Regardless of where you stand in the divide of highlighters – prefer them high shine, balmy, barely there or never there – Chanel’s Duo De Camelias Illuminating Powder Duo is undoubtedly beautiful to look at. Packaged in your classic black almost-square compact, this powder is split down the middle combining two tones of sparkling shimmer; one more golden, and the other more silver.
The powder has been pressed with a gorgeous image of three camellias that I’m reluctant to even touch with a brush. While one side is obviously more golden toned, it is a subtle gold that has enough white in it so not to enter the orange side of things. Sitting beside it, the silvery white toned powder has hints of pearl, which when swatched together create the most gorgeous champagne hue.
I love the versatility that you can choose which tone of highlight you prefer, or blend them together. It also works perfectly for creating a shimmering eye look – my personal preference when using this compact. I am mostly a balm highlighter wearer, and find even a powder as beautiful as this to be slightly too glittery and detectable on the cheekbones. The micro glitters are tiny, let me assure you, and blended in this can be a beautiful complexion glow-booster – if powders are your thing. I love applying this powder as eyeshadow, sometimes choosing a more silver look and sometimes amping up the gold.
The Chanel Camelias continue with two gorgeous lipsticks. In case you’re wondering, the camellia is a flower long linked to the brand, supposedly loved by Gabrielle Chanel herself. Two of the limited edition Rouge Allure lipsticks I think worthy of mention are 337 Camelia Rose and 327 Camelia Blanc. Infused with sweet almond oil, these lipsticks are lusciously hydrating while also having considerable staying power. Camelia Rose is, unsurprisingly, a perfect pink rose colour. Lively without being overly bright, it’s wearable and would suit just about everyone. The shade reminds me a lot of Lancôme’s L’absolu Rouge in Rose Rhapsodie.
Camélia Blanc is a bit of a wild card. Looking the palest shade of pink in the tube, I was worried this would put a white caste over my lips. Instead it left a plumptious, shiny layer of tinted balm – the softest hint of pink that just catches the light. Those with darker lips might find a slight whitish hue, especially if you layer a few coats, so test in person if you’re unsure. If you’re more a fan of lip balm than lipstick, but want the luxury of Chanel, this would be my pick.
The packaging point of difference for these lipsticks is a gorgeous gold camellia icon that adorns the top of the clickable tube, replacing the usual CC logo. It’s these tiny details that make Chanel products so collectible and covetable. While giving the feeling of total luxury, each of these three products are effortlessly useable which is, ultimately, the best kind of extravagance.
Find Chanel Camelias collection at Chanel.com, David Jones and Nordstrom.