Hold your horses! The Collection Plumes Précieuses de Chanel won’t be at counters till 1 November at latest (end Oct at earliest) so this post serves as a preview and teaser so you can save your pennies if you have to, for Chanel’s offering for the Christmas and festive season 😀 And I know many of you have already turned your hawk eye onto the highlighting powder, haven’t you?
I have a few key items from the collection that I thought I’d share with you along with some swatches (oh yes, I swatched that powder! I did!) and I’ll also quickly share my thoughts on them.
Chanel this year, has drawn their inspiration for their Christmas offering from feathers and this is reflected in the delicate and intricate print on the Camélia de Plumes powder and in the names of the products on offer. I found it interesting that Chanel went with an untraditional icy silver theme for their Christmas collection. We are used to seeing gold and red on offer but silver? Rarely and that was something interesting. It’ll be a picture heavy post, so sit back and enjoy 🙂
Chanel Camélia de Plumes Illuminating Powder – RM215
The star product of the collection would be this Camélia de Plumes Illuminating Powder that comes with an intricate design of feathers. To be honest, the first time I saw the images, I thought it was palm leaves. I think it could pass for either to be honest.
Instead of a gold highlighter as is wont to appear at the festive season, the Camélia de Plumes powder is an icy platinum silver. It isn’t overspray. That’s the colour you will get all the way though. I know, because I swatched the surface and the colours didn’t change.
However, what I found very interesting was that the powder, when swatched, has a blend of silver and gold shimmer that turns it into a light gold so it is quite a neutral shade for most skintones. You don’t see the gold in the product, but once you swatch it, it’s there. You’ll see it in the swatches below.
You have to admit that the intricacy of design is breathtaking and I expect this is one for the collectors so I can expect it to fly off the shelves as these often do. If you plan on using it however, be sure to use a light hand and buff it out because it isn’t just illuminating, it highlights and there is a subtle difference there.
And for this, a brush is included in the velvet pouch that houses the Camélia de Plumes powder. But you know, this is just another reason to put up a picture of the product right? LOL! 😀
Chanel Les 5 Ombres de Chanel Oiseaux de Nuit Eyeshadow Palette – RM206
Before Chanel reformulated their baked eyeshadow quads, the only time I’d even look at their eyeshadows was when they came out with their Les 5 Ombres palettes. The quality was always significantly better, and if you aren’t all that into shimmer as you will find in the Les 4 Ombres then the satin and matte textures in these palettes will serve you better.
The Les 5 Ombres de Chanel Oiseaux de Nuit eyeshadow palette is a bit of a strange one, I feel. We get in there, 4 fairly cool toned colours, which is then suddenly joined by a warm toned gold. The use of cool tones in the eye palette also surprised me because again, for the festive season we tend to see a lot of golds and bronzes. This was a pleasant surprise!
I’ll put the swatches here so we have a better idea of how they look on skin.
Left-Right: Camelia de Plumes, Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit, Rouge Allure Velvet La Flamboyante, Stylo Yeux Waterproof Or Blanc eyeliner
- Camélia de Plumes – You may notice the shimmer which is very fine, but very intense. Definitely one to use with a very light hand and to buff out unless you want the bling. You may also notice how it has a light golden hint of colour which looks quite different and unexpected when compared to the icy platinum powder in the pan.
- Oiseaux de Nuit Eyeshadow palette – The 5 shades are a Shimmer White, Shimmer light gray with lavender tones, Matte deep cool toned purple, Matte black, Satin warm toned gold. I swatched with fingers and I found that all the shades were easy to pick up colour except the black which felt a little dry so I needed 2 layers. It may fare better using a brush.
- Rouge Allure Velvet La Flamboyante – A straight neutral toned red in a matte-satin texture.
- Or Blanc Eyeliner – A light cool toned gold eyeliner I haven’t quite figured out how to handle
I feel this eyeshadow palette to be a little tricky because of the daring use of cool toned colours and because of the colours themselves. They aren’t your traditional festive colours, which is great because it means you can wear them outside of the festive season. However, the light shimmer shades are a little icy, and I might say, may not suit everyone.
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet La Flamboyante – RM98
I really like the Rouge Allure Velvet formula and I thought it was brilliant that Chanel matched a matte lip with their shimmery eyes and cheeks. La Flamboyante is your typical straight red which, I might venture to propose, is quite easy to find an alternative for. However, if you like the formula which is one of the best satin-matte formulas I’ve ever used in a lipstick, and are in the market for a red lip, this will be your pick. It’s a lovely red that you can blot down to wear as a stain or be like me and just slap it on for a lovely red lip! 😀
Chanel Le Vernis Phénix – RM75
The nail colour in Phénix is a festive firey red that is quite befitting of its name and for the season. As I don’t wear nail polishes myself, I don’t know how this performs, but as a colour, I think it’s fabulous!
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Or Blanc – RM78
The one item I’m a little unsure of is the long lasting eyeliner in Or Blanc, a light shimmery gold. I’m quite unimaginative in the use of eyeliner so if you have ideas on how this might be used, feel free to let me know! Otherwise, I’d probably use this to line my lower lid to brighten the eye area.
So there you have it. A preview and overview of the Collection Plumes Précieuses de Chanel and some of my quick thoughts on the products I have in hand. They will be available at counters very soon (end Oct/1 Nov) but if you have your eye on the Camelia de Plumes powder, I suggest making a reservation. I predict it to disappear quickly.
Are you getting anything from the Collection Plumes Précieuses de Chanel collection? Did anything catch your eye?
My picks would be the La Flamboyante Rouge Allure Velvet and the Camelia de Plumes Illuminating powder, the latter of which would be more for novelty and collector’s sake unless you use a lot of highlighters. If you buff it out, it does give skin a lovely glow but it is after all a shimmer powder so use it carefully! 😀 What would you pick?
Paris B
The Chanel Christmas 2014 Collection Plumes Précieuses de Chanel will be available at Chanel counters from 1 November 2014 (or even from end October 2014) Prices are as set out above.
The nail and lip colours caught my eye. My OCD side is kicking in and I might not get the nail colour simply for the deliberate misspell of Phoenix. Or is that in some language that my ignorant self is simply unaware of? 😛 😛 😛
LOL!! It’s French hence the strange spelling 😉 I’d let you have the nail colour actually if I can find a way to get it to you 😀
This collection sure is pretty! I’m really tempted by the highlighter but I have so many LE Chanel highlighters I’ve collected/hoarded in the past that I’m thinking twice about this.
To be honest, unless you’re a highlighter user, it’ll pretty much remain in the collection drawer. But it’s so well made, I’m impressed at the detail that went into it!
Ahh you don’t say…I thought those were palm leaves too lol. Looks good and the swatch shows another alter ego instead with a hint of gold.
RIGHT? They sure looked like palm leaves, I thought it was a tropical theme 😛 I liked the hint of gold in it. I think it makes it more wearable although based on what another reader mentioned, I think it’s also to do with our skintones and which will show up more 🙂
the highlighter is stunnimg!! and the lipstick!!
As a piece of makeup art, the Highlighter is one to collect! But if you use highlighters then one to use too 😀 Are you planning on getting anything Fatimah?
i think I may do aswatch first for the highlighter..but i think i want to get the lipstick..
Oh I like how everything swatches on you better than it does on me! The highlighter does look a bit golden on you. That’s not the case for me, but it is pretty on the skin because the color doesn’t really come through.
Hey Sunny, I think it’s a skintone thing – remember? I have cooler skintone and you have warmer skintone so I think this one’s definitely not one for warmer skintoned ladies but then who am I to say right? 😀 I think the highlighter is pretty too, but I do find it quite shiny. Maybe I’m just not used to wearing a highlighter. In our weather, it’s like my face is drowning in oil LOL
Interesting! The swatches I see so far are definitely much cooler, and even icy. Guess will have to swatch these in person to tell 🙂
Yep, I think that’s true for all makeup. Ultimately, it’s how it works with our skin and we just never know which might work even though it doesn’t look right on someone else’s skin 😉 Eyeing something from this collection?
I got hooked on the Poesie 234 LE (yup inspired by your earlier post) and I really like it. It was a toss up then between Poesie 234 and some dark dark blue quad (non LE) which I discovered was actually dark dark green – 232 Tisse Venetien. LE comes and goes. So choice was obvious. 232 Tisse Venetien is ear marked (staple gun and all) for the next purchase.
This current/up and about to be launched collection somehow doesn’t quite tickle me.
Enuff dark blues/greys for me for now. Red?? (*duck)
As I mentioned before, I am currently gravitating back to browns/nudes.
The Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner pens (pitch black, something violet and something else brown) and Bobbi Brown’s Long Lasting Eyeliner Gel and Laura Mercier’s gel eyeliner (in a pot) are overwhelmingly sufficient for me for the time being.
The feathers/palm leaves – really pretty but I don’t hear voices saying “get me get me”.
Yay for Poesie! I was using it for weeks and weeks on end and I still love it! I have Tisse Venetien too and that was the other one that I was most taken by. The green is so gorgeous right? I haven’t used it though but it’s definitely one to keep an eye out for. To be honest, I don’t quite understand this Christmas eyeshadow palette. It won’t suit everyone and the shades are decidedly cool toned so that gold in there is a bit strange. But maybe I’m just not very imaginative eh? 😀 If I’m to be honest, if I weren’t tasked to tell you all about this, I’d pass on this collection too. Nothing really grabs me, and that highlighter while pretty, isn’t functional unless you’re someone who dolls up a lot IMO.
This is probably the first Christmas collection I got exited for AFTER seeing the swatches (usually it’s the other way around – see the beautiful display and squeal, swatch everything and let out a disappointed sigh because shades look so similar everywhere).
When I saw the stock photos of the collection, it looked rather dull, especially the eyeshadow quint. However, I have to say those colors look so chic, really tempts me to at least swatch them on myself! I’m just hoping we’ll get the collection in my country before the holidays -_-
As for the golden liner, I have a suggestion – pair it with a black matte liner! First create a cat-eye with the black, and then go over with the gold just above the line at the outer corner (or through the entire eye). It’s a wonderful way to spice up a regular eyeliner look!
That’s a lovely suggestion on how to use the golden liner, Kate. I’ll give it a go 😀 I do highly recommend checking this collection out in person before splurging because we can never really tell how it looks till we see it on our own skin 🙂 Hope you pick up something nice!
That highlighter is gorgeous! But I know I could never bring myself to use it lol.
Much to my surprise, it actually takes a lot of beating! At least it’s not just an overspray 🙂
Yep. Definitely getting the highlighter! Haha! But not sure about the blush and the eyeliner, the blush looked quite sheer and the eyeliner, I also don’t know how to use it other than lining my lower lash line.
Did you end up getting the highlighter? It’s actually quite pretty!
I can’t afford Chanel at the moment. That design in the powder is wow! If I bought it, I’d struggle to use it!
I think many people share your struggle, Jennifer 🙂 I personally wouldn’t have bought it but I’d have admired it from afar the way I do almost all Chanel highlighters 😀
Hi
I really want to get the powder. What’s the best way/place to reserve one?
Thanks
Louise
A little late, but if it’s not already sold out, your local Chanel counter will be the best place to find out.