Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Chantecaille The Coral Reefs palette review


         Let me introduce you to my newest treasure: Chantecaille's 'The Coral Reefs palette'! The Coral Reefs palette is the star of Chantecaille's Spring 2012 collection. The palette is complete with three eyeshadows and a blush. The Coral Reefs is one of Chantecaille's environmental awareness palettes. Five percent of the purchase price will benefit the Marine Conservation Institutes and raise awareness for endangered reefs. As an animal and nature lover, I'm a fan of both the design and charitable cause. Previous palettes you may remember include the Tiger in the Wild palette and the Sea Turtle palette, both of which were gorgeous. As you can see, I decided not to miss out this time. I hope you enjoy my review of Chantecaille's The Coral Reefs palette!


        Chantecaille's charity palettes come with beautiful designs depicting their beneficiary cause. Here you can see intricate branches of coral covered with a gold overspray. It's hard to overcome the desire to preserve these patterns. Digging my brush into the pans felt akin to making a foot trail in the carefully raked sand of a zen garden! However the pain of pattern loss is overcome by the beauty of the shadows themselves (see swatches below). They're perfect renditions of classic colors. Pink Pearl is a pale pink highlight that has just enough shimmer to brighten. Reef is a cool biege warmed by a golden sheen. The interplay between cool base and warm light adds a beautiful complexity to the color. Driftwood is a chocolate brown with a hint of red sheen for interest. Coral, the blush color, is a sheer coral with a slight golden sheen. All the powders are finely milled and have great textures. They may be a little sheer, however this works well with the overall aesthetic.


          The casing is a white plastic with the coral design printed on top. I was surprised to see how large the pans were. Each pan should have 3g worth of product. For reference a MAC eyeshadow is 1.5g and a MAC blush is 6g. Therefore, you get a considerable amount of eyeshadow, and a more limited amount of blush.

           At the Nordstrom Spring 2012 Trend show I was lucky to have my makeup done by Chantecaille Nation Artist Eddie Hernandez. I rarely seek out makeovers since I'm often disappointed by the results. However, this makeover was wonderful. I loved everything from the skincare to the makeup application to Eddie's personality. I would highly recommend seeking him out if he's in your area.



          When applying Chantecaille's The Coral Reefs palette, Eddie used the following technique. First, using a fluffy brush apply Pink Pear from the brow down as a highlight. Pat reef on the lid up to the crease and line with Driftwood. When applying coral, start at the cheek bone and apply in downward diagonal strokes, imagining where the sun would hit your skin. Also, take a quick sweep underneath the brow. The effect was gorgeous; Reef adds the perfect amount of natural depth to my eye!


          Finally, I made a loose set of comparison swatches with another favorite palette of mine, the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette (reviewed here), and NARS blush. I figured many beauty lovers would have these in their collections, and it would make an effective comparison. Chantecaille Pink Pearl eyeshadow is more pink, sheerer, and less frosty than Urban Decay Bootycall. Pink Pearl is a very subtle highlight, while Bootycall is more intense. Chantecaille Reef is cooler and less golden than Urban Decay Suspect. Chantecaille Driftwood is more red, less golden, and less shimmery than Urban Decay Snakebite. I imagined that Chantecaille Coral blush would be similar to NARS Orgasm. However, you can see from my comparison swatches that Coral is significantly less pink than both NARS Orgasm and NARS Deep Throat. The colors aren't quite duplicates, however, they might be useful if you'd like to emulate Chantecaille's Spring 2012 look on a budget!


         The bottomline: I'm enamored with this palette. The colors are basic, but beautiful renditions of basic. I had a "Say yes to the dress makeup" moment after my makeover with Eddie. The Coral Reefs palette is now a frontrunner for my big day makeup! I'm so pleased with my first Chantecaille experience.  I look forward to exploring more from the brand.

          Thanks for reading! Have you tried The Coral Reefs palette or Chantecaille recently? Are these sorts of colors what you've been wearing this season? I would love to hear recommendations from any Chante veterans out there!

Love, Dovey.

P.S. If you're left craving more from the world of Chantecaille, you can find my interview with Alex Chantecaille here.
NOTE: 2/2/2013 Some of the original photos underwent minor edits to correct typos and give a more accurate impression of the product.

35 comments:

  1. Driftwood is one of the prettiest shades! This would be such a beautiful wedding day palette :) Great choice!

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    1. Thank you!! I love driftwood too :)

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  2. This is such a beautiful palette! The designs are so pretty!

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    1. I'm trying my best to leave them intact, but it's going to be a losing battle :)

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  3. This is just gorgeous, I remember looking at the Sea Turtles palette and thinking how gorgeous it was, but this is even better!

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    1. Hi M, I agree. I really wish I had let myself try the sea turtle palette!

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  4. Absolutely stunning! Chantecailles cosmetics seem to be so classic and understated. The pigmentation of these shades, for instance, seems there without being "too much."

    You lucky duck you! What a wonderful experience to have had your makeup done with this palette by such a talented MUA.
    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Hi Jessica, I'm trying to go with classic and understate this spring! I actually missed my original appointment (I'm not sure with who) and Eddie happened to be free. It was lucky!

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  5. oh my my, the palette is just beautiful!
    i am sure they would look lovely on you. :)

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  6. Gorgeous!! I keep thinking about this palette and you are tempting me with these lovely pictures!! I just love their products so much.

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    1. Hi Tracy-- thanks! I plan on doing some Chantecaille research on Beauty Reflections :)

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  7. Aghh the coral reef imprints look sooo pretty *___*

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    1. Hi Maggie- agreed! Sadly it's disappearing now... o_o

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  8. Excellent post! What a ton of great info and i Love the pictures. Coral Reefs looks so beautiful, and I like how they changed the palette from the usual battleship grey. I'd have to pass on this one for being too warm, but it certain is a delight to look at.

    How fantastic that you got your face done by Eddie. How on earth did you score an appointment??

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    1. Hi Zuzu, thank you so much! I did think the white was interesting too. The colors are neutral, but I know how cool you lean! Like I mentioned to Jessica above, somehow I just fell into an appt with him when he happened to have a second free!

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  9. That is a gorgeous, gorgeous basics palette! I like the overspray and the design and the colors. And yay for finding a good candidate for the big day! ;)

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    1. Hi Larie, Thanks! I was actually pretty excited about that aspect--- since thinking of wedding makeup is kind of stressful (I know you're in the same boat :)

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  10. i love the way you describe things. you have such a way with words. this palette looks so wonderful and aesthetically pleasing in the pan as well. enjoy it!

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    1. Hi Kelly, thank you so much for your nice words :) I'm so happy to hear them!

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  11. Chantecaille is among my favorite brands. I fell in love with the eye palette with the mom and baby whales a couple of years ago and also got the sea turtle palette. I love their lipsticks, blushes and eye shadow singles too. Heck, I pretty much love the entire line! :) Thanks for reviewing this palette, it looks great! Enjoy :)

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    1. Hi S, it sounds like you have quite the history! I actually haven't seen the whale one but that sounds so beautiful! I think I'll have to do some brand research on MM now :)

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  12. Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments; I'm so happy to hear what you have to say! I will try to respond soon!

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  13. The palette looks amazing! Also it seems dupable, I would definetly buy it. the design is very nice. It would be a great addition to my turtles :D

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    1. Hi Claire- I love the sea theme here--- and I wish I had the turtles like you!

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    2. it was so hard for me to decide actually, lol. the reviews were very mixed (like: pigmentation not good, etc) BUT, I think, they are worth it! the pigmentation is really good and they last all day. so happy *pokes turtle in eye*

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  14. Oh my GOD, this is gorgeous! Unfortunately I can't justify this for myself but I'm so glad you get to enjoy this beauty. :)

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    1. Thanks Liz! I will do my best to enjoy it on both of our behalves... :)

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  15. Comment from PolishSnob (note from Dovey: I accidentally hit delete instead of publish when moderating! my apologies!)

    "I went to the local Trend Show here in Washington State yesterday and had my make-up appointment at the Chantecaille counter with Fernando. I already owned an 8 piece custom palette and a few brushes from Chantcaille and loved them so it was no surprise to my family when I came home with the coral reefs palette, 2 eyeliners, and mascara! :) I love Chantecaille and I hope some day I am as lucky to be able to meet one or all of the Chantecaille ladies!! "

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  16. OMG how did i miss this post????????? Talk about a STUNNING palette!! eeks now i kinda regret seeing it bc i must see it in person!

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    1. ooops!! Hrmmmm.... well just looking is ok, right? :)

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  17. Such a beautiful palette, and lovely photos too!

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