Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Chantecaille The Evening Duo for Holiday 2011

Capture the glamour of the holiday season with The Evening Duo ($84). Festively decorated with glistening Swarovski crystals, this limited-edition palette is the perfect accessory for all your holiday parties. The long-wearing, crease-free shades will keep your eyes sparkling into the night.

The palette is a stunner. The crystals make it so special it would be a crime to hide it away in a pile of makeup in the bathroom. It almost demands to be shown off. I'm sure that's why it includes two small custom-designed brushes for on-the-go application or touch-up. Who wouldn't want to pull this out of her evening bag for others to admire? It's Chantecaille's first-ever, limited-edition Swarovski crystal palette.

The Evening Duo's palette offers two shades that everyone can wear. Charmeuse is an incredibly silky and lightweight powder eye shadow that, when applied, imparts a perfect hint of soft color and luminosity. Carbon, the matte charcoal black shade, features long-wearing and nourishing pigments while it defines your eyes.

Mine arrived here from Chantecaille (I purchased online) just as the palettes have started to filter into the stores. I haven't taken the time to figure out why my palette, shown above left, is a deep, dark gunmetal, but the palette in Chantecaille's photo, above right, makes it appear a lighter gunmetal grey (maybe the lighting?). I could ask, but it's not something that matters to me. I love the looks - dark or light gunmetal - no matter how it looks to your eye, it's still gorgeous.

The shades are perfect for a festive look - no matter what time of year. While the Carbon translates from palette to skin as I anticipated (matte, buildable charcoal), the Charmeuse shade blew me away - all over again. I had tested it in the store in August when it made an appearance with Chantecaille's trainer for a few hours. My swatch photo in this August feature was taken inside the store.

Yesterday, I was able to get swatch photos outdoors in late-afternoon sun. These photos will show you the shades as they appear on my pale skin. You might notice that Charmeuse is a chameleon. It's a blend of pink, rose gold, and Rosé Champagne. The lighting and your own skin tone will determine how Charmeuse appears on you. It's definitely a more complex shade than it appears in the compact.

I applied both shadows with a sponge-tipped applicator - not extremely heavily because they latched onto my skin and stayed there. I was pleased with the creamy texture of the powders.

I hope you can see that Carbon isn't "scary black." It's a shade you can apply in many ways. Look at the way it was applied to Olivia Chantecaille's eyes in the photo at the top of this feature. It was clearly used over her liner and blended up onto the lid to give her a dramatic, evening eye. I'll have fun playing with Carbon.

Using Charmeuse to light up your eyes and Carbon as a liner and/or accent will make you an elegant holiday dreamboat. Yes, The Evening Duo is pricey. Let's get that out of the way and enjoy the exquisite presentation of these gorgeous colors for the holidays.

You can purchase The Evening Duo at Chantecaille's Web site or at Chantecaille counters (such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and select Nordstrom, Barneys, and Bloomingdale's). There is a global store locator here.

Photos courtesy of Chantecaille and by Best Things in Beauty

11 comments:

Eileen said...

Charmeuse is drop dead gorgeous! And the look Olivia is wearing is elegant, understated, yet glamourous. I've been waiting for my monthly trip into Topanga to see Chantecaille's new holiday items. This quad appears to be the perfect accompaniment to the beautiful South Sea Pearl highlighting powder you recently featured. It looks like I won't be disappointed. Better bring my AmEx! :-)

Charlestongirl said...

Definitely take the AmEx card, Eileen. I would love to see Charmeuse made part of the permanent collection at some point.

The next time I go to dinner, I must do my face and eyes with The Evening Duo and South Seas Pearl!

Reena said...

I love the colors!!! ;) I wanna get my hands on them!

Charlestongirl said...

Reena, call your favorite Chantecaille counter (or order online). The duo is stunning!

jo said...

I stopped by my Neiman Marcus over the weekend and bought South Seas Pearl. I love it, is so subtle, but stunning. NM didn't have the evening duo yet, I think I'll wait to see it in store before deciding to purchase. Thanks CG for the swatches. I also bought the Lip Chic in Bourbon Rose which is the color the model is wearing in the picture you have above and it is amazing, one of the most perfect lipsticks I've ever bought.

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Jo!

That model is Olivia Chantecaille. You can find the whole breakdown on her look here: http://www.chantecaille.com/looksDetail.cfm?id=12.

I love Bourbon Rose too. What a perfect shade!

Rosamaria said...

I love this brand. The Lip Chics and Brilliant Lip Glosses are wonderful. The sea turtle palette is a favorite of mine. Have you tried their fragrances? I have Frangipane and Kalimantan, and I love them both. I also can't say enough about their skincare.

Anonymous said...

How would you compare this duo to Chanel's holiday 2011 duo?

Charlestongirl said...

Hey there, Anon!

Which duo?

Anonymous said...

Have had my eye on this duo... can you tell me, please... is this compact refillable?

Charlestongirl said...

Anonymous, it's not visibly refillable, but that doesn't mean you couldn't refill it. The shadow pans could be flipped out with a metal nail file and some pressure (I was unwilling to test that), leaving an empty space for refill. I assume they are glued in at the bottom, like they are in most palettes.