Chanel Byzance: Rouge Joues Contraste

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush ($43.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a darkened scarlet red with a satin sheen. It’s very, very intense. You’ll need a light hand with this particular blush, because it is easy to go overboard. When you use a light hand, though, it does tone down to more of a medium-dark pink–it doesn’t look red–which looks like a soft flush.

For such a pigmented blush, though, I had hoped for more blendability, but I felt like I had to do quite a bit of buffing and blending to get it to look even on me. Buffing was absolutely essential here, because without it, my cheeks looked splotchy and feverish.  The texture is soft and smooth, just like other Joues Contrastes, but I did not find it as blendable as the others.   I normally find Chanel’s blushes extremely easy to blend out and apply, but the color seemed to “stick” once it was applied.  Joues Contrastes tend to fade after six to eight hours on me, rather than lasting a full eight to ten.

MAC Bite of an Apple is a little brighter, pinker. NARS Exhibit A is much more orange. It’s a brighter, more vibrant version of MAC Love Thing. It compares best with MAC Frankly, Scarlet but perhaps a little darker.

Rouge will be excellent on deeper skin tones, because of its rich color payoff, and it will also be good for anyone who reaches for dramatic blushes overall. If you are looking for more of a wear-and-go color, and ultimately, think you’d end up using this very lightly, you’d be better off picking up a product that takes less time to apply correctly.

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush

Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste / Blush