Chanel Paris Bombay | Makeup and Nail Polish - featuring a new Illusion d'Ombre and introducing you to the newest nail polish by Chanel

The makeup at the Chanel Paris Bombay show was absolutely stunning. Peter Phillips' graphic take on the Indian kohled eyes look with everything else at a bare minimum worked perfectly with Chanel's Parisian modernization of a an old world Bombay. 

photo source ndtv

Isn't this model absolutely beautiful!? She has the most perfect eyebrows! Anyone know who she is? And that jewellery, it's absolutely exquisite. I don't think I've ever seen traditional Indian jewellery done so well by a non-Indian designer.

J'adore. J'adore. J'adore.

Before jumping into the makeup and nail polish we must pay attention to how the show is setup. I don't think I've seen a more beautiful fashion show in my entire life. The runway is laid out like a grand feast Mughalesque-Indian-Maharaja meets Chanel kind of style.

You reckon the guests got to eat any of that stuff? 

all the photos are courtesy of Vogue unless stated otherwise

Now, let's talk about the nails. I haven't gotten over May, June and July (nail polishes from Paris Fashion Week check them out in this post)  yet and we already have a new contender, drumroll please... dun dunununun... DIWALI. It's named after the Indian festival of lights and it'll be released in June 2012.

UPDATE: I've got the info for the Chanel Diwali release date and when the entire Paris Bombay Makeup Collection is launching, CLICK HERE to check out my latest blog post with all the details! xx

It's a gorgeous pale gold and silver duo toned nail polish. Don't some nails look silver and some golden? Maybe it's just the picture but this one has sellout out written all over it, don't you think?

Le Vernis Diwali

Let's discuss the uber gorgeous makeup now.

I love the graphic approach to the kohled eye look and I really like that every thing else was kept at a bare minimum. Most of all, I love the almond shape of the eye makeup and even though it's really dramatic I would wear this look out in a heartbeat.

model wearing the new Illusion d'Ombre in Nirvana

Isn't that the most beautiful jet black eye shadow?! Usually I'm more excited about the nail polishes on the Chanel runway but this time an eyeshadow has stolen all the thunder.

What you see on the eyes of the model (who has the most gorgeous skin btw) is a limited edition Illusion d'Ombre in Nirvana. I already have three Illusion d'Ombre (you can see them in this post) including Mirifique which is a gorgeous glittery black so for the longest time I've been wishing Chanel would bring out a glitter free black. And they have!

The eyeshadow is pitch black but there's still depth and dimension to it which makes it kind of perfect. Most matte blacks looks really flat and I don't like that too much. I think this eyeshadow will be a great substitute for a gel liner, paint pot and any matte black eyeshadow that ever existed. Nirvana is on the very top of my wish list but won't be available till next summer so I'd love it if the wonderful people at Chanel would send me a pre-release sample.

Wishful thinking much? Le sigh. 

On the cheeks the models wore a Joues Contraste blush in Brume D'or and the Soleil de Tan de Chanel creme bronzer. A golden highlighter, Route des Indes de Chanel, was used on the eyes and the cheeks. The blusher and highlighter will be available next summer. 

From the pictures I can see that for foundation both Vitalumiere Aqua and Perfection Lumiere were used. This was the first time I saw models with darker complexions on a Chanel runway so I was certain they used Perfection Lumiere because it's their first range that accommodates for deeper skin tones. It's exciting to see Indian models on the runway and the foundation looks beautiful on them.  

The models wore false lashes but do you spot that spoon in the picture? Spoons are a great way to curl eyelashes for serious drama. Just push your lashes up with the spoon and hold it in place for a bit to get sky high brow bone scrapers. 

We must also address the hair...

Usually I don't talk about 'em much but I had to make an exception this time. 

Yup, those really are some serious dreadlocks. You're not hallucinating. Here's how it looks on the runway: 

What looks kind of scary up close is actually quite decent on the runway. Only Chanel could make something like dreadlocks work and not have them look half as dreadful as they really are. But I guess if you're a 6 foot tall, drop dead gorgeous model wrapped in beautiful Banarasi fabrics and decadent jewellery from head to toe you could wear a mop and still look good. Oh wait, that is a mop. Nevertheless, I think it works much better on the runway compared to the models with the flatter hair:

By the way, look at those shoes! Just look at them! They're such a refreshing take on the traditional Kolhapuri and I absolutely love the pearl accents. And doesn't the Diwali nail polish look perfect on the toes with these shoes?! 

I think the clothes and accessories are going to be a major hit in the land of Bollywood and I'm sure there'll be loads of spottings of celebrities wearing this collection. 

One of the models is wearing a duppatta and it looks stunning. The whole look from the duppatta, the tikka, the makeup, the long necklaces, the almost-angrakha lace dress to the androgynous take on a khussa  is what Anarkali would look like in the 21st century if she shopped at Chanel.  

And on a final note, as if I haven't overused the words gorgeous, stunning, beautiful and amazing enough already, feast your eyes on two point five five heaven. 'Nuff said.

Tell me what you think...

Do you love the makeup?

Is the new Illusion d'Ombre Nirvana on your wish list too?

Is Diwali a hit or a miss for you?

And are you drooling over the collection or what?

x

UPDATE: I've got the info for the Chanel Diwali release date and when the entire Paris Bombay Makeup Collection is launching, CLICK HERE to check out my latest blog post with all the details! xx

Why ever did Chanel discontinue their Pro Lumiere foundation and the new foundation they have brought out instead: Perfection Lumiere | Chanel Foundation Breakdown and Review Series - Part 1

Why on earth did Chanel discontinue their Pro Lumiere foundation?! I just found a sample sized prolumiere pot in my makeup stash and I'm really quite upset that I don't own a full sized bottle! I've always had an on and off relationship with this particular foundation in the past but today I've fallen in love with it. I've always had super dry skin so I have to be extra careful to pick out a foundation that won't accentuate any dryness. Recently though, something weird happened to my skin and it's not dry anymore (it's borderline oily now) and I think it's because I started using Creme de le Mer moisturiser (that's pretty much the most expensive face potion that's come in contact with my face ever since I've lived - fyi - it's almost a £100 - review coming up soon)!

CHANEL PRO LUMIERE (discontinued):

In my drier skin days whenever I used Pro Lumiere it would look slightly cakey on me regardless of how I tried to apply it so Vitalumiere has always been my go to foundation. However, I always did love how Pro Lumiere literally made my skin glow (when looked at from afar, nearby you could see all the dry patches). I also know (not personally) loads of makeup artists use Pro Lumiere on celebrities (Anne Hathaway is wearing Pro Lumiere in the picture below, she's also wearing one of the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows in mirfique) for red carpet events and it looks absolute stunning & I got a pretty good result when I used it today. I think this foundation responds kindly to people with non-dry skin types. I also think that it wouldn't work for someone with excessively oily skin without a primer.

Anne Hathaway wearing Chanel Pro Lumiere foundation

• The finish is dewy, natural and super luminous (in the best way possible, hence the name PRO Lumiere! 
• The coverage is medium
• It feels like I'm not really wearing anything on my face
• Best suited for non-dry skin types
• Long lasting

It pretty much looks like I have amazing skin and I just took a couple of pictures of my self with heavy flash and everything looks A-Okay! I've set my t-zone with the Vitalumiere Eclat Comfort Radiance Compact because I felt as the day would progress it would prevent excessive shine in that area. The powder actually melted like butter on top of this foundation and doesn't feel like powder at all. Rather, it feels like soft velvety skin.

I honestly don't understand why Chanel discounted this foundation because I know so many people who love this and now I do too. I've just done a quick scan on the internet and I can't find it anywhere but maybe they'll still have some left over in the stores?

CHANEL PERFECTION LUMIERE FOUNDATION:

To replace Pro Lumiere Chanel has brought out Perfection Lumiere which I haven't tried out yet so I can't say much about it except for the fact that it has very mixed reviews online. The USP of Perfection Lumiere is that it comes in a wider shade selection catering for pink based, yellow based and neutral skin tones. This is the foundation all the models were wearing in the Spring/Summer 2012 show (the one where we saw a sneak peak of all of next seasons nail polishes, click here to see that blog post) and their skin looked PERFECT. I must warn you though that when Chanel hired the models for the runway show one of their top criteria was good skin, really really good skin. 

Did you love Pro Lumiere foundation too or are you glad it's gone?

Have you tried Perfection Lumiere? What are your thoughts?

Stay tuned for Part 2 in the Chanel Foundation Breakdown & Review Series featuring my holy grail foundation for dry skin. 

Illusion d'Ombre - Long Wear Luminous EyeShadows by Chanel - Fall 2011 Collection

On my hunt for Chanel's Graphite I stumbled across these marvellous eyeshadows. Jumping from department store to department where there was a Chanel counter I kept on seeing these and it was only a matter of time till I got sidetracked from my 'acquisition graphite mode' and started checking these out.

Illusion D'ombre eyeshadows are part of the Fall 2011 makeup collection by Chanel and feature six different colours. They've got a very different texture compared to anything that is out there right now. It feels like a light mousse and gel at the same time but it's got a cream and powdery finish too!

Every store that I went to I noticed one of them was always sold out so when I finally came across the beautiful light purple'ish eyeshadow called Illusoire I knew I had to have it. I also bought Mirifique which is the most beautiful sparkly black I have ever seen which by the way you can use to create the most beautiful, perfect smokey eye look! I also bought Epatant which is a greyish sparkly silver with a khaki/greenish undertone!

Illusion d'Ombre Fall 2011 Collection 

Illusoire, I couldn't resist not using it until I had time to take a picture hence the  dent in the middle 

Epatant

Mirifique

The handy little eyeliner/eyeshadow brush that comes with each eyeshadow

Here are pictures of the Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows in action! Scroll all the way down to see a fabulous video tutorial!

Olivia Wilde gorgeous smokey eye was created by lining her eyes with a black eyeliner pencil and Mirifique eye shadow blended out on top. 

Lea Michele wearing a black smokey eye created with Mirifique eye shadow

Emma Stone wearing Illusoire eye shadow as eyeliner

Anne Hathaway wearing Mirifique - her makeup artist lined her eyes with a black eye pencil then added Mirifique over the top and blended a little bit on the outer corner and under the eye to soften the shape. 

Here's a video tutorial by the fabulous Lisa Eldridge showing you how to use these beautiful eye shadows. She uses Emerveille, Ebloui, Fantasme the three colours I didn't buy so it'll give you a great idea of what they're all about. She also uses Mirifique as a liner so you can create some of the looks from the celebrity pictures above! I must admit though, after watching the tutorial I wished I had also bought Ebloui! x