Archives for February 2011

Wearing the new Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Boy

I know there’s probably, like, eight billion degrees of separation between Chanel’s latest lippie — the new Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Boy ($32) — and the technicolor troubadour who crooned Karma Chameleon, but my inner ’80s child doesn’t care. When it comes to cheesy pop music makeup connections, I won’t be denied!

No, Chanel didn’t name this Boy after Boy George, but it sure would have been neat if they had. 🙂

So what’s a Chanel Rouge Coco Shine?

It’s one of 18 new colors in Chanel’s new line of shiny, hydrating lipsticks. Boy, one of the colors coming in the line, will make a special appearance at select Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus Chanel counters next week, between February 10-14 — just in time for the Big V. Then, after Valentine’s Day, the shade will be pulled from shelves until it returns with the rest of the collection this March.

Turns out the lippie takes its name from one of Coco’s lovahs, Arthur Edward “Boy” Capel, the wealthy English polo player who played a big role in Mademoiselle’s colorful life. It was Boy who gave her the funds to open her first shop, and his clothes that influenced her early designs (their boxy, masculine shapes). Legend has it he asked her to marry him, but she refused, wanting to wait until she became financially independent first. Sadly, Boy was later tragically killed in a car accident.

I stopped by Nordie’s today to meet Boy in person, and, ya know, I think it’s fitting that there’s a love story behind it, because the color feels très romantique!

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Boy

The medium-pigmented rosy pink contains the cutest flecks of golden micro-glitter, and it looks breathtakingly shiny and kissable on the lips. It could very well be the perfect date night lipstick — something worthy of a first kiss at the end of a great night.

This is my first rendezvous with a Rouge Coco Shine, and so far I like what I see. Boy feels smooth, like a thinner, slicker version of a Chanel Aqualumiere. It’s also non-sticky with a light rose scent and a very faint rosy vanilla flavor.

Speaking of the Aqualumieres, the Chanel artist I worked with today said they’re being phased out to make room for the new Rouge Coco Shines, so if you have a holy grail color in the formulation, now is the time to grab an extra; soon they’ll be going, going, gone.

The Shines come in packaging a lot like the regular Rouge Coco lipsticks, with the same kind of magnetic cap that snaps shut (don’t you just love that satisfying “click”?). The bullet, however, is a touch thinner and taller, which to me gives the new lipstick a more casual feel.

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