Caught in Action: Chanel Stylo Fresh Effect Eyeshadows from L’été Papillon de Chanel

It has been over a month I have been playing with these sticks, with the same enthusiasm of a kid playing with his new crayon set. I wrote my first impressions after the blue look I posted back then. Before I go into my second post with some "in action" photos, let's remember the six shades shortly. Please check out this post for full swatches and comparisons too (the following two photos are taken from my previous post).

Chanel Stylo Fresh Effect Eyeshadows come in rather vibrant shades, only Moon River (and Black Stream) being on the neutral side. Although I welcome the fact that Chanel goes outside of their comfort zone from time to time and release something unusual and fun, I have to admit I would rather have a usable peachy pink or a silvery gold color instead of Cool Gold (which is very yellow) and Pink Lagoon (which is way too pink for my taste and gives me a swollen look on the lids if used alone). I find Jade Shore to be the most wearable of the colorful range, followed by Blue Bay fitting to this year's blue theme for eye make-up.

During my testing phase, here are the things I noted down:

Usage on the waterline: After trying it, I was impressed how nicely this shadows glide and leave a nice pop of color, well, at least for the first 10 sec. After that my eye started to burn and get watery. Needless to say I have never tried this type of application again. Is it just me? I never had problems with any eye liners I used and usually don't have sensitive eyes. Anyone else who can report on that?

Removal: I used Bioderma as usual, it could be removed fairly easily but I recommend using more cotton pads than usual to make sure the glitters doesn't go inside the eyes.

Form/Ease of Use: The eye shadow stick is slimmer in form than other similar products, e.g. Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks, so they may bend (and eventually break) if too much is taken out during the application. My Moon River was a bit softer than the others and a part of the tip got deformed. Luckily I could press it back to form with my fingers. Be sure not to take too much out.

Longetivity: This topic seems to be the one with the some controversy. Please leave a comment down below. I use it without primer and it lasts all day but I don't have oily lids to start with so I may not be the right one to test it.

Setting/Blending: They set very quickly so blending has to be done directly after application. I recommend working on one eye and then starting with the other. With the first application it is better to go for a thin layer and build on top of that. If more than one color is going to be used thin layer application becomes even more essential. I was mostly applying one color heavily on the lid and blending it with a crease brush in the beginning. Later on I have seen the gorgeous look Tracy from Beautyreflections created by using Black Stream to give some definition. I used her guidelines of thin layer application for the following looks I would like to share with you today.

This one is a way I found to make crazy blue look of this summer somehow more wearable. I aplied a thin layer of Moon River all over the lid, defining the outer half of the lid by applying Blue Bay on top of it. In this way, the Ble also looses its intensity but still shows presence. I applied it from outer edge and blended towards inside so that it is heavier on outer lid. I also swiped the stick several times halfway along the upper lash line for more intensity. I then applied black mascara on upper and lower lashes, topped it with blue stream mascara from the same collection. Because of the reflective properties the result is hard to capture with camera, and the photos doesn't do it justice, but I think you can understand the idea. For a finishing touch, I applied Cool Gold on the inner corner of the lid and lightly applied Moon River and Blue Bay along the lower lash line.

Again another look which is hard to capture in photos. I applied Jade Shore on the entire lid and defined the outer edge with Black Stream. I could stop here but then I could like to give a 3D effect and applied Cool Gold in the middle of the lid and intensified Jade Shore on the inner lid. I used Blue Bay as a liner to this look and Pink Lagoon along the lower lash line and inner corner. After applying black mascara to top and bottom lashes, I applied different colors all at once for the butterfly effect. I just skipped Zest, the yellow mascara which I still don't know how to use.

I hope you liked the looks or it could inspire you in one way or the other. Let me know what you love/hate about these sticks and how you use them I would love to get some new ideas.