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Chanel

A Highlight in the New Printemps Précieux de Chanel Spring 2013 Collection: The Limited Edition Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder

December 28th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel
Wearing Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Highlighting Powder ($68), from the new Printemps Précieux de Chanel Spring 2013 Collection

A few things I firmly believe that all women should have:

  1. Access to funny movies after a long, hard day (some of my favorites: Clueless, Blue Crush and The Wedding Singer)
  2. A friend or family member who will always pick up the phone, even in the middle of the night, when you just need someone to talk to
  3. At least one piece of makeup so breathtakingly beautiful that it comforts you every time you see it, and for this, might I suggest the new Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder?

I know there are far, far less expensive comforting treats out there than a $68 highlighter, but let me tell ya, when I’m feeling extra agitated/orange alert/ready to shank strangers at the drop of a hat, there’s just something to be said for Chanel.

With Chanel’s seasonal collections, they typically release one really expensive signature piece, and it’s the piece that many collectors and die-hards look forward to the most.

Sometimes, I think these extra extravagances are way too overpriced, or just kind of “meh,” but in the case of this warm peachy beige powder, Coco and crew did us a solid.

Check out the design on that pan… I mean, really!? It’s like a work of art! See the camilla flowers (Mademoiselle’s favorite!) and the tiny little makeup tubes??

I love those little details…

Once you get over the heartbreak of disrupting the design for the first time, you’ll feel better about using this rare gem, and before you know it, you won’t even want to leave the house without the soft luminosity its satiny finish gives to your skin. 🙂

chanel poudre signee de chanel
Chanel Poudre Signée de Chanel Highlighting Powder ($68)

Chanel Poudre Signee de Chanel swatch final
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There are 16 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Face, Makeup, Product Reviews

Wearing the New Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Frivole Is More Satisfying Than a Box of Animal Crackers

December 28th, 2012 by Karen 22 Comments

chanel frivole
Wearing the new Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Frivole ($43) from the Printemps Précieux de Chanel Spring 2013 Collection

Oh, the sweet, sweet joy of the animal cookie/cracker…

I know it’s so 37-going-on-13, but I derive great pleasure from biting off their heads. 🙂

It’s just so satisfying!

Sometimes I’ll start by nibbling off their toes, tails or tums, but it never feels quite as right as a swift beheading.

Um…hold on a second while I add that to my list of “Sentences that inadvertently make me sound like a serial killer.”

You know what else is really satisfying? Chanel’s new Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Frivole ($43) from their spring collection.

My goodness, lovie! Wearing it has been almost as satisfying as the feeling I felt when I finished decapitating an entire tin of shortbread scottie dog cookies!

It’s the only blush in the new 22-piece Printemps Précieux de Chanel Spring 2013 Collection, and granted, it is expensive, but if you’re 1) already tanned, 2) tan easily, or 3) love bronzer so much that if you were down to your last pan, b*tches would have to pry it out of your cold, dead hands before you’d ever give it up, you’ll love how this looks on your cheeks.

chanel joues contraste frivole
Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Frivole ($43)

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There are 22 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Face, Makeup, Product Reviews

All Aboard the Chanel No. 5 Trolley! 5 Fun Facts About Chanel No. 5, and a Giant 10.7-Ounce Bar of No. 5 Bath Soap

December 17th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

All aboard the Chanel No. 5 Trolley, bound for San Francisco’s Union Square!

Toot, toot! Now boarding the Chanel No. 5 Trolley. 🙂

Chanel created the Trolley as an art installation of sorts, filled it with stories and lore about the iconic No. 5 fragrance, parked it in front of Macy’s in San Francisco’s Union Square last weekend and opened it to the public for free…

Come on! Let’s check it out. I booked a ticket and saved you a seat.

Our destination today? The world of Chanel No. 5…

What’s that, you ask? Can you take a picture with the male models before we board? Of course! By all means.

[SNAP!]

Um…just so you know, you’re grinning like a Cheshire cat in that picture. 🙂

Oh, hai!

Unfortunately, Brad Pitt couldn’t make it today, so we’ll be on our own. It would have been neat to bend his ear about No. 5, but apparently he’s on location filming a Chanel commercial with Tabs…

The trolley from the front
Picture Mr. Pitt behind the wheel…

Feel free to move about the trolley, and check out the different exhibits and Chanel-esque details…
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There are 31 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Fragrance, Product Reviews, Skin Care

I Had a Hunch I’d Take a Shine to the New Cool-Toned Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Intuition

November 13th, 2012 by Karen 12 Comments

chanel intuition quad
Wearing the new Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Intuition

You know, it’s funny. A lot of people don’t know this, but M. Night made a sequel to The Sixth Sense.

Yes, it was called The Seventh Sense, and it actually went straight to video, but don’t let that fool you — it’s surprisingly good.

It stars Bruce Willis, back again as the helper/mentor character, and that same little boy, except now the boy’s an aspiring 20-something makeup artist.

In one revealing scene at a dark Nordstrom counter in a locked shopping center after regular store hours, the young man, his face as white as a sheet, turns to Bruce Willis and says, “I see glittery Chanel quads…”

Yeah…it doesn’t really work as well the second time around, but maybe that’s why the movie went straight to video. 🙂

Still, between you and me, I prefer the young man’s preternatural power in the sequel. Forget the ability to see dead people. I’d rather see Chanel.

It could be a little freaky, though, especially when I slip into one of my spells, because that’s when I have the premonitions, like the one I had the first time I saw the new $58 Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Intuition.

Sometimes I even speak in tongues…

chanel intuition
The $58 Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Intuition, one of two new quads recently added to the permanent collection and released with the Les Expressions de Chanel collection

“Blurzzzzing murrrphhh gabbabababa boo…” which, roughly translated, means “The sheer and glittery cool-toned pink, gold, taupe and brown powder eyeshadows in this quad awaken eyes like an upbeat Hall & Oates song.”

“Fluurgig arrrghh shloooperbuer…” which is something else I might say, means “Your lids will glow like an apparition. Never mind the minor fallout from the tiny flecks of silver glitter.”

chanel intuition swatches

chanel intuition quad
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There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews

This Peachy Cream Eyeshadow Creates Real Beauty From Something Abstract: Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Eyeshadow in Abstraction

November 12th, 2012 by Karen 47 Comments

chanel abstraction
Wearing the new Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Abstraction on my eyes

Yesterday I did an epically fast eye makeup look with the new Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Longwear Eyeshadow in Abstraction ($36) because I needed to rush outta the house for this:

These are fancy-schmancy, kinda hipster versions of char siu bao from a food truck called Chairman Bao at Off the Grid in Larkspur yesterday.

Bao, also known as manapua in Hawaiian pidgin English, are soft, hella good steamed dough buns (or sometimes wraps) filled with pork, beef, tofu and/or veggies.

They’re among the most delicious foods known to humankind…

Almost as delicious as Chanel’s Abstraction, the cream eyeshadow I wore all weekend long. 🙂 Mmm… Chanel. Delicious and, unlike bao, fat free.

chanel abstraction
Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Abstraction, $36

Part of the new Les Expressions de Chanel collection, Abstraction is a peachy coral cream eyeshadow with purple flair and flecks of golden glitter. It’s very unique, and unlike anything else in my cream shadow stash.

I think it’s fab for soft washes of color and/or a sheer, shimmery glow. If you like wearing eyeshadow but prefer quiet, laid back looks, or if you have mature skin (because Abstraction kindly steers clear of my fine lines), Abstraction’s worthy of OM-NOM-NOM!

Oh, but no matter how loudly your hubby grumbles about how hungry he is, and how you’re gonna miss the food trucks if you don’t hurry up and get ready…don’t skip the primer with this bad boy.

chanel abstraction swatch
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There are 47 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews

Girl Meets Curl: The New Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Mascara Incites Eyelash Excitement in This Mascara Enthusiast

November 12th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

chanel le volume de chanel mascara noir
The new Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in Noir

Who says makeup can’t influence the weather?

Chanel’s latest mascara does exactly that. When I wave it over my head outdoors, the clouds part, beams of sunlight rain down, and distant trumpets start playing.

LOL! Seriously, I’m not kidding. 🙂

To put it another way, I’m in the process of stuffing that new Sterilite 4-Drawer tote I told you about. I’m filling it with makeup and beauty products I intend to use often — my standbys — so that I have a nice, organized set of essentials in one place.

Well, I just replaced six other tubes of mascara in the tote with this new one from Chanel.

Now that’s love love.

chanel le volume de chanel mascara noirIt’s the new $30 Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara, and it’s available in a single shade called Noir.

Next time I have to get up and get out the door before dawn to catch an early flight, this will be in my makeup bag. No doubt about it.

Jet black and built for bold, yet elegant, lash looks from a single coat, Le Volume de Chanel thickens, lengthens and separates.

So it’s one of those makeup triple threats…

Carbon black pigments hug lashes in black cat color, while the formula, rich in camelia oil, nourishes and moisturizes those little lash hairs.

The buxom brush bristles with short, nubby stubs. It’s a new design for Chanel, one they call their “snowflake wand,” and it’s supposed to build bigger lashes by thoroughly, quickly coating each lash from root to tip.

I wore the dickens out of it last weekend, and in a word, “BAM!” One layer delivers the lush lashes I love, without clumping, smudging or flaking, and the formula holds a curl sky high all day long.

It reminds me of YSL Faux Cils, except with a little better length. And where Faux Cils tends to concentrate more volume at the roots, Le Volume distributes it more evenly along the lash.

Chanel Le Volume de Chanel mascara in Noir
Those are my bare lashes in the top pic, and that’s me wearing one coat of Chanel Le Volume in the bottom

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There are 39 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Eyes, Makeup, Product Reviews

Today I’m Grateful for Friday, Migraine Relief and Les Expressions de Chanel (Among Other Things)

November 9th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

chanel abstraction
The new Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Abstraction, $36

Because it never hurts to ask the question, “What am I grateful for?” even if the first things that come to mind are simple or silly, today I thought I’d share with you my Friday gratitude list.

First up…

1. Chanel

chanel abstraction

Always Chanel. 🙂 Everything seems a little better when I see those interlocking C’s. Colors appear brighter, the air seems cleaner, and Tabs even seems better behaved!

Today I’ve been keeping myself busy with a few pieces from the new Les Expressions de Chanel. Among the eight pieces in the release, there’s a dramatic new mascara called Le Volume De Chanel, two new quads, three liquid liners, and a couple of new cream shadow shades.

All are available now on Chanel counters and coming soon to chanel.com.

chanel le volume de chanel mascara noir
Le Volume De Chanel Mascara in Noir, $30

chanel intuition
Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Intuition, $58

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There are 21 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Just For Fun, Makeup

Unsung Heroes: Chanel Poudres Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder

October 12th, 2012 by Karen 23 Comments

chanel natural finish loose powder
Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder in 040 Dore ($52)

My buddy Kat was giving me a ride to the airport last week when we got to talking about what I like to call, “The Chanel Effect.”

Whenever I visit a Chanel counter only intending to look, or only planning to get one thing, like a lipstick, or snagging a sample of eye cream, but then one of the makeup artists says, “Here, try this on,” hands me a mirror, and I see in my reflection what can only be described as a makeup miracle, that is The Chanel Effect.

LOL! I made myself laugh… 🙂

I experienced it a few weeks ago with Chanel’s Poudre Universelle Libre in 040 Dore, otherwise known as Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder.

It was a Saturday afternoon. Bloated and cranky, I’d been buffeted by a monster riptide of hormones, and through a veil of tears, I told El Hub that one of two things was about to happen. Either I was going to go to a Chanel counter right then and there, or I was going to stab him with a fork.

Wisely, he suggested the former.

At the counter, one of the makeup artists talked me into trying Chanel’s $52 Natural Finish Loose Powder, a sheer, light-coverage matte powder.

After seeing myself with it on, I shot the artist a look like, good gawd, woman! I had to do a double take. The girl staring back at me in the mirror looked like she was 26!

No wonder the stuff gets such consistently high marks, despite the price and the fact that it’s only available in three colors.

chanel natural finish loose powder

chanel natural finish loose powder
Wearing Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder in 040 Dore with MAC Face and Body Foundation in C5

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There are 23 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Chanel, Face, Makeup, Unsung Heroes

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