Chanel

As promised yesterday, here is more runway footage from Paris Fashion Week: this time it's 24 minutes of Chanel! This show was huge: a live orchestra with 80 musicians (seriously!), a garden with fountains, hundreds of people in the audience including Rachel Bilson, Keira Knightley, Vanessa Paradis (Johnny Depp's lady love and one of Lagerfeld's muses). We even got the youngest runway model ever: a cute 2 year-old all dressed in Chanel!

Chanel Le Vernis  - 247 Khaki Vert, 257 Khaki Rose or 267 Khaki Brun - $26 - To wear alone or combined are three new urban chic polishes from Chanel - khaki is usually for camouflage but I think these colours will really make your nails stand out!  Don't wait to pick these up - they go on sale October 4 and will be a little tricky for many Canadians to get their hands on them as only Holt Renfrew and Chanel Boutique on Bloor Street in Toronto and the Chanel beauty counters in Vancouver will have limited quantities of them.

Did I hear someone say road trip?!

Even beauty bloggers get the blues (and buy the weirdest stuff).

When Chanel Fall 2010 collection came out two months ago I chose several items (Rose Temptation blush and the two single eye shadows) and passed on the new Glossimer colors because they didn't look special or pigmented enough. All was good and well until one gloomy summer afternoon when I decided I actually needed a new Glossimer (or two) and decided on last fall's release, Courtisane (138). The problem? It's pink.

Very pink.

Barbie pink.

And I don't do pink.

I look horribly trashy when I try and then I get jealous of people with mainstream skin tones who can wear pretty colors. Of course, this being a Chanel with a nice shine and pleasant texture I can wear it to tone down a variety of my plum lipsticks or mix it with other colors. But I just can't pull off Courtisane by itself over naked lips.

Bottom Line: What were I thinking?

Chanel Glossimer 138 Courtisane is available from your favorite department stores and chanel.com.

All photos are mine.

Chanel single Ombre Essentielle eye shadows are often overlooked in favor of the glitzy quads, but the truth is the singles have proven to be a better buy for me- they have richer and deeper pigments than several of the quads, less shimmer and often a smoother texture. The Ombre Essentielle shadows blend perfectly and I often reach for them when I'm in a hurry and need a fool-proof, quick and easy look.


The fall 2010 collection, Les Contrastes de Chanel, offers Enigma, a very nice quad which I liked in theory but when tested at Saks it just wasn't all that exciting and the light pink shade looked all kinds of wrong on me. So I passed on it and picked instead the two gorgeous singles, 87 Taupe Grise and 88 Vert Khaki, both embody the look and spirit of the dramatic fall collection while still easy to wear and combine with nudes and neutrals. These two colors have depth, subtle shimmer and look like a million dollar even with minimal effort and work.


Vert Khaki is a dark golden olive. It's very close to Bobbi Brown's Golden Leaf from last year's Ivy League collection, just less shimmery and a little more brown-based. Taupe Grise is a complex taupe (thank you, Ms. Obvious) that looks like a gray smoke over a chocolate base. If you saw Christine's photos and swatches on Temptalia, hers seem to be much more cooler toned. I double and triple checked mine to make sure I didn't pick and photograph the wrong color and it's a warm taupe both in the pan and on skin. Please also take note  I swatched with a sponge applicator to show the colors' full intensity. When using a good brush the shades are more muted and can be softened and toned down for an elegant daytime look.


Bottom Line: I'm wearing these eye shadows right now. Not waiting for fall.

Chanel Ombre Essentielle Eye Shadows in Taupe Grise 87 Vert Khaki 88 are a limited edition  for Fall 2010. Both colors ($28.50 each) can be found at every Chanel counter and on chanel.com.

All photos are mine.

We continue our tour of the fall collections. It looks like everyone has a new blush out and the colors are pink and tempting, which might explain why all of a sudden I felt the urge to get a Chanel blush, even though it's the one Chanel product that never really rocked my socks. My issue with them was more about the colors than the texture, but I figured that the new (to the US) baked formula might also bring a change in pigment.

Choosing a color was easy. Rose Temptation (60) is a beautiful rose mauve that works well with my funky skin tone and looks very natural on my cheeks, despite the tiny shimmer particles (I could live without those, but Rose Temptation seems to have less of them than the lighter colors in this collection, at least from the testers at my local Saks).

While I'm not thrilled with the messy debris created when swiping a brush over the blush which means annoying loss of product as well as pink paw prints all over my dressing room, the texture actually works well on my face and blends evenly. I took note of Amy's advice on Cafe Makeup and started using this Joues Contraste with a dense brush- Sephora brand angled blush brush seems like a very good fit. Also, making sure to have a smooth and supple base (serum/moisturizer, primer, liquid foundation/tinted moisturizer) is a good way to ensure the blush sits well and looks good. So far I haven't experienced any chalkiness, but then again, I've been testing Rose Temptation over three or four weeks of extremely humid and swampy weather. Seriously, dry skin hasn't been a concern since some time in May, despite having the a/c blasting 24/7 for weeks now. We'll see how it goes when fall is actually here.

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 60 Rose Temptaion ($42) is a limited edition for fall 2010. Available right now from most decent department stores and chanel.com.

All photos are mine.

***On a completely unrelated note, last week has been sad and absolutely horrid for me, and the weekend brought on some extra unneeded stress. I did my best to maintain my regular posting schedule, but I'm very far behind on replying to comments, not to mention emails and direct tweets. Things are getting better now, so I'll try to catch up throughout the week, but please don't take it personally if it takes me longer to get back to you.

Chanel did it again. The Fall 2010 collection is beautiful and I'll have a few reviews of the items I picked out of it (I passed on the quad, though). But the most talked about item is the nail polish, Paradoxal (no. 509). It's not like we haven't seen gray purple shades in the past (OPI had them both in their French and Sephora collections), or purples with beautiful and varying levels of shimmer (nobody does purple like Zoya). Last fall we also had Lemon Balm and Silver Purple from Dior which belong in the same group, though they both had a very metallic finish.

The thing about Paradoxal that makes everyone go crazy is, indeed, the finish. It's almost shimmery but not quite, it's not a duo-chrome but has something going on inside that makes the color look lit from within under a certain light. And while it's not metallic or pearly, Paradoxal isn't a cream either. Then there's the way it changes according to lighting and time of day. I have to say it's most stunning under full light that allows both the pigment and the shimmer particles stand out. At night and in low light this nail  polish loses some of the magic and looks like a very dark taupish purple, so take this into account if you're after a special evening look.

Chanel Fall 2010 collection including 509 Paradoxal Nail Colour ($23) is available from Chanel counters everywhere and chanel.com.

All photos by me.

We all know that the secret to a truly polished lipstick application is using a lip liner. The right liner, that is. It's even more crucial now when full coverage lipsticks are back big time, and even light and nude color lipstick have a more grownup and sophisticated finish. The trick is to find good lip liners that will not be obvious or visible. It used to be much harder. For some reason, nude colors were often unnatural looking with too much beige, brown or even orange. I kept a specimen or two of this trend from the mid-nineties until our recent move, and was always amazed to see these colors were ever considered "natural". I don't know about you, but I've never come across a person with a natural orange pigment in their lips.

Thankfully, we've all learned a thing or two since then. I've shown several pink-based favorites in the past, so today I'm tackling two warmer options by Chanel and Edward Bess.

Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Mordore Nude (05) is not really a nude color, even by my darker than most standard. It's more of a muted warm(ish) red. It's a great base and liner for some of the Rouge Coco lipsticks and I use it occasionally with several bold red lipsticks because it is completely invisible under them. But if your lips are naturally pale I'd advise you to be very careful with this color.

Edward Bess Natural Defining Lip Stylo is as universal as such a product can be. There will always be someone whose coloring requires something completely different, but Edward Bess has managed to produce a natural nude with a very wide appeal here. His stylo pencil works with my lip color and I've seen it on two much paler faces, working well with several shades of Bess' own lipsticks. I use it often, especially when I'm rushing to do my makeup. It's a no hassle, no fuss color.

Both lip liners are of great quality. Firm enough to deliver precise results and creamy enough to glide comfortably and not pull the skin. They stay on with no bleeding or migrating, feel comfortable when used to fill the lip surface and provide excellent grab for whatever lip color you use over them.

Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Mordore Nude ($28) is available from chanel.com and some Chanel counters. I got it as GWP late last year. Edward Bess Natural Defining Lip Stylo ($29) is exclusive to Bergdorf Goodman (where I bought it) and edwardbess.com.

All photos are mine.

This is a screen shot from Lindsay Lohan's official Twitter page (it's a verified account,  not a prank).

Last installment of Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks. These three were my pick for high drama looks.

Venise (#26) is the warmest of the bunch. It's a nice brick red. On my lips some of the brown is neutralized by my natural lip color, but it's still warm enough.

Rivoli (#21) is a red berry. Very wearable and cheerful, but cannot be ignored.

Ballet Russe (#29) is a femme fatale. Blood red with a hint of purple. The other Rouge Coco purples I've tried (or bought, like Byzantine) can be worn during the day if you're very careful about keeping everything else to the barest minimum. Ballet Russe is a creature of the night.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstics ($30) are available from the usual suspects, online and in store. I bought mine at my local Saks and on neimanmarcus.com.

All photos are mine.

These are my two everyday colors.

The thing about Chanel lipsticks has always been the range of shades and subtlety of pigments. The lipsticks themselves are very good- creamy, glide on easily, comfortable to wear and rich in color. The number of options available in the Rouge Coco line is a big part of what makes them so coveted- they are like little gems sitting there on the counter and you want to have them all. However, as good as they are, Rouge Coco is not the absolute top of the line as far as lipsticks go. If you've tried Le Metier de Beaute, Edward Bess, Cle de Peau and Sensai you probably know what I mean.

Still, if one needs to update a lip wardrobe and pick up a bunch of great lipsticks in several shades to create every possible look, or if you're searching for a perfect and flattering color, my recommendation will be to stop at your Chanel counter first. Chances are there's a Rouge Coco or two (or five) for you.

I chose Legende (#11) and Rouge Orage (#23) as my easy to wear, go with everything colors. Legende adds just a little pink to the natural color of my lips. It's my perfect casual color and the one I keep using. Rouge Orage (orage means thunderstorm. Nothing to do with oranges) is an everyday red. The pink base makes it easy to wear and pretty neutral and easy going. Wearing this kind of color makes everything else I have on, from makeup to shoes, look a little more sophisticated.

Rouge Coco lipsticks ($30) are available from decent department stores and chanel.com. I ordered mine online from Neiman Marcus.

All photos are mine.