My mother used to always say to me “good things come in small packages”. And how right she was.
For while few of us can afford an entire wardrobe filled with Chanel couture, luxury brand beauty is something we can all buy into (because what’s £17 for the cult nail polish of the season, compared to £3000 for the bag, after all). It’s democratic luxury, if you will.
Regular readers will know that my love of Chanel knows no bounds – I’ve bought the Chanel 2.55 bag twice (after one dreaded theft), several pairs of beloved shoes, a few vintage blouses, and god only knows how many Chanel brooches (my biggest weakness), and my fascination with the brand’s history is ongoing. But even I – Chanel fangirl that I am – had rarely delved into the Chanel beauty cabinet (nail polish aside – I’d already taken to buying several of these a year for their sheer perfectness). With the purchase of several lipsticks at the start of Spring that had begun to change, but after meeting Lisa Eldridge (she of the flawless face, incredible Vogue beauty editorials, and super clever video tutorials) at the Chanel head offices on Bond St recently, my love for Chanel beauté is now in full force.
To begin with, their textures and pigments are of the exact quality one would expect from a luxury brand (ie. flawless). But perhaps more importantly, it’s Peter Philips’ cunning ability as Creative Director to know exactly which colours we’ll want to wear each season, before we even know ourselves (see the Cult of the Chanel Nailpolish – complete with 8 week waitlists for those tiny £17 bottles each season, and the launch of a hundred impostors – for evidence).
And the colour we’ll all be wearing on our nails for Summer according to the Gospel of Peter Philips? Why, Chanel Mimosa, naturellement. I love that it’s the colour of buttercups, bumblebee’s fur coats and zesty lemon curd tarts. I’ve been wearing it for several weeks now, and one peek at my sunshine yellow nails makes me instantly smile. Oh Chanel, you know me too well.
And so my mother was entirely right; when a bag filled to the brim with those glossy little black and white boxes from Chanel then arrived on my doorstep (thank you, Chanel!), it was a good thing indeed. One swipe of pink lipstick, two spritzes of the divine Gardenia les Exclusifs parfum (I’ve been spraying it every time I passed the Chanel counter in Selfridges for years because I loved it so much), and three coats of Mimosa and just like that, thoughts of an otherwise awful day suddenly melted away. Such is the power of the Chanel Gods to put a smile on a girl’s face…
How do you feel about luxury beauty? What are your ‘good things in small packages’, guaranteed to put a smile on your face?
Love, Miss B xx
I never bought Chanel beauty back home (so expensive!!) but I love to indulge in it here every so often. I am currently wearing their eyeshadow everyday as it’s lovely and creamy (I love their Berry Rose duo) and I wear Coco Mademoiselle most days . I remember the first time I wore Le Blanc de Chanel to work – even my male colleague complimented me on my skin! It’s fabulous. De x
Oh god, this is a very good point I’d neglected to mention: in Australia Chanel (or any luxury brand) beauty is roughly the equivalent to the price of a small car, but in Europe it’s a LOT more accessible. And Le Blanc de Chanel makes me glow like an angel!
B xx
How had I not discovered the Chanel Confidential site before? Thank you B for bringing it to my radar! Chanel beauty products always make me happy – there’s just something about the product and packaging… I swear they sprinkle it with fairy dust! And now I really want Mimosa and Morning Rose nail polish…*gasps*… the 20th is tomorrow… I’m on a mission! xxx
I love that you rushed out and bought the whole range after this (although sorry for being such a Chanel enabler and blowing the Friday budget). And the site is ALL kinds of fun – Lisa’s videos are so good, I went and watched almost her entire tutorial archive on her own site (also highly recommended). Enjoy your new Chanel goodies darling!
B xx
I love Chanel cosmetics! In my opinion, they do the best foundation! As I have Indian skin tone, it’s always been quite difficult to find a perfect match, but Chanel’s matches and blends perfectly!
Have you heard of GlossyBox? (Lots of twitter news on them today!) They are a company who recently started up, and they are offering subscriptions for £10 a month, where they will send you a box of 5 high-end new beauty products to sample. It sounds fabulous, but I’m not too sure the exact luxury brands involved. Would love to read about your take on it! (Im secretly hoping that some beautiful bottles of Chanel will be involved!)
Oh Gem, I’m so glad to hear that Chanel are good for all skintones – being fairly fair, I suppose I’m easy to match, but I can only imagine how difficult this must be otherwise!
And no I haven’t, but I’m trotting off right now to investigate. Thanks for the suggestion!
B xx
You lucky girl! I’m so jealous!
I am SO spoiled! Chanel is the way to my heart 😉
B xx
Chanel always brighten one’s day! Even a little lipstick or nail polish does the trick!
This is a very beautiful post!! I’m such a sucker for beauty stuff that when I see these kind of articles (and pictures… Oh my, they’re more inviting than a tray of cupcakes) my eyes start to do *bling bling* like a little girl staring at a toy store shop-window.
The things I love the most of Chanel make-up are the packaging (apparently I have a soft spot for simple black packaging since my other two favourites are Givenchy and MAC), the choice of colours and formulas (you’re totally right, they seem to know EXACTLY what we want every season) and the very high quality products.
But still, my favourite brands are others (MAC above all) even though blushing my cheeks keeping that little cute black box in my hands is a pleasure per se 😀
I do love the foundations and the eyeshadows though, as for Le Blanc, I prefer other illuminators/primers (my favourite is the result I obtain mixing the MAC vanilla pigment with my day cream or foundation). Also Chanel skin-care is worth to mention, some products are really great.
Thanks again for this very nice post B., enjoy your week-end!
Al
-The Red Dot-
I’m also a big Mac/Nars fan – all have excellent pigments and colour ranges. And will have to try that Mac pigment, thanks for the tip!
B xx
For me nail polishes come and go except for one. I splurged on a bottle of Chanel nail polish on my honeymoon 8 years ago and it is still my favorite summer nail polish! The color is Tango. Love it.
I have a few Chanel make-up items, mostly nail polishes and a couple of eyeshadows. My favourite product is probably Soleil tan de Chanel – the perfect summer bronzer and it smells amazing too!
Oh yes, I love their bronzer (and this new one for summer with three shades of bronzer and a pink blush in the one palette is super!)
B xx
I love Channel, but I’ve never actually had anything from them, including nail polish or perfume! But, I do really want to try their nail polishes, so next time they do a pale purple, I have promised myself to get it (that;s my colour weakness!)
Chanel nail polish is the perfect place to start! And I love lilac/pastel purple shades this season too – I’m actually wearing Chanel’s Lilac Sky right now, though Essie’s Lilacism is also lovely and fun.
B xx
When I was a teenager I was both shy, a little chubby and had low self esteem ( as only teenage girls can) and than my mother gave me a Chanel lipstick. It was the most wonderful thing that ever touched my lips and in some bold red purple colour (it was on an ad sometimes in ’97). When I would wear it, my demeanor would instantly change: I’d start to feel confident and most importantly, like a woman. So you can see why I would have a soft spot for everything Chanel. 🙂
M
I love their nail polishes and fragrances, but educate me- what is Blanc de Chanel and why do I need it?!
Laura xx
Laura, Blanc de Chanel is a lovely primer that both illuminates and evens out skintone (it makes me glow like an angel!)
B xx
Wow that Chanel Makeup Confidential site is amazing. I always think I need to book myself in for a makeup lesson, I am a bit stuck in my ways with how I wear my “face” (that always makes me laugh!) Anne of RitournelleBlog recently persuaded me to try some red lipstick, I went to Chanel in Bloomingdales and they found me the perfect shade, I just need to get the courage to wear it, it feels so different to me! During my ‘lipstick test’ I did open my eyes to the fabulous products Chanel have on offer.
(Things in small packages? My heart lights up when I am gifted anything from Bobbi Brown – I do love that brand so much, especially their blushers)
I went to buy Chanel’s lipgloss today, and found out Mimosa nail has already been sold out – incredible. Although I don’t wear nails personally, wow.
I love Chanel Red lipsticks particularly – they make the best reds in the world I think.
I know, that’s what I mean about the ‘nail polish cult’! (Each season the limited edition Chanel nailpolishes incite mile long waitlists and a stampede of women to Chanel counters everywhere the day of release). And second that re: their lipstick – no. 71 ‘Fatale’ (a deep, blood red) is one of my favourites for winter
B xx
I’m fairly certain that even my nail salon is sick of me coming in and getting Mimosa over and over again but it is just so spot on for Spring. I can’t get enough of it. And I will continue to stock up on Chanel make up until I have my bag;) I did just get my Marant shoes however, so those should hold me over for a bit!
Chanel is amazing and I use a few of their products as well. Have a fantastic day, my dear
Kisses and hugs
Great brand. Chanel is one of the leading cosmetic brands. And the beauty products promises beauty without any harm. The quality of the products are worth the money. I love the eyeshadows.