I’ve admired Chanel ever since I was a little girl, when my mom introduced me to the luxury brand. So the recent beauty brunch with the Chanel team made me feel like a child let loose in a candy store, though this candy store happened to involve dabbing on lipstick one after another, applying colorful mascara, and oohing and aahing over the prettiest nail polish shades.
This season, the brand known for its ability to innovate while maintaining its rich heritage, rolls out fresh and vibrant colors that are surprisingly far from its usual subdued hues.
Le Rouge Chanel now offers three different collections: Avant-Première, which includes Rouge Coco and Rouge Coco Shine; Lèvres Scintillantes, which plays on gloss and sparkle; and Rouge Allure which highlights bold femininity.
Inspired by screen sirens and Coco Chanel’s style, Avant-Première has glossy shades in deeper tints, 30-percent additional pigments in a melt-away texture and a Hydratender complex 
Completing the iconic look are four classic nail lacquer shades in colors like peach pink with a golden pearl sheen, and red with a slightly orange tone, among others.
To make the new collections even more exciting, Chanel derives inspiration from butterflies for its Summer 2013 L’été Papillon collection. Its color palette shimmers in golden yellow, electric blue, aquatic green and intense coral.
Whimsical touches
Eye makeup gets a revamp, too, with easy pen eye shadows developed by Peter Philips. The Stylo Eyeshadow allows for fuss-free application and can double as eyeliner. Formulated with a high concentration of water, it brings a cool soothing sensation to your peepers.
For added touches of whimsy, mascaras and nail polishes (Bel-Argus is definitely a must-have) are also vivified with punchy and bright tints.
The collection also offers Rouge Coco Shine—semi-sheer lipsticks in peach and raspberry hues; and Lèvres Scintillantes—lip glosses in sparkling mandarin and pearlized beige shades.
Following the brand’s ideology of seeing beauty as a way of life, Chanel also introduces the CC (complete correction) Cream, which offers women on the go the benefits of complete skincare, with long-lasting makeup coverage, natural finish and the convenience of a product that’s quick and easy to apply.
It comes in a single shade (beige 20) and does the trick with five ingredients: cornflower water to soothe the skin; hyaluronic acid to moisturize; mineral sunscreen to protect against sun damage; a restructuring active ingredient to prevent and correct signs of skin aging; and mineral pigments to even out skin tone and conceal imperfections.
Radiant glow
Continuing its goal of providing women with proper skincare while simplifying their daily routine, Chanel also introduces UV Essentiel, a line with complete UV shield to protect skin internally (through UV filters and an antipollution formula) and externally by strengthening the epidermis’ barrier function against UV rays, free radicals and urban pollution.
There’s also Sublimage Le Fluide, which regenerates the skin and gives it a radiant glow. Through a combination of zinc précisphères and the key ingredient extracted from Madagascar’s Vanilla planifolia (a patented technology exclusive to Chanel), Sublimage Le Fluide not only acts on all signs of skin aging, but also has the ability to identify which areas of the face to mattify for a customized finish.
With the influx of whitening products, Chanel gets into the game with its own solution called Le Blanc, a whitening skincare and makeup line. Through the TXC molecule, Le Blanc acts on all skin whitening concerns: evenness, luminosity, moisture, plumpness and refined surface. The line effectively regulates melanin overproduction, giving women healthy glowing skin.
As Gabrielle Chanel once said, “A woman is only as good as the light and peace she radiates.”