10.13.2011

Chanel Holiday 2011 Les Scintillances de Chanel Review, Photos, Swatches



This is a general review of the entire collection. Recommendations can be found at the end of the post!

Let's start with the star of the show, shall we?
The Lumiere Sculptee de Chanel Highlighting Powder ($72) is a beauty. According to the Chanel press release, the highlighter is inspired by one of Coco Chanel's most treasured belt buckles. It must have been a lovely buckle, as this illuminating powder has the most intricate embossment I've ever laid eyes on. When swatched on the back of my hand, the product is disappointingly chalky and fades easily [hence, no swatch photo]. It is also very pale and the mother-of-pearls pink tones are not apparent. Only once applied to the face does the pink pearlescence appear. The effect is subtle and elegant but like Sabrina of the Beauty Look Book, I also prefer my Chanel Pearl Glow highlighter. I'll be writing a full review soon but I must admit I don't believe many will find that this product is worth $72. I urge you to try it on in store before deciding. A collector's item? Positively.


The Rouge Allure Laque Luminous Satin Lip Colours ($32) are the most coveted full coverage liquid lipsticks on the market. I own two, Ming and Dragon. Dragon was re-promoted with the collection but the limited edition this holiday is Empire, a shimmering pink rose. The gold shimmers are very pronounced in this Laque and the base color is a much more pigmented pink than Ming. If you find Ming too cool for your coloring, Empire will suit your taste. I was watching a few make-over sessions while waiting for my SA and I personally found that it brightened up the complexion of those with fairer skins best. Some bloggers think this rosy pink is back-up worthy. I passed because it didn't have the same "wow" factor against my coloring but keep in mind that's just my opinion.

The Rouge Allure Luminous Satin Lip Colours ($32) from this holiday are full of shimmer. Usually, RAs are creams but Enviree and Famous have taken it up a notch. Note: If you have very dry lips that are prone to peeling, you may want to stick to the glosses from this collection instead. The shimmers seemed to emphasize the dryness of my lips. Enviree, however, is more pigmented than reported. This is why I discourage basing your judgment solely off swatches that were placed on the back of your hand. Enviree is very similar to the way Empire looks on my medium-pigmented mauve lips, albeit less glossy and a touch less pigmented. Also, Enviree is a slightly cooler pink than Empire and the shimmers are silver and pink as opposed to Empire's gold. I would purchase Enviree over Empire. Now for Famous, which I did not try on but it is lust-worthy. The base of the lipstick is a bright pink-toned red with fuchsia and red shimmers. I passed because I fell in love with Triomphal, a richly pigmented gloss version of Famous.

Nordstrom Lighting, With Flash


Famous

The Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss Pure Shine Intense Colour Long Wear Lip Glosses ($32) have the most luxurious black glass packaging. I own Genie and Imaginaire and purchased Triomphal yesterday. I wanted to resist but the color was so beautiful, I couldn't. And as most of you know, I won't buy a red unless it's phenomenal. Just like Famous, it is a pink-toned red with fuchsia and red shimmers. It applies smoothly and evenly. Totally worth the $32, even though I wouldn't wear it regularly. I couldn't swatch Discretion [a luminous beige] because it was being used in a make-over, my apologies. Full review coming soon!

Chanel Vanity Mirror Lighting

The Levres Scintillantes Glossimers ($28.50) are my favorite glosses. They aren't sticky in the slightest and there is no scent or taste. Sparkle d'Or has a clear base but is chock-full of gold shimmer. I prefer YSL's Golden Glosses for the gold factor, though. If you want a more subdued effect of a Golden Gloss, Sparkle d'Or may be for you! I was hesitant about purchasing Sweet Beige but the pigmentation is better [4/5] than the usual Glossimer, which is sheer [1/5]. It coats my medium pigmented mauve lips evenly and provides a shimmery nude effect without 'erasing' my lips. Sweet Beige not a must-have but it is a very flattering pink beige, and in my opinion, the best Glossimer Chanel has released this year.

Full Sunlight. Sparkle D'Or smeared so please refer the store lighting swatch.

The Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow ($28.50) are both limited editions this season. Gold lovers will appreciate Blazing Gold, a very warm eyeshadow. I passed because I just purchased the D&G Gold Eyeshadow Duo so I couldn't justify it. Beige Lame, on the other hand, came home with me as a consolation prize for resisting Burberry's Midnight Brown. The shimmer of Beige Lame is lovely and my camera can't quite capture it. The shimmers aren't your usual gold fare. Chanel decided to mix it up with pearlescent shimmers, which is much appreciated. I will be more in-depth in my full review, which I will post soon. I generally avoid warm browns but I can't wait to pair this with my Burberry Almond shadow!

Sneak Peek

The Les Tissages de Chanel Blush Duo Tweed Effect ($45) in Brun Rose did not appeal to me initially. I think it could be duped but I love the texture of the Tissages blushes so I purchased it. They are not as shimmery as the Joues Contrastes and though I don't find the quality is as consistent as compared to the JCs, the limited edition Tissages offerings always appeal to me. I've tried on the permanent pink Tissages and it pulls far too red, automatic pass. I do love the one Tissages I purchased previously to Brun Rose, the Fuchsia, which I hope they make permanent one day. It's one of my favorite Chanel blushes. I will review Brun Rose in depth but this is definitely one cheek product you should try on before you buy. On me, it appears to be a peach-tinged, rose-based brown. Complex, I know, but you'll understand once I film the tutorial for it :)

Last but not least - The Le Vernis Nail Colour ($25) in Rouge Carat. The only other shimmery red nail polish I own is Chanel Coromandel, which has been discontinued. Coromandel is a warm red, however, whilst Rouge Carat is far more neutral. Some say it pulls warmer depending on the lighting but from what I have seen, it looks neutral. I'll try it on tomorrow and post a picture on my Twitter and Facebook accounts.


ETC: The Ligne Extreme Liquid Eye Liner ($32) was lovely but I don't need another. The Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder ($52) was an automatic pass because I chose the illuminating powder, which can also be used all over the face. The Ombres Contraste Duo Eyeshadow Duo ($42) was very tempting and anyone without a classic, wearable smoky eye duo would definitely get plenty of mileage from it but I passed because for me, it would be an indulgence.

Must-have: Triomphal, Rouge Carat
Nice-to-have: Lumiere Sculptee, Sweet Beige, Brun Rose
*Beige Lame falls somewhere in the middle for me. I couldn't decide!

Happy shopping!!

Photos: Chanel PR & Rae of TheRAEviewer.com

15 comments:

  1. Thanks Rae. I was waiting for your thoughts on Lumiere Sculptee. I have officially decided to go with Guerlain's Parure De Nuit as my holiday highlighter.

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  2. Thanks for the review Rae! This may seem like a bit of a silly question, but I was hoping to invest in some higher end brushes this holiday season, especially since many major brands give out those cute brush sets. Do you have any brand preferences or recommendations? Thank you!

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  3. BGissm - The Guerlain Parure De Nuit doesn't even show up on my skin! But I hope it works beautifully with your skin :)

    ProductDoctor - Thank you!

    Memosne - Dior's have been consistently the best. Chanel's brush set from last year was the worst so I hope the Euro set they're bringing over this holiday will be on par with Dior's quality!

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  4. All colors are super super lovely ><..........

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  5. This definitely confirms I don't need to get every single lip product from this collection as the colors seem very similar just in different formulations. Also don't think I need to jump for the highlighter. Perhaps the pennies I save from resisting that can go to picking up the nail vernis and beige glossimer, which I wasn't really considering getting until your review. Thanks for such a thorough review!

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  6. Rouge Carat will be my first red Chanel nail polish. :D Great post!

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  7. Could you do a youtube film with these? And maybe a look? ;)

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  8. thanks for the post rae! i was waiting for you to review this collection. i always appreciate your thoughts especially because i have similar coloring to you so if you enjoy it, i'm pretty sure i will too. =)

    i know i'll be picking up rouge carat but didn't think twice about triomphal. i'll check it out! i think i'm going to pass on lumiere sculptee. i stocked up on many of the great highlighters that came out this summer.

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  9. Great review as always! It's always nice hearing a thorough opinion from you before I splurge on a product. Chanel never fails to get me.

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  10. Chanel Pearl Glow highlighter is not available here :( would it be possible you can apply this over brun rose in the coming tutorial? :)

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  11. hi rae!!

    i know this is totally out of the topic but i was wondering if lingerie de peau would work on oily skin?

    also what shade do you i think should get on Guerlain Météorites Compact Powder, im about nc30-35 on mac thanks ;)

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  12. Whutdxupz - LdP is too oily for my taste and I have combination skin. It's a no for oily skin unless you want a very, very luminous [aka shiny] finish! And 03 for the compact.

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  13. Thanks for the response Rae! Even though I ask such derpy questions, you always answer no matter what. =P <3 You're the best!

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