Chanel Summer 2012 Collection: Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzing Powder (907 Sable Beige), Rouge Coco Shine (447 En Vogue & 437 Empreinte), Glossimer (337 Calypso) & Perfection Lumiere Review

Hi everyone. I am sure many of you living in the Northern hemisphere must be so excited for the arrival of summer. Even though summer is not my favourite season per se, summer makeup collections are in fact one of my favourite releases in the year.

I am going to review Chanel's summer 2012 makeup collection known as Summertime De Chanel today. Inspired by the warmth of the sun, this collection features products to help you create sun-kissed glowing skin as well as vibrant colours that will complement such radiant complexions.

This is quite a big collection for Chanel's standard. It contains:

• 2 Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powder in 907 Sable Beige and 917 Sable Rose
• 1 Ombres Contrastes Duo in 37 Sable-Emouvant
• 1 Le Crayon Yeux in 47 Brun Intense
• 1 Le Crayon Khol in 75 Peche Cuivre
• 2 Rouge Coco Shine in 437 Empreinte and 447 En Vogue
• 2 Levres Scintillantes Glossimer in 327 Sirocco and 337 Calypso
• 3 Le Vernis Nail Colour in 597 Island, 607 Delight and 617 Holiday

There is also an Inimitable Waterproof mascara, Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, Soleil Tan de Chanel Sheer Illuminating Fluid and the Rouge Coco Baume listed on the Chanel website but I think those are permanent items whereas everything else apart from the eyeshadow duo are limited edition.

 I got the Soleil Tan de Chanel in 907 Sable Beige, Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks in 437 Empreinte and 447 En Vogue, Glossimer in 337 Calypso and Le Vernis Nail Colour in 597 Island. I also have the Perfection Lumiere Foundation in 12 Beige Rose.

P/s. I did not purchase these products myself. I received them as presents from my mom.

PERFECTION LUMIERE FOUNDATION

Let's take a look at the Perfection Lumiere Foundation first. This product was newly released in Malaysia along with the Summer 2012 collection so I decided to include it in this post.

I have it in the colour 12 Beige Rose. I am not going to talk about the colour because colour matching is such a tricky topic so I shall only address the performance of this product on the skin.

This product has medium coverage and it can only be built up to a certain extent before looking a little cakey on the skin due to its texture. As you can see, it does make the scar on my arm fainter but it alone is not sufficient to completely cover it. My favourite way to apply it is using a beauty blender sponge but it works very well with a foundation brush too.

I have very oily skin and I can confidently declare that this is my favourite foundation at the moment. This product does feel quite "dry" (as in it has a powdery feel once you blend it onto the skin) so I don't think people with dry skin will enjoy it. However, on my oily skin, this foundation maintains a velvety finish for over 5 hours before some shininess peeks through and I only need to blot every 1.5 hours or so after that to remove the shine. I had my makeup on for 9 hours (and I don't tend to wear my makeup for much longer than that) and it lasted well till then.

*update* This foundation does tend to slip off under extremely hot and humid condition (If I spend a lot of time time outdoors). If the weather is really hot, I get extra oiliness on my skin and the combination of sweat and oil (gross I know, sorry) will cause the foundation to slip right off. When I did the review, I only tested out indoors and it was absolutely fine. So, I only tend to wear this foundation if I know I am going to be inside most of the time.

However, it is important to note that this product has a slightly stronger scent compared to my Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, so depending on your tolerance towards fragrance, some might like it and some might not. 

SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL LUMINOUS BRONZING POWDER

 907 Sable Beige is the lighter of the two bronzers and it comprises of 7 strips of colours from gold to peaches and brown.

Individual strips swatch. It is possible to pick up each colour individually with an eyeshadow brush.

On the left, I only picked up the top portion of the bronzer. In the middle is the bottom portion and on the right is all colours blended together. When all colours are blended together, it gives a very soft medium tan colour with tiny gold particles and it looks great on the skin. 

My skin is quite fair so I am not normally a very big fan of bronzers because it can easily look unnatural or too orange on my skin. This Sable Beige bronzer has a soft and finely milled texture and the versatility of the seven-colour strips enable you to customise your own shade to a certain extent. The colour combination comprising of a lot of peachy/pinky tones will also make it work on a range of light to medium skin tones.

This bronzer is a Luminous Bronzing powder so it does give a glow to the skin. Every colour has a sheen or shimmer, so it will work as a bronzer for lighter skin or highlighter for deeper skin tones. It will not work as a contour because of the shimmer. On my oily skin however, it is important to note that it will look good for a couple of hours before it starts to meld with my skin's natural oil and look a little TOO luminous. In terms of lasting power, I would say it did last for about 5 hours before being defeated by my oily skin and thus begin to fade.  

ROUGE COCO SHINE AND LEVRES SCINTILLANTES GLOSSIMER

437 Empreinte

447 En Vogue

337 Calypso

From left, Empreinte (peachy beige with a light tan tinge and shimmers), En Vogue (pinkish coral), Calypso (bright true coral, almost like an orange)

I am personally a big fan of the Rouge Coco Shine formula because I just prefer the sheer glossy effect that it gives. This formula also feels so soft and smooth as well as being light on the lips so I find it very comfortable to wear. The sheerer nature also makes it very convenient to reapply throughout the day. Empreinte is very sheer so it just mutes out my lips colour a little whereas the colour of En vogue shows up more. Both of these last about 2-4 hours on my lips depending on how much I talk or if I eat/drink.

A lot of glossimer colours do not translate on the lips as many of it will just look like a shimmery clear gloss on. The colour of Calypso is bright enough that the colour does show so you can wear it alone or over other lip products. Glossimers have a nice texture and I don't find it to be too sticky or uncomfortable to wear. The shimmer in glossimers also make it look so glowy and pretty under sunlight. This formula is surprisingly long wearing too, if I am careful, it has lasted me a maximum of 4 hours.

LE VERNIS NAIL COLOUR 

Le Vernis Nail Colour in 597 Island

597 Island is a pearlescent beige colour. I applied two coats of the polish in the photo.

I like the colour of it because I think it's such a pretty colour that can be worn every season and will go with any outfits. The formula however, might be a little tricky to work with. Two coats of it gives a semi opaque finish, as you can see in the photo, my nail lines are still visible. You can get it more opaque with 3 coats but it will be prone to unevenness. In addition, you can almost see streaks of the brush strokes on my nails but pearlescent finish does disguise that a little.

This polish wears well. Tip wear only showed on the 6th day and I got slight chipping on the 8th day mark. 

 In this photo, I was wearing the Sable Beige all over my face and the En vogue Rouge Coco Shine.

This is it from me this time. Please follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/lizchewy and/or weibo http://www.weibo.com/lizchewy

Until next time xoxo