Chanel Entrelacs Palette (Autumn 2015)

 

The Chanel Entrelacs palette ($80USD) topped my list of most highly anticipated products for Autumn 2015. My Saks store had the entire collection available early July, and upon first swatch, I knew the palette would be coming home with me. For once, it wasn't the pretty embossing that got me but rather the unbelievably smooth and buttery textures of the shadows themselves. I have always said that the formula of Chanel quints differ greatly from the quads, and this proved me right once again.

 

Chanel knows neutrals palettes -- there's no denying that whatsoever. What sets this quint apart from other Chanel quints and quads is the fact that this is a complete palette in of itself. By that, I mean if I were to go on a short weekend trip, I can just pack this palette with no additional single shadows and I would be all set. I can make this palette work for day-time appropriate looks or amp it up with a brown smoky look for nighttime, without having to pack or incorporate other eyeshadows. This palette has the perfect inner highlight, browbone highlight, and transition shade, in addition to the main lid color and a liner/outer-V shade. Personally, I think this is one of the best executed palettes released in the market in recent collections.

As you can tell from my swatches above, this palette swatches extremely well over bare skin. The colors just apply flawlessly without any patchiness. The performance is just as impressive, and I get at least 10 hours of wear time when worn over different eye primers. Of course I had to give it a trial run at the gym, and the layered shadows stayed put without any signs of migration. One minor complaint is that I wish the shimmery champagne-beige shade wasn't placed right next to the darkest pan in the palette, but that's just me nit-picking. I would have loved to see this palette constructed in a gradient of lighter to darker shades instead!

 

Inevitably, I had to bring Chanel's quint in Charming from Holiday 2013 into the picture, as the newly launched Entrelacs reminded me an awful lot of Charming when I first saw promotional images. However, there are some noticeable differences right off the bat. To start, one of my biggest criticisms with Charming then and now was that it lacked a solid inner corner highlight shade. While the satin pinky-cream shade is nice as a base color, I would have much preferred a shimmery version to make a more cohesive palette.

 

Secondly, the satin dark grayish-taupe shade in the palette was completely unnecessary (for me, at least) and is the color I reached for the least. One dark brown shade for lining or outer-V work would have sufficed. Minor gripes aside, the Charming palette is on par with Entrelacs in terms of blendability, ease of application, color payoff, and certainly, wear time. Charming would be the ideal palette for lovers of brown smokey eye, whereas Entrelacs would be perfect for those who prefer a light eye makeup on a day-to-day basis. Also, the new quint runs on the neutral side, whereas Charming is warmer when taking undertones into consideration.

 

I'm sure some of you are probably wondering if Entrelacs is a must-have, especially if you already own Charming. It depends really. If you -- like yours truly -- have an insatiable thirst for limited edition, neutrals palettes that is great for traveling, this is one worth snatching. If, however, you are looking for a unique palette, you can safely skip on Entrelacs. I can guarantee that every shade in this quint is easily dupable. And lastly, if you are just a collector of all things pretty in makeup (embossing included), then purchasing this quint is a no-brainer. Just remember to get a back-up, so you can actually put one to use, while admiring the design of the other forever. I kid -- maybe? ;)

 

The entire Chanel Les Autumnales collection should be rolling in anytime soon at your local Chanel counters, definitely by the end of August. The quint was the only item I had bought from the entire collection, namely because the blush in Alezane is not unique enough of a shade to warrant a purchase and the quad in Tisse D'Automne will be joining the permanent lineup, so no rush there. I do want to point out that Chanel has re-promoted New Moon as part of this collection, so if you missed out on in previously, now would be a great time to pick it up! Do you plan on getting anything from this collection? I'd love to hear if you do!