Have you been to Chanel lately? — like within the last couple years? Because every time I go there, it’s like — and I mean this in a good way — I’m about to see what’s behind door number three in The Price Is Right. I don’t know what’s gonna be there! Will it be a goat? A trip to Italy? Will there be a red Radio Flyer wagon? I JUST DON’T KNOW. And those fun, frequent surprises are making me an even bigger fan of the brand.
Ever since Lucia Pica took the reins, there have been so many creative twists and turns, especially with color. She does a lot of themed collections, and yes, Chanel has always liked themed launches, but Lucia’s themes and visions always seem strong, and I totally get what she’s trying to do.
The collections are often travel related, and the colors and textures will refer to places she’s visited and lived. This one for spring/summer is a homage to her hometown of Naples, Italy. It’s like, bright explosive colors — greens, blues, yellows, reds. Those are the visuals, but you know me, much as I love color, I also love neutrals, and there are many lovely neutrals here, too, especially in the eyeshadow palette, which, by the way, is SUCH a nice surprise.
It’s a nine-pan palette called Les 9 Ombres, and it’s $70, which is expensive, but it’s a relative “bargain” for Chanel, considering that they’ve done other palettes with five eyeshadows for $50.
And everything in it is wearable — yes, including the blue and green in the middle.
(Side note: even if you don’t consider yourself a colorful eyeshadow person, I still totally believe that you can work both of these shades. You could use them as eyeliners — do the thinnest line on the upper lash line if you’re shy! — or mix the green or the blue into one of the neutrals, like the taupe, or the bronze on the lower right-hand side, and then pop that on your lids for a twist of unexpected but totally conservative color.)
You’ll notice that almost all of the shades in this eyeshadow palette are neutrals, which, you know, yay for usability! — but also, the eyeshadows are even higher quality than usual. As if that’s even possible! Chanel stepped it up. Well, more like leaped up! The shadows feel almost incomprehensibly good.
They’re even softer and silkier than typical Chanel powder eyeshadows, and they’re also more pigmented, which is a refreshing surprise — not to slam the sheerer eyeshadow palettes they’ve been pushing out at all, because I love them, too/a. Because if you’re too rushed or tired to do any hard-core, serious blending, and/or only have 10 minutes or less to get ready (and I’m normally one or both on any given day), those less pigmented eyeshadows just make life easier.
If you want to do something dramatic with this palette, or if you simply want a moderately intense eyeshadow look where you can really see the makeup, this palette gives you that option without forcing you to layer 10 pounds of makeup…but even if you DO build up quite a few layers, the eyeshadows don’t look heavy.
This is going directly into my everyday Chanel eyeshadow rotation, alongside the Codes Subtils, Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural and Tissé Rivoli palettes.
Chanel often caters to that subset of makeup lovers who crave very subtle, conservative color, and this palette may not appeal to that particular group of peeps as much some of the brands other palettes do, but I think it’s refreshing because sometimes I DO want to wear more dramatic looks, and you can certainly get there with this palette. It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen from the brand, and not just because of the potent pigments and supernaturally silky powders, or the 8-hour wear time, but also because of the particular combination of colors they chose to include. You can do so much with them!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
