Damn ye, makeup gods.
Why did you have to make me fall in love with the Chanel Garden Party quad?
I mean, despite the fact that it’s got:
– Sexy sleek black packaging
– Finely milled shadows
– Sophisticated shimmer that creates a soft-focus lens effect
– Buildable color that’s highly pigmented and incredibly user friendly
– Two gorgeous green shadows that are to die for
…it still frickin’ costs an arm and a leg! That’s fifty-five big ones, sans tax. Holy effin’ crap, Batman!
I’ve been dying to get the Garden Party shadow quad for a few weeks now, so yesterday’s national artist event at my local Macy’s was the perfect excuse to go.
The makeover included:
Skincare
Le Lait Cleanser, Nourishing cleansing milk for face and eyes
Activateur Hydration, Gentle Hydrating Lotion
Beaute Initiale, Energizing Multi-Protection Concentrate (this is a serum)
Beaute Initiale, Energizing Multi-Protection Eye Cream SPF 15
Beaute Initiale, Energizing Multi-Protection Fluid Healthy Glow SPF
Makeup
Face —
Medium Deep Pro Lumiere Concealer ($38.00)
Soft Honey Teint Innocence Foundation ($42.50)
Eyes –
Garden Party Quad ($55.00)
Soft Brown Precision Brow Definer ($28.00)
Cheeks —
Orchid Rose Jouse Contraste Powder Blush ($40.00)
Lips —
Nude Le Cray Levres Precision Lip Definer ($28.00)
Equinox Glossimer Gloss ($25.00)
Standout Products that I Might Come Back to Purchase
As far as I can tell all of the skincare used in the session was very gentle, non-perfumey, and didn’t break me out. I may someday purchase the cleansing milk and the serum, which were the stand-out products because they felt very moisturizing.
In addition to the Garden Party quad, I liked the Teint Innocence foundation, which is a light, liquid foundation that has a soft glow to it. I usually don’t like glowy foundations, but this one was very understated and natural. I ended up getting a few samples because I didn’t want to drop the $42.50 for it without seeing the results in natural light.
I also liked the Equinox Glossimer lip gloss, however not enough to spend $25.00 on it. I will put this on my Christmas wish list. Dear Santa, I’ve been a *very good blogger* this year!
The Final Eye Look
The “doe in the headlights” face was because I was doing makeup math equations in my head, which roughly sounded a lil something like, “if x = hours worked times one chanel palette aww hell I WANT WANT WANT WANT IT ALL! BUT SHOULD I BUY BUY BUY IT ALL?”
What I Liked About Garden Party Quad
I’m crazy about the colors and the textures of the shadows. This is definitely very sophisticated and grown-up shimmer. I’m naturally not a bright color, over-the-top shadow kinda girl, and the Chanel shadows offer a level of color that fits my comfort level to a tee. The final look is something that I’d wear out to several situations, including parties, business meetings, or even for a nice dinner out with the parents and El Hub.
Things I Didn’t Like About Garden Party Quad
Obvs there was the price, because fifty-five bones can buy me a shizzload of Prestige Pencils at Walgreens. Another thing is that like most shadows I’ve tried, I can’t wear the dark green color on my waterline. You’ll see in the final look that my lower waterline is rimmed with it; less than an hour later I had to take it all off because my eyes were watery. I don’t think that it’s exlusive to the Chanel line though, because most shadows have that effect on me.
Chanel Garden Party Quad — Is it for You?
New to makeup? Then seriously, don’t buy this. It’ll just set the bar and you’ll forever be disappointed by everything else. Plus, it ain’t cheap. If you’re going to be experimenting and really playing with the colors then you don’t want to have feel like you’ve got to ration your shadow usage.
If I was a makeup newbie then I’d start with mid-to-lower priced stuff and move onto Chanel after I 1.) paid off my 4Runner or 2.) got a sugar daddy or 3.) had an adequate arsenal of brushes and decent blending skills.
I’ve used three colors in the palette so far: both lighter and darker green and the peach on the upper right hand side. When I swatched the greens on the back of my hand a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure if the colors were going to work, but after one of the lovely Chanel makeup artists, Laurie, started blending them on the lid I knew it was going to be heavenly.
She started by using Pro Lumiere Medium Deep Concealer as the lid primer, which is concealer “pen” with a brush tip applicator. She added one layer of the peach shadow all over the lid, and then worked the darker green from the lash line to the crease, feathering the color upward.
Chanel National Media Artist John Fussell jumped in, adding and blending colors. He finished the look by adding the lighter green in the center of the eye. To make the color really pop, he used his fingertip apply a concentrated spot of light green shadow close to the lash line. He then tapped a brush to gently blend the light green into the rest of the eye.
The Final Word
It’s official. I’m in love with Chanel shadows. And this is now my makeup cross to bear.
Rad New Makeup Tricks, Courtesy John Fussell
John was a lot of fun to work with. He works red carpet events in Hollywood and gave me the dish on some of his celeb clientele. Apparently, he Rene Zellweger is his homegirl and he recently talked her out of wearing mink lashes on the red carpet. SMART MAN!
He also gave me a few new makeup tricks to add to my arsenal:
1. To create dimension in blush, use two different brushes. John used one large, fluffy brush to place the color on apple of cheek, but instead of brushing the color from the apple upward into the hairline, he used downward brush strokes. He then used the same brush to apply blush on top of forehead and on chin and around the nose — places where you’d naturally get color when you’re feverish or have a cold.
He then had me smile and used a thin, tapered brush (similar to MAC’s 224 crease brush) to add a concentrated pop of color on bottom of the apple of the cheek. Using two brushes to create different concentrations of color adds contrast and contour.
2. When using pencil to define lips, think of your lips in terms of four points and really work the color into the corners of the lips to give them definition. You can make your lips a “blank canvas” by applying a layer of foundation. He then used a lip brush to apply Soft Honey Teint Innocence Foundation on the lips. He finished by using a lip brush to apply Nude Equinox gloss in a downward, not side to side, motion. Go with the grain of your lip, not against!
3. Your finger is your strongest brush. He demonstrated this when he dipped his finger into the light green to place concentrated color onto the center of the lid. He then blended it in by tapping, not rubbing the color into place. Adding a pop of color to the center is an easy way to take your eye makeup from day into night.
What’s in Store for Chanel Spring 2008 — You Heard First on Makeup and Beauty Blog!
John gave me the inside scoop on what colors to expect for spring. Sapphire blue is going to be the it color, especially for the eyes. Remember the denim shades that Chanel did a few years ago? Apparently these shappire tones will be completely different. Also expect to see touches of bronze. HOT!
Makeup Event Etiquette
I love going to makeover events because it gives me an excuse to try and learn about new lines. Plus, I always learn a makeup trick or two while I’m there.
If you’re new to attending makeup events the general rule is that if you get a makeover you should buy at least one product. Know that when you sit down in that chair it will be very tempting to purchase everything the makeup artist uses to get the look. This feeling happens to me every time I go to one of these things.
What helps me is to have one specific product in mind when I get there because otherwise I end up spending more than I expect to. I have to set a budget for myself. I have fun being a makeup junkie but I also have fun watching the money pile up. (Sorry, I just got the new Kanye West CD and couldn’t help but quote from his song, The Good Life.) If I really want something that’s beyond my list then I get a sample or I tell myself that if I’m still thinking about it in two weeks I can come back and buy it.
Girl Gone Wild: Obscene, Unrated and Uncensored Moments of CHANEL LUST
Oh how I want this bag!
But unfortch this is more my price range. Quilted black patent makeup bags from Murval, $24.00.
It’s winter and I needed a new black, casual jacket that covered my bum. The Chanel-esque quilting on this Guess coat won me over. Plus, it’s warm and was on sale!
Rabid Chanel lust takes over Makeup and Beauty Blog. Will she be able to stop the obsession before it’s too late?
Stay tuned…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
U look so stunning and gorgeous. I am a sucker for their glossimers. I think I’m going to go bankrupt with my make-up addictions… but what’s a girl to do? Everything’s so pretty
U look so stunning and gorgeous. I love the pop of green in the middle of your lid, plus I love the tapping method as opposed to caking/rubbing it in. I am a sucker for their glossimers. I think I’m going to go bankrupt with my make-up addictions… but what’s a girl to do? Everything’s so pretty
Hey Gorgeous! Gosh that palette really make your eyes pop! You have such gorgeous eyes!
Awww I know, the thought of my sister growing up and going to prom makes me sad! Haha I want her to be a kid forever and not grow up. 🙁 But you are right, at least I have a “guinea pig” to put makeup on haha…and I LOVE the shadesticks! I know, I read reviews on them that they were dry and tugged on your lid, hard to put on, etc., I haven’t had that problem yet, but I think if that happens you just gotta warm it up a bit by rubbing off a few layers on your warm hand and it’s good to go. I think what I love about it most is how you can wear it as a base to enhance other eyeshadows or pigments, of even wear it alone, and because it’s in “pen” form, it’s easy to carry around in your purse for touch ups or an easy 5 minute makeover.
For me, I used it as a base and put MAC “Shale” and “Patina” on the crease and outer V and it came out nice and very neutral, perfect for everyday wear. But it’s gorgeous by itself!
And copperplate (gosh I can’t believe I forgot to include what I used!), I paired it with MAC Paint in Painterly as the base, then I think I used MAC’s “Bisque” over my entire lid, and then used copperplate on my crease and just blended it with MAC “Mylar”. I feel you on having trouble with the Matte2 (haha I DO say Matte2 instead of Matte squared) because I personally love eyeshadows with shimmer, even a subtle shimmer, or mac frost eyeshadows because it just makes my eyes pop, with matte colors I feel so dull and blah, I have to add some sort of shimmer on it so I don’t feel so plain, perhaps which is why I only got copperplate because I really wasn’t feeling the other colors.
I have been watching some YouTube video tutorials on gals who have used Matte2 but the too ended up adding it with some sort of a frostier or shimmery eyeshadow.
That is one gorgeous look on you. I’m stunned. An arm and a leg well spent!
First… You looked HOT!!
Honestly I hate makeovers cuz you never know what the MA will do to your face.. but seriously this is really beautiful..
about Chanel, I’m lemming mat lumiere foundation, It is just released in my country.. so I might check it out this week..
Gorgeous, Karen! I liked the makeover you got. When I had the impromptu makeover, they had like 3-4 artists working on me, and it was overwhelming. Everyone wanted a piece of the action, lol!
I bought the cleanser from them, which was nice, but I ended up returning it because I couldn’t justify the price. One way I can steer myself clear of Chanel is the fact that I have so much makeup, I just never get the chance to use quads and the like more than a handful of times initially. After that, it gets hidden or forgotten about.
Great tips, too! How’s Natural Flare working for you?
Thanks I Love MAC!
Which Glossimers do you have? (I was *wowed* by the sparkle in the gloss, it looked so very stunning under the Macy’s lighting.) I think I’ll put a few more on my holiday wish list. 🙂
Thanks Vanessa! I am going to try and replicate the look today on my own, I hope it works!
Awww, at least you have a good 3-4 years before your lil’ sis starts the BIG changes (boys, peer pressure…). Soon enough she’ll be raiding your stash and “borrowing” your favorite lipgloss! But for now all you can do is spoil her and treat her like a baby till she starts claiming that she’s all grown up and knows everything (*sigh*)!
I like the idea of portability and ease with the Shadesticks. I’ve read about them on makeup alley and was always very curious. So after you warm them up, do you apply a few strokes on your lid and then feather it out with a brush? Or does the pencil go on soothly enough to go all over? Darnit, I think I’ll have to stop by the MAC counter again today to play.
The other day when I was speaking with the Chanel artists they were all very surprised when I told them about MAC’s recent matte releases. John basically said that mattes are hard for many women to pull off, just because it doesn’t look good if you’re skin is crepey and you’ve got to use at least three different shades of matte to create any dimension in the eye. And here I was, thinking that I was just a complete matte shadow clutz! I like shimmer and frosts too, and I’m so not ready to “go there” in terms of matte-ness, ugh. Gimme Ricepaper or Shroom or Woodwinked, PLEASE!
Thanks Elisabeth!
Speaking of paying an arm and a leg – the Chanel counter had their Holiday 2007 palettes out and all I can say is OHHHHH BOY! They are so beautiful but cost $$$$. (Eighty-five, I think!) These are definitely going on my Christmas list, although my husband and family allegedly claim that I have “too much makeup” and that they refuse “too enable the madness.” HA!
Thank you Hessah!
Yah, it’s always a toss up when you’re in the hands of someone else at the makeup counter. I always find that it helps to be really nice, interactive and vocal about what I’m looking for. Plus, I try and charm whoever I’m working with so that they don’t end up purposefully giving me clown/drag queen makeup (’cause that’s what I’d do if someone pissed me off!)
I’m seriously lemming for the Chanel foundation, and can’t wait to bust into my Teint Innocence foundation samples. The MA told me to use a pin to prick the packages so I can make the foundation last.
Lemme know if you end up getting the Mat Lumiere and if you like it! We can enable each other’s Chanel fetish, aaaahhhh!
Aww, Christine, it was like you were a star with your 3 Chanel makeup artists all up in your grill!
I keep thinking about getting that Chanel cleanser, but like you, I don’t know if I can justify the cost. I was never a quad/palette girl until now. The pre-coordinated colors feed the lazy beast in me ’cause I like that I don’t have to think about what matches with what!
OH OH OH so I’ve been Natural Flaring like crazy lately. I’ve been using as a highlight and as light layer o’ sparkle over blush.
Is the violet worth getting? Tell me, my MAC guru.
karen, great look from the artists! gorgeous!
ah ha! layering blushes! i use my wide powder blush to apply a beauty powder (mac- any of them are awesome) and then use the 109 to overlap another color =))
great chic and trendy coat!!! it’s a requirement of mine now that my coats cover my butt! my aunt used to always nag us about wearing little ski coats that only came to our hips. i’m on a search for a gorgeous long coat to pair with some high kicking boots and lush bag =)
It’s so hard for me to just stick with the quad colors! I always itch to grab others, too.
The violet is really good for brightening up plummy cheeks, but also for adding shimmer to pinkish sheeks with a slight violet sheen. I like it so far!
Hi Karen!
The Garden palette looks AMAZING on you! I just went today and got a Chanel makeover too and tried one of their Holiday palettes, Radiant Gems. I like the technique she used for my under-eye with the silver but overall thought it was too warm for me, although she swears the bronze shade brings out the color in my eyes. Have you tried this particular palette before? I’d love to hear what you thought about it.
Also, I love the pictures you took of yourself! I’m still trying to master the art of makeup photography for my blog. Any tips you can share?
I love your blog and I’ll stop by again soon!
Lilan
yeah..I’m totally going to give you my opinion when I try it..
and I have to mention chanel white pencil eyeliner.. It’s the best..
I have a small eyes and I never wear black e/l on my waterline..
I used to wear white e/l that looked as if I’ve lined my waterline with a my nephew’s coloring pencil, and then I read about the chanel one, and decided to give it a shot. Thank God I did.
here is a picture of it..
http://img.makeupalley.com/1/8/8/3/748836.JPG
Ooohh, I feel your (beautiful) pain! I was a few blocks over at the Nordstrom trend show and I caved on the Chanel “Winter Nights” quad — if I’d known you were at Macy’s, I might have come over to try and meet you! 🙂 I’m soooo smitten with Chanel! So expensive! So pretty! So expensive!
And, oh yeah, you look mahvelous!
Heya Christine, what brush do you use when applying the beauty powders? Do you use a blush brush? (I’ve been using both a fluffy blush brush and a smaller shadow brush for spot application of the Natural Flare!)
OH Kia! I want the 109 so badly!
And yeah, the tiny, non-bum covering ski jacket days are soooo over for me. I rather have a warm bum than cute jeans that show off the bum (my the times are a-changing!)
Guess has lots of cute coats this year. I’ve been perusing the Nordstrom Web site and found lots of cute, military inspired coats that aren’t too pricey.
Hi Lilan!
I haven’t gotten the chance to play with the Chanel Holiday palettes yet. I will have to check it out, thanks for the heads up! (Oh, and my feeling is that if you only feel so-so about the eye color, then wait it out for something else. I mean, it’s so expensive, so you might as well spend the $ on something you are *really in love* with, ya know?)
As for pictures, hmm, well the biggest thing that’s helped me was to invest in a higher-end SLR camera. I shoot with a Canon Rebel XTI. I have an all purpose lens right now that goes from 18-55 mm, but plan on getting more lenses in the future. You can probably get away with a point and shoot Canon Elf but you have to really pay attention to your lighting and have an incredibly steady hand if you don’t want to shoot with the flash.
And thank you for your nice complements on the blog! I look forward to seeing you again soon, girl!
Hi Hessah,
Do you use the white liner on both the upper and lower lash line? Do you apply directly or use a brush?
I used to use this trick a long time ago and kinda forgot about it! I do recall that lining with a light liner does really open up the eye though.
And yay! I can’t wait to get your Glossimer recs!
Oh Glosslizard!
Do you have a pic of your Chanel palette!? Share with the class!!!!
I really gotta give you props for attending the trade show and *not* blowing it all in one fell swoop, girl!
I use it only on my waterline, and I use directly..
I have a picture, I’ll try to e-mail it to you!
Yeah, the only reason I didn’t really go nuts is because I already picked up some Chanel loot last month too, so I have pretty much no money left! I got the Trio Levres (the gloss trio from the same collection as Garden Party) and the glossimer in Sundress. Sundress is fab! I’m loving it! Sheer nude pink and a hint of sparkle, a perfect nude alone or an amazing topcoat on anything — most notably the MAC Mattene in Cafe Matte! The trio is sumptuous and divine in that total Chanel way, the texture is indescribable! The colors are gemlike and perfect for the holidays, ruby, pearl and gold!
BTW, I’ve been really enjoying your blog for some time now, even more so being a local girl (I’m right across the Bay)! Thanks for keeping up with all the current fabulosity for all of us!
OMG Glosslizard – I just got your pic! OH girrrrlll – that looks TOO GOOD! I have a Nordstrom gift card that’s burning a hot little hole in my pocket, too…oh boy. I know where this is going.
Both you and Hessah are gonna be the death of me. You two are my Chanel pushers.
And yay, don’t you love the Bay? Granted, the housing market is over-inflated and it’s hard to get ahead (especially when there’s so much awesome Chanel makeup around!) but there’s no other place like it. 🙂
Hey sexy I’m a chanel make up princess and I know everything about their make up but I wonder where’s the gemstones allure rouge collection?
…they refuse to unable the madness?! C’mmon, you are one of the biggest blogger, you HAVE TO HAVE it for busniess purpose 🙂 that’s my kind of reasoning.
The look is GREAT! on you. Really.
I am a CHANEL lover since Kaska Beige and I consider the ALLURE the best Lipstick ever. I buy and try but I did not find any that can take it with ALLURE.
In Europe / Germany Chanel MU is not that expensive. That’s the only good thing about it, BUT we do not get all the LE.