A glimpse at the lips: Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

Click.

Swipe.

Purse.

Smack.

Sorted.

Totes Bond-like packaging - you're either one click away from plush, kissable lips or unwittingly blowing up the likes of Nick Nack, Jaws or Oddjob. Whatever you do, duck if you should ever lock your gaze upon a flying hat.

Lippie lovers will experience a love/hate relationship with the sleek, black lacquered tube. It's fun, functional, but doesn't offer any clarity or a window into its soul. Want to know which colour you've plucked out of your bag? Flip that tube over and take a peek at the label. If you're looking for a transparent lover, Dior's Fluid Stick or Armani's Flash Lacquer might be safer bets, that's if you've got a hankering for luxe makeup. 

What Chanel has here is a gloss cross lipstick. Highly pigmented, loads of shine, a hint of tackiness (me thinks for staying power), complete with a stained finish prior to expiring around hour four.

"A gloss for women who love lipstick.

A lipstick for women who love gloss."

- Chanel

The recessed opening which features fancy, schmancy engineering

Swatch of Supreme 17

Supreme 17 is a bottled version of Strawberry Shortcake. It's as if she was set loose in the factory and left to her own devices. A blue based berry glace, sans whipped cream.

Wearing Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in Supreme 17

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss:

• $50.00 AUS / $34.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 8 out of 10 bags — A hasty choice that paid off.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Melissa lured me in with a tester and now I am the proud owner of Chanel's Inimitable Waterproof Mascara. #makeupenabler

Zoeva: The Luxe Complete Set

Zoeva = Color. Love. Makeup

Watching my makeup garden bloom before my very eyes has proven to be emotional. For years I've been cultivating; each brush has a story, a birthplace and a special spot in my heart. And then I happened upon Zoeva, a one stop shop which helps to pretty our faces.

Buy one or buy them all.

Two reviews educated, entertained and eventually helped me to hone in on what I'd eventually choose. Before I dive in with loads of images and banter, please, for the love of makeup, check out the aforementioned reviews:

• Pretty Shiny Sparkly discusses the Rose Gold Luxury Set. Perfect for the newbie.
• Sharon the Makeup Artist enticed me to buy the Luxe Complete Set. Love her accent, btw.

Zoeva's Luxe Complete Set

The Luxe Complete set features 15 brushes - five face brushes and ten eye brushes snuggled away in a handy black leatherette pouch with contrasting fuchsia pink grosgrain lining.

The Luxe Complete Set Clutch

Words to live by

The face brushes are by far my favourite. Soft work horses with a magnetic attraction to the powders and foundations I use on a regular basis. Nary a struggle, these makeup brushes truly make applying makeup swift and effortless. A special shout out to the Luxe Face Definer's multi-tasking abilities; I use this baby to contour on most days, but it can also highlight or blur finishing powder with the best of them.

Did I mention soft? So soft.

The fab five face brushes from top to bottom: Luxe Cheek Finish, Luxe Highlight, Concealer Buffer, Silk Finish and Luxe Face Definer

The selection of eye brushes is overwhelming.

Blend, buff, shade, line, define, smudge, smoke, intensify. Repeat. If only these brushes came with a built-in makeup artist, it would totally make applying eye makeup so much easier. An artist I am not, just a mere mortal attempting a cut crease or a cat eye flick. That said, these brushes give me a glimmer of hope.

Another soft bunch. The road ahead is filled with endless possibilities.

The eye brushes working clockwise from the top: Soft Definer, Pencil, Fine Liner, Crease, Petit Crease, Luxe Defined Crease, Luxe Soft Crease, Brow Line, Wing Liner and Smoky Shader

Makeup look put together with 13 of the 15 brushes

Here's a side by side visual comparison of some of the brushes from my handpicked collection versus several brushes from the Luxe Complete Set.

Luxe Face Definer vs. Nars Yachiyo

Silk Finish vs. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

Concealer Buffer vs. EcoTools Airbrush Concealer

Luxe Pencil vs. Burberry No. 10

Luxe Smoky Shader vs. MAC's 239

Luxe Soft Definer vs. MAC's 217

Fine Liner vs. Sephora's Pro Bent Liner

Wing Liner vs. MAC's 266

One caveat to note, you will experience a small amount of shedding during the first week or two of use.

Aesthetically these brushes aren't too dissimilar from Sigma or MAC, but I appreciate Zoeva's affordability, selection and ultimately their philosophy. Not only are you getting quality brushes, but you're also paying it forward to women in need. Visit Zoeva's website to find out more.

As it goes with cookies, shoes, purses and lipstick, you can never only have just one makeup brush. 

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Zoeva's Luxe Complete Set

• $165.00 AUS ($11/brush) / €115 EUR (€7.60/brush) / $135.00 USD ($9/brush)

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — It's like that dream when P-Cakes set me free in a Sanrio shop with all the monies in the world and then we went to Disney Land.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I also picked up a lip brush and a smudger. You know, cookies, brushes, etc.

Chanel's Vitalumière Loose Powder Foundation

Chanel's Vitalumière Loose Powder Foundation in Shade Beige 30 

I definitely fit in the 'easy makeup with great looking skin' category -- upon reading Vivianna's review of Chanel's Vitalumière Loose Powder Foundation late last month and witnessed just that, I knew I needed to get my butt over to my local Chanel counter to get the 411.

Let's break things down to get to the heart of the matter.

Powdery goodness

The packaging is a tad luxe, typical Chanel, yet functional at the same time. To dispense the loose powder from the reservoir gently tip the jar upside down with the lid screwed on tight and allow gravity to do the rest. Give the jar a little shake or tap the base, turn it right side up and remove the cap. You'll notice a small amount of powder waiting for you on the underside of the lid.

Built-in silky filter

The lightly perfumed mica powder is finely milled, but Chanel went one step further by including a baleen-type filter to help break apart any settled bits. The delicate screen also acts as a net to keep the loose powder from abandoning ship.

Every jar comes with a mini kabuki brush -- talk about soft! Personally, I prefer to use my own full size foundation brush as I feel like I can control the application process with a longer handle. Props to Chanel for including a quality brush.

Swatch of Beige 30 - can you even see it?

The shade selection is astoundingly small and could potentially jeopardise interested shoppers. Here's a snapshot of the five shades available for purchase..

Beige 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (from left to right)

To perk up my pale, post-winter skin I purchased Beige 30 (the centre swatch); Beige 20, whilst lighter worked as well, but I was going for a natural, warmer oomph.

The powder itself is really easy to apply, we're talking a small amount of required buffing. Or as Chanel puts it, "flip, dip and sweep." Seriously. On average it takes me less than two minutes to get things looking even. I've also found that I don't need a lot of product -- thank goodness, cuz this stuff isn't cheap.

After medium to full coverage? Go in with another helping or two without stressing about things turning cake-y, it just won't happen.

Yesterday's glow-y situation featuring a soft and diffused finish

When a makeup artist compliments your glowing skin, you know you're onto something pretty great. It really was a my skin but better moment and I am beyond thrilled by the unexpected kudos I received. Chanel's promise of "natural second-skin result with no hint of thickness and an amazingly even and smooth skin texture" is now my complexion's reality. 

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Vitalumière Loose Powder Foundation:

• $98.00 AUS / £55.00 GBP / $79 USD (I think)

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — hopefully I won't burn through this stuff too quickly!

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Don't know how I managed to get my paws on Chanel's Rouge Allure Gloss in 17 Supreme, but I did. If you're the type who'd move mountains for Burberry's Sweet Pea, then you'll die for this! I'll have a review up later this week 💋