Chantecaille Cheek Shade

Chantecaille's Cheek Shade ($28) is a wonderful powder blusher that doesn't seem to get its fair share of attention. Chantecaille has a superb online special right now, a Papillon Veil Poudre Délicate with any $200 purchase. I thought it might be a good time to suggest some items to help you get to that $200 level. Also, I haven't forgotten that I was asked last year to feature tried-and-true beauty products occasionally. I need to do better with that.

Chantecaille calls Cheek Shade a convincing blush of color. I agree. Select the right shade, and your cheeks will blush with elegant color that enhances your natural beauty. Using a micro-particle technology to produce an ultra-light, ultra-fine powder, Chantecaille created Cheek Shade to apply matte with a natural finish. The shades blend so well that they leave no perceptible powder surface over my foundation or skin. I know a lot of you don't want your cheeks to shimmer. This is your blush!

It's enriched with vitamins A, C, and E, and like all Chantecaille products, it's cruelty-free. There are no animal, lanolin, or mineral derivatives in the ingredients. There are 11 shades, three of which are paraben-free.

I swatched two shades for you - those close at hand - and took my photos in my garden. I applied the shades with a sponge-tipped applicator to get enough pigment for the photos. Naturally, you wouldn't apply as much as I did.

Emotion and Mood are both light, perfect for my fair skin. Emotion is much warmer than it appears online. I think you can see in my swatch photos that it's a warm pink. It definitely has a touch of peach in it - to my eye. Mood is a cool pink (blue-pink). Any shimmer you see in my photos is from sunlight. The shades have no shimmer.

Emotion and Mood work perfectly on my skin, and other Cheek Shades do too. They are extremely sheer on the skin, making them easy to use. You can sense the first time you use one that the densely packed powder will never leave you with clown face. Winter Bloom is another favorite shade - so light, so pretty. With 11 colors, I'm sure that you'll find at least one that works well for you, no matter what your skin tone.

Chantecaille has just launched a new blush, Poudre de Perle. I've asked almost every day for weeks if it has arrived at Neiman Marcus, most recently last Friday. I saw this weekend that it's now available at Chantecaille's Web site. Poudre de Perle, like Protection Naturelle SPF 46 PA +++, provides UVA/UVB protection in a micro-fine powder housed with its own brush. I've been waiting for it for months. I'm glad it has landed just in time for summer.

You can find Cheek Shade at all Chantecaille counters and online. The new Poudre de Perle is on its way to stores. Or, you could order one now from Chantecaille. That would get you $55 toward your $200 purchase.

Update 5:47 pm - The online special ended this morning sometime. Sorry!

Photo at top courtesy of Chantecaille