Chanel Les Automnales for FW2015: Joues Contraste 260 Alezane

I had a hard time at the Chanel boutique, picking out pieces from the latest FW2015 Les Automnales collection.  Everything looked so amazing, all the colors formed a warm tapestry that felt rich and mysterious, that I wanted to grab them all!  But since many of them are actually going to be available permanently, I restricted myself to the key pieces.  I had already reviewed the limited edition Entrelacs Palette before, so today I thought I’d share some swatches of all the rest of the collection, and give you a closer look at the new Chanel Joues Contraste Alezane (260).

When I first saw the press images for Chanel Joues Contraste Alezane, I had thought it looked too similar to Accent from the Holiday 2013 collection.  But when I saw it in person and swatched it, the difference was stark and immediately sets the 2 apart.

Alezane is a rich warm-toned terracotta shade that has equal parts of red and brown mixed in with a generous sprinkling of golden shimmers.  It is one of the most pigmented blushes I have ever tried in recent memory, and a gentle touch is really all you need.

For those of you who are unconvinced, here is a comparison between Alezane (right) and Accent (left):

Both swatches were made with a finger, and as I had noted earlier in my review of Accent [read here], the shimmers mostly fall away when applied with a brush and the resultant effect on the cheeks is much more of a luminous, soft rosewood shade.  On the other hand, Alezane is much more pigmented, and it has a stronger sheen that translates even with a brush.  It goes well with the current penchant for strong highlighted cheeks, but application is key.  For my roughly NC15 skin tone, I found it easiest to pick a loose cheek brush, and just very lightly sweep it across the top of the pan, tap off excess first, then sweep it gently over the top of my cheek bones.  I start from the apples of my cheeks, not too close to my nose, and then take it all the way close to my ear but not quite into the hairline.

And this is how Chanel Joues Contraste Alezane looks on me:

For this look, I am wearing Tom Ford Complexion Enhancing Primer underneath Shu Uemura Skin:Fit Foundation on face. Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tisse D’Automne on eyes (review coming soon), Chanel Joues Contraste Alezane on cheeks, and Givenchy Le Rouge A Porter in Beige Floral on lips. Finished with Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo on nose ridge, chin, and cheeks.

Chanel Joues Contraste Alezane is certainly a bold shade for the cheeks, but it works equally lovely on cooler-toned gals like myself and warmer-toned beauties.  And despite being rather pigmented, it blends out easily and will never look clownish.  It is also different enough from Accent for those who had owned and loved Accent to pick up Alezane too.

And before I leave you to herald in the weekend (it is going to be a nice long weekend here in Singapore!), I’d like to show you some swatches of the rest of the Les Automnales Collection.

There are 2 new Illusion D’Ombre in the Les Automnales Collection – Fleur de Pierre is a new formula called Illusion D’Ombre Velvet and will be available permanently.  The other Rouge-Gorge is from the classic formula and is limited edition.  There is 1 other called New Moon which is a repromote from Summer 2014 and has been reviewed here.

For those who found the Chanel Entrelacs Palette [reviewed here] to be too soft or too neutral, there is another eyeshadow palette in the collection – Chanel Les 4 Ombres Tisse D’Automne.  I will be reviewing this palette soon, so I will save my comments except to say that the swatches above are all single swipes.  It is much more pigmented and extremely edgy, and will be available permanently.  If you can’t wait, please let me refer you to my buddy Sara’s post which was what drove me to buy this to begin with!

I greatly apologise for the poor quality of this picture!  I was rushing like a mad, and hadn’t intended to swatch these, thinking perhaps I will save them for a 2nd trip, and then at the last minute did it anyway without checking the photo.  In any case, it shows you the color (which is at least quite accurate) and the blurry image brought the shimmers to focus.  Of them all, only Ardent is limited edition, all others are available on a permanent basis.  I found much sharper swatches here, in case you are interested.

There are 4 new lip colors in 3 different formulas, 2 beige nudes and 2 reds.  None of them really appealed to me so I chose to skip them for now.

Just for completeness sake, I should mention that there are 2 Levres Scintillantes, both of which I had neglected to swatch.  Should I get the chance to remedy that, I will be sure to update this post!

There are also a bunch of nail polishes.  I had reviewed Ecorce Sanguine (mad love!) here, Vert Obscur will be coming up next Monday, and Chataigne which you will find on Sara’s post here.  There is also a new protective base coat and a matte top coat, the latter is limited edition so don’t forget to check it out if matte nails are your thing.

And that’s a wrap folks!  Have you got your eyes / hands on anything from this drop-dead gorgeous collection yet?