First, I want to add my thanks to Anita and Shelley for all of their hard work in planning the Chicago event. It was a blast, rain and all, and such a great group of people in all. Truly a perfect day with some of the nicest, most fun, intrepid perfumistas you could hope to get together. I plan to start uploading pictures to my photoblog (look for the link on the left) tonight and the rest of this week, as well as other pictures send me. I’m not sure how great I’m going to be at doing names, I may need some help! Truly one thing I am horrible at – names. It will be under the heading Chicocoa Scentsations.
Today is all Beige and all Chanel in two flavors.
First, Chanel’s new Limited Edition Eyeshadow Quad called Beiges de Chanel consists of a light beige as a highlighter on the upper lid, a wheaty gold color for the lower eyelid, a mocha with hints of gold for the crease and a chocolate with more gold for the liner/outer corner of the eye. I’m going to put up this picture as well, but I think capturing eyeshadow colors on film are tricky, but hopefully the descriptions help. This is a gorgeous, understated, elegant set of colors. If you want more drama and color in your eyeshadows, this probably won’t work as well, but if you want a gorgeous set of brown/neutrals that blend perfectly without either being too plain or too dark, just get this quad. As far as I know, only Saks has the quad right now, but I’m guessing it will go in wider distribution this fall. Remember it is limited so it will eventually be gone. I bought two so far and may get two more just in case.
Chanel’s new addition to the Les Exclusifs line is Beige, with notes of hawthorn, freesia and frangipani, and honey. The hawthorn is big out of the open in a great, slight sharp way, which takes this just far enough out of the “just another white floral” territory. It is also beautiful, so floral lovers shouldn’t fear that this is too weird, nor should the honey scare you, it brings a soft richness to the fragrance. It is understated in a way that only something beautifully crafted can be and not shout. There is a graceful artlessness with this fragrance – not contrived or overwrought. Far into the drydown, the hawthorn and its slight woody bitterness evens out into this balanced floral musk with no sharp edges, but stays far short of anything bland. This is officially my favorite Les Exclusifs.
Late to post…crazy morning…so what else is new?
Anywho-how, that quad is gorgeous! I would love to see photos of you wearing it. I am embarrassed to say this, but I am “terrified” of putting anything on or around my eyes, other than mascara. I even stopped wearing contacts because I just could not take it. But I love to see my friends and other women pull it off flawlessly.
And, the fragrance sounds gorgeous, too! Can’t wait to see your photos of the event. Sounds like Anita and Shelley did an outstanding job!
Hugs!
I don’t even wear eyeshadow more than once every couple of months but that quad triggered a case of “want it” for me anyway. Totally had to give myself a talking to: “Will you wear that or will it sit on your dresser gathering dust until it gets that old funky makeup smell & needs to be tossed? Right then. You don’t need it, do you missy?”
Chanel Beige on the other hand … I am not much of a floral girl & have no idea what a hawthorn remotely smells like but honey can be great on me. This, I do need to sniff.
It is lustworthy!!!! But, yeah, if you have those colors, you don’t need it. I wind up getting them because I like the way they’ve put those particular colors together, and while I have something “close” to that, not in those combinations or shades. The chocolate with gold flecks is really, really great.
If you like that note in Daim blond, Beige has a shot with you.
I just looove these kind of nude colors! But the sad thing about these kind of palettes is, once you hace a good one, it’s enough. I have my own little Bobbi Brown one..True, nude/beige/golden eye shadows are not very fun or exciting, but very practical. (by the way, did any of you ever really finish a blush or an eye shadow palette or something? I kind of think those things last for eeeeverrr!Ok, I don’t wear make-up that often..)
And the other Beige you’re talking about..sounds interesting!Actually, I want to try all the other Exclusifs too (for now,the only two I’ve tested are Cuir de Russie (nope)and 31 Rue Cambon (loved that one, but it reminded me of another Chanel..Coco Mademoiselle perhaps??).
Greetings from Spain!
(oooh,yes, would have loved to be in Chicago too!!You know how frustrating it is to not have a single friend who cares for perfumes??)
I actually do, at least some of them. The Chanel winter Nights quad from two years ago I wear all the time. It’s usually the chanel quads that I finish or use heavily, so I stopped getting most of the others, which I don’t finish.
I do know! I don’t have anyone locally to play perfumes with, so that’s why I *need* to do these get-togethers, just being in the same room with all those perfumistas is invigorating.
Allabouteve, are you Yzma80 on the Spanish perfume forum of enfeminino? She’s been translating my posts in Spanish and I can’t post on the forum without being sponsored, so if it’s you, I’d like to thank you, if it isn’t, pues nada!
Noooope..not me!I’m in another forum called “mas que chicos” (more than boys)…not much life in there talking about perfumes, I must confess..that’s why I always go overseas..:)
(you’re the Carmencanada that lives in Paris, right?Lucky you!A perfume store and a great patisserie on every corner..!!)
Greetings from España!!!
SO wish I could have been in Chicago – rain and all! I’m truly loving Beige and that is *absolutely* unexpected. Thought that was the one new scent I wouldn’t need, but it’s one of the few that I find I do (I suspect Lyric will be necessary, but the Guerlains absolutely are not).
I would have been surprised if Beige didn’t do it for you. 🙂
The Lyric for women is an amazing dark rose, but so much more. The men’s lyric does the same thing the Men’s Jub does, there’s a note I’m anosmic too that just turns to alcohol, though I can smell more of it than the Men’s jub.
More on those in a review either this week or next. The pace of new releases is really picking up!
Hi Patty! Sounds like you all had a wonderful time in Chicago, despite the monsoon! Looking forward to the photos!
I sampled Beige this weekend at the new Chanel installation (a must-see!!) at Saks in NYC. It’s a beautiful scent, and one that I instantly fell in love with. I have my little square Chanel blotter sitting here wedged between the rows of my computer keyboard. It’s soft and lovely. Remotely reminds me of Philosophy Baby Grace, but in a very polished, grown-up way. I can’t wait to add Beige to my fragrance wardrobe.
i know! I’m thinking I need to do a bottle split on this cuz I sure don’t need a full bottle, but I definitely want an ounce or so for my personal use!
Oh dear, the more I read about Beige, the more I think I will fall for it when I eventually manage to drag myself to Chanel. I love hawthorn in other fragrances, like Daim Blond and Eau d’Hiver and Beige also sounds just very soft, comforting and elegant. Thanks for the lovely review.
Hawthorn does add an elegance to it. I think that’s what I like most about Daim Blond. it’s so restrained, but a little naughty, like the inadvertent flash of bare skin.
it’s really lovely, and this is definitely the one they should make into a parfum.
Uh-oh…now the magnet is starting to draw me in… Daim Blond is “in the pocket” for me, as in, totally hits a groove…the collected comments had piqued my interest, but now I believe it’s to the top of the “gotta try it” list.
Oooh, oooh! That Chanel quad is lovely-neutrals are sooo lovely this fall (always?)-also check out Bobbi Brown’s Shimmering Nudes.
Beige sounds “not me”, but I love being proven wrong 8-|
So glad the weekend was great!
I’m on the fence when I think if you’d like Beige or not. It’s not that white floral, and it depends on how musky it gets on you, I would think, what notes get amped.
I keep looking at that Bobbi Brown and still debating!
Interesting! Now I *really* have to sniff Beige. I’m curious about the hawthorne. Hawthorne flowers, as beautiful as they are en masse in spring, smell kinda awful. They like flies as pollen-spreaders, so you can imagine…
And I have to check out Chanel at Saks for eyeshadow. Thanks for the report!
I think that the French hawthorn (aubépine) is not the same variety as the American one: it has a lovely smell. But then, hawthorn is not actually hawthorn in perfumery: it is produced with anisic aldehydes since the early 20th century.
And that’s interesting, too. Thanks!
Not awful smelling at all! You need to get down to Saks and sniff it, I think you’d really like it.
I’m in love with Beige, the perfume, as well.
I reviewed it first as a sultry tropical (the frangipani) and had to add a paragraph two days later, when Octavian from 1000fragrances, who was at my place for our twice-monthly sniffing session, pointed out a muguet note as big as the Eiffel tower just staring us in the face, which opens up the other notes and makes it fresh…
“Graceful artlessness” is a great way of qualifying it!
On another subject, a virus attacked my desktop computer and while I retrieved most of my files, I lost all my email addresses. Patty, March, Louise, Ida, could you write me an email so I can get your addresses back?
Okay, I’m going to reapply tomorrow and look for that. It doesn’t surprise me. Some things seem to stan out more on first blush, but finding that hiding under the hawthorn and/or frangipani makes sense.
it is a beauty, I’m really pleased with what they did, even though the notes are completely different from the original, it’s clearly not even meant to be like it. Do you know?
Patty,
I gotta say, I wear “guyliner” when the occasion strikes and I’m going to have to send a silly picture to you with me and my beige eyes. I am hooked and believe it or not, I get a lot of fun compliments. I like to do the lower line only of course. I sometimes put a little brown and go over it with a softer beige and blend down….I think it opens up my brown eyes a bit. (I was “trained” by Nars but never ended up freelancing…just got too busy and it was for fun anyways). I must get a bottle of beige, since I’m a floral freak. Is it at Saks L.A. only? Do you have a contact person there? 😡
I definitely want to see pictures! I think guys should do more eyeliner. Why is it that makeup just fell over to girls now? Men used to wear liner, etc. I don’t see the problem.
Beige is jsut at NYC saks for right now, probably through the end of September.I know!!!!
You know I went to the Chanel on Rodeo and they didn’t have Beige to sniff!?! Was it punishment for not going to Chicago? Hmmmmm.. 🙁
It’s only at NYC and would you believe it? Until about 4 days prior to our Event, they hadn’t even told the managers at the other Les E stores (even their own!!!) that Beige existed. As so often happens, they found out from their customers!
I LOVED that Quad, Patty! The honeyed color in the lower right is KILLAH!!!
As M said, just in NYC right now, but I assume it’s coming in maybe October? to the rest of the world of Chanel?
It’s beautiful. The longer it was on, the more I liked it. First blush, I thought, oh, pretty! Then I just fell in love with it.