The Product
Chanel Palette Essentielle, $85 at Chanel (www.chanel.com).
The Promise
Consisting of a concealer, highlighter and blush – all in new formulas with creamy textures – this palette creates a lasting, fresh, glowy complexion without looking heavy, and is available in three shades.
How it works
The concealer takes up the most real estate, as it's meant to be used throughout the day for touch-ups and comes in a lightweight, balm-like texture made with spherical particles that blur imperfections for a soft-focus effect. The highlighter uses a high concentration of pearlescent particles to add luminosity without shimmer, while the blush brings a translucent flush of colour to cheeks and lips.
How to use it
Apply where desired using fingers or a brush.
The bottom line
Chanel's global creative makeup and colour designer Lucia Pica based the brand's fall collection on photographs she'd taken while on a road trip through California, and describes the Palette Essentielle as her "interpretation of a modern woman's approach to make-up." If the modern woman is anything, she's constantly on the go, and a road trip is just one of the many travels she'll take this year. This palette hasn't left my handbag since I got it, accompanying me to New York and Chicago, out on dinner dates and to business meetings. As someone who prefers an easy look that's somewhat polished but not exactly "done," it packs all of my key complexion essentials and allows for quick and easy enhancements wherever I may be. The concealer leaves a barely-there feel but still covers anything I wanted to fade away, and the highlight is a worthy alternative to eye shadow (I tried it on my brow bone and lid). The blush also works beautifully on lips, is buildable and doesn't feel dry or cake-y. As the name suggests, something that can slide this seamlessly into your busy day is definitely an essential.
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