I could apologise for coming in late with the limited edition Chanel Energies et Puretes le Blanc makeup 2017 collection. I could. But I won’t. I do wish brands would allow us consumers to catch our breath for a bit before throwing another large collection at us (and our wallets!)
I was sent some select pieces from the collection (else I’d never have known of its existence!) so I’ll do a quick post to show you what they are, and some quick thoughts on them, and if you’re truly interested, what I think is worth picking up (and what isn’t).
The Chanel Energies et Puretes collection is actually part of the le Blanc collection (whitening) and usually, this invokes brightness and light. But this is Lucia Pica, who has turned Chanel makeup on its head (in my view, and for the better!) so the collection isn’t what I’m used to seeing for a blanc collection, as it has all these beautiful bright shades interspersed with depth. I also found out that this collection has only just launched in the USA and parts of Europe (Asia usually gets the Whitening stuff first and exclusively), so if you’re interested, here are the items and my thoughts on them.
Chanel les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Palette – Jardins des Lumieres – RM230 | US$61
There are 2 eyeshadow palettes in the collection – Jardins des Lumieres and Jardins Eclatants. The one I have here is Jardins des Lumieres.
Like all the (by now not so) newly formulated Chanel Les 4 Ombres eyeshadows, the quality is sublime. Soft and smooth to the touch and as pigmented as it gets. The shades in this palette are a mix of cool and warm tones, and apply very smoothly.
I love that olive green in the top left and the beige in the top right. However, the purple just didn’t do it for me, and I felt that it was less buttery and pigmented than the other 3 shades. The other shade is a gunmetal grey. For me personally, the colours in this palette did not work for me. I would never have picked it up for myself because I can’t work with purple shades. I also found that the purple had a tendency to apply rather muddy. Perhaps it’s just me not having the right skill-set to work with these colours.
If you like colours like these, I think you’d like this one. You can wear them from day to night quite easily, as the 2 lower colours are deeper than the top layer. I’m not sold on this one but it’s primarily due to the colour selection, less so the quality.
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine – Rose Ravissant, Rouge Lumiere – RM120 | US$37
These are the 2 bullet lipsticks in the picture above and come in the Rouge Coco Shine formula. This is the sheerer, balmier, more translucent counterpart to Rouge Coco. I like lipsticks like these (as much as I enjoy my creamy opaque reds) so the formula sat well with me. It’s not drying and the sheer, balmy colour is easy to wear for everyday.
Rose Ravissant is the rosy, almost coral toned lipstick, and Rouge Lumiere is the red. Much to my surprise, I really liked how Rose Ravissant looked on me, and you know how I feel about red lipstick! 😀 You thought I’d pick the red didn’t you! LOL!
If you are afraid of wearing bright red lipstick, take a look at Rouge Lumiere. The formula makes it an easier red to wear and ease yourself into the world of red lipstick 😀 All limited edition colours I’m afraid (I’m not familiar enough with the whole range to pick out dupes) but I’d say these are worth looking into.
Chanel Rouge Allure Gloss – Vibration – RM120 | US$37
Vibration is a bright bright pink coral that gives you such a bright, vibrant pop of colour on your face! I swear, when you wear it, that’s all anyone would notice, so save your trouble and keep your eyes simple LOL! I love the Rouge Allure Gloss formula, and this one is no exception. Think of this, not as a gloss, but as a creamy liquid lipstick. It’s beautiful, and this will wear well into Summer as the weather warms up, and the sunlight takes on a more golden hue. Beautiful!
Chanel Plisse Lumiere de Chanel – RM250 | US$70
If there’s one item from this collection that will fly off the shelves, it will be the Plisse Lumiere de Chanel. The highlighter.
This limited edition champagne powder highlighter has embossed, a pleated design which is spposed to invoke images of washi tape. Planner and washi tape fans, this one is for you LOL!
This palette has been swatched a few times, but as you can see, the embossing is still near perfect. That tells you two things. One, use your makeup not just stare at it! Two, you only need very little.
I don’t use highlighter a lot, but I can understand why this one is popular. The aesthetics aside, the texture is creamy and it is shiny but not sparkly (there’s a very subtle difference) and you don’t need very much to achieve that touch of shine on your cheekbones, if you’re into the look. If you don’t have a highlighter in your collection then this would be one you’d like to look at. It’s pretty and functional. But if you already have a highlighter, you won’t need this one. Unless you want something to gawk at 🙂 It comes with a half-moon brush but I don’t use it. Maybe it’s functional, maybe it isn’t. I won’t know sorry.
Chanel Les Tissages Tweed Cherry Blossom – RM185 | US$48
There are 2 limited edition shades – Tweed Cherry Blossom (pink) and Tweed Coraline (coral). I’ll be honest and tell you that the Les Tissages de Chanel blushes are one of my least favourite Chanel makeup items. I still remember when Chanel first launched them in 2008, and I owned a couple. While I loved it the first time around, I found that they didn’t age well (dries and hardens up something awful and becomes very hard to pick up colour), and they had a tendency to apply with a lot of chunky glitter and the quality was always fairly inconsistent. I may have a few “vintage” ones lying around, but I don’t use them anymore. I prefer the Joues Contraste (round pans) ones in terms of quality.
But I’m not here to reminisce. This is Tweed Cherry Blossom, which looks like, I don’t know, bacon? LOL It reminds me a little of the Hourglass Diffused Heat blush. The one that looks like bacon LOL!
Tweed Cherry Blossom is a fairly bright pink so you do need a light hand. I do find for some reason, that the glitter really sticks to the skin with this one, so if you’re using both this blush and the Plisse de Lumiere highlighter, it is actually too much. You’ll see what I mean below.
On my lighter skintone (Chanel foundation No. 10), I have to use a fairly light hand and just tap on the blush, and tap it on skin. So I think those with a medium skintone might be able to pull this one off more easily. On deeper skintones, the challenge would be the pale bits, which may be too “bright” and can look off. It’s a very delicate balance. Oh and that brush in there? Toss the damn thing. It feels and looks like dried straw tied in a bundle and scratches the skin to bits. Ugh. You can afford to give us better quality mini brushes, Chanel!
And after all that, here are the swatches for all the items I’ve shown you here.
Didn’t I tell you that the bright Rouge Allure Gloss in Vibration will drag your eye there first? LOL As I told you as well, the Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks in Rouge Lumiere and Rose Ravissant are fairly sheer. I’ll say that they aren’t must haves because sheer lipsticks are easily duped. But if you’re angling to treat yourself, then do take a look. Rouge Lumiere in particular, is a nice way to learn how to wear red lipstick and you can soon sport my signature red lipped look! 😉
The Jardins de Lumieres eyeshadow swatches very nicely, but I somehow feel that the purple and grey jar a little. I love the olive and beige shades. I don’t love the other two shades which on me, looked muddy.
Plisse Lumiere de Chanel swatches with an almost molten metal champagne glow, but it is a lot less intense when you use a fluffy brush and a light hand. It’s not glittery but it can be easy to overdo it if you aren’t careful. And finally, that bright pink is the Les Tissages Tweed Cherry Blossom, which is a bright bright pink! Use a light hand on fair skins but on medium skintones, it’d look amazing.
Here’s how some of the products look on me. I have the eyeshadow on, but you can’t tell and I’m not proud of the way they looked either, unlike the Codes Subtils palette I hunted down.
On cheeks is the Tweed Cherry Blossom with a very light hand, topped with the Plisse Lumiere de Chanel. Too much shine? Yes indeedy! I toned it down after this, with some powder, when I saw this LOL 😛 On lips is Rouge Coco Shine in Rose Ravissant. It’s such a pretty day-to-day sort of colour. Easily duped, I’d agree. So save it for a treat 🙂
Did you happen to check out this collection by Chanel? Is there anything in here that is giving you the heart-eye emoticon? LOL
My picks would be the Plisse Lumiere de Chanel, the Rouge Coco Shine in either Rose Ravissant or Rouge Lumiere and Rouge Allure Gloss in Vibration. I’m not sold on either the blush (texture) or the eyeshadow (colours). In general, this isn’t one of my favourite collections from Chanel. You? 🙂
Paris B
I agree with you, that this collection is not really that attractive. It is not something that I need to get to the stores and grab one immediately. However the highlighter is gorgeous! I love how it looks on your skin. For the rest, it feels so so… The texture of lipsticks resembles those in Laneige, or even Sulwhasoo or Lunasol. I am not a fan of eye shadows and the bacon-looking blush couldn’t catch my attention (It makes me crave for pork slices in steamboat). Hmmm… thanks for the review. I guess when I finished with my Nars Albatross highlighter I will start looking for one in Chanel.
MMm now you’ve made me crave steamboat Hui Min! Gah! LOL 😀 I do think Chanel could do better, or maybe I’m just a little jaded? It’s hard to say. But it isn’t very exciting that’s for sure. Speaking of which, I love Lunasol lipstick but they’re so expensive for something so plain. It bugs me 😛
You’re right! We have already similar colors in our collection.
If we have a large enough collection, we do! LOL! Next!
“Planner and washi tape fans, this one is for you LOL!” LOL finally we have been thought of and given the respect we deserve! LOL
I don’t think this collection has hit Aus yet! The highlighter does look beautiful…. but I have a few that mirror that colour already *sigh… Because of it’s price and all, that means I will give it a miss. I don’t mind the pattern of the blush but you know what would be better? A tartan pattern that was super detailed and if it combined a few different colours 😀
HAHA! I doubt that’s what Chanel was going for, but the idea of being inspired by rolls of washi tape is interesting isn’t it? 😀 The highlighter is quite a common shade, so if you have enough highlighters, you probably have something similar. You know, MAC did a tartan design eyeshadow many years ago. I bought one of them because it was so cute! Dior did something like that too with their cannage design for a super limited edition palette. But Chanel doesn’t do tartan in their fashion unfortunately so I think we’d not likely see it happen any time soon. It’s tweed or nothing! LOL!