Chantecaille Papillon Violet Eye Shade Compact

Chantecaille has fabulous special offers at its Web site! The current offer, like most, is incredibly generous. Spend $200 or more, and you will find this makeup museum-worthy, hand-designed Papillon Violet Eye Shade Compact ($39) in your box.

The Papillon Eye Shades are available for purchase in two color combinations: Papillon Blue and Papillon Violet. Both are gorgeous. Each provides a trio of superfine holiday shades inspired by the graceful butterfly. There are two principal colors complemented by two detail colors in each compact. The detail colors have to be "picked up" with a very fine brush or applicator, but they are worth the extra effort.

I took a swatch photo for you. I got a pure, unblended swatch of the golden base shade outside the butterfly imprint and a swatch moving the applicator across the full wing of the butterfly, top to bottom. I used a sponge-tipped applicator and took my photo in full, mid-day sun.

A big fan of golden eyelids, I use the gold shade all over my lower lid and smudge some of the violet as an accent only on the outer lid. It works, despite the plummy color that's hard for me to wear. Blended with the golden shade, it's very pretty. If you are a plum lover, you are going to be smitten.
Chantecaille's sales of the Papillon Eye Shades have benefited the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation to help protect the fragile ecosystem of the Monarch Butterfly’s winter habitat. Chantecaille's Les Papillons Collection is of particular relevance right now; the American butterfly is currently under greater attack than at any time in its existence. The Monarch Butterfly, a national symbol, is now on the endangered species list. Every year, what has been known as the "miracle migration" of the Western Monarch Butterfly has signaled its arrival with magnificent blazes of orange against the autumn sky. Flying from as far north as Canada to find a winter home in the eight to ten last remaining Monarch habitats in California and Mexico, the Monarch mates at the end of winter, before starting the journey back north in the spring.

The fragile ecosystem of the butterfly's winter home has been disrupted over recent years by logging and deforestation due to the drive for increased coastal development. The subsequent effect of global warming has led to early butterfly desiccation and death. The milkweed, where the female Monarch lays her eggs during the winter, is seen as a weed and killed with herbicides.

Chantecaille's Les Papillons Collection seeks to help protect the Monarch Butterfly's winter habitat by donating 5% of all sales to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation, established in 1997 by scientists and educators seeking to replace and revive the winter butterfly habitats. Thus far Chantecaille has donated over $20,000, which has gone towards replanting trees in Michoacán, Mexico, a natural winter home for the butterflies.

This is the kind of makeup that makes me feel good about overspending! It's one of my favorite things about Chantecaille. As an avid environmentalist and animal lover, I appreciate companies that make a meaningful difference to save endangered animals and their habitats.

If you want this compact, don't waste any time. I missed the last special offer, and I'm still kicking myself over it. Head over to Chantecaille's Web site.

Photos courtesy of Chanteaille