Les Regards de Chanel Eye Palette Les Bruns

A great palette needs to answer two major needs: 1) the colors must go perfectly with each other, 2) it should be small enough to fit in a small purse or a clutch. Chanel took it up another notch in Les Regards de Chanel Eye Palette Les Bruns by also providing two eyebrow colors, though I'm not sure who needs two of those- you can either wear one or the other for that purpose, so the concept is somewhat flawed.

The plastic insert states the purpose of every pan in the palette, thus trying to claim these are several different products (an eyeliner, a highlighter, eye shadows and brow fillers). This is somewhat misleading because while definitely suitable for these tasks, all six colors are eye shadows in pressed powder form. Some are matte, thus making them great for brows, some are shimmery so the lightest one is a great highlighting eye shadow, but the texture is almost the same throughout the palette.

These neutral browns are the best ones I've seen since the long gone Bobbi Brown Chocolate eye palette. Since I'm about to hitting pan in a couple of the colors there, Les Regards de Chanel Les Bruns was a welcome addition to my arsenal. It's my weapon on choice when I have to get ready in an ungodly morning hour, when the husband is impatiently waiting for me so we can go out or when I'm wearing a colorful scarf or a busy print. It's easy, the soft eye shadows blend quickly and seamlessly and the look is more sophisticated and polished than I could achieve otherwise when half asleep.

The eyeliner is better when applied wet or with a fixative solution (I use Paula Dorf's Transformer), so if one is really in a hurry a pencil would be better (I wish they'd included a mini one in the palette). The brow color on the right side is far too light and warm for me- it would probably suit blondes- but I've used it successfully as an eye shadow. It's quite pretty, actually. All these colors need a primer to last from morning to night, but they don't lose intensity, so that's very good.

Bottom line: A reliable workhorse.

Les Regards de Chanel Eye Palette Les Bruns ($70) is a limited edition, exclusive to Chanel boutiques around the world. I bought it when it was available from Chanel.com (currently out of stock).

All photos by me.