A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

This post is for the lovely Ann who requested a swatch of my new Chanel Ombre D’eau in #757 Splash when I picked it up.

As of yesterday, I own four Ombre D’eau.  I’m sure I’m missing one… I felt quite cheated when I opened my cream eyeshadow drawer and pulled out only four.   I hope the hoover hasn’t eaten it.

Anyway, this is my small (but perfectly formed) collection of Chanel Ombre D’eau Liquid Eyeshadows.  Incase you’re wondering just why in the hell I would have a ‘cream eyeshadow drawer’ the answer is simple: they’re quick to apply and I want to be able to find them quickly when I’m in a rush.

Eminently sensible I reckon…

…I can see Mr. L loitering in the outer periphery of my vision raising an eyebrow at me.  He’s also sobbing.  And holding a piece of paper… some kind of bill.  Ah.  Credit Card.  Whatevs.

Where was I?  Oh yeah…

Now… depending on your take on neutrals… you’re either going “ooooOOOoooOOOoooOOOh” or you’ve already left this page for the next blog on your work-skiving agenda.

See, most of my creams/liquids ARE fairly neutral… we’re linking back to that whole quick to apply thing innit?  I’m not gonna get something that takes a matter of seconds to slick on my eyes for that alive polished look and then get it in some funky colour that’s gonna take me 30minutes to decide which lipstick won’t clash.  There is method in my madness.

Swatches?

My least favourite is #20 Fountain, it reminds me of a big poofy satin pink wet-look prom dress.  If you’re over the age of 14 you’re not allowed to buy it because everytime I blink, I’m reminded of what my eyelids are gonna look like in 30 years time.  In matte shadows.  Do you get my drift?

My newest acquisition there on the end (right hand side) is #757 Splash which hails from the newly released Chanel Christmas/Holiday Collection… it’s beautiful and you must get it.  Sell your grandmother and the rest of your makeup to fund it.

And you’ll probably have to… ‘cos these are stupidly expensive.  Well, not “stupidly”…. because as the owner of four of the blighters that would make me very speshul indeed and I’m not admitting to that.

£21.50

That’s heaps overpriced isn’t it?  I think so…

They do last a long time… but then, so does a bloody normal eyeshadow…

Ah get it, don’t get it… what do I care?

I haven’t had any trouble deciding what I’ll be splurging my Boots points on this year.  Last year… the Dior holiday collection caught my eye quite late on… but this year, it’s all about the Chanel.

I have 7578 points saved up through some tireless shopping efforts.  It hasn’t all been glamour… Leila has had to quickly develop a taste for Boots branded baby things and I suspect that with no more buggies to buy, next year’s bounty won’t be quite so fruitful *sniff*.

However, that’s still £75.78 to blow spend.  Annoyingly, when converting points to prizes purchases, you’re not allowed to part pay in cash… which means that my total spends must come to under that amount.

Can I do it?  Here’s my wishlist… (do you care? doubt it… but I love a bit virtual shopping me)

1. Les 4 Ombres / Quadra Eye Shadow Palette – Tentation Cuivre (£35.00)
2. Ombre D’eau Liquid Eyeshadow – Splash (£21.50) Criminally overpriced IMO, but when you fall in love… you get stupid.
3. Rouge Coco Lipstick – Magnolia (£21.50)

Erm, where’s my money points gone?  That comes to *counts on fingers. and toes* – £78.

Oh NOES, I’m short by just over £2!

I need to earn 222 points on as low a cash spend as possible – PRONTO!

Do you save store loyalty points for a Xmas treat?

With all this Chanel vs. BarryM nail polish dupe talk… how could I possibly have resisted CHARGING down my local Superdrug as fast as my fat little trotters could carry me (ok, I drove) before scooping up a bottle of BarryM’s new nail polish sensation Dusky Mauve to compare for myself?

Well I couldn’t.  Hence this post – duh.

So is it?  Isn’t it?

It most certainly is.

BarryM’s Dusky Mauve Nail Paint is a practically perfect dupe for Chanel’s Paradoxal – I’ll let the photos do the talking.

When Bazza met Coco… *cue music*

The only teeniest, tiniest difference between the two is that I feel the BarryM version may have a touch more sparkle in direct sunlight… but I’m not even 100% confident on that.

If you had wanted to indulge in Chanel’s Paradoxal but couldn’t quite stretch to the £16.50 required to do so… put those pennies towards the £2.95 dupe of the year and head down to Superdrug for BarryM’s Dusky Mauve instead.  No one will be able to tell the difference.

If your local Superdrug/Boots are out of stock, don’t forget that you can also buy BarryM’s Dusky Mauve Nail Paint online from the BarryM website which ships internationally.

It’s just not that often that press releases have me smiling wryly to myself in a GOOD way.

But the latest release from Models Own had Mr L questioning what it was that had clearly tickled my funny bone yesterday morning.

The Models Own Car Key Collection. (L-R: Grace Green, Becca’s Brown, Purple Ash)

Chanel’s Khaki Collection (L-R: Khaki Brun, Khaki Vert & Khaki Rose)

Unfortunately, it seems that this is pretty much where the similarities end.  BritishBeautyBlogger has the dupe scoop and Chanel doppelgängers… they ain’t.

Having said that…

I’m really liking the look of Purple Ash on it’s own merits… all is not lost!

Models Own Car Key Collection will be launching next month online and in Boots, priced at £5 each.

Are you into your khakis?

Unless a man is wearing them… then, no.  Not really… though I’m getting sorely tempted by one of the new polishes from the Les Khakis de Chanel collection.

Going all out on the sludge, Chanel knows how to hit our purses hard when leading the trends.

I’m surprised by Khaki Brun… perhaps simply a clever trick to entice all those that missed out on Particuliere earlier in the year.  Khaki Rose *could* be lovely, though it’s a bit granny no?

Khaki Vert is my pick of the bunch…. look at all that grey blended with the green.  Like something from the bottom of a smelly swamp.  Just lovely 😉

Are any of these calling to you?  Bored of the grungey colours now?

I have the inimitable Pink Sith to thank for this Swatch Saturday.  When she told me all about it’s magical powers of taupeness, I knew I had to have it.  I’m not even gonna bother with a review, just read hers… it answers all the questions you’d ever need to ask.

Oh taupe haters (I know you’re out there), look away now.

Love it.  And I should bloody well think so too at £19.50.

Having said that, it’s a shade that I know is gonna see a LOT of use.  I’m already wearing it today smudged along my lashline as a liner.

Chanel Taupe Grisé #87 is Limited Edition, so if you think it may be for you too… head down to your nearest counter to have a play.

If you follow my tweets, then you may have ‘read” me this morning… urging my 15 month old to eat her porridge quicker, cursing my husband for being at work and turning the sky blue when confronted with a local traffic snarl up.

Everyday occurences, nothing unusual… except that they were happening on a day that I needed to be somewhere ASAP!  Where?  My local Chanel counter, that’s where!

Chanel Nail Polishes are notoriously fast sellers.  Infact, as I type this… I’m reminded of the fact (via twitter) that today, this particular nail polish sold out in Selfridges in 3 hours.  3 HOURS folks!  I can spend longer in the bath than that.

I haven’t been interested in any of the previous Chanel releases (tell a lie, I want Kaleidoscope) but, more recently?  Jade (blegh), Particuliere (meh), Nouvelle Vague (pass!).  But this… this one had me at “hello”.  Let me explain…

I love my grungey, murky, ugly colours.  I find them easy to wear and they make me feel grown up without feeling old.  They generally suit my cool skin tone without making my hands look like lobsters.  We were made for one another.

My absolute favouritest shades (that’s SO a word) generally throw a little purple into the mix.  Shall I name some names?  Channelesque, Who’s Wearing What, Surreal Violet, Bon Bon, Silver Purple.  So you see, Paradoxal turned my head from the first time I saw it.

And it’s still turning it…

Is it worth £16.50?  Probably not.  Do I love it very, very much and do I regret spending £16.50 on it?

Yes and No, not at all.

You’ll know immediately if this is your kinda colour… like McDonald’s gherkins.  You either love ’em or hate ’em.  I also happen to adore McDonald’s gherkins and would probably steal yours.

If you’re indifferent about gherkins, don’t go spending £16.50 on one just ‘cos everyone else is telling you how tasty it is.  That’s my free tip of the day.  What I’m saying is… don’t rush out, buy it and then moan ‘cos it’s a durgy colour.  OF COURSE IT BLOODY IS!

OK… that’s Paradoxal.  For me, it’s worth the hype.

I’m not even going to talk about longevity or application.  I’m not interested, everyone knows that Chanel polishes aren’t the best for those practical issues.  I bought Paradoxal for it’s colour and it’s Limited Edition status alone.  It could apply like tar and I still would have bought it.

If you want it and don’t have it, I suggest grabbing the Yellow Pages and phoning your local counters to see if they still have stock.  I’d also suggest trying ones that are more ‘out of the way’ – ‘cos this baby is selling fast!

…with a neat video showcasing three very different looks created around three very different lipsticks from the Chanel Rouge Coco range.

Which look is your favourite?

I haven’t got a side by side swatch comparison and I’m not claiming this dupe discovery as my own (a quick Google search threw this up) but it’s been said that Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Rose is a colour dupe for Chanel’s Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle.

Is it?

It’s pretty darn close!

I’ve got a full lip swatch post coming soon(ish) of all the new Revlon Colorburst shades… I’ll try and get it live by the end of the week.  I don’t believe the Colorbursts are out in the UK yet… so cool your heels lovely ladies, they’re a-coming!

What d’ya think?  Close enough?

I didn’t buy it… it was on my list, but I thought I’d better try it at the counter first.  The SA applied it on me and warned me that some of her more cool-toned ladies felt that the colour turns a bit orangey on them.  She wasn’t wrong.

Here it is after I got home 3 hours later… great long-lasting wear by the way:

Please excuse the expression… it’s like a cross between really smug and “eugh, I’ve just stepped in a dog turd but I better keep smiling anyway”.

I loved that Mademoiselle isn’t at all frosty or even glossy.  It’s just a beautiful, sophisticated creamy lipstick.

However, I was expecting a medium pink that leant slightly towards the neutral/brown.  This is much more brick-like on my complexion.

Not only that, but I found the formula pretty drying… something that I really hadn’t been expecting.  All the reviews I’ve read (and I’ve read a LOT) celebrate how moisturising they find the Chanel Rouge Coco formula.

Look at the state of my lips after 3 hours.

You can also see how corally the shade turned against my pinky/blue tones.

I would go back to try Camelia or Gardenia (which I think would be my best bets for a pink) but I think they’re both a bit frosty for me.

Sigh… I really wanted to love it badly.

Nothing screams “I got a tattoo in the late 90s” like a tattooed arm or ankle band.

Chanel’s latest must-have accessory was recently showcased on the Paris runway and it’s just as well the 90s are back in fashion, ‘cos check these babies out!

“Les Trompe L’œil de Chanel”, a set of 55 individual tattoos priced at an eye-watering £49 will be available on the Selfridges Chanel counter from 1st March.

I think I’ll stick to the ones you get free with bubblegum… or if I really must indulge, there must be 101 purse-friendly alternatives out there.

What say you? Fabulousness or Folly?