There are no sweet pink pastels in Chanel Spring 2013 collection and I couldn't be happier. Instead, we're offered Raffinement (#39), a classic neutral/cool brown quad with a slight taupe-plum leaning. Raffinement replaces the recently discontinued Kaska Beige (see comparison on The Beauty Look Book).
The colors in Chanel Raffinement lean cooler and I find them wonderfully flattering on my odd olive green toned skin. I suspect these low key browns will work for many, even more so than the warmer Kaska Beige. But the bigger story here is the texture: someone at Chanel has been listening and made the eye shadows smoother and creamier than they ever were (some quads from the past couple of years were gritty and messy). While I swatched here with the silly sponge applicators that come in the compact, I've found that Raffinement is quite saturated and can be easily packed on with a standard brush.
Three of the shades in Chanel Raffinement are shimmery while the darkest brown has a semi-matte finish. I haven't experienced any fallout and even the compact remains relatively clean. Raffinement is an instant classic as it offers an easy no fuss eye look. It's the kind of thing you may want to keep in your bag or even in the office and has its place even in a color wardrobe that's already full f neutral eye shadows. I guess it's the particular combination combined with the great texture.
Since Sabrina already did the comparison to Kaska Beige (see link above), I chose to show Raffinement next to Les Regardes de Chanel Les Bruns (also from three years ago). Do note that the two matte shades on the far left are brow powder, so they don't really count. Obviously the palettes are related, but the texture of Chanel Raffinement is far superior.
Chanel Raffinement 39 Eye Shadow Quad ($58) is available at the counters and from chanel.com.
I've been looking forward to Chanel's Spring colors and am glad to see another great neutral quad. Kaska Beige was an all-time favorite, I was so sorry to see it discontinued. I'll have to try these out the next time I'm in downtown SF!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the improvement in the quality of the shadows. Raffinement fills a hole in my eye shadow collection, which lacks cool pinks. The only flaw, for my NC45, medium complexion, is that the palest color in the quad isn't richly pigmented enough - it looks silvery white, almost ashy, instead of pink. Kaska Beige, on the other hand works well with with the other warm-hued products I use regularly, and the palest color, a warm yellow, is richly pigmented enough to look yellow. The matte brown, which Raffinement lacks, made puffy areas on my eyelids recede. The quality of the shadows were just as silky and smooth as Raffinement, in my opinion. I will miss Kaska Beige. I'm on my second quad, having gone to pan on all four colors in the first. Needless to say, I bought backups. I hope Chanel will reconsider discontinuing this versatile quad.
ReplyDeleteOh, I've been trying not to buy more makeup this year, but I think I may need to get this. I can consider this an essential, rather than frivilous purchase, right?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely my reasoning as well, Isolde.
ReplyDeleteFrivolous was my new perfume, TF's Italian Cypress.
This quad looks very promising and I'll swatch it this coming week.