Chanel's
Ombres Matelassées Eyeshadow Palette in Charming ($80) from the Nuit Infini Collection for Holiday 2013 finally made it to Chanel counters. My anticipation has been building for months. I was especially eager to see it since other pieces of the holiday collection had already arrived - weeks ago. I purchased Charming at Neiman Marcus.
This palette will delight neutral eye shadow lovers like me. Once I tested it, it was very clear to me that slightly smoky eyes, but not over-the-top smoky, would complement the holiday look of red lips and nails perfectly.
This limited-edition eyeshadow palette unveils a seductive shade spectrum
for the season's most striking eye looks. From soft beige to rich, smoky purple, matte and pearlized shadows create glamorous effects and offer
endless opportunities for custom blending. The emblematic quilted motif
of CHANEL embosses the silky shadows for an added touch of elegance.
Let's go straight to the swatches, taken in full, mid-day sun. I applied the shadows from left to right in the compact, from top to bottom on my arm, using a sponge-tipped applicator.
The light beige at the top is a perfect base shade. It's fairly matte in finish. The shine you see on my arm is from the sun. The darker beige below it is also matte. These shades used together would create a beautiful, subtle daytime look.
We start to gain some pizazz with the shimmering medium brown in the center. This is a gorgeous shade that's guaranteed to compliment your eye color. The deep brown is a cool-toned brown. It appears to my eyes to have a touch of grey in it.
The smoky eggplant shade offers the only "color" in the palette, so it will complement the other shades nicely - no matter which of them you wear. It's a beautiful shade, very blue-grey for a lavender so it will not make our eyes look red.
I suspect some will be disappointed in Charming because it's not flashy. Many women pull out all the stops during the holidays, aiming for wintertime glamour. I find Charming a beautiful respite from the palettes that offer a bit more color than I'm comfortable wearing. I'll be interested in your reactions.
It is available at Neiman Marcus, so I suspect the other stores have it too. I know Nordstrom has it because I found it available
online.
Photo of the look courtesy of Nordstrom; other photos by Best Things in Beauty
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22 comments:
My Chanel girl called me yesterday to tell me that the palette was in (Nordstroms) and selling out rapidly. I told her I had to think about it and would call her in the morning. I kept hoping I'd find some good swatches other than the --excuse me-- sole crappy ones I'd seen. But, no.
Still, Lisa Eldridge posted on Facebook that the palette was "The One" so a little over two hours ago I called my Chanel girl back and told her to send it out to me. She described the "purple" shade as a "grayed purple." No blue.
Even though I've already purchased it, I'm SO happy to have your excellent swatches, CG, and know that I made the right decision. You know I'm a Chanel girl, but shelling out $80 basically sight unseen was hard even for me. :) Thank you! I know lots of other ladies will be very pleased to see a great set of swatches of the elusive Charming.
xo
Rosemary
I've been wanting this--and have been wavering for the past few days. I was almost ready to order--but your swatches pushed me over the edge. Thank you so much. I love shadows like this. Yes, it is expensive. But when you look at it like you are getting five eyeshadows for the price, it works out to $16 a piece--which for Chanel isn't bad. So, I'm really glad I finally caved and ordered.
hi charleston girl! i'm quite the opposite in terms of what most woman want from holiday collections. for example, as much as i love dior their collections of late have been way too "flashy" for me. especially, their new "cream" shadows. a glitter fest on my face just isn't attractive on me anymore. i usually don't purchase from holiday collections. usually just fall. but, i'm very particular, i use cosmetics down to the silver "pan" and have been known to scrape the bits of remains with a spatula or q-tip. another thing is that i would wear this everyday to work. these looks are definitely geared for evening and parties. i just don't live the lifestyle..sigh. so, i've been "frantically" searching for colors from chanel's fall 2011 and 2012 collection. it was easy to find prelude and premier regard quads but, the lip colors not easy. there are 4 chanel counters where i live. each sales associate told me that when they get in charming they have to call people that are on the waiting list first. i was upset because nobody told me about a waiting list. they also told me there will probably not be any left for me to purchase. neiman's is excellent though..i could try calling them to send it to me. question....do you think i should just get prelude and premier regard or start hunting for charming? a little birdie is whispering to me...get all 3 if you can! i doubt i'll wear any red lips this season..they all "bleed" around my lip area. i've tried everything too such as primers, lip pencils, invisible stay-put lip liners, blotting the lisa eldridge way. and, i'm not seeing visible lip lines yet although, they will be there soon. well, let me know your thoughts. if i wait until christmas eve, i'll be in time for spring collections where chanel will show red lips again!! maybe a red glossimer would hold up better. xoxoxo
Thank you sooo much for your beautiful swatches!! I was waiting for them!!!
Now... if you have to choose between this palette and the Chantecaille diamond eyeshadow palette from the Holiday collection which one would you choose???
I need an advice, they seem similar to me but I can't afford both!
Thank you in advance!!
from
Elena
Oh!!! This is certainly right up my alley. I usually go for bold lips but my eyes are always understated. Lovely swatches, thanks for the coverage, CG!
This makes me so glad that I went ahead and told the girls at my counter to hold one for me when they get these in. I can't wait to get my hands on it. :D
Wendy--If you want Charming, I don't think you have to "hunt" for it. I just ordered it from Nordstrom not even two hours ago. I just checked and it's still available at a lot of places--Chanel, Neimans, Nordstrom. So, even if you can't get it in the store, you can still get it online.
Uzzy76--I don't have either palette yet--but I think it's safe to assume that they are quit different. The middle shade in Charming might be similar to the last shade in the Diamonds trio. The other two shades in the Diamonds are lighter, more cool toned, and all the shades have a shimmer to them. While Charming has different finishes and is more or less various shades of brown.
Hope this helps until CG can back to you both. :)
Thank you for the great swatches. I am still waiting for this to arrive at my Nordstrom on the West Coast. It hasn't made it here yet. I like that this is subdued and think if somebody wants to glam it up for the holidays that is what the Illusion d'Ombre that were released with the Holiday collection are for. Either one under these more matte shadows will add shimmer and dimension. I had the other green toned Ombre Matelassee from a while back and returned it since the color didn't have a lot of lasting power. These seem to be different. Can't wait to try them on.
Have a great Sunday.
Tanja
Hi CG, the swatches are beautiful as always. Can you tell me how saturated the colors are? Just wondering if it was fairly easy to get that much color from one swipe or if it took several. Thanks again.
Can't wait for my Charming palette to arrive! Loved your swatches. I think this palette will prove to be a favorite for me thru this holiday season and beyond.
Hey Anonymous, I had to swatch the lighter colors pretty heavily. Not as much for the darker ones.
Meh- on the fence with this one. Not in need of so many darker shades-& I really am on the hunt for a collection of light, matte only shadows. I'm completely " bronzed" out! It's an unflattering color on me-& I don't want anymore shimmer or sparkles.
I did go full on with Chanel's LE lippies-& ordered nearly all the new ones. I love collecting the lipsticks- not sure why I have such a passion for them. Never liked the lip pencils tho-I buy them and then I regret the purchase- although I always use a pencil- just not Chanel's.
Great swatches CG & many Thanks for the post!
I just returned from Nordstrom where I picked up my pre-ordered Charming. I don't really think of it as a holiday palette, though. It strikes me as an everyday workhorse--and I mean that in the best possible way. Midst all the glitter, sparkle, and shine of the holidays, it is nice to have a more subdued option for those times when we want a polished, sophisticated eye look that is more classic. In that respect, Charming actually reminds me a bit of the type of thing you'd expect from Edward Bess. It has that same minimalist sensibility. The palette itself is a beautiful amalgam of neutrals that provide many sculpting and shading options that can take you from a day in the office to a night out on the town. The only thing Charming lacks is what we've come to think of as traditional holiday sparkle but that can be easily remedied by adding a touch of Illusion D'Ombre to the moveable part of the eyelid. As for me, I think I'll just keep Charming for day wear and when I want some holiday cheer, I'll reach for other options; most notably Tom Ford, Guerlain, and Dior. This "girl" just has to have a bit of fairy dust in her life come the holidays :-)
Hi Charlestongirl,
What a charming palette, if I may say so! It's wonderful to see your swatches here; I've been anticipating them for quite some time :-)
I got my Chanel palette yesterday ! I love it! Finally I purchased a palette that I can use every shade! Thank you so much for the swatches! Love following you on twitter!
I TRIED to resist, I tried to tell myself I have enough neutral shadows already, but the palette is like cryptonite for me. I bought it last week and put it on for the first time today.
Fortunately it covers all my bases--from understated nude eye to a buildable smoky look. The center shimmery shade takes it away from ordinary, and the textures are pure luxury. I have SO many neutral shadows already, but I'm not at all sorry I bought this one too!
This one is so beautiful. It definitely has caught my eye. But not sure I'd be willing to spend $80 for an eyeshadow palette. Now lipstick? That's something I'd shell out for! I guess it depends upon which feature you want to highlight.
The shadows look really hard - Like you'd have a hard time blending them. :(
I've been dreaming about this palette for the past couple of mths, and i just had to buy it! Then, i realized it's really very neutral, and for some reason, browns just don't work very well on my Asian lids. :( I'm still experimenting though, and hopefully will be able to make it work! Would love to see an EOTD from you! ;)
Wow that looks perfect for me! I was pretty sure I was going to have to get this one, but your review and fantastic swatches (thank you!!! - as always) pushed me over the edge! Very excited to get it now :) xx
I received this palette today and wore it- it is truly lovely and the colors are so easy to blend, -Sara
I received my palette yesterday. I absolutely love neutrals, but have to admit I was a bit disappointed by this palette. The shadows were on the dry side. I've gotten used to the creamier textures of Chantecaille and Burberry. I've found myself getting caught up in the hype of limited editions and "the latest" item -- an expensive habit! Love the colors, but wish the quality had been better. Am I alone in my opinion?
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