Valentine’s Day Prep with Chanel

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With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought some of you might be thinking about spoiling yourself a little. After all, this is the day when we celebrate all forms of love, including self-care. As for me, I have an online wish list with some of my most coveted beauty items, and I occasionally cross off a thing or two when I need a pick me up.

This year there is only one Chanel product on my list – a large bottle of Coco Noir. I smelled it at Nordstrom and fell in love at first whiff! It’s the perfect fragrance for the winter months or for going out in general. A couple weeks ago I also had the opportunity to try the brand’s latest release – Chanel Gabrielle ($105 for 1.7 fl oz). This citrusy floral composition features top notes of grapefruit, black currant, and mandarin; heart of tuberose, ylang-ylang, and jasmine; and the musky sandalwood drydown. Gabrielle is fun, young, and feminine, but the scent has that undeniable Chanel No.5 elegance to it. This won’t be a fragrance for everyone – if you dislike powdery notes and florals, then it’s best to avoid this one. I thought it would be my ‘fancy’ fragrance but I found myself enjoying it as more of an everyday scent. Gabrielle is elegant and clean, but not pretentious and overly dressy. Just the way I like it!

I recently asked a friend who is an avid Chanel collector what was the most unexpected product from the brand she recently discovered, and her answer was not at all what I expected to hear. She originally bought Chanel La Creme Main ($50 for 1.7 oz) because of the unique bottle design [it looks like a large smooth white pebble], but immediately fell in love with the lightweight, ultra-moisturizing formula. Now that I have a little white pebble of my own, I understand why she was so excited about this hand cream. It has a fresh invigorating fragrance and lightweight milky formula that absorbs quickly without leaving my hands feeling sticky.

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already saw my photo of the cute limited edition La Creme Main Enamel Pin. Now through 2/18/18 you can get this adorable collectible to match your hand cream by using the code VALENTINE at chanel.com. The code is valid on any fragrance and beauty purchase.

Wands: Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss Caramel, Rouge Coco Lip Blush Burning Berry and Teasing Pink.

I tried a couple new-to-me lip products too.

I am already a fan of Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss ($30), and now I have a new one to play with. Caramel is a neutral shimmery brownish beige, which is now my go-to when I need a quick swipe of gloss and color in the middle of the day. These are so pigmented, they can easily pass for sheer liquid lipstick.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Blush ($30) is a product I’ve never tried before and wasn’t sure what to expect. These come in frosted tubes and look like lip glosses or liquid lipsticks, but are actually meant to be used as sheer lip and cheek stains. I tried the shades Burning Berry and Teasing Pink, and the latter is more up my alley. It’s kind of hard to describe them. They look like lip gloss that you apply with a wand, but the texture is more gel-like, slippery, and easy to spread on lips or cheeks. The finish is a sheer wash of color that looks matte or semi-matte when set. The tint doesn’t rub off easily – my lips retained pigment for about 6 hours after the initial application.

At this time, Coco Lip Blushes are a limited edition release exclusive to chanel.com.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Color ($37 for 0.12 oz) was released less than 2 years ago and it’s already a classic. I first tried it thanks to my mom, who swears by this formula. She says it always makes her lips look plump, defined, and ageless. The latest addition to my makeup bag is the bright orange-toned red Rouge Feu. It’s the kind of red that can be easily worn with jeans and to a black tie event, and it immediately makes my complexion look luminous. Every woman has their perfect shade of red, and for me bright warm corals like this one are perfection.

Last but not least, I added one more shade of Chanel Le Vernis ($28) nail polish to my collection. Chanel polishes have a cult following among nail bloggers, because the formula is arguably among the best there is. On me all colors wear like iron – a solid 7 days without a single chip, and I usually repaint around day 10 when my nails grow out too much. Shantung is a medium, cool-toned wine red, and to me it looks like a shade I’d pick for a date or a formal occasion. It’s very classy and elegant. The formula was smooth and easy to distribute evenly without streaks. On my nails it lasted about 8 days with minor wear at the tips before I finally repainted them, which is consistent with other Chanel polishes in my collection.

Swatches left to right: Rouge Coco Lip Blush Teasing Pink and Burning Berry, Rouge Coco Gloss Caramel, Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Color Rouge Feu, La Creme Main.

So, these are my latest Chanel tryouts, and all of them are perfect for Valentine’s Day prep or as special treats for any occasion. I would say, Gabrielle fragrance and Rouge Feu lipstick were my favorite new discoveries. I thought I was set on reds until I tried Rouge Feu, and now it’s all I want to wear. Gabrielle is another unexpected discovery – I did not think it would be so wearable. The bottle design and the list of notes on paper sounded like it would be another scent for going out, but it’s surprisingly balanced. Plus, my husband likes it on me, so what’s a win-win! 😉

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day this year? Do you plan to treat yourself to something special? Let me know in the comments below!