Chanel Rouge Double Intensité Ultra Wear Lip Colour in Rose Pearl

Chanel Rouge Double Intensité Ultra Wear Lip Colour ($34) in Rose Pearl (#11) totally changed my impression of Rouge Double Intensité. You may remember that I panned the lip color when Cristal Rose was introduced for Spring 2011. It was a non-color. You can see my January feature at this link.

Kathy Shoreman started wearing Rose Pearl - and raving about it - this year. She works in the beauty department at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria. The double-ended product has a base-coat color that has a fluid texture that delivers long-lasting performance and a comfortable liquid-like application with a doe-foot applicator. It adheres perfectly to the lips - without transferring or feathering - and dries quickly. Once it does, it's there to stay. It will last for hours, like a stain. You can talk, eat, drink, whatever, and it stays put. On the other end of the wand is a top-coat gloss, a clear lip gloss that provides high shine if you want to use it.

You can use any gloss over the base coat, though, and Kathy showed me how she uses YSL's Touch Brilliance in Pink Topaz to top Rose Pearl. The results are stunning. She has received numerous compliments about her lip color and has sold both products based on her modeling. A shipment of Chanel's Rose Pearl Double Intensité arrived at her store the week before last. I got one, and a famous actress got one. Kathy got one too, I think. I believe the shade is already gone - again. It seems hard to find (but read on).

Here's a swatch photo of Rose Pearl Double Intensité. My photo was taken in full, outdoor sun. Isn't the color stunning? It's a warm rose - very flattering for many skin tones. Chanel's Web site shows it in the brown family. I don't understand why. I won't bother to show you the clear gloss. It's clear and shiny.

This shade is hard to find in the stores because it's so pretty. You can purchase it at Chanel.com. I found it at Amazon for $30, a $4 discount, but the seller wants $3.50 to ship it. You might as well check at your Chanel counter or Chanel's Web site to see if you can get one there.

Photo at top courtesy of Amazon