Chanel signals the comeback of lipstick
Does the Chanel woman strike you as a lip-balm kind of girl?
Didn’t think so.
At a recent Makeup Open Door event in Singapore, Chanel launched five cosmetic lines that comprise their summer 2015 collection, but the biggest news was the re-launch of the new and improved Rouge Coco, with a glowing Keira Knightley as the face of the oh-so-chic lipsticks.
Rouge Coco: Set to convert the gloss generation
Prior to the original launch of Rouge Coco in 2010, Millennials (and even Gen X-ers like myself) had become the Gloss Generation. Lipstick was regarded as old school — something our mothers did at their vanities with funny-smelling, waxy-textured tubes of color.
Chanel has put the fun back in lipstick again. The reformulated Rouge Coco has all the pigment-rich drama of a classic lippie, the sheen of a gloss and the hydrating qualities of a balm in one modern black-and-gold bullet, thanks to a nourishing combination of mimosa, jojoba and sunflower butters.
Iconic shades from the ’70s have been retained, but the reinvented line has 24 colors named after the most important people in Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s life, which adds a nice backstory to each color: the nudes and beiges honor her family, the pinks and rosewoods recall her friends, the reds immortalize her lovers (like Arthur, a swoony crimson named after Boy Capel) and the plums pay tribute to her artistic allies.
Makeup artist Kay Montano, who’s worked with Chanel muses Nicole Kidman and Keira Knightley, selected pink-beige Adrienne as the universally flattering, must-have Rouge Coco. “This color suits absolutely everybody,” Montano said. “It just makes your lips look like your lips but a little bit better.”
To imbue the vibrant lipsticks with the youthful, spontaneous energy of the Gloss Generation, Chanel chose Keira Knightley — already the face of Coco Mademoiselle — as the emblem of Rouge Coco.
It works. I tried Coco, a satiny red-orange that went with my outfit, and it was as comfy, lightweight and moisturizing as a balm, despite its being as richly tinted and long-lasting as a matte lipstick. With its high-tech new formula and ultra-fashionable colors, Rouge Coco is sure to convert and co-opt the Gloss Generation.
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The Rouge Coco collection will be available at Chanel counters in Rustan’s The Beauty Source in April.
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Day-to-night beauty
Montano, whom Chanel chose for her 20 years of experience working with photographers like Mario Testino, Patrick Demarchelier, and magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, showed us how to turn a daytime lip look into an evening look with a few easy swipes. “Chanel’s summer 2015 collection is versatile and very wearable,” she said. “I’ll show you how to make the collection yours.”
Daytime lip look
Foundation: Montano added a tiny bit of Le Blanc Light Creator to Perfection Lumiére base to brighten up the skin.
Powder: She powdered the T zone well with Mat Lumiére Extreme.
Lips: She applied Rouge Coco lipstick in Coco, “a beautiful pigment that’s quite sheer.”
Blush: Montano says the trend now is to do a two-tone bronzy powder as a contour, not an allover glow. She brushed a darker powder under the cheekbones to accentuate them, then highlighted the top with Lumiére d’Ete Illuminating Powder. Nails: Le Vernis in Beige Rose
Evening glam
Powder: Retouch with Perfection Lumiére Extreme to make sure skin is perfect and get rid of shine. Sweep more Lumiére d’Ete illuminating powder just on the cheekbones.
Blush: Deepen your flush with Les Tissages de Chanel, a pink blush embossed with Chanel’s iconic tweed pattern that has “gorgeous flecks of silver.”
Eyes: “At night just pop more lipstick or eyeshadow on to take it from day to night,” Montano advises. She applies Stylo eyeshadow in Caroube, a bronzy brown, on the outer corners of the eyes. “Always use darker shades on the edge and lighter in the middle, then blend. No need for fancy tools or application, I’m just using my finger to smudge. You can use the same application as a smoky eye for a lovely, soft wash because it makes the eyes look bigger.”
To clean and polish up the eye look, Montano draws on thin eyeliner and applies mascara.
Lips: Rouge Coco in Adrienne applied straight from the tube. “To take this lipstick into evening, I would make eyes really dark.”
For a stronger lip look she used Arthur, a bright red, powdering the lips first to make the lipstick last longer. “The whole Rouge Coco range is much more hydrating and a bit more sheer but still offers same wonderful, on-trend colors,” Montano said.
Nails: Terrana, a bronze, “almost punky” nail varnish.
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Chanel is available at Rustan’s The Beauty Source.
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Summer 2015 Mediterranee Collection: Beauty for the beach
The French Riviera inspired Chanel’s summer makeup collection, a limited-edition release perfect for beach-bound beauties because all the warm, sunny Mediterranean colors come in cream-stick form, which means you can just toss them in your bag and travel worry-free.
Take the Stylo Eyeshadows, for instance. I discovered them last year and they are so cool — literally — as they have a high water content, and are as simple to use as crayons. The colors boast the three “B”s: they’re beautiful, blend-able, and buildable. You can wear one as a sheer wash of color or blend two or three together, layering it on for more intensity at night. And they’re idiot-proof, believe me. Even if you don’t have the first clue about applying eyeshadow, just color your lids with these slightly past your eye crease, soften the edges with your fingertip, and you’re good to go. The subtle shimmer never looks garish.
I’m also drooling over Chanel’s summer nail polishes. Color-wise, bronze Terrana, coral Coquilicot, turquoise Mediterranée and purple Lavanda match the Stylo Eyeshadows perfectly.
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The summer Mediterranée collection will be available at Chanel counters in June.
PERFECTION LUMIERE
EXTREME: MAKING PERFECT SKIN POSSIBLE
This fairly new range of liquid and powder foundations is already making waves in Singapore, thanks to Perfection Lumiére, a super-lightweight liquid foundation that provides medium coverage and dries to a powdery finish. As with Le Blanc, it answers the needs of Asian women who live in tropical countries and want to avoid the oily shine that inevitably develops in humid climes.
Those who need less coverage or just want to retouch can try Mat Lumiére Extreme, a sebum-controlling, pore-minimizing powder foundation with SPF 20. While mattifying, this velvety powder won’t give your face that flat, matte, 2D look; instead you’ll appear luminous and natural. Used in conjunction with Perfection Lumiére, the possibility of having perfect, shine-free skin the whole day is now reality.
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Perfection Lumiére Extreme will be available at Chanel counters in April.
LE BLANC & LA PERLE
DE CHANEL: TAILORED
ESPECIALLY FOR ASIAN WOMEN
For 2015, Chanel’s Le Blanc makeup collection, brightening cosmetics meant to complement Chanel’s Le Blanc skincare line, boasts a revamped formula. According to Chanel Singapore, their clients are already fans of the three Light Creator brightening makeup bases that come in pink, yellow and white tones to correct grayish or dull complexions.
Another plus is that La Perle de Chanel color cosmetics have been developed especially for Asian women, acknowledging the fact that we follow a certain style of makeup, that we love pinks and prefer a softer look. Thus, a pink-based new lip palette, eyeshadow quad, blush and gloss duos have been created just to highlight Asian beauty.
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Le Blanc and La Perle de Chanel are available at Chanel counters in Rustan’s.
LES BEIGES:
GUARANTEED TO GIVE YOU A HEALTHY GLOW
I love the concept behind Les Beiges. No muss, no fuss, no unwearable editorial colors, just a special makeup collection dedicated to giving you a healthy glow.
The difference is immediately seen in the packaging: beige compacts imprinted with a black logo, as opposed to Chanel’s classic black packaging with white logo.
Perfect for the “natural women” among us, Les Beiges started with an all-in-one BB cream, which was so successful Chanel is launching more complementary products: sun powders for sun-kissed warmth, portable shimmer stick blushes that can be used to color or contour, a lightly tinted lip balm that brings out the natural color of your lips, and beige nail lacquers for polished tips and toes. Forget the orangey fake-suntan look; you get the natural, outdoorsy radiance of a model like Gisele Bündchen.
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The Les Beiges collection will be available at Chanel counters in June.
