Leave it to Chanel to take something as seemingly boring as beige (seriously…the standard dull color of boring apartment walls everywhere) and turn it into something schmexy and worthy of being coveted.
Their new Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour SPF 15 face powders are doing just that.
From the elegant packaging to the cozy brush to the sheer, finely-milled powders (barely there on the skin, and perfect for natural-looking weekend makeup, or other times when you just want to look like yourself but a little put together), everything about it whispers “luxury…”
The line comes in seven shades with numerical names, No. 10 to No. 70. Right now I’m wearing No. 40, which is a perfect match for my mid-summer tan.
I’m kind of surprised by how well it works because I find that many beige products have a little too much pink for me. Many of them appear grayish on my warm skin tone, but at least for Nos. 40 and 50, which contain enough warm golden tones and also have a slight sheen, I’m not seeing any signs of gray.
I’m cursed/blessed with combination skin. Some spots are oily, and some spots are dry, and on my shiniest areas (my forehead, nose and chin), oily shine begins to show through around the fifth or sixth hours of wear, which is not bad wear time at all, but if you need serious oil control, you might have to upgrade this by mixing it with something like MAC Blot.
If you like opaque powders, a word of note — the coverage of these is sheer. I probably also won’t be wearing them often in pics, but more for just everyday wear, since the formula does contain titanium dioxide, which can produce a white cast under a flash.
They remind me of a very sheer, very expensive reproduction of a MAC Careblend, but with SPF. I like the subtle effect and that it sets foundation without looking heavy or fussy, but since they do contain SPF, I can’t really use them for pics. For photos, I love and prefer Chanel’s loose powder.
The Les Beiges, by the way, smell ah-may-zing! I would wear them for the scent alone — that lovely freesia/orange flower/rose fragrance that some of Chanel’s skincare products have.
If you don’t mind spending a pretty penny on pretty, everyday face makeup products, take a closer look one of these days when you’re near a Chanel counter.
PRICE:Â $57.50
AVAILABILITY:Â Available now in the Chanel permanent collection at Chanel counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love Chanel products. Well worth the price.
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What are your favorite Chanel products, Hanna?
These are nice! I’ve never tried a Chanel beauty product before. Maybe it’s that price tag…
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Chanel’s expensive, but when they do certain things like face products they’re really, REALLY good.
I tried this during a pre-sale and absolutely love this. I’m waiting for this to hit counters.
What did you think of the scent? I loooove it!
I have read so many British bloggers raving reviews of this powder and I have been anxiously waiting for the powders to launch in the US, that I am slightly disappointing you didn’t give it an A! I thought those powders would work similarly to Hourglass Ambient Light powders.
It’s really expensive. And the SPF, while great for everyday wear, does make it a little less flexible if you’re hoping to use it for photography. If it wasn’t for those things it would earn an A in a heartbeat!
I guess I will have to check them out in person because I am really tempted to get this powder 🙂 But maybe I should just invest in another Hourglass one? Have you heard anything about the powder trios Hourglass is going to release? I saw some pictures on Instagram but I cannot find any info online.
They’re lovely if you want a very specific look. Haven’t seen the trios yet but I’m sure they’ll be great if the Ambients are up in the mix. Which one were you thinking about getting?
A bit expensive for what it is. But it looks lovely nonetheless!
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Yeah! It would’ve nice for the price to have the option to go up or down in coverage, for sure. Still pretty though!
speaking of the chanel loose powder, karen – do you find sometimes that it looks a little pale on your skin? i’m about your skintone – i usually wear mac foundation in nc42, but i’m probably in between nc42 and nc44. i have the chanel loose powder in the darkest shade (i purchased it after you posted about it! :)), but i find sometimes that it can make me look a tad ashy. 🙁 any suggestions?
Hi Amy,
Hmm, did you pick up a slight tan this summer? That could be it. You could always try mixing in a little bit of bronzer. I do that when powders aren’t as dark as I’d like.
So pretty! I love the subtle glow this gives you. I think for my dry skin it would be perfect! Might have to check these out.
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Oh, you’ll love it then. I think it will work great on dry skin.
Pretty expensive but I was lusting over this at the Chanel counter at Nordy’s! I was actually waiting for a review on this on a fellow NC42 gal. Looking great on this cool Tuesday morning in SF Bay, Karen! Where did summer go?!?
Hi Cheryl,
I know, right? I’m sitting here at my desk with a sweater on. I thought it was August!? How’s the weather like out your way? It’s kindasorta sunny here in the North Bay.
Your skin looks awesome in the pics. Glowy and flawless. I like it alot actually.
Thanks, Gigi!
So these are different from those Hourglass ambient powders (which I’m still dying to try), right? I’m so curious about products like that.
WAAAY different. These are straight up natural-looking sheer powders with SPF and a slight sheen. The Hourglass Ambients are supposed to recreate the look of different lighting effects.
I wish Chanel had a better shade range. I would splurge on this is I was sure my color matched up to it.
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Hi Chris,
Swatch ’em if you get the chance…they’re so sheer that chances are you’ll still be able to find something that will work for you.
love chanel Karen and needless to say, super wished!
I need to buy too!
kisses
I love Chanel too, babe!
These look like they might be good for contouring. Or do they have too much of a sheen for that? By the way, when it comes to boring apartment walls, I think white wins over beige. Not that I can say anything. All my walls are white.
You could totally contour with these. I use No. 50 in the hollows of my cheeks. There’s a slight sheen but it’s so subtle. 🙂
Do you have stuff on your walls at least? We’ve been here for three years and I’ve still yet to put anything up, boo!
Haha, that sounds like us. We have just a few things on our walls, and a huge stack of frames we keep saying we will put up.
I REALLY want this powder. Number 50 looks like it would be good for me… I just don’t know if I can justify buying it
Hi Tiffany,
Do you think it could be something you could wear every day? Then it might be worth it.
I received a sample of this in the mail–color 40. While it looks GREAT on you, and provides a lovely glow/softening, this shade on me was all kinds of wrong. (For reference, my standard foundation is By Terry Cover Expert Vanilla Beige.)
The good news is that this looks so great on you that I am tempted to seek it out (yikes! 120 miles away) in person to give it a fair testing with the right color.
Worth trying :)LOve it!!
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Wow, that looks amazing on you! Oh boy, I love Chanel, I can´t help myself! 😀
I wanted to buy a nice, natural looking/non visible powder for ages. But since Chanel released this gorgeous thing I really can not decide if I should get this or the universelle libre.. What do you think?
Now in the summer time I tend to use the Mac blot powder but I think it´s too much for my normal/dehydrated skin in the winter months and it´s still too visible/powdery for my taste. I just want to take away the minimal shine I get and to set my foundation.
xx
Im using it for about a month with the retractable kabuki, wch is awsome, and i love it a lot.. The frst time i opened it i had a tough time locating the product. The mac user that i am i ws pressing the knob for something tonopen and the powder be seen ..i damn near broke the pan till accidentaly the brush and the plastic cover fell n the beige beauty revealed itself to me..
You kind of sold me with “soft bunny bottoms on my skin”. HAHA! The powder looks beautiful, too.
Hey I love your blog! I need a help, where i live there are no Nars stores for me to find a perfect shade of foundation powder but I use Chanel No. 40 Powder so which one would you suggest for me from the Nars All Day Luminous Foundation Powder Collection?