Archived Post
5 Must-Have Chanel Products
One of the things I appreciate about Chanel is that they’re often a brand that sets trends, and then many other brands follow them. They have a lot of silky, finely-milled powders in their range, from blush to eyeshadow.
- Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss — long-wearing, nicely pigmented, hydrating gloss; favorite shades include Reflexion, Merveille
- Chanel Le Blush Creme de Chanel — a cream-to-powder blush that came out recently that is one of the best cream blushes I’ve tried (all are awesome!)
- Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour — trend-setting polish with a large variety of shades; personal recommendations would be: Suspicious, Paradoxal, Particuliere, Taboo
- Chanel Joues Contraste Blush — incredibly soft, silky powder blush that sits well on the skin; some favorites are Frivole, Rose Initial, Espiegle
- Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Eyeshadow — sparkling, shimmering cream eyeshadow that wears well; my picks include Mirifique, Epatant, Illusoire
Great Compilation Christine. The Chanel blushes have been on my lust list for a long time!
They’re now one of my favorites among favorites!
no mention of lipstick … nooooooooooooooooo
i love Coromandel and so manyyyyy
and JALOUSIE Gloss .. i will die if they discontinue it 😀
loved your list and will hunt for Nail Polish as i recently started wearing CHANEL NP and now i am not compromising .
Can I tell you one thing here ?
the first time hubby was billing CHANEL NP for me , he asked me twice or thrice ” ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO BUY THIS?”
I was like yessssss
and this is “NOT” first and last time !
LOL!! You tell him, Rashmi! 😀
What was the first Chanel polish you bought?
Hahahaha yeahhh n these boys always catch
I buy chanel np secretly but he somehow finds that it is new
the first one I bought was Malice n I loveeeee it
then it was taboo …. n I loveeeee it even more haha
n now I have 5 yaaaaaaaa
U know my high end luxury brand picks are 95 percent due to temptalia n u 🙂
the best thing I was able to pick is dragon
n my god
thank my stars for that
So glad you were able to get Dragon 🙂
Thanks for a post! I love this lip gloss by Chanel! ♥
My pleasure, Eva!
Great picks, Christine! 🙂
My 5 must-haves from Chanel are:
1) Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Malice
2) Chanel Le Vernis in Provocation
3) Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Raffinement
4) Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Merveille
5) Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lipstick in Rouge Noir
Love your picks, Precious! 🙂
Malice is my favorite Chanel blush, too! I sing it’s praises every chance I get!
Absolutely Rouge Allure lipsticks, the best for pigmentation and longevity. I love #97 Incandescente and #109 Rouge Noir. For a matte finish, Rouge Allure Velvet #37 Exuberante and #38 La Fascinante.
I wish those matte lipsticks worked me, Antonella! So jealous!
😉 I highly recommend those shades!
I LOVE Espiegle too! Even though I still couldnt get it lol I’ve been using Inspiration cream blush this two months and its such a natural blush tone! I guess it looks good on every skin! I still couldn’t get my hand on any Illusion D’ombre cause I can’t justify spending that much money on just a single eyeshadow (it comes to nearly 50 dollars in my country) but they look so nice that I might get one one day!
Chanel is one of my fave high end brands!
Maybe one day Chanel would release that just-right Illusion d’Ombre for you that you’d wear often! Is Dior cheaper? I quite like Dior’s new monos, which are like Chanel’s, but I find them a little bit better.
Loving this must-haves series, Christine! 🙂 I do hope Chanel will come up with more shades of these cream blushes…
Thanks, Tigerlily!
Me too!!
There will be 1 in the spring collection, and 2 in the summer collection!!!
Great list Christine. Thank you 🙂 My fave is the Illusiore cream shadow.It is beautiful! I got the Mat Lumiere foundation as well, and loved it…at first. Then, I noticed my face about an hour after I applied…yikes! It was completely gross looking, sunk in my pores, colored dots…just weird and gross. I thought it was just a bad day, but I started to pay attention. Sure enough, it always looked perfect at first, then an hour without fail…yuckiness ensued. Ended up giving it away.
Trying to decide which Guerlain foundation to get and in which color. I’m#118 in MUFE HD, so I’m leaning towards 03Beige Natural, and hoping it won’t be too dark.Any ladies with this shade…please help! 😉 xoxo
What a bummer to hear that Mat Lumiere was perfect only for an hour!
I love the Joues Contraste and Illusion d’Ombre! I have the blushes in Rose Bronze and Accent, which I bought in the States because in Canada we receive the baked European version which I don’t like as much as those sold in the U.S., and I have the eyeshadows in Émerveillé , Illusoire and Ébloui. I like wearing them as a base or on their own! I also love the Rouge Coco lipstick in Mademoiselle.
Wish they would just use the US formula everywhere!
I wonder why temptalia doesn’t open on my android phone 🙁
I love the Chanel illusion d’ombre shadows too. I have Apparence and Ebloui and really want to buy more 🙂
I have no idea why it wouldn’t! I know that it works on Samsung Galaxy S3!
I have to agree with your picks here! Chanel’s blush is really tops and I really have to try that gloss! xo
What are your favorite blush shades, Jen?
Great list, Christine!
I’d just stress that the US and the rest of the world have a different powder blush formula (non baked vs baked). I have Rose Initial in the baked version, and while I really like it, I often wonder how more brilliant its US version is.
Very true, Anne! Thanks for the reminder.
Woop! I am so glad that Taboo is on the list 🙂 Both blushes look lovely as well.
Such a cool polish!
I love the Joues Contraste Blush! Besides everything you said, its staying power is amazing! It lasts all day on me.
That’s awesome, Vanda!
I heard so may great things about the channel blushes but I own 17 blushes already, I need to finish a few before taking the plunge.
Good luck finishing your blushes 😉
Haha I don’t think it will happen soon, I just hit pan on benefit dandelion the older 10 grams package I still have enough for two months in there.
I don’t have a lot of Chanel that delights me but of what I do have, my two absolute must haves are No.19 perfume (only the perfume) and Illusion d’Ombre in Illusoire. Oh, yes – let me also add the single eye shadow in Taupe Grise. I haven’t used it in ages so this just made me think of it and I’ll take it out to use tomorrow!
They have some really pretty singles, but there have been some misses (for me), so I couldn’t put it in this list (relative to the other things I picked!).
oh Christine, we have the same favourite JC!
Rose Initiale, Frivole and Espiegle! x
Aww <3
I think Chanel hits it out of the park with their nail polishes. I own three so far (Peridot, Bel Argus and Graphite) and I am not disappointed. I’ll be ordering Taboo soon.
They really do some stunning colors!
DUPE ALERT…
I adore the new Chanel cream blushes and my purse is happy to have found a dupe in the new Bourjois cream blushes. On me, both blushes apply in exactly the same beautiful way and last the same amount of time as each other.
I haven’t yet found Bourjois cream blushes in Australia but they are readily available from the U.K. with affordable postage.
Hope this helps someone who is lusting after a Chanel cream blush but is counting pennies with Xmas looming.
I think we all know that Bourjois owns Chanel.
Donna x
Thanks for sharing, Donna!
Good to know, thanks Donna! It does make sense as both brands are owned by the same company apparently.
Woops I missed the last sentence of your post ^^’ nice to have it confirmed!
Great list, Christine! There’s really nothing quite like their Joues Conraste Blush–it’s sublime. Le Volume Mascara is, for me, hands down the best mascara out there; it’s the only high-end mascara that’s worth it. I have long but thin lashes and usually do best with defining-type mascaras instead of drama. This one, though–you can see my lashes from a block away! AND they’re perfectly defined. Question: which shade of cream blush is in the photo? I love cream blush in general, but have been underwhelmed by the Chanel color range. That said, the one in your picture looks beautiful!
Might have to give Le Volume another try!
It’s Fantastic blush 🙂
I just love the cream blushes! I have Presage and it is such a joy to wear. It applies and blends so easily with like no effort. I’m itching to try some of the powder blushes!
I totally agree – such a great formula!
I haven’t tried too many Chanel products. They cost too much for me. I do like the blush though. I think the texture is nice and I love the rose scent.
Completely understand – they have to be really great to be worth it sometimes!
Brilliant list. Thank you! <3
No prob! xo
I love ALL things Chanel expect for the fact that the formula for their blushes and eyeshadows are very different in Canada/Rest of the World (baked round pans) compared to USA (square pans). I wish they would stick to one formula (the USA one). Theyd make even more money from me if they did.
I remain confused as to why they have two distinct formulas!
Humm.. I pick more workhorse products…
Chanel natural lip liner -great nude
Chanel glossimer in seashell, twinkle, blizzard
Chanel blush in Accent (in the same family as the old tempting beige)
Chanel Double Perfection Lumiere powder foundation with Le Blanc de Chanel primer underneath
Such a shame that Accent is LE!
I have every item on this list except the lip gloss. I’m not a lip gloss person. I’m more of a lipstick person. I probably buy too much Chanel cosmetics but I just can’t help it. Chanel is my favorite makeup brand. My favorite Chanel nail polishes are Blue Satin, Particuliere, Graphite, and Taboo. My favorite Chanel blushes are Rose Initial and currently Inspiration. The cream blushes are truly the best I’ve tried. I only have one Illusion d’ombre, Epatant, but I absolutely love it.
If you love it, it gives you joy, and you can afford it, that’s all that matters 🙂
I dont have any Extrait de Glosses so I’m suuuper curious now as to why its your #1 must-have! Will check it out 🙂
Love the texture! 🙂
soleil de tan…..
Definitely my top 5 Chanel products
– Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation : After Chanel discontinued Pro Lumiere, Vitalumiere topped my list.
– Rouge Allure Velvet in La Caline : perfect nude-pink-plum
– Le Blush Creme in Revelation- just perfect creme blush
– Le Blanc De Chanel Sheer illuminating base
– Nail Vernis in Pulsion : came out in 2010. Had to find more on Ebay, such a perfect deep cool fushcia.
Honorable mentions:
-Soliel de tan
-Vitalumiere Aqua
-Quad in Nymphea and Enigma
-Vertigo nail colour
No lipstick formulas, Christine? What is lacking (before I try any)?
Hey!
I like Chanel’s lipsticks, but I don’t love them, and they tend to be more hit/miss for me – like I don’t LOVE all of them, but there are shades I do like.
That’s me and MAC right there lol I’m finding that I like the variety of shades (not all work for me) but they’re hit and miss for me as well. Some I have to tweak a bit (Cherish and Vegas Volt), some are just fine as is (Crosswires) and some (like Mocha) just can’t work.
I’m looking into the Dior, Chanel, Guerlain and Givenchy but they all look so glossy and shiny and beautiful on the websites lol
Guerlain, Givenchy, Dior, Chanel would be the order of my favorite to least – the only Chanel formulas I don’t like are the Rouge Coco Shines and Rouge Allure Velvets (these mess up my lips but lots of readers LOVE them!).
And Lancome and Armani?
I haven’t used Lancome in awhile, and for Armani, I primarily have extensive experience with Rouge d’Armani, which I like a lot.
I really appreciate your responses, it helps a lot!
Whew! I am all lipstick’d out lol
Looking at these products made me appreciate Revlon and MAC’s colour range more.
I’m just underwhelmed by the colours (the formulas may prove to be more impressive, however).
The only Chanel’s I’d like to get my hands on are the Kensington and Hyde Park LEs I fell for when I saw your lovely reviews.I always like the LEs 😛 Coromandel, Icone and Incandescent look lovely and I’m curious about Determinee but I think I’ll just get a YSL Rouge Volupte for now. I’ll look more next year!
Thanks again for this amazing site and all your hard work
My pleasure!! 🙂 So glad you found something to check out this year!
What about Chanel lipsticks? I like the colour range and is always able to get the colour that I want from Chanel. 😀