Every super spy gal needs a secret weapon. Sydney Bristow’s (loved me some Alias!) were arguably her crazy-@ss wigs — perfect for fooling bad guys into thinking she was someone other than the lethal agent she was.
But say Sydney had a thing for Chanel lipsticks. If she had, she would’ve fallen hard for Rouge Allure Velvet in L’Impatiente ($32.50), the sole lippie from the Eclats du Soir de Chanel makeup collection for holiday 2012. A deep reddish black with a matte finish, it’s drizzled with a semblance of shine.
A twist of the tube reveals a dark wine bullet the color of a rich cabernet sauvignon. Before I tried it on, I expected L’Impatiente to be a tough cookie, both in terms of getting it to look good on my lips, and in the sense that I wanted to wear it with black leather pants, studded bracelets and spikes.
Before it ever touched my lips, I made a mental note to look for my lip brush. I also sought out a matching lip liner and dusted off my pair of black platforms with chains (my “tough girl” shoes).
And then, when I applied my first layer, TWIST!
L’Impatiente was nowhere near as opaque as I expected it to be. Not sheer, by any means, but just sheer enough to make it very easy to apply — so easy that I can do it straight from the tube without a liner or brush.
And the best part yet? It’s still dramatic, but at the same time elegant and gangsta.. I think it must be thanks to the slight shine.
I can see a photographer, one who had to scrap her way to her hard-earned success, dressed from head-to-toe in black McQueen wearing this shade on her lips as she clinks champagne glasses with her BFF after a sold out gallery show.
Have you met L’Impatiente?
- Lasts about four hours on my lips
- Unscented and unflavored
- My lips like the lightweight, comfortable texture
- The color doesn’t migrate outside of my natural lip line, even when I smack my lips together
- Gals with chapped lips, take heed: I’ve noticed that if my lips have any flakes at all, L’Impatiente will latch on to them and appear uneven
With L’Impatiente, you can follow Sydney Bristow’s lead and trick your makeup-loving friends into thinking that you’re about to apply a completely opaque lip shade. Imagine their surprise when they see how wearable it really is.
PRICE: $32.50
AVAILABILITY: Coming next month to Chanel counters and chanel.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A (beautiful! — but it is spendy)
Chanel makes everything better…
Remember how grumpy I was last weekend after the cookies and lemonade debacle? Well, shortly after that “incident,” I made my way over to the nearest Chanel counter.
While I was there playing with face products, I heard the Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder and Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer begging for a nice lady to take them home. 🙂
I’ve only just started wearing the powder this week and haven’t really dug into the bronzer, but I have a good feeling about them based on what I’ve seen so far.
The Nordie’s SA that day was nice enough to make me a sample of Lift Lumiere Eye Concealer to try, but I’m not sure if it’s right for me. I’ve worn it a couple times already and like how it blends, but it’s not doing a great job of covering my dark circles, grrr…
I’ve been on something of a Chanel kick lately, so if you can recommend any unsung heroes of your own from Chanel’s permanent line, please, PLEASE let me know. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Your skin looks fab! I don’t know if I can sport a vampy lipstick. I’m just too afraid of the colours sometimes… :'(
Hi Karen, I’m a teen beauty blogger and I’m quite interested in your “hair over the years!” I’ve been reading your pieces for a year now and really enjoy your enthusiam and creativity 🙂 I also notice your hair looks different like every month, in the best way possible, of course. Some days it’s purple, others you have bangs, and still others, you have highlights 😛
Thank You!
Beverley
This is a beautiful shade, and it looks gorgeous on you! I haven’t tried the Allure Velvet formula yet, but I really need to.
Hot hot hot! Love this colour on you! Can’t wait to see if it works for a pale, blued eyed, blonde! 🙂
Love the bronzer – I use it w/the new Chanel blending brush (looks like the MAC 188/187) and buff it over my foundation – Love this stuff – in fact I bought the Carine Roitfield quad after seeing it on you and will use the creme blush like Chanel’s bronzer when I travel – all in one – just need a blush and a pencil and some lippies and I’m good to hop on the train or plane to go visit my friend. Think I need the new blush in this collection – so beautiful on you and I’m about NW 20/25 – think it will look great – Thanks for all your reviews!
I love the finish! It really is a gorgeous color too! Not for me, but beautiful.
What a coincidence, i’m on an alias marathon right mow and that lipstick looks fabulous on you that i just have to get it for myself but i’d like to know, is it moisturizing enough seeing that it’s on the matte side?
the color is really pretty on you Karen 😀 😀 lovedddd the clicks here …
you have any dupes for the lip color ??
That lip color is the perfect combination of being both sexy and sophisticated! This is the most perfect color for fall and it looks really well on you!
I think it looks fantastic on you!
Damn, I love it! It looks so beautiful on you. Usually that’s the indication that it’ll look good on me too ;). Perfect for those dark winter days over here in Berlin. Thank you!!
Me likey! I’ll definitely keep this one in mind when the collection comes out! I’ve wanted to try the loose powder too, but I’ll wait for your review 🙂
Gorgeous lipstick! How similar is it to Rebel by MAC?
Meow, Karen! You look so vampy! I love it!
I LOVE IT!! I need this in my life asap. Can’t wait for the collection to launch!
I LOVE that look on you! You look beautiful! I’m not sure that I’d be able to pull those lips off but I’m tempted, it’s a stunning color!
That said… as far as concealers go, have you tried Amazing Cosmetics Concealer? It’s honestly the best… not Chanel, I know, but the best concealer by far!
Girl, I am ALWAYS on a Chanel kick.
I got samples of the new Rouge Allure and I may have found my perfect red. So exciting!
Thank you! Now I am going to look for it! This will be my choice for vampy shade this year! Looks so gorgeous!
Karen, if you’re an Alias junkie like me then you need to watch Covert Affairs on USA. It feeds my need for Kick A$$ female spies and she has great hair and shoes. Always a must.
Love it! A lot sheerer than I was expecting, though! I think I’m gonna get Wet n Wild’s Cherry Bomb because it looks nice.
That color is so beautiful on you, but then every color you put on is just wonderful. I am in love with every piece in this collection. I am new to Chanel and don’t have much from them, I do love Coco Shines that I have in Boy and Bonheur. And my most favorite fragrance from them is Chance Eau Tendre. I would love to try their blushes and eyeshadows as well, but I have to save up for them.
Love this look on you and love Alias, too. Gotta hand it to her, I haven’t seen any female character as kick-A** since her show went off the air. Now, Chanel. OMG this lippie is severely tempting me. You look gorgeous in this. I have but one Chanel product that I can rave about, but sadly, it is not in the permanent line. Rouge Coco Hydrating Creme Lip Colour in Ballet Russe. It is versatile, and extremely wearable, as a lippie or a stain. it could do as a cream blush mixed with some lotion in an emergency, too, I’d bet. It is in no way Hydrating, as the title claims, but I love the color so much I would recommend it nonetheless. I was able to find a tube at a less shopped Macys counter in SF. But if you can find it online – snap it up! you will not regret. every Chanel enthusiast should have this go-to color in her stash.