Chantecaille's limited-edition Les Macarons Face Palette target="_blank" ($68) for Holiday 2010 houses five festive shades to create a beautiful (and trendy) face for this winter. This palette, inspired by the delicious and colorful macaroon cookies from France, starts you winter look with an eye shadow for lining in Cassis, a deep plum. The shadow has a high concentration of ginseng to enhance the skin’s condition and increase elasticity. I love those extra-added benefits. A highlighting shadow, Caramel, creates pearlescent tones that offer a reflective finish for a sophisticated look. I like to wear it over the entire lower lid to open up my eyes.For cheeks, there's a happy and vibrant pink shade in Raspberry, enriched with anti-aging vitamins A, C, and E, along with a creamy Rose highlighter to accentuate your cheek and brow bones. To finish the look, the compact has a pretty pink Strawberry lip gloss. Packaged in a sleek gunmetal compact with a very nice dual-ended brush, the palette will make a great addition to your makeup wardrobe or a generous gift. I don't know why my friends never give me makeup palettes!
It could not have been cloudier when I took my swatch photo at right. The weather wouldn't cooperate today. I swatched the palette left to right, starting with the Cassis powder shadow/liner, shown at top. I applied each shade fairly heavily, hoping to get enough color to have something to show you, despite the clouds. The Caramel highlighting powder shadow is hard to see on my arm. I would describe it as shimmering beige-gold on my skin. You can see a close-up of the two eye shades below left in a photo I took inside under bright lights.
It's eas
y to see the vibrant Raspberry blush in the center of my arm swatch. I wouldn't apply it this heavily on my face, but I wanted you to see how gorgeous the shade is. The icing on the cake - so to speak - is the Rose cream highlighter (not blended on my arm). I absolutely love it! The Strawberry lip gloss is also as pretty as it gets.Another gorgeous addition from the Chantecaille line, this limited edition is worth snatching up now. You can see it at the Chantecaille Web site, where you can also read about the company, its generosity, and its conscience. The online special offer today is a full-sized Amaretto Lip Gloss SPF 15 with any purchase of $200. I received it with my order and love it. Even if I have to buy more than I planned, I never leave gifts with purchase "on the table."
Now I have to ask you a question. Why doesn't Chantecaille get the attention on blogs that M∙A∙C gets? I know the "younger set" worships at the M∙A∙C alter, and I buy from M∙A∙C and love some of their products. M∙A∙C makes great makeup and also, as a company, has a conscience. I just don't understand why each M∙A∙C collection, introduced every couple of weeks (or so it seems), gets so much attention when gorgeous Chantecaille makeup goes relatively "uncovered" by my fellow bloggers, magazines, and other media. I toast them both! Got an answer?
Photo at top courtesy of Chantecaille
I work in an "upscale" retail venue and get asked pretty much every day if we sell MAC cosmetics - and I always have to tell the customer that we do not, and then try to steer them to a comparable brand, such as NARS or even Bobbi Brown, who provide at least as much diversity in shades, textures and colors as does MAC. Both abovementioned brands were created by makeup artists - which is what MAC stands for, Makeup Artists' Cosmetics. In answer to your question, I am guessing that MAC skews to a younger crowd, because it is less expensive and has a more "hip" street cred, but I personally cannot stand going in to a MAC store and shopping. The loud house music, hip or not, is deafening and annoying, and I always feel like I am in the middle of a rugby scrum or fire sale, pushed aside by rude customers and ignored by the salespeople as not being "hip" enough. Nordstrom is a nicer shopping experience for MAC, but again, even at non-peak hours, I have to wait for a long time to get served, even when I know what I want.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, though - Chantecaille is gorgeous makeup and deserves more attention!!
I love M∙A∙C's history, but do you think it's just an "age thing"?
ReplyDeleteBTW, I get fabulous service at Nordstrom's M∙A∙C counter at Tysons. For the M∙A∙C stores locally, I prefer Chevy Chase.
Lovely palette, as usual with Chantecaille...I can't answer your question regarding the USA, but I can tell you (as I already have) that it's a real pity Chantecaille is not more widely distributed: in France, imagine there is only one big department store (Le Bon Marché) and no possibility to order on line!!!
ReplyDeleteMAC has lots of shops in Paris and several in big French towns and, most of all, there is a very good website and very efficient deliveries. I agree with Miss Brahms: here too you have to select carefully your MAC stores because in some of them the salespeople are only self- preoccupied and just don't care about their customers (young or less young!!) Actually I don't think it's an "age thing"..In France lots of 50s or 60s buy MAC cosmetics!
As for me, I'd rather buy Armani or Nars or Bobby BRown or... Chantecaille (the last one when in Paris)
Chantecaille used to be sold at Printemps's stores, not sure if I saw it at Galeries Lafayette's too. I think MAC is more popular with young people because of bright colors, wide choice of finishes and affordable price. Chantecaille, Bobbi Brown and the other high end brands keep on the classic and chic side of the street, avoiding the hip, they address to a completely different customers and they are mostly very pricey. I do not have anything MAC, but I can understand the attraction for it. I got some very pricey high end cosmetics from by Terry and I am not entirely convinced one need to pay an arm to get good quality make up...
ReplyDeleteThank you for your reviews, I always enjoy reading your blog :)
Hi Clarisse and Liliana!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
Clarisse, it's too bad you don't have greater access to Chantecaille. I'm amazed that you can't order online!
Liliana, I know the M∙A∙C price points are much more wallet-friendly, and when I was in my 20's and in graduate school, I didn't have enough money to spend freely on makeup. I do think that Chantecaille and other "luxury" brands offer many comparable colors, but their range doesn't equal M∙A∙C's.
Interesting that you mentioned By Terry. Years ago, I bought By Terry, and every so often, I see a piece that tempts me. It's not widely available here in DC, and so I usually do without. Like you, I'm not convinced that the price is right.
I keep ordering everything I like, no matter who makes it - the sign of a true makeup addict. :)
MAC knows PR and they feed on it. Think about how many products they send to the big bloggers. They "leak" information so that the talk will grow. Also people have learned that by buying some of the LE items that are the most hyped they can make money on ebay by selling them. Those are some of the people that talk the most about it.
ReplyDeleteChantecaille is a much more sophisticated line and doesn't appeal to everyone. They also don't have the number of counters that MAC does. With that and their prices being high, they only appeal to a certain segment of beauty buyers.
Been thinking about this MAC thing. Price point and coolness factors aside, marketing is definitely on MAC's front burner, not just its products, but they also specifically target a wide range of communities including LGBT community (remember the Rue Paul ads? Elton John too, I think), the African-American community, and others of color. I haven't paid much attention to MAC ads lately, but at one point they featured more women of color in their ads than other brands. MAC seems to carry a broader range of colors than other brands that suit everyone for any kind of event, all which might make members of these communities feel that MAC attempts to meet their needs, no matter how they may be treated in the stores. Let me hasten to add that as a woman of color, I've never felt unwelcome at any cosmetic counter I've approached, including MAC, and that the products of many, many brands work well for me, as my cosmetic collection will attest! MAC also penetrates markets where there are a limited number of brands. A friend who lives in small Wisconsin town once complained that all she could get was MAC! All this is just conjecture on my part, of course.
ReplyDeleteGood points, Ava! Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your blog every day. I think your . coloring is close to mine -- blonde hair, blue eyes, slightly cool skin tone. I am 64. Do you think the Chantecaille palette would work for me? I usually don't buy palettes because not all the colors work but this looks interesting. Thanks for your help.
ReplyDeleteI did not expect to find By Terry in the States, at the time when I moved here, the brand was not at Sephora yet; I found it in Paris at their store, Printemps and The Bon Marche. So I was surprised to find it here, at Barney's :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anonymous. I adore the shades in the palette. If you have similar coloring, I think you will love it. Make sure to use the deep plum shade "judiciously."
ReplyDeleteHi Liliana!
ReplyDeleteBarneys - that's where I bought mine. :)
For me, MAC cosmetics are easier to purchase. In Boulder, CO, we have a MAC store. To purchase Chantecaille, I have to go online and deal with color representations that are not true to what I receive. They give great customer service, but I'd rather buy Chantecaille from Neiman Marcus when I go to Denver.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I DO LOVE some of MAC's LEs - - the current double mirror is great! And I think if Chantecaille decorated their cases, rather than just the product inside, they would sell better as collectibles. Personally, I'd love a palette case with a gorgeous tiger or dolphin design - - hear that, Chantecaille?? I'm just sayin' - -
Hi Leigh, wouldn't that be a fab idea! Tigers on the inside, tigers on the outside...pure tiger indulgence!
ReplyDelete