Airport duty free shops are funny places. They prey on the sleep deprived and delirious with their airport-exclusive travel sets and foreign currency price tags. Not to mention the giant oversized Toblerones and abundance of touche éclat sets. Why is it so much easier to splurge on beauty products while crossing time zones and date lines?
Regardless, I fell victim yet again and one of the items I happily handed over my Monopoly money for was Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette in ‘light’. I had seen Margot Robbie rocking a soft pink eyeshadow on the red carpet of some awards show looking incredible and this palette seemed to encapsulate that look; feminine, effortless radiance.
It goes without saying that the palette itself feels luxe and special – a perfect treat for the duty free basket. The eyeshadows are soft and dreamy, a mix of shimmery pinks, lilacs and mauves with one bronzy taupe thrown in for balance. The two other shade options give completely different looks; one a more matte neutral eye of warm browns and then a shimmery yellow gold set. My palette in light is currently on high rotation at my makeup table and I find myself loving the lilac and soft pink eye colours more each day which is a shock to someone usually so set on the bronze or ‘pale barley’ lid looks. While this isn’t a ‘necessary’ palette – the colours aren’t so dramatic that people are going to comment on your insta-glam eye makeup – I find myself leaning more and more towards this sort of makeup. Makeup that adds a little something but isn’t overpowering, that defines your features but they’re still your features, recognisable rather than a carbon copy of a Kylie or Kim. Makeup that is a treat and feels special both to purchase and to use, and lets you sit down in front of the mirror for five or ten minutes in the morning and indulge yourself in the ritual of beauty. For this, there is no brand better than Chanel, and I have no problem handing over my dollars, pounds or euros for this precious piece of me-time.