Chanel Holiday 2009 Color - Collection Cage Dorée de Chanel

My first glance at Chanel's Holiday Collection, Cage Dorée de Chanel, which I had seen during what I call "drive-by" shopping, did not lure me to test. First glances are often misleading, so yesterday - with some weekend time on my hands - I did a bit of testing with Chris Coles at Nordstrom. I bought three fabulous pieces.

As a sidebar, I would have checked out the colors on Saturday, after the Beauty Trends Show at Nordstrom's Tysons Corner store, but I was afraid I would be trampled by the 500 attendees who were so anxious to buy beauty products you would have thought they were all headed to a desert isle with one last chance to get spruced up. To her credit, the lovely and lively stage mistress Julianne De'Chaump whipped the audience into a frenzy.

Les Tissages Lamés de Chanel ($60) is a beautiful highlighter in Chanel's signature tweed design - three delicately woven shades of shimmering golden color for cheeks, décolleté, or anyplace you want to give a golden glow. Gold, bronze, and copper tones cast a natural luminous glow on the skin. To its credit, Chanel skipped the glitter, so you can wear this highlighter during the day or for your evening festivities. I love highlighters, so this one jumped right into the little pile of purchases Chris was toting around. It provides a nice warm touch to my fair skin, and I think it will work for every skin tone.

The limited-edition Bird of Paradise LES 4 OMBRES Quadra Eye Shadow ($56) puts the focus on eyes with a tropical-bright quartet of aqua, yellow, green-gold, and copper shades, which can be toned down or played up, depending on your mood. In the case, these colors looked a little too bright for me. Once on the eyelids, though, they are gorgeous. The aqua is the brightest shade, and I will tone it down a bit by mixing it with one of the other colors. The model for the collection, wearing these shades, looks like she is ready for spring. Don't let that stop you from playing with them.

I thought the limited-edition "sleeper" of the collection might be the dual eye liner, La Ligne de Chanel ($45), shown above in Celadon Lamé. This dual eye liner is sold out on Chanel's Web site, so I'm glad I bought it. You have to try it to see the gorgeous, dark richness of the colors. The mistake-proof, powder eye liner duo can provide either the precision of a liquid eyeliner or the smudged look of a kohl pencil. The deep, dark black-green look, created by two different shades, is very flattering. These colors can be worn as liners or, with a light application, as shadows - much like Chanel's dramatic Collection Noirs Obscurs.

There are other items in this collection, including new Aqualumière Lipstick (28.50) and Lip Gloss ($27) shades. Aqualumière Lipstick is always with me. I live in it. I love the formula and beautiful transparent colors. The sheer colors in the holiday collection balance the exotic eye shades. The lipsticks on display are Galapagos, a lustrous coral; Tasmania, an exquisite pink; Grenada, a soft, subdued fuchsia; and the limited-edition Maldives, a warm, ultra-wearable peach. In the gloss department, the new shades of this water-light gloss are Colibri, a shimmering pearl; Hirondelle, a vibrant pink; and Canari, a bright, citrusy coral. The glosses wear comfortably while delivering a sheer wash of shiny color. I plan to go back when my bank account refreshes and try a few of these shades. All of them will take you safely into spring and summer, when pinks and corals promise to be among the hottest shades.

New limited-edition Les Vernis ($23) nail colors round out the collection in Trapèze, a radiant silver-beige; Mica Rose, a tender pink; and Orange Fizz, a vivid coral.

You can see the collection at Chanel's Web site, or at any department store with a Chanel Cosmetics counter, including Nordstrom, Saks, and Neiman Marcus. Spend a little time and "get to know" these new colors. You may like them as much as I do!

Photos courtesy of Chanel