États Poétiques: Chanel Fall 2014

Chanel's Fall 2014 Collection États Poétiques hit the beauty counters (in the U.S. at least) sometime during the month of June. Being ridiculously early for a 'fall' collection, I didn't immediately rush out to look at the collection, but when I finally got around to it I was more than impressed. I ended up picking up several things from the collection, as you can tell from the photo above. I grabbed the Joues Contraste Blush in 160 Innocence, a Rouge Coco Shine in 93 Intime, a Glossimer in 191 Songe, and the pièce de résistance: a Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow Palette in 234 Poésie.

Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow Palette in 234 Poésie

 Perhaps the biggest change that is coming to Chanel is that they are discontinuing most of their current line of pressed Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow Palettes.* In their place are the new quads that were released in Europe this past spring. They are baked, but have a gel formula so are more pigmented (and far more buttery) than a traditional baked product. And unlike most baked products, Chanel does not recommend that they be used wet, only dry. I was told that they work well over eyeshadow primers, but even better over concealer alone!

*The six current palettes that are being retained are: 14 Mystic Eyes, 33 Prélude, 34 Éclosion, 43 Mystère, 79 Spices, and 93 Smoky Eyes. The rest will be gone once they've sold out, so if there are any you've always wanted, don't wait (I've got my eye on Raffinement, which is a longtime lem...) 

A Chanel representative was at my counter the day I stopped by, showing the employees the new Chanel products, including the new quads. One of the salespeople was kind enough to take out the new quads and gave me a sneak peak! If you are interested, there are many European bloggers who have reviewed the shades released there already (I've got my eye on Tissé Rivoli, which you can see over at Color Me Loud). These should be hitting counters next week (the second week of July), but they're already up on Chanel.com.

Apologies for the grainy photo--my camera was not cooperating yesterday!
Hopefully it gives you a sense of the colors, though! 

 I picked up the quad 234 Poésie, which as far as I can tell is not yet for sale anywhere (which, if I'm honest, is part of why I snatched it up!) It is a limited edition palette, unlike the rest of the new quads, which are permanent. My counter was only getting 12 of them (to give you a sense, it's a Chanel counter at a Nordstrom in a mid-sized U.S. city), so I would advise you act quickly and decisively if you want this quad. It may be worth buddying up to your salesperson to see if they will give you a preview, as mine was happy to accommodate me once he realized my love for Chanel!

L to R: Upper Right Corner (highlight shade), Upper Left and Lower Left (lid shades),
Lower Right Corner (liner shade)

Poésie is a stunning quad. It leans slightly, but not overly, cool and has a combination of neutral shades with a pink undertone. Like the newly released YSL Couture Palettes (reviewed here), Chanel has made their new palettes uniform in the sense that all of the shades in the upper left and lower left corners are lid colors, the top right is a highlight, and the lower right is a more intense shade for lining or smoking out the look. And like YSL, they've including guides as to how to use the colors to create a variety of eye looks.

The consistency of the new quads, including Poésie, is fantastic. They are a powder, but have an almost gel-like texture and apply incredibly smoothly. There was literally zero powder kicked up by my brush. And while the shades are pigmented, they blend easily and are highly wearable. They also have far more dimension and depth than a normal Chanel quad. All of the shades have a shimmer, but it is a shimmer that comes from the new formulation (aka magic) and not from actual chunks of shimmer or glitter in the shades. Does that make sense? Whether or not it does, you should go have a look at these in person!

Rouge Coco Shine in 93 Intime

Next up on the hit parade is the Rouge Coco Shine in 93 Intime, which was the only thing I had planned on buying from the collection. Intime is a subtle mauvey-rose on my lips. The Rouge Coco Shines are very love-them-or-hate-them, as their sheer nature means they don't have the best lasting power. I have found that wearing a lip liner under these not only helps them last longer, but also gives them dimension and allows you to create custom colors. A makeup artist at Chanel used this with their Rose Poudre lip pencil underneath and I am sorely tempted to order it, but in the mean time I've been using the Boots No7 Nude Lip Liner underneath.

Glossimer in 191 Songe

L to R: Intime, Songe, Intime with Songe layered on top

I also added a Glossimer, in 191 Songe, to my collection. The Chanel Glossimers are some of the prettiest and least sticky glosses out there, so if you are normally a gloss-hater, you might want to give these a chance. Songe is a beautiful mother-of-pearl shade. You can see in the picture above that it pulls cream, green, and purple all at the same time! It is apparently quite similar to MAC Oyster Girl, which I don't own to do a comparison but you can see them swatched side by side on The Beauty Look Book. Songe is beautiful worn alone on the lips, but it is really something special when applied on top of a lip stick. It adds dimension and softness to virtually any lip look.

Joues Contraste in 160 Innocence

I was surprised by how much I loved the Joues Contraste in 160 Innocence. I've found that I dislike most of the Joues Contraste line (with the shade 71 Malice being a huge exception). I normally find them a bit patchy and powdery and often ignore the ones in my collection for other blushes. I wanted to give Innocence a fair shot, though, and was blown away by its quality and pigmentation. The shade is a medium dusty pink with a (mostly) matte finish. I say 'mostly' matte because it isn't a flat color. It has a bit of a silky sheen that gives a natural radiance to the cheek. The color adds a bit of soft warmth to the cheek, making it perfect for fall. But with that said, this blush (and all of the products I picked up, come to think of it) could most definitely be worn in spring and summer!

It is worth noting that Temptalia's review of Innocence absolutely slated this blush as being thin, dry, unpigmented, etc. I do not know if she got a dud, but I feel exactly the opposite! It might be wise to look at this in person, though, as there are clearly mixed reviews out there!

I am also testing out the semi-new Perfection Lumière Velvet Foundation. I need to wear this a few more times for a more in-depth review, but my initial impression is that it is good, but not great. I certainly don't like it as much as my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation or even my Jouer Matte Moisture Tint. But it did hold up well in the heat, so I'll give it another few chances to wow me!

The Chanel Fall Collection États Poétiques is available now at Chanel, Nordstrom, and elsewhere. Chanel even has a handy feature where you can buy the entire collection for the bargain price of $580.50 with the click of a single button! I kid, I kid. I mean, that is a real thing Chanel does, but I can't imagine ever doing that! 

Have you picked up anything from the collection? What products are tempting you?

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