As my deadline approaches, the excitement and stress on this side of the screen gets rocket high but I can't keep myself from showing you Chanel's holiday eye shadow palette. I will try to keep it short as the photos speak for themselves. This is going to be the first review of the items I picked up from the collection.
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| Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
Oiseaux de Nuit (nocturnal birds) is a 5 pan eye shadow palette, called Les 5 Ombres, I don't know of any other release from Chanel with this name, so I was very much curious about the formula. It must be why I purchased it sight unseen although the colors didn't catch my attention at first. I like cooler side of the spectrum when it comes to eye shadows but silver is a color which is hard to make it work on me. The purple shade in the middle though made me reconsider my decision of skipping so here we are...
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| Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
A few more observations about Les 5 Ombres formula, compared to Ombres Matelassees, which was the general name of last year's holiday release Charming (reviewed here):
- Les 5 Ombres doesn't have the signature Chanel pattern pressed on it.
- Les 5 Ombres lists two different formulas at the back, namely "cream powder" and "powder". It is hard to figure out though which pan has which formula. Golden eye shadow is significantly sheerer than the others so this one might be the "powder" one.
- Similar to their new gloss release, Chanel again cuts back from the weight as the price stays the same, last year's palette was 9 g/0.32 OZ while this one is only 7.5g/0.26 OZ.
- That said I find 5 Ombres more pigmented than last year's Charming.
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| Close-up: Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
I am pleased to see that Oiseaux de Nuit has different finishes including mattes to balance out the shimmers. The shimmery shadows are rather subdued, they are more like a satin to shimmery finish. I am also glad that they are not frosty. The shades from left to right are like follows:
Left most: Very light cool white with satin finish. It is great for highlighting the inner corner or the brow bone but be careful with this one, it is very pigmented.
2nd from left: A light silver with a tad of lavender. This has a subtle metallic finish which is not overly shimmery. I really like the undertones of this particular shade, easier to wear than many other silvers on me.
Middle: Deep blackened cool purple with matte finish. It is a complex shade but not because of its finish but because of its undertones. I really like it, it is a great alternative to black to define the eyes.
2nd from right: Very deep matte black. Although I like the quality and how deep it is, I don't think it was necessary in this palette. The deep purple was a nice blackened shade and a full pan black is something I wouldn't be using much. Sheered out the deep purple and this shade almost look the same.
Right most: A very sheer mid-toned gold with satin finish. Another shade which I am not that fond of. I thought since it is sheer, I could use it to layer on the others, which I did on the eye make-up below. It worked but I needed to apply multiple layers for it to show up. If you find the rest of the palette to be too cool, this shade may make it work for you.
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| Swatch: Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
I have tried to wear the palette two times. Each time I though the end result was nice but not ground shaking. Below I applied the white on the inner corner, silver all over the lid, purple on the crease which I attempted to deepen more with black but these two shades are almost dupes, so no luck in trying to make them show individually. I then layered the gold on the first half of the lid, which made the whole look a little warmer.
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| In-action: Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
Since the eyes were unspectacular, I decided for some color on the lips. I was testing the blush from Chanel's holiday collection as well so they didn't go all that well together but nevertheless here is the whole look and the list of the products:
Foundation: Chanel Vitalumiere Compact Douceur in B20
Concealer: Diorskin Star Concealer (reviewed here)
Eyes:
- Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette,
- Chanel Les Volume Mascara #30 Prune,
- Stylo Yeux #905 in Smoky Grey (swatched here)
Face:
- Chanel Joues Contraste in Caresse (review coming up)
- Chanel Camelia de Plumes Highlighting Powder (review coming up)
- Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder
Lips: MAC Fashion Revival (swatched here)
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| FOTD: Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
Looking at the photos of the compact once more, I wished the middle shade would swatch a little lighter, like in this photo, compared to black. I would also love to have a true-to-pan pay-off with the gold shade.
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| Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette |
Final thoughts: Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette is nice but it didn't blow off my mind. If you are in search for a cool smoky palette with good color pay off (I am ignoring the gold shade here) then you may want to check it out. Personally if I would have swatched it in person, probably I would end up not purchasing it.
Price/Availability: Chanel Plumes Précieuses Holiday 2014 Collection is now available in the States. I believe in Europe we have to wait for one more month for the release. Chanel Les 5 Ombres Oiseaux de Nuit Eye Shadow Palette costs $70 in the States.
Do you have something in your wish list from Chanel Plumes Précieuses Holiday 2014 Collection?
