighter – a good alternative for the usual white eyeliners. It creates a soft shimmery effect without looking too harsh. I used this eyeliner in the FOTD I did yesterday. Here is a close up shot of my eyes:

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The only drawback is that  it looks more silvery rather than taupey when it is applied against my dark brown eyes. The brown eyeshadow shades I used as well as my eye color bring out more of the silver tone – which is quite a disappointment to me.

I went through my stash and couldn’t find a close dupe of it. But I have found some of my favorite liners that serve the same purpose (but not the same color) as the Chanel, for a soft shimmery effect on the lower lash line.

From Left to Right

Korres Soft Eyeliner in 6S: yellow gold

Guerlain Crayon in Cupidon – My second top pick: a pinkish champagne

MAC Eye Kohl in I Get No Kick – My top pick: a champagne beige

Chanel Rose Platine

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The Chanel Stylo Yeux Eyeliner retails for $44 in Australia. I like this product but my hunt for the perfect taupe eyeliner continues.

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I have previously reviewed The Becca Lost Weekend Eyeshadow Palette and as I promised – I just did a FOTD with it. This makeup was focused on conturing – Becca Lost Weekend Eyeshadow palette was used to contour the eyes and all along the side of the nose. I also thickened and extended my eyebrows on both ends so they connect to the contours on the side of my nose bridge . On my face, lots of bronzing shades were used to contour the cheeks. Lip color was tossing between a berry or a nude shade – in the end I opted for a glossy nude shade.

This is the final look:

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A quick rundown on the products I used.

FACE PRODUCTS:

Dior Extreme Fit Foundation: I will be doing a review for this foundation this week. Overall it is a natural looking foundation with decent coverage that hides all my freckles!

MAC Bronzing Powder: applied the brown shade down the side of my cheeks to the jawlines.

Nars Blush in Madly: was applied along the hollow of the cheeks to the temples.

Guerlain Meteorites in Beige Chic: started from my cheekbones to the temples.

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EYE PRODUCTS:

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow in Suede: was used as a base color all over the eye socket area to make the colors that were applied later pop out more.

Becca Lost Weekend Eyeshadow Palette: layered the shimmery mauvy shades with the matte mauvey shade all over the eyelids up to the sides of my upper nose bridge. The medium brown shade was then applied from the outer edge of the eyelid and blended into the crease, creating a v shape.

Majolica Perfect Automatic Liner: for upper lash line

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner in Rose Platine: was all along the lower lash line, intensified at the tear duct areas.

Lancome Le Crayon Khol in Brown: used to darken the outer edge of the lower lash line.

Laura Mercier Eyebrow Powders

False Eyelashes: Princess Lee Criss Cross in 7. (picture of it can be found in my previous FOTD)

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A closer up shot:

Lip Product:

Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani in beige 105. (reviewed here)

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