Chanel Mystère Eye Shadow Quad / Review...

I know, I know I'm late to the party! As we are already looking forward for holiday makeup collections that have started to pop up here and there, I'm here with a Fall offering but it is still available and truly worthy of a second look.

Chanel Fall 2013 Superstition Makeup Collection...

I was tempted from the get go by the offerings of this collection, especially by the eye shadow quad Mystère but then reviews started to pop up on the blogosphere and although bloguerettes seemed to like the color combination they weren't unanimous as far as the quality was concerned, it of course didn't seem as bad as years ago but it was enough for me to decide to pass especially since it's a little over $60.00.

Why the reservations? Well, as I've hinted, years ago Chanel makeup was pretty bad. The lipsticks? I wouldn't be able to tell you how many I've purchased through the years for I've almost always loved them. A few formulas here and there were kind of ordinary but this did not happen often and as for nail polishes, Le Vernis Rouge Noir is probably my all time favorite! The mascaras dried quickly and the eye shadows were just plain awful! Hard, difficult to apply, to blend, they cost a fortune and yet some drugstore brands performed better. Back in the day Max Factor was the one I would turn to for dupes and believe me, their eye shadows rocked. Sadly it's not readily available in Canada anymore so I don't know how their products fare these days.

So why did I give in? Stacey from Expat Make-Up Addict was having a blog sale on a Saturday morning and she had Mystère on her list. She was letting it go because she wasn't wowed by it and was salivating over an Armani palette. I think this was before my first café au lait and so I guess I was a little vulnerable when decided to purchase it. I received it a few weeks ago and have been playing with it ever since.

What's up with Chanel?

Before I tell you what I think of it there's one important detail you must know, there are two Mystère quads! The version we have in North America is not the same as in Europe and that's an annoying detail. The colors seem slightly different and now I'm wondering if it's the same formula. Chanel seems to be a little all over the place with their quads. Some are baked shadows you can wet (apparently those aren't so good) and others are normal, basic powder. Why the differences? Could the fact there are two versions be the reason why some bloguerettes love it and others don't?

Chanel Mystère...

I like it! I really, really like it! So far, if I compare with my recent purchases, these eye shadows are the ones that stay the longest on my eyes without any primer. Finely milled, they're a little soft so you need to touch them lightly with a soft brush to avoid fall out so ditch the little sponge applicators, they are way too rough to use with these. With a soft brush I hardly get any fall out and color payoff remains excellent and I'm truly surprised at how little is needed to get good coverage. What a difference from back in the day...

So for once I think my pictures aren't too bad (feww!). My favorite combination is the medium beige on the lower left corner with the dark khaki on the upper left. Here they appear a little lighter than in reality and the dark shade does have beautiful gold specs that lightly transfer to lids. The light shade, upper right, I haven't used much but the darker beige, bottom right, has been receiving lots of love from me on days when I want a more natural look. Yes I was able to do swatches this time!!! Sadly they look a little lighter than in reality but believe me, these shadows are super buildable for a beautiful smokey eye.

So, out of all my recent purchases, Chanel Mystère is my favorite! Who would have guessed??? 

Although the darker shades do fade lightly during the day, they do so evenly. In other words they don't look all yucky by the time I take my makeup off! You know when you end up with weird makeup build up in creases at the end of the day that you have to smudge? This is what I get most of the time but not with these Chanel eye shadows. The big surprise is the medium beige. It stays on all day without any primer! I only use a little Rimmel concealer on my lids to tone down the red as a base and it seems to do the trick.

I'm really impressed! 

Ok so I mentioned Chanel eye shadows from years ago, I kept one duo and here are the pictures. You could say this is a little blast from the past and this one can be considered "vintage" for sure...

As you can see I tried to make it work, I so wanted it to work!!! Called Lait/Café or Cream/Espresso, the light beige has pink undertones with beautiful mild glitter. Sooo gorgeous (sadly on the picture it's not that obvious I wasn't able to capture the subtlety of it) I stubbornly tried and tried and tried again but no, it never lasted more than a few hours on my eyes and boy was it hard to apply. Notice how the sponge applicator is almost worn off? It was the only thing that picked up any color and compared to the new ones, so rough on skin it was almost irritating. The brown also has beautiful subtle glitter in it and was a little easier to work with but after a while I didn't bother much with it. I bought a few of these and this is the only one I kept, because of that light beige. I'm glad I did since this enabled me to compare with the new Chanel eye shadows.

This was my first ever blog sale purchase and I couldn't be happier. I'm so glad Stacey decided to part with it because I know I wouldn't have purchased it, mainly due to my reservations. Now there is another little item I got that day... Stay tuned because that one too has become an essential and has reached HG status...


What do you think of Chanel's Superstition Collection? 

Have you ever purchased something from a blogsale?