Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow ($28.50 for 0.05 oz.) is described as “silver-grey.” It has a light-medium gray base with a silverish shimmer-sheen; it almost looks a little brown-toned. Guerlain Les Gris is similar, perhaps more metallic. Giorgio Armani #22 is more metallic. Tarina Tarantion Mr. Silver is lighter. MAC Electra has more of a satin finish but is similar in color.

I wish I could say Furtif was better than Infini, but it’s only marginally so and infinitely worse compared to Complice. It’s noticeably sheer swatched, and it acts the same way when applied to the lid, with or without a base, wet or dry. It adheres better than Infini, and it doesn’t make the lid look dry almost by clumping up in places, but you have to pack on the color, and if you blend it, it easily fades to oblivion. It wears for about six and a half hours, and after seven hours, there’s noticeable fading.

There’s one more shade for fall, Eclaire, which I’m in the process of testing, so it is with fingers crossed that it fairs better than the last two!

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow

Chanel Furtif Ombre Essentielle / Soft Touch Eyeshadow
Chanel Infini on inner half of lid, Chanel Furtif on outer half of lid (8 hours of wear)

22 Comments

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Eilkas Avatar

Don’t be so quick to write this one off, ladies. There is a place in the makeup world for opaque shadows, but there is also a place for sheer ones like Furtif. Furtif is a shimmering dove gray that was not intended to be used for contouring. It is actually meant to be used as a delicate, all-over lid color. Check out the makeup images of Chanel’s Haute Couteur Fall 2012 show and see how Peter Philips used it. He was inspired by fairytales and was going for an ethereal look featuring delicate gray on the eyes (Furtif) and touches of soft pink on the cheeks (Rose Initiel) and lips (Evanescente). If you like this artistic concept, then you will like Furtif. The texture is soft and creamy to the touch and applies as a shimmering wash of translucent color (I use a Hakuhodo brush). To be sure, this is not a strong contour color, but then Chanel did not create it to be used in that manner. Also, the color palette for Chanel’s look is really better suited to lighter complexions (I’m NC15).

yellowlantern Avatar

 @Eilkas Sure, maybe they intended for the color to be sheer (though if they did then they should say so in the product description so customers know what to expect), but that doesn’t really excuse the poor lasting power…
 
If I’m paying Chanel prices I want performance, not just interlocking ‘C’s on a black eyeshadow compact. 

Veronica Avatar

Just my personal opinion, but I own a few sheer shades, and there is a obvious difference in the consistency and formula for those eyeshadows versus my opaque ones.  This doesn’t have the same look or feel of those eyeshadows, so frankly I suspect this is just a shoddy formulation all together and Peter Phillips just decided to work with what he had.
 
Actually, I am looking at the pictures for the show now, and while the look is beautiful straight on, there is one up-shot of a model’s face where you get the whole lid and, er…was that blatant creasing really an intended part of the look?  Look for yourself, Temptalia:  http://www.fashionising.com/beauty/b–chanel-couture-makeup-how-to-27090.html

Christine-Temptalia Avatar

I agree, Veronica!
 
I don’t think they intended it to be what it is. Maybe some translucence, but it just didn’t apply smoothly/evenly.  Even if you wear a sheerer shade, you still want the color itself to be even and not patchy, you know?  That’s why making a great sheer formula isn’t always easy, LOL!
 
Even though this feels soft to the touch, it doesn’t come together well. I don’t think it’s flattering on the eye as is!

sanguine13 Avatar

I really like this look for autumn, even if the shadow quality is less than stellar – I’ll have to hunt down a better quality  dupe.

Eilkas Avatar

Hi Yellow Lantern and Anon,

Personally, I haven’t had any issues with fallout, but then I use a soft squirrel hair Hakuhodo brush with it. As for lasting power, it wears all day on me, but then I don’t have oily lids tonqorry about. I do apply it over Kanebo Sensai eyeshadow base which is for drier lids and that seems to hold it very well.

It’s too bad you ladies did not have good experiences with Furtif, but I did. Fair and balanced consideration of a product should not be an issue as we all have different levels of skill and technique as well as different expectations as to how a product should look and perform. Since you ladies were not happy with it, I hope you returned it. Not every collection is going to work well for everybody, so just give Les Essentiels a miss.

bethie m Avatar

Well Christine, we all sit up and pay attention when you don’t extol the virtues of one of your iconic Fave brands like these single shadows by Chanel, which makes my shopping life for Fall 2012 much easier now- I was struggling there until now. Thank you so  very very much for your dedicated work!! xoxo Beth in Pgh 😉

Kate MacDonald Avatar

Honestly, I’m happy enough with my Les Gris palette that I don’t think I would grab this even if the quality was great. Too bad about the quality, though. I was hoping for a really stunning, stormy blue-grey. Guess I’ll be sticking to Complice. 

Veronica Avatar

Oh, wow, I didn’t realize you had two eyeshadows on in the review of the other one.  Seeing it against Furtif makes it more obvious just how bad Infiniti really is.  That is one sorry eyeshadow.

Eilkas Avatar

I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree, ladies. I like Furtif and have not had a bad experience with it. You obviously have. Chacon à son gout 🙂

mybeautyblog Avatar

I love this colour! I have made really bad experience with Chanel Platinum though, with huge fall-out and I do not get it on my lid even, so I will not buy Chanel monos anymore. At least the gliterry ones.
 
Thank you for mentioning the dupes, I will have a look. I am looking for such a colour for longer now.

Jace Avatar

Anyone know if other colors from this collection (ex: Eclaire) are this bad? I know that complice is pretty good but it seems like the whole Chanel Fall 2012 set is really hit or miss….

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