Chanel Rouge Coco

Chanel's much-anticipated Rouge Coco ($30) is in the stores - and selling at quite a pace! Within a day or two of its arrival, some shades had sold out. My friend tried to buy Rouge Orage at Nordstrom. Gone! That's demand!

I shared the display at Saks with a woman who wanted one, but was having trouble finding just the right shade. I selected one for her - way better than those she was trying - and off she went, satisfied with just one! I couldn't select just one.

Just in case you already haven't read about Rouge Coco, here's a recap. The muse? Vanessa Paradis, shown above. The creator? Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of Chanel Makeup.

Coco Chanel was fascinated by lipstick. In 1954, she created a creamy stick of lip color that she housed in a rectangular tube. She even created a compartment for it inside her legendary quilted handbag. Rouge Coco is this century's incarnation of that iconic Chanel lipstick - a black case, gold ring, and smooth, luxurious feel to the hand.

Rouge Coco is creamy and has a long-lasting satin finish. It is hydrating and feels creamy and comfortable on the lips for hours (one of a new class of long-wearing lipsticks that don't dry out your lips). The shades have intensity (ranging from light to full pigmentation) and radiance. There is a slight fragrance to Rouge Coco - roses, light raspberry, and a hint of vanilla - nothing too perfumy, but it's there.

Rouge Coco is available in four color families - beige, pink, red, and brown. There are 30 shades, all named to evoke an element of Coco Chanel's life and described by Philips as "easy-to-wear, almost day-wear lipsticks."

I bought "only" four shades. Below are the romantic descriptions from Chanel's Web site, and I have captured a photo of each shade. The Chanel photos are so much better than my three arm swatches at bottom. I love the way you can click on the family and then shade on the Web site and see the photo reflect the color you selected. It's so much nicer than those strange little squares of color from which we must often select online. I have captured photos of the shades; they are shown here, top to bottom, in the order described.

Venise, the darkest of those I purchased, is described as a brown with rosewood accents for a theatrical touch.

Muse, a delicate coppery and luminous pink, a sweet and sugary note

Organdi Rose, a pink organdy, a slightly blue-toned and luminous rosewood with singular radiance

Perle, a fresh and luminous rosy beige, the secret of a natural glow

If the colors don't grab you, the descriptions will! Surely, though, one of the 30 shades has your name on it!

You can see the fabulous looks created by Peter Philips at this Chanel link. His video introduction to Rouge Coco is enchanting. "When a girl says Rouge Coco, it's like she draws a kiss at you....I would like to seduce women into using lipstick again...Get seducing wearing lipstick."

On my arm, left to right and taken in bright sun, are Organdi Rose, Perle, and Venice. Venice is not as orange as it appears on my wrist. You can purchase Rouge Coco at Chanel.com or Chanel counters at the department stores. I bought mine at Saks where Loyd Cassler could help me narrow it down to four.

Update 3/10: See what stars wore Rouge Coco (and the shades) to the Academy Awards at The Beauty Alchemist.

Photos courtesy of Chanel