Ah Chanel. What an easy win this was for you, designing a fall-winter makeup collection around the colours of LA, my second home. It hits me right in the feels because we’re actually in the process of selling our house here, and very soon this beautiful collection will be a vivid reminder of the city I loved and left. I know that sounds a little sad, but I actually can’t think of a sweeter way to remember a place than by painting myself in its colours.
So let’s talk colours.
LA is famous for its dusty desert hues, gorgeous pink sunsets, and – let’s be real – smog. I love that the colours of this collection are brutally honest about the many shades of grey we see every day on the horizon. The best-named item in this collection has got to be New Dawn, a taupe nail polish that absolutely nails (see what I did there) the colour of the sky at daybreak.
I’m not the best at painting my own nails, but here are some swatches of the colour as-is, and then with dabs of rose gold glitter to…ahem…camouflage mistakes.
Another win in this collection is the Les 4 Ombres City Lights quad, made up of pigmented taupe-browns. The colours are mostly neutral in tone but lean ever so slightly cool on my skin. City Lights may not present the most innovative colour combo but of all my non-warm quads, this is definitely the easiest one to wear and I have been reaching for it a lot lately.
Not part of the Califoria collection but also new to the Les 4 Ombres family is Tisse Merveilleux – another cool quad that’s lately had me uncharacteristically turning my back on red and orange shadows. I’m sure you can understand why though. The colour combination here is merveilleux indeed!
Bonus trivia: it should look familiar to SUQQU fans, specifically owners of Awafujisukashi. Just for fun, I did some comparison swatches. Awafujisukashi’s white-pink duochrome is extremely compelling, but I have to say that the icy lavender of Tisse Merveilleux is much more magical than the former’s equivalent shade. What do you think?
The collection’s Ombre Premiere Cream eyeshadows in Urban (dark blue) and Memory (golden bronze) were both beautiful, but my pick was Pourpre Profund, a rich and complex burgundy brown. It’s both amazing on its own and as a deepening base for smokier eye looks, and pairs really well with City Lights.
I’ve also recently had the pleasure of sampling a couple of Ombre Premiere powder eyeshadows that Chanel introduced earlier this year. My picks were Talpa, a truly elegant “one and done” shade, and Titane which is so buttery and pigmented that I was legitimately shocked when I first swatched it. All the metallics of this line are scene-stealers though. If you’re into golds, I highlight recommend Poudre D’Or as well…I’m thinking about going back for it myself!
Here are some swatches of Talpa, Titane and Pourpre Profund:
Last but not least, here are some of the lovely lip products I sampled from the FW collection: Rouge Allure Lip Inks in Lost (a warm nude) and Highway (a white-based light coral). I have to admit that while Lost is slightly easier to wear, I’ve found that finishing an otherwise neutral look with Highway is very rewarding as it adds a pop of unexpected colour without looking jarring – on me, it’s worked with both cool and warm eyeshadow looks.
From the permanent line, I tested some other 2017 additions to the Chanel lip lineup: Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur in Fuchsia, Rose Violine, and Cassis. If you’re a fan of fuss-free comfortable lipstick, these are great. They twist up (no sharpener required!) and are creamy yet pigmented. Because the formula is a little slippery, I generally prefer to sheer Cassis out rather than wearing it at full pigmentation though I do go full-on with the other two shades.
Here are some swatches of all the lip products mentioned above:
This post features products that were provided as press samples, however all opinions and observations are my own and not influenced by the brand or its PR team. This post contains affiliate links.
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