Search Results for: chanel

Chanel Palette Essentielle: Fab, Facile Face Palettes for Dewy, Fresh-Faced Looks

August 16th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

chanel beige intense palette essentielle — Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense ($61)

Way to stay ahead of the curve, Team Chanel! The three new Chanel Palette Essentielles from the Travel Diary Fall 2017 Collection go against the grain of the “more is more” trend taking over the mainstream makeup world right now.

They strip face makeup down to the bare essentials — a cream concealer, cream blush and a cream highlighter. That’s it. As a makeup junkie who now wholeheartedly embraces minimal looks, I like it.

Travel Diary is Chanel’s LE fall collection, and it’s inspired by a California road trip that Chanel Makeup Designer Lucia Pica took with her friends up the California coast.

Based on these face palettes alone, even though I’ve also liked everything else I’ve tried from this collection, I can tell that Lucia totally gets me. I mean, did homegirl peek into my makeup bag?? Because these palettes are exactly the kind of palettes I’d want to bring if I were road-tripping.

chanel beige medium palette essentielle — Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Medium ($61)

There are three of them — a light, medium and darker option — and they’re all available now with the rest of the collection at Chanel counters and online.

Peach-toned concealer obliterates dark circles! NEWS AT 11!

There’s so much I love about these palettes, starting with the peach-toned concealer… It OBLITERATES dark circles. It’s brilliant.

I was a little concerned about the texture at first, because it feels dry — similar to Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which I’ve never had great luck with (looks heavy on my skin and settle into my lines), but this version looks much more natural. I can’t tell where the concealer stops and my skin begins.

chanel palette essentielle beige intense — I’m wearing Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense under my eyes and on my cheeks, the Chanel Road Movie quad also on my eyes, and Chanel Rouge Coco in Daylight on my lips.

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I’m Road-Trippin’ Over the Chanel Road Movie Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Palette

August 15th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

Holy highway, Thelma & Louise! I just realized that I don’t have a favorite road movie!

How’s that even possible? I’m such a movie fiend.

Oh, well. Thank you, Chanel Road Movie eyeshadow palette, for that realization.

Hmm… What about Speed starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves? It’s not really a road movie, but I love that cheesy classic (Thelma & Louise is another great one, of course).

Colors of the California coast

Road Movie ($61) is one of two limited edition quads in the Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection that were inspired by colors of the California coast, and I can definitely see the colors of the state along the coast between LA and Big Sur.

There are deep, oceanic navy blues and teals in this eye quad, but let’s get real — the water is usually darker, murkier and scarier than we ever see it in makeup, LOL!

The quad also has a satiny golden brown, which is a powder shadow version of Memory, the cream shadow in this collection, and a matte tan that looks like golden Cali sand.

chanel road movie eyeshadow palette — That’s Road Movie on my lids and lash lines, Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense (from the Travel Diary Fall Collection) on my cheeks, and Chanel Rouge Coco in Experimental on my lips (also from Travel Diary).

Packed with pigment

Powerful pigment isn’t the first thing I think when it comes to Chanel quads. The brand usually pulls back on the pigment — but not too much — which makes it easier for mere mortals like me to blend them and sheer out the edges. That’s one of the reasons I love Chanel shadows so much for everyday looks. They’re juuust pigmented enough.

This quad? Road Movie has Make Up For Ever-caliber color. The shadows are intensely pigmented, especially the blue and teal, but they’re still surprisingly easy to work with.

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A Little Time With Chanel and My Camera

August 14th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

The Chanel Rouge Cocos are the most photogenic lipsticks, I swear! 🙂

I wear these lippies a lot because they’re smooth, lightweight and moisturizing, and they come in a whole bunch of colors. Dimitri and Edith are two of my current faves, but I’ve also been wearing pinkish brown Mademoiselle lately because it’s one of those easygoing “my lips but better” colors.

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Chanel Ombre Premier Cream Eyeshadow in Memory

August 9th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

chanel memory review — New from the Chanel Travel Diary Fall 2017 collection, the Ombre Premier Cream Eyeshadow in Memory ($36)

I don’t think I’ll ever leave California. I’ve lived here most of my life, and I can’t imagine living anyplace else, but if I ever do move, I’ll never forget the golden brown hills here in NorCal.

You can really it in parts of the state with a lot of open space, like Blackie’s Pasture in Tiburon, where the hills and the pasture are covered by a carpet of golden brown from late spring till fall.

chanel memory swatch — More golden brown deliciousness

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Chanel Horizon Line Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour, Available Now in the New Travel Diary Fall Collection

August 8th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

chanel horizon line swatch — $28 Chanel Horizon Line Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour, available now in the new Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection

I was born in the Philippines, but I’ve been a Cali girl since I was a wee lass of year one year old. In that time, I’ve traveled all across this state from top to bottom, from the mountains to the valleys and up and down the coast (This is starting to sound a little like a folk song, isn’t it?).

Anyway, when you spend a lot of time in a place, certain colors start to remind you of it, which is what Chanel Horizon Line Le Vernis does for me. My, gosh! It’s the exact same grayish green you see all over the beaches from the central coast/Big Sur up to the Oregon border.

I see it in the green algae- and seaweed-covered rocks, in the water, in the plants (especially the succulents that cover, like, every other sand dune). It’s everywhere! And it’s spot on.

Horizon Line is from the Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection, which is out right meow, and my friends at Chanel HQ tell me that it was inspired by a road trip that Chanel Creative Director Lucia Pica took from Los Angeles to Big Sur. Like a mermaid from the ocean, Horizon Line emerged from that trip.

And I’m glad it did, because I’ve got a thing for greenish grays, man! (Hello, Essie Beauty Nap and Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist.)

chanel horizon comparison — Chanel Horizon Line, Essie Beauty Nap and Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist

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Countdown to National Lipstick Day on July 29th! Chanel Rouge Coco Ultra Hydrating Lip Colour in Edith

July 28th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

chanel edith rouge coco — That’s my girl, Edith! (Chanel Rouge Coco in Edith, $37)

One more sleep ’til National Lipstick Day! (As if we needed a formal holiday to celebrate lipstick.)

Today I wore warm pink Rouge Coco Ultra Hydrating Lip Colour in Edith ($37), one of my faves in the moisturizing Ultra Hydrating Lip Colour line.

I guess I didn’t have enough water yesterday (bad Karen!), because when I woke up this morning, my lips were extra dry, and when my lips feel particularly parched, Rouge Coco it is! Ah, so moisturizing…

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Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Sticks: Your Makeup Bag Needs One Right Meow!

July 25th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

Every day after Connor and I have lunch, we go outside to play on the grassy knoll in the front yard common area here in our little condo complex, and almost every day we go out there, I’ve got some degree of craziness on my face — mismatched eyeshadow, false lashes with the wingspan of a bird of prey, bright green Hulk gloss, etc. — so I usually look a little nuts and get some sidelong glances.

Do I really care? Nope!

It is nice, though, when I’m not testing some new makeup and actually, ya know, look kinda normal and someone gives me a compliment, which happened last week while I was wearing the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour stick No. 24.

Actually, come to think about it, whenever I wear one of these cream blushes, somebody asks about it. I’d probably do the same if I saw a gal wearing one, because they’re bomb!

chanel les beiges healthy glow sheer colour stick swatches — I wish I could wear all of these on my cheeks at the same time and not look completely cray-cray. From the top, that’s No. 21, No. 22, No. 23 and No. 24. There’s also a tan shade called No. 20 that I haven’t tried.

They’re twist-up cream blush sticks sort of like the NARS Multiples, and there are five of them, all available on Chanel counters now in the new Les Beiges collection. Also, yay! — I’ve been told that they’re permanent.

They feel similar to the Multiples but aren’t quite as dry. They’re wetter and creamier, so they’re also 1) easier to blend and 2) don’t push around whatever you have on your cheeks, like foundation, tinted moisturizer, concealer, etc.

chanel les beiges healthy glow sheer colour stick no 22 — No. 22

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Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette

July 11th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

You can pretty much get the gist of this Chanel palette’s raison d’être from its name, Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette.

To put it another way, is this the type of glow that refers to the women of GLOW, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling? Meaning, would you see a bunch of lady wrestlers in the ’80s wearing this in the ring for a performance? Nope! Absolutely not. These beige, brown and black shadows create a much more natural look, with a lot less wrestling.

I totally get that this is so not exciting for some makeup lovers, but I love this kind of makeup. And I know I’m not the only one! I went to high tea at the Fairmont in SF last weekend with some girlfriends, and, not just one of them, but two of them pulled me aside separately and said, in so many words, “I need to know what’s on your eyes, and I need for you to teach me how to do that ASAP.”

Les Beiges Healthy Glow is a beautiful palette for natural, elegant makeup that’s “there-but-not-too-there.” For me, it’s the definition of clean beauty, which is a look you see a lot in bridal magazines here in the U.S., where there’s soft definition on the lids and lash lines, and you can tell there’s makeup in the mix, but it still looks natural and not O.T.T. Les Beiges is great for that.

I do have to say, though, that I’m surprised by the amount of fallout I’m seeing with this palette. First time I used it, I was so excited that I forgot to tap off my brush, and I ended up with more shadow than I expected on my cheekbones.

If you’re a Chanel enthusiast (like I am), it’s bearable, as long as you tap off your brush, but the palette is $65… Just something to think about.

Other than the fallout, I think the shadows work great. They mesh and blend together well, and they’re perfect shades for natural looks. They also last all day long for me.

chanel les beiges healthy glow natural eyeshadow palette k2 — Natural glow!

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