I gave it a second chance. And a third one. I swear I did. It just won't work for me. This product is a total miss! Why? Keep reading!
Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows were launched several years back and I was always playing with the idea to grab a one or two shades to add to my cream eyeshadow collection. The first one I got was a permanent shade #85, Mirifique. All about it screamed "buy me NOW!" And I gave in and bought it. The packaging is sleek, minimal and elegant. The little brush that comes along is quite useless, but still a pleasant addition in case you don't feel like applying the shadow with your fingertips or just don't have an appropriate brush to use with Illusion d'Ombre. It looked absolutely stunning in a pot. It looked less stunning swatched on my skin and turned out to be a complete disaster applied on the lids.
I have to specify that I have oily lids, nothing tragic, nothing a good primer like my Urban Decay Primer Potion or others I use won't be able to cope with. Let's say that without the primer my eye make-up starts to crease after a good 4-5 hours of wear. Primer makes it last till I decide to take the make-up off. That being said, I was disappointed to discover that Mirifique lasted on me for about an hour without a primer. After that it started to smudge and crease like there is no tomorrow. My make-up became rather untidy looking. It is also a high-maintenance shadow, meaning that you won't be able to just slap it on and go and be sure it stays put and in its original state throughout the day. For instance, I had to check myself every 30 min or so to make sure I do not look like a raccoon, I also had to be armed with a Q-tip. Just in case... The situation improved when I primed my eyelids. Still, I had to make sure eyeshadow is still intact and in place.
When I blended out the eyeshadow it looked somewhat muddy on me. You can layer it if you wish to do so. But more layers means more work with blending, correcting, etc. No way you can make a smoky eye with this shadow in 3-4 minutes. NO WAY!
I like my make-up to last, to be low-maintenance and look good on me. So Mirifique had to go.
All this time I had a nagging feeling there is something wrong with me since everyone else seems to enjoy and swear by these eyeshadows. So I gave it a second chance. This time with a limited edition beauty named Fatal. Fatal is a right name.
Fatal mistake once more. The color is pretty in the pot. It is rich purple-plummy-burgundy with beautiful finely milled silver sparkles. Stunning. In the pot. Not so stunning on me. And again same story with the staying power. Although I have to admit that 3 layers of it over a Urban Decay Primer Potion gave me a good 5 hours of wear. It smudged a little bit under the eyes.
The two smaller photos are made in a sunny day. No matter how I tried- I could not capture the beautiful sparkles. They just would not translate to a pixel form. But this is an exact shade you are getting. Plain plum.
The texture is creamy and soft, a pleasure to work with! Blendable and buildable color, definitely not so high-maintenance as Mirifique, but you still have to check yourself once in a while in the mirror.
It still smudges and creases, but not as much as Mirifique.
Will I buy it again? Well, there is a color I like, Epatant. I am still deciding whether it is worth to spend quite an amount to try it ( 39 € at my local Chanel counter). After the two times of a disappointment, chances are I will pass on Epatant.
Will I recommend it to a friend? No. At least not the shades I have tried. Again, the experience of my friend might be drastically different from the one I had!
I will give my grade to the eyeshadow here on multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent)
Presentation 5
Longevity 2
Ease of Application 3
Texture 5
Price/quality 1
Hope my review was helpful, guys!
