The Chanel Holiday 2016 Collection ” Libre Synthetic de Chanel” is Chanel’s new Makeup Director Lucia Pica’s first Holiday Collection. Pica decided to forego the traditional colors of the holiday season, golds and reds, and instead she drew her inspiration from urban landscapes. The Palette is Libre Synthetic de Chanel Architectonic ($80). The inspiration for Architectonic was a skyscraper, so the palette juxtaposes light, color and texture.
The Downtown architecture of the material urban world is seen in the eye shadow’s metallic compact, and the metallic eye shadow pans that were inspired by a skyscraper. The palette implies modern structure. And the actual shadow hues correspond to this by providing structure for the eyes.
The shades are from left to right- Matte Midnight Blue ( deep navy matte), Metallic Blue ( steel blue), Platinum Grey ( platinum grey exactly), Cement Grey ( brown-based grey) , and Mirror Grey ( silvered grey).
The shades are extremely easy to wear, All you need is a deep black eyeliner to rim your eyes, a black turtleneck sweater, and your hair pulled back in a ponytail!
The formula is excellent, of course it is, it’s Chanel! So the colors are well pigmented and blend well. The Matte shade Navy is highly pigmented, so use it with a light hand, and Cement can be layered for more color saturation. The shimmers are gorgeous, not too shimmery, just right shimmery. I did not have any fallout, and they were long-wearing (stayed put til I took it off!)
The Le Vernis Nail Polishes in the Collection are beautiful. I rarely purchase nail polish because I pick colors that the place I get a manicure has. I will purchase polish if I think it is exceptional. These two shades, Liquid Mirror, and Hyperrose Glass were worthy of a purchase. Chanel’s Le Vernis Liquid Mirror 540, and Hyperrose Glass 544 ($28) each, are limited editions.
Liquid Mirror swatch, we used 2 coats.
Liquid Mirror is metallic silver, almost chrome color. The pigment is intense, you could use one coat, I just prefer two. The formula is, well it is Chanel, and that should be enough!
Hyperrose Glass is an interesting shade because it is actually a sheer transparent base with particles that are suspended in the formula that are bright pink. I love the way the color looks in the bottle, but it is really sheer on the nails. To achieve this swatch we put four coats on, and we were happy with the opaque color that appeared to be the shade in the bottle. So just use a few more coats if you don’t love it sheer. I didn’t love it sheer.
What I love about the Architectonic Eye Shadow Palette, and the Le Vernis Nail Polish Shades in Liquid Mirror and Hyperrose Glass is……..the products scream luxury – and why not? After all, THEY ARE Chanel! I love Chanel, and I love the new makeup director, Lucia Pica who has a love of color, and especially pigmented colors. I also like that she thinks outside of the box and isn’t afraid to take huge risks. I think it was a huge risk that Lucia Pica took, not following the holiday tradition of designing something more holiday oriented. The collection didn’t feel “holiday” at all. Like I said, Lucia Pica thinks outside of the box. She could have used a skyscraper for inspiration, but it could have been a skyscraper decorated for the holidays? I love the holidays, the spirit of the holidays, the sights and sounds of the holidays, and I always love and look forward to what the makeup lines are going to create for the holidays. I missed that with Chanel this year. The smokey, urban look is gorgeous, and wearable, probably more wearable than a holiday palette, but it is not a holiday palette. The shades are not scintillating enough for this time of year. They are great -for the rest of the year, not for the holidays. There is something exciting about the special products that are created with the holidays in mind. In fact, these are the palettes and lipsticks and glitters that are the most fun and exciting for me. Do you agree?
xoxoxoxo
Sookie, Sylvie and Bobbie Jean ( who really got creative with the nail polish! )
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