Precious Powders! Chanel Infiniment Illuminating Powder

I am always helpless in the face of beautiful powders, even though most of the time they end up in the makeup museum.  Given my current state of (un)employment, I had vowed to keep away from more pretty to look at though redundant things… but all willpower went out the window when I saw the latest creation from Chanel.  Yes, I bought Chanel Infiniment Illuminating Powder on the basis of its looks alone, degenerate that I am.  However, by the time I finally put brush to pan and dusted this on my face, I swooned in its beauty.  So, if you need some convincing, read on!

Chanel Infiniment Illuminating Powder is the latest limited edition powder from Chanel, and bears the House’s signature interlocking double-Cs in the center of the pan.  The Chanel logo is made of an apricot shade that is textured on the surface as if it has been embroidered onto the pan.  The surface texture is quite enduring, and is still visible even though I’ve been concentrating my brush action on it.  If you are worried about the logo being an overspray, rest assured it goes all the way down to the base.

The apricot-colored logo lies amidst a beige background, and when both shades are swirled together, produces a pale peachy-beige shade with very faint micro-shimmers.  The powder is incredibly finely-milled and melds into the skin when applied, bringing a luminosity to the skin that is on par if not better than Guerlain meteorites!

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In the picture above, I had already applied a layer of Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale Cream Foundation [reviewed here] which provides the coverage I need as I’m suffering from a bad bout of breakouts on my left cheek.  For comparison purpose, I dusted Chanel Infiniment Illuminating Power on my right cheek (left of the line on your screen) and the glowy effect of the powder is quite visible.  Much as I love and can’t stop raving about the foundation itself, it simply looks more “finished” with the addition of the Chanel powder.  More importantly, if you click on the picture to zoom in, you can see the miraculous pore-blurring effect of the powder!

Another way to use the powder, is as a very sheer highlighting blush just to bring some natural flush to the cheeks.  To do that, simply swirl your brush atop the center of the pan where the apricot-colored Chanel logo resides.  It is by no means a substitute for actual blush, but rather is another reinterpretation of this season’s strobing technique to add dimension to facial features without resorting to shading and contouring.  You can see the effect on my right cheek in the comparison photo above.

Here is a close-up comparison of my afflicted left cheek, for all you disbelieving heathens who are unconvinced that my skin is far from flawless and needs all the help it can get!  ;PP

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Chanel Infiniment Illuminating Powder renders a very softly glowy effect to the skin, the kind of results that “finishes” the look and breathes life back into the skin after applying a full face of makeup, but never looks overdone.  I also found that it helps set my makeup, and extend the wear time.  The powder comes with its own wide-flattened angled brush held in a miniature velvet sleeve separate from that for the palette, so it is handy for touch-ups on the go, yet optional in case you choose to bring your own brush.  It is limited edition, and I suggest you check this one out asap!