Friday, June 14, 2013

Chanel Le Blush Crème de Chanel in Inspiration for Fall 2013 - First Look

Chanel's Le Blush Crème de Chanel (#64, $38) has arrived in stores - at least at Neiman Marcus. I was surprised today to see the new blushes at the counter, and I quickly tested all of the shades: Affinité, Destiny, Fantastic, Inspiration, Présage, and Revelation. After I published The Friday Forum, I darted outside to get a few photos of my only selection: Inspiration. Just as I was taking photos, my camera's battery ran out of steam, so I have only one swatch photo to show you.

I will feature this blush again one I have tested it for a full day's wear. For now, here's what I can tell you about the new blushes. The colors are intense (with one exception, those with fair skin can read "intense" as dark). They are highly pigmented, and no matter how hard I tried while testing to pick up only a slight amount from the testers, most of the shades were way too dark for my skin. Only Inspiration, shown directly below, appeared to be light enough for me to enjoy. That shocked me.

I did purchase Inspiration. It's is a pretty pink, and it looks great on my pale skin. I took my one swatch photo on full sun - just a few minutes ago.

I used my fingertip to apply it to my arm. I didn't blend it very much, just applied a swatch. It is very creamy and applied beautifully. Now, as I write this feature only 20 minutes later, the blush had set on my arm relatively well. Running my finger over it did reduce the color intensity a bit, but who does that to her face?

There are four shades of pink, from Inspiration to the very dark Fantastic; only one shade of orange (no peach - a disappointment); and one brown (Destiny, which I want to color-test again). In my opinion, the color range is strange. I would love to have purchased two shades, but I wasn't tempted.

I'll be back later with more on the collection. There are eye colors on the display, including a pretty quad. Here's a photo below. It looks like one of the singles was missing. Since there were no Chanel representatives at the counter, I couldn't find out whether it had been removed or had not arrived.

 Photos by Best Things in Beauty

22 comments:

Melanie said...

Fall already! Technically, it still isn't even summer yet! Those blushes have me curious. From anything that I have seen on-line, Inspiration is what I would have chosen, too, and your photos confirm it. The eye shadows looks lovely, too. Did you get to peek at the nail polishes?

Lisa said...

Thank you for the review! I'm sure the Chanel reps in San Antonio were shocked when these arrived on their counter since a week ago they were telling me that not only did Chanel not make creme blush, they had received no literature that they ever would. Having said that, I was surprised that their blushes couldn't be sheered out to take advantage of what looked like some promising shades (except for the ugly orange). I was particularly interested in seeing swatches of Revelation and Affinite. Inspiration looks like a flat baby pink, and just doesn't hold enough interest for me. But you are fairer than I, and I gravitate towards what I know will work on me!

Charlestongirl said...

Melanie, no. I have to go back. I had so little time because I needed to get home to write. I'll go back to Tysons or over to Mazza and check everything out thoroughly. Probably tomorrow.

Charlestongirl said...

Lisa, I found the shades very hard to sheer out. When I go back, I'll swatch with different types of applicators to see if it's possible. I realize fall shades are usually more colorful, but these were odd.

NeenaJ said...

De-lurking to write: the SAs at typical middle America counters have NO CLUE what's going on at the national level. They are spoon fed the kool-aid just when it's time for them to drink - not when the batch is being stirred up in the kitchen. It's not their fault. It's a communication and education issue within the brands.

I would make me feel better if, just once, someone said "Oh! I read about that on the Best Things in Beauty blog but, I haven't heard anything official yet." It's your job, people; at least take an interest so I'll be more likely to spend my money with you later. #ohHAIcommissions

Nemo said...

Love! I have already told my SA I want them all, plus the 6 matching lippies, the quad, the eyeliner pencil, the mascara, and maybe the milky pink polish. Love them.

Nemo said...


And boy will I be broke!

Charlestongirl said...

Neena, they do get trained on upcoming collections, but I think their level of training and awareness differs vastly by location/region.

It's sad.

Charlestongirl said...

Nemo, you will be broke. I wouldn't sign up for all the blushes until I've tried them. I am going over to Mazza to play with the Chanel rep tomorrow. She implied that they aren't all that easy to sheer out, but it can be done.

The orange is NOT you.

Jenny said...

I kinda take offense to that. While I have never worked in the prestige market--I ran the cosmetics department at a nationwide drugstore. I kept up with everything--from mass market--because it was my job--to high-end--because I love it. I felt like if I didn't, how could I do my job. I know not everyone is like this--but please know that there are people out there that do care and want to help.

Charlestongirl said...

Jenny, true. I know women and men in the business who keep up with everything. I wish I could say they are the norm. They are actually the best.

In my area, the Chanel gals are really in the know. The regional rep is fabulous. I wish I could say that's the same for all brands. I have often found myself in the position of showing reps what they are getting next.

I don't think anyone here would argue that there are some fabulous beauty reps out there. We have all selected our favorites - the ones in the know who provide great service. :)

wendy said...

hi charleston girl!!! it's hard to believe fall collection is upon us but, i'm usually at the counter trying on fall colors on the fourth of july!!! fireworks and chanel...a wendala tradition...:D i usually do not like green around my eye and i wear powder foundation but, i'll try it on when these items come to my local counter. chanel quads drive me bananas!!! i always "hit the pan" just on 1 or 2 of the colors and then i either have to try to match it up with something else or purchase another quad! does that happen to you? i also could possibly wait for the other collections to come out...i think chanel's holiday comes out in september with a new powder blush and more of a bronzey "neutral" pallette....happy flag day and happy friday to you!!! xxxxxxx

bedazzled64 said...

I saw these somewhere on line, maybe Nordstrom? And I fell in love, creme blushes are my favorite. That shade of pink looks beautiful, I wonder how the other shades would look on my light-med skin?

Have you seen Dior's new creme blushes? **swoon** I picked up two - Panama and Pareo. They are just stunning and wear a good 8 hrs. I know Macy's carries them, not sure who else. So please check them out!

Eileen said...

I've got my darling Chanel gal on alert to call me when the collection arrives. From what I've seen so far, I have the feeling the cream blushes might be too intense for me especially if they can't be sheered out easily. I'm a huge fan of cream blush and love the ones I've worn by Bobbi Brown, Edward Bess, Le Métier de Beauté, and Chantecaille. They are so easy to blend out or build up with the use of a stipling brush, and I love the transparent wash of color they create. Based on your description, it sounds like these by Chanel might be a bit more challenging. In any event, I'm looking forward to taking a look at Chanel's entry into the cream blush arena.

Christina said...

The orange shade doesn't look flattering and I agree that too bad there isn't a peach shade. Sometimes I like to have both pink and peach for added pop of color in the summer.

The eyeshadow set looks very attractive! I wan't it, but I think I will enjoy what I have for now and I am interested in the shadow set you last reviewed.

Anonymous said...

Charlestown Girl, do these blushes have fragrance? With my sensitive skin I stay away from products with fragrance. I have pale skin too. I know it can be hard sometimes to find the right colors. I find that it is usually the case that there is only one color in a collection that I can use.

Jenni said...

oh my i can't wait to see the other single e/s "Gri-Gri"!! Heard it's taupe!

Sassa said...

Oh I so long for that quad! I even think I saw that there is going to be an olive green mascara - that is definitely coming home with me.
I think I'm going to have to push my retirement back a couple of years to be able to afford this Chanel habit.

Charlestongirl said...

Yes, indeed, Sassa. Look at the feature I just published for the mascara.

kellinicole86 said...

Do you happen to know what lip color the model is wearing in the ad for this collection? It looks amazing!

And as a side note, I hope you keep blogging in what ever manner that works for you, I may not comment much any more but I was love reading your posts.

Charlestongirl said...

Thanks, kellinicole86!

I wrote Chanel to ask. Stay tuned.

teadivamuse said...

Thanks for your frank assessments of these; sometimes it seems we automatically assume high-end mean automatic cosmetics perfection. I'm Asian with golden skin tone so I'm hoping a couple of these intensity driven products will work for me. I was so tempted to order sight unseen but thanks to you, I will be patient and test them at the counter first, whenever they hit Denver. My concerns are: longevity (thumbs up from you?) and texture/blendability (???) and that I don't waste my money!