You should’ve seen the sheer joy opening each new product in Chanel’s Autumn 2015 Make-up Collection brought me – I probably last looked as gleeful when my mum managed to hunt down a Cotton Candy Cupcake Doll for me in 1992. Unlike the sugary pink transforming doll, this is a proper grown up affair without a hint of cuteness. It borders on vamp. It wants a woman to wear it. And, trust me, you’ll want to step up your levels of sophistication for this collection.
Inspired by the shades found at the heart of a forest, Chanel have interpreted deep, earthy tones of earth and bark to make this sexy – but surprisingly wearable – smorgasbord of khakis, browns, sumptuous reds, deep fawns and charcoals. When putting these on, I instantly think of Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner – it’d be their vibe.
Here are my top picks from the range //
THE EYESHADOW PALETTE / Creation Exclusive Entrelacs / Do those interlacing c’s embossed on the palette look familiar? Yep, you’re looking at the pattern that inspired that most famous of logos – Coco Chanel herself used to gaze at windows with these motifs in Aubazine Abbey before founding the fashion house. Once that novelty has literally and figuratively worn off, you’ll be left with a keeper – five shadows that are subtly satin (they blend better than mattes but don’t shimmer/shine), they could happily a day or evening eye make.
THE EYELINER / Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 921 Pomme de Pin / I’ve got the matte dark brown, but there’s also a khaki (Feuilles), copper (Ardent) and bronze (Erable). All work a treat in the waterline (where they don’t bleed or feather.
l to r: Stylo Yeux Waterproof, Illusion D’Ombre and Rouge Coco Shine
THE CREAM SHADOW / Illusion D’Ombre in 116 Rouge-Gorge / If you like a bit of a smoke around your eyes, get your hands on this – like its fellow Illusion D’Ombres, it is a doddle to blend and takes all of a minute to apply, but the matte incarnation is a touch easier to use all around the eye rather than as a highlighter or tool to add nuance to other shadows. If you do like it, do not make the mistake I made with New Moon and just buy one only to find it’s entirely sold out with no plans to reinstate; Chanel stick hard and fast to the ‘limited edition’ rule.
THE LIPSTICK / Rouge Coco Shine in Temeraire / Look at that: it’s a proper deep, dark red. Crucially for a shade this dark, it is of the shiny variety of Chanel lipsticks – while matte blood red hues look seductive in the bullet, if you have any little ridges in your lips, they’ll often make lips look excessively dry and a little prune-like. This one does neither.
THE NAIL POLISHES / Le Vernis in Ecorce Sanguine and Vert Obscure / Two perfect autumn shades – one punchy, one murky, both beautiful. I know I say this every time, but I just love the Chanel nail polish bottles and look forward to putting them on my shelf, like a demented collector of beauty art.