Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder

Chanel's limited edition Poudre Signee De Chanel – Illuminating powder is one of the pretties released with the brand's Printemps Precieux 2013 Collection. It's described as a soft pink highlighting powder that's supposed to capture and reflect light with a delicate luminosity.

Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder

Quite a few of the items from the spring collection caught my eye, but the illuminating powder is without a doubt, the product I was lusting after the most, thanks to the beautifully and intricately embossed surface.

The powder is packaged in the same square compact as the brand's Joues Contraste blushes, but is slightly larger and contains double the amount of product (8g). The compact also comes with a velvet pouch/sleeve with a flap and compartment/second pouch that holds the included paddle sponge applicator. I generally don't use the applicators that are included with products, but I have to say, the sponge does actually apply product nicely. I do still prefer to use a brush, though, as I find it creates more of a subtle finish – the sponge applicator tends to pack more product on. 

The velvet pouch & included sponge applicator

Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder

Chanel describe the powder as soft pink highlighter, but I'd say it's more of a golden champagne shade with tiny, delicate shimmers, which leave skin with a beautiful, subtle gleam. It definitely creates more of a delicate, golden, glowy finish as opposed to a shimmery, frosty one. The powder itself is incredibly soft and finely milled. 

Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder

The close up photo below show's the powder swatched and blended out on my NC15ish arm. The photograph was taken outside in full sun, in more natural lighting, the delicate shimmer is much less apparent.

Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder swatched & blended

I don't have many highlighters in my collection, but I thought I'd do a little comparison to the one's I do have, Dior's Copper and Rose Diamond Shimmer Powders, and NARS Copacabana Multiple and Albatross highlighting powder. All are swatched fairly heavily in the photo below and the photo was taken in full sun.

Dior Copper & Rose Diamond, NARS Copacabana, Chanel Illuminating Powder & NARS Albatross

Dior's Amber Diamond is more of a golden bronze shade in comparison, and Rose Diamond more pink. Both of these shades work better as highlighting, subtle blush shades on my NC15ish skin tone, actually. The closest colour wise are NARS Copacabana and Albatross. Copacabana is more beige and has a more frosty finish, though, and Albatross is more of a yellowy golden highlighter with a more shimmery finish. I personally find the Chanel to be the most natural looking out of the closest colour matches, and nicest texture wise, too. Albatross feels quite powdery and chalky in comparison. 

Overall, Chanel's Illuminating powder is a beautiful highlighter. The detailed embossing is a real thing of beauty and the delicate, subtle glow the powder creates on skin is lovely. Out of the highlighters I own, Chanel's is definitely the most natural looking, as the shimmer is so finely milled. It manages to add a pretty and delicate glow without emphasizing pores and it really does apply beautifully. If you're on the hunt for a highlighting powder, which creates a natural, believable glow, I think Chanel's Illuminating powder is definitely worth checking out. 

Available from Boots (£46.00)

NOTD: Chanel 539 June

I'm jumping on the 'looking forward to spring' bandwagon with Chanel's June. Much as I love dark, vampy, wintery nail colours, I've kind of had enough of wearing them now and am really looking forward to fishing some of the brighter colours out of the stash. I'm also really looking forward to warmer weather and some sunshine! I've seen a few blog posts on spring/summery shades over the past week, so I thought dig out June and brighten up my own nails.

Chanel Nail colour: June

The creamy, pastel apricot shade was released last year as part of Chanel's Spring collection. I thought it was limited edition, but after a little search around, it seems it's still available on quite a few sites. 

Chanel June. 3 coats (No top coat)

I personally find application to be a meh with June. The formula applies quite sheer, and even after three coats I didn't manage to get an opaque or completely even coverage (there were a few minor streaks). Still, it is a pretty shade!

Chanel June, Miami Peach & Cashmere

The only similar shades I have in my collection are Chanel's Miami Peach and Cashmere. Miami peach is more of a juicy guava shade with tiny flecks of gold glitter, and Cashmere is more of soft, golden peach.

Chanel Joues Contraste Blush: 68 Rose Ecrin

I've developed a bit of a thing for Chanel's Joues Contraste blushes recently, and the newest addition to the collection is Rose Ecrin, which was released as part of Chanel's 2011 Fall collection. 

Chanel Joues Contraste Blush: 68 Rose Ecrin

I'd describe the shade as a medium, neutral rose with very delicate/fine shimmer, which is barely visible on cheeks. On my NC15ish skin tone, it adds a pretty hint of sheer colour that looks incredibly natural. The subtle shimmer gives the shade a delicate sheen, which doesn't accentuate pores and creates a beautiful glowy effect. 

Chanel Rose ecrin Blush

Like the other shades I've purchased from the Joues Contraste range recently, Rose Ecrin is nicely pigmented, but applies quite sheerly. I personally quite like the colour pay off with the baked versions, as I prefer a barely there, natural touch of colour on my cheeks. Texture wise, Rose Ecrin is fairly soft and I'm able to pick up an adequate amount of product with a light sweep of my brush. The formula blends well and seems to last well on my combination skin throughout the day, too. 

Most days, I've been pairing it with a few of the shades from Laura Mercier's signature colour collection (Topaz & Kir Royal) and Chanel's Rouge Coco Lipstick in Jersey Rose, or Armani's Sheer lipstick 04 for a fairly natural and easy look.

Chanel Rose Ecrin Applied

Overall, I'm really pleased with Rose Ecrin and have been reaching for it almost daily since picking it up a few weeks ago. The pretty colour goes with a variety of different looks and shades, and the sheer pigmentation and easy to blend texture are both lovely.

Chanel Eye Shadow Quad: 37 Variation

After recently rediscovering and really liking Chanel Joues Contraste blushes, I decided to give the brands quads another go. I'd actually been eyeing a couple of items from the Spring collection (Frivole and Raffinement), but passed on both of them and instead decided to go with a couple of other shades I'd had my eye on for a while, Rose Ecrin and Variation. 

Chanel Les 4 ombres: 37 Variation

Variation was released last year as part of the Les Expressions de Chanel collection and contains four pretty, shimmery shades. A light pink highlighter, a soft taupe, a mauve-y rose, and a dark, rich aubergine. 

Chanel Quad: Variation

Variation is the first palette I've tried from Chanel for quite a few years. I don't even remember the name of the quad I originally tried, but I do remember the shades in the palette having very little colour payoff, being quite hard in texture and generally difficult to work with. While Variation contains some very pretty colours, I have to say, I am also a little bit disappointed with the texture and colour payoff with this one, too. 

Chanel Eye Shadow Quad: Variation

The light pink highlighter shade and dark aubergine both apply quite well, but I find the taupe and mauve-y shades quite difficult to work with. Both contain a lot of glitter and neither are particularly pigmented. I've experimented quite a bit with different application methods, but I always end up with a very sheer and very glittery wash of colour. I've also found all of the shades to be slightly powdery texture wise and fall out has been a bit of an issue. Wear time hasn't been very good either actually. Applied on top of my regular shadow base, which normally does a pretty good job at keeping my eye shadow in place (Becca's Vicuna Eye Tint), I found I had some pretty bad creasing and fading going on at the end of the day. 

Chanel Variation Swatches

Used together, the colours look a bit wishy-washy and meh, so I've mainly been using them separately alongside other shadows from different brands. The aubergine colour makes a nice liner shade and works well applied and blended as a crease colour, and the pink-y highlighter looks really pretty paired with quite a few other shadows I have in my collection, the other two shades are quite disappointing though. Particularly the mauve/rose shade.

Variation contains some lovely colours, it's just a shame a couple of them don't apply particularly well and colour pay off is quite poor. I love Chanel's lip products and really am liking loving  their Joues Contraste blushes at the moment too, I don't think I'll be making any more eye shadow purchases in the near future though. The brand's quads aren't exactly cheap at £37.00 and I think there are much better options available from other brands. I'm loving Le Metier De Beaute and Rouge Bunny Rouge shadows at the moment, which are far better in terms of quality, application and colour payoff.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick: Antigone

Chanel’s Antigone is the most recent addition to my ever growing Rouge Coco Shine collection. Since trying the formula a couple of years ago and falling in love with the lovely balm-like texture and glossy finish, I’ve purchased quite a few of the other shades on offer. 

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick: 60 Antigone

Antigone is a raspberry red/berry shade, shot through with very delicate gold shimmer. It’s one of the more pigmented shades from the colour range, but still imparts a pretty, sheer and wearable colour to my lips. 

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine: Antigone

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine: Antigone

The balm-like formula glides on effortlessly and has a soft, cushion-y type feel which feels really comfortable and light weight. The finish is glossy, but not overly so and actually looks fairly subtle and natural. The shiny finish and balmy texture mean that the colour doesn’t really stick around on lips for long, but the feel and hydrating formula make up for that (for me anyway). The glossiness wears off fairly quickly, but Antigone does leave a beautiful stain behind as it wears. 

Chanel Antigone

Above, Antigone swatched on my fairly pigmented lips and below, swatched on my NC20ish arm. The tiny, delicate shimmer is barely visible on lips.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine: Antigone

Since purchasing, I’ve found myself reaching for Antigone on a regular basis. In fact, it’s become a firm favourite over the past few months. I’ve had a hard time getting some of the shades from the Rouge Coco Shine range to work on my pigmented lips, but because Antigone adds slightly more colour than some of the others I’ve tried, it works well for me. I love the pretty berry colour, and I love how the sheer, glossy finish leaves my lips looking slightly plumper and hydrated. 

Chanel Joues Contraste Blush: Orchid Rose

Chanel’s Orchid Rose is the first Chanel blush I’ve purchased in quite a while. In fact, I’ve only ever owned one other blush from the brand, which I bought many years ago. I don’t remember which shade it was or even what type, but I do remember being completely unimpressed with both the colour and the formula. For that reason I’ve not paid any attention to Chanel’s blush or eye palettes for a long time, but recently, I suddenly had the urge to purchase one their Joues Contraste powder blushes.

After looking through the available shades and reading reviews, I decided to go with Orchid Rose. I had trouble finding swatches of the Euro version of the shade online, and had read that the US and Euro versions were remarkably different in colour, but going by the reviews I’d read, the shade sounded like something I’d like. 

Chanel Joues Contraste Blush: Orchid Rose

Chanel Blush: Orchid Rose

The US version looks like a complex mix of rose, mauve and peach, the Euro version is much peachier and contains quite a lot of multi coloured micro shimmer. The shimmer is visible on cheeks, but actually looks quite subtle, doesn’t accentuate pores and creates an almost sheen like, glowy effect. 

Chanel Orchid Rose

Chanel Orchid Rose Joues Contraste Blush. Left: Without Flash & Right With

As I mentioned, the last Chanel blush I tried was quite a big disappointment, so I was unsure of what to expect in terms of formula, texture and colour pay off. When searching for swatches and reading reviews, I’d seen a lot of bloggers comparing the US and Euro formulations and describing the non US, baked formulas as being quite hard to apply and less pigmented. I’m pleased to say that Orchid Rose is actually quite soft texture wise, and I’m able to easily pick up an adequate amount of product with a light swipe of my brush. The shade imparts a beautiful, peachy hue on my cheeks and looks incredibly natural on my NC15 ish skin tone. I’ve also found lasting power to be pretty good. Orchid Rose holds up well on my combination skin throughout the day with only a minimal amount of fading. 

I’m really pleased I decided to give Chanel blushes another go. I’m impressed with the formula, the pretty colour, and the beautiful glowy finish Orchid Rose gives me. The packaging and tiny dome of powder are a real thing of beauty, and I love the delicate rose scent. I have my eye on a couple of other shades which I spotted when searching for swatches, and after trying Orchid Rose, I will definitely be picking them up. 

Chanel Orchid Rose

 

Orchid Rose, Becca Enigma, Bobbi Brown Graphite Gel Liner & Ballet Pink Lip Pencil & Chanel Jersey Rose

Some of the products I've been wearing with Orchid Rose, Becca's Enigma palette, Bobbi Brown Graphite Shimmer Ink Gel Liner and Ballet Pink Lip Liner, and Chanel's Jersey Rose lipstick.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipstick: 17 Orchidee

Recently, when on the hunt for a bright, but still daytime appropriate, pinky/red lipstick, I stumbled across Chanel’s Orchidee. I was after something a little bit more vibrant than the usual, natural ‘my lips but better’ shades I’ve been wearing a lot lately, and Orchidee seemed to fit the bill. 

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Colour: 17 Orchidee

I’d describe the shade as a pretty, red-rose with very delicate shimmer. It’s a ‘safe’ red that’s not too intense. Perfect for those, who like me, normally aren’t brave enough to sport red lip colours. It ‘pops’ without being over the top, and really brightens up my face. I do generally tend to stick to fairly natural lip colours, and make-up in general, really, but I feel completely comfortable wearing Orchidee, even during the day!

Chanel Rouge Coco: 17 Orchidee

 
You can just make out the really delicate shimmer in these photos. It's very subtle and barely visible on lips.

I’m a big fan of the Rouge Coco formula. I find the shades I own to be comfortable, hydrating and fairly long-lasting, too. They feel incredibly light-weight on lips and fade evenly. Orchidee has a slightly creamier texture than some of the other Rouge Coco shades I own, and provides an almost full coverage finish. As it fades, it leaves behind a pretty and delicate stain.

Chanel Rouge Coco: Orchidee

Orchidee (left) swatched next to Chanel's Monte Carlo (Right)

Overall, I’m really impressed with the pretty, pink-y red colour. It’s a nice change to the very natural and normally sheer lip colours that I usually wear, and I love the comfortable and fairly long-lasting formula. If you’re looking for a slightly brighter, but still wearable lip colour, I’d definitely recommend checking out Orchidee.

Do you have any favourite shades from the Rouge Coco range?

Chanel Nail Colour: 533 April

Almost every time Chanel release a new collection of nail colours, I spend a good couple of weeks lusting over pretty swatches of the shades and reading reviews, before usually deciding that I don’t actually need any of them. This is normally fine, but more recently, I’ve found myself regretting my decision not to buy, and really kick myself when I end up paying more than I should for hard to find and limited edition shades, which are no longer available. As soon as I laid eyes on the Chanel Spring collection though, I immediately decided that two of the three shades would be mine.

Chanel Nail Colours: April & June

April is a richly pigmented, creamy berry/wine shade, which applies beautifully. It goes on smoothly and evenly, with absolutely no streaking, and dries to a gorgeously glossy finish.

Chanel April (2 coats)

I was almost sure that I had nothing like April in my collection before I ordered, but realised after swatching it that Leighton Denny’s Rampant Rose is really quite similar. Rampant Rose has a touch more red in it than April, and is a tad darker, but the two shades are very much alike.

Chanel April & Leighton Denny rampant Rose

Left: Chanel April & Right: Leighton Denny Rampant Rose

I had planned to swatch June in the same post as April, but unfortunately, the pretty apricot shade really doesn’t work with my pasty, winter skin tone, so I’ll be stashing this one away until the weather warms up.

Chanel April & June

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with both of my purchases. June was the shade which appealed to me the most out of the two, but April is definitely the winner for me.

Did you pick up any of the shades from the Chanel Spring collection?