Chanel Les 4 Ombres, Ombres à Paupières Quatuor in Prélude for Fall 2011

Is Chanel's Les 4 Ombres, Ombres à Paupières Quatuor in Prélude ($57) the perfect prelude to fall? Or is the eye shadow quad a prelude to Illusion d'Ombre, the shining eye shadow stars of the Fall 2011 Collection? It can certainly stand on its own, but it's also a fabulous canvas for the pizazz that we can create with Illusion d'Ombre or Khaki Platine.

Composed of four neutral shades, Prélude is seasonless. With each passing year, beauty masters like Peter Philips have taught us that colors should have no boundaries. I've let go of my old, preconceived notions that certain colors should be worn in the fall, and others only between Memorial Day and Labor Day. As long as I'm sane, I won't be wearing snow white shoes in the winter - I'm still conservative - but I'm much more appreciative of jewel-toned shades for summer and quiet neutrals for fall and winter.

Anyone who is a neutral shadow addict will love Prélude - even those with boxes brimming with browns, taupes, and creams. I found Chanel's photo of Prélude to be so misleading, I chose to use my own for this feature. Even my photo of the quad didn't adequately capture the lovely yellow-hued neutral in the top right of the compact. It is not pink. I struggled for two days to get adequate photos of the quad and swatches.

Picture a neutral eye, accented by Khaki Platine eyeliner, and you may have a vision as creative as Peter Philips had when he created this beautiful collection. More on Khaki Platine later today. Look at his model and picture these lovely colors on your own eyes.

The four shades of Prélude, top left and listed clockwise, are medium taupe, yellow-cream, mauve-tinged brown, and light taupe. I swatched them on my arm in that order, and I took my swatch photo this morning in sunlight. I applied each shade with a sponge-tipped applicator, using two to four swipes.

I wasn't happy with the arm swatch photo and resorted to the old fingertip method to try to show you a more saturated view of the four shades. On my fingers, the shades are shown from the light taupe on my pinkie to the medium taupe at far right. I think this photo gives a better view of the subtly shimmering shades.

What do you think? Will you be purchasing Prélude or holding out for the snappy, iridescent Illusion d'Ombre shades. I know you all want Khaki Platine. You should! I'll be working this afternoon to get better photos of the eyeliner than I was able to capture yesterday. Until then, have fun with these.

I purchased the fall collection from Chanel and Neiman Marcus. It arrived at Neiman Marcus this week, so check your favorite Chanel counter. It should be there now - or very soon.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty; model photo courtesy of Vogue