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Whether it’s hanging in your closet or sitting on your bathroom vanity, you can never go wrong with Chanel. Arguably the chicest luxury brand in the world, most women go weak in the knees for a little Coco. And though you may be all too familiar with the black quilted handbags and gold and leather straps, Chanel beauty products may be a different story. Are Chanel skincare products just a cute accessory for your vanity or makeup bag? Or are they an actual contender in the world of quality skincare and beauty? Here are my thoughts in these Chanel skincare reviews of some of their top products!
Behind the brand
Gabrielle Chanel had a passion to inspire women and create chic clothing that would enhance and fit into their daily lives. A one of a kind businesswoman, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel started her business in 1910 by opening a hat boutique. Her reputation started to grow as famous French actresses wore her pieces. Boutique after boutique opened and 10 years later, she launched the first Chanel perfume which was, you guessed it, Chanel No. 5.
After the success of No. 5, Coco launched more perfumes, and soon, makeup and skincare followed. In 1927, a full range of skincare was available. Chanel products are made with some of the highest quality materials and throughout the decades, the name and reputation of Coco Chanel have only grown. Today, this luxury powerhouse is worth 13.2 billion dollars.
My Chanel products
I’ll be reviewing Healthy Light Creator Oil, N°5 EAU DE Parfum Spray, ROUGE COCO Ultra Hydrating Lip Color, LA CREME MAIN Hand Cream, and LE VOLUME DE CHANEL Mascara.
Product Packaging
It’s no surprise that Chanel has aesthetics down. Everything looks high-end and chic. The oil and perfume are bottled in glass, and the rest of the products are in plastic. The hand cream is a little trickier to use, however. The cap can be a little difficult to pull off and you have to squeeze pretty hard to get your lotion to come out.
My Chanel Skincare Reviews
*I used these products for over a month before writing this review
CHANEL LE BLANC HUILE Healthy Light Creator Oil
What it is: “A three-in-one face oil that revitalizes, brightens and restores skin.”
What it does: “Its lightweight texture absorbs quickly, leaving skin looking 37% more nourished, 22% more radiant and 20% brighter (all in a clinical evaluation of 31 women after four weeks of use).”
Who it’s for: All skin types such as dehydrated skin, combination skin, or sensitive skin.
Ingredients: Some recognizable ingredients are jojoba seed oil, meadowfoam seed oil, and squalane. The star ingredient here is ume flower extract. This brand grows its own ume flower and takes it through a specific process to harvest only the best quality parts. You can get a full list of ingredients on their website.
Scent: There is parfum (fragrance) in all of their products, so be aware if you have sensitive skin. This one has a very light floral scent.
How to Use: Day or night, apply alone to your face followed with a moisturizer if desired, or blend with a cream or liquid foundation.
My Thoughts: This product will last you a very long time as you don’t need much! For the day, I mixed just a few drops with my moisturizer to give myself a little glow and at night, I apply the oil directly on my face. This is not an oil you want to dab on your lips as you’ll taste perfume all day (ask me how I know haha). Overall, I like it. It’s moisturizing and didn’t make me look shiny or feel oily hours after.
What Women are Saying
Positive: “Immediate results, can’t wait to see after four weeks. My skin glowed. I used this under my foundation. Let us soak in for ten minutes. Also, use very little. Great face oil.”
Negative: “Although this is a really good product, for someone with dry skin, I wish this was a bit heavier. It absorbs well but found I had to put one a second oil to get the hydration I needed. Otherwise, this would work well for someone with normal to oily skin.”
CHANEL N°5 EAU DE Parfum Spray
What it is: “An abstract, mysterious scent alive with countless subtle facets that radiate an extravagant floral richness.”
Notes: May rose, jasmine, citrus, aldehydes, bourbon vanilla.
My Thoughts: Though technically not skincare, this perfume happens to be one of their best-selling items. This is the first scent Coco created and it was the beginning of the beauty empire. I really really wanted to love this because well, it’s iconic. But unfortunately, I find the smell to be a little too “mature” if you know what I mean. I don’t know how else to say this, but in my opinion, it smells like what some people would describe as an old lady. Scents are so tricky. They can smell different to everyone and not only that but smell different on everyone too. So while that smells like that on me, someone else could bring out the wonderful vanilla notes it has!
What Women are Saying
Positive: “Chanel No 5 smells amazing and has great lasting power. It smells slightly different on everyone too, which I think is a good thing. Some scents are so recognizable that you don’t give them a chance because you associate them with someone else’s “signature”, but that’s not the case with No 5. My mom and best friend also wear No 5, and we’re always asked individually what perfume we’re wearing. Highly recommend this timeless fragrance!“
Negative: “The scent gives me headache.”
Chanel Rouge Coco Ultra Hydrating Lip Color (444 Gabrielle)
What it is: “An iconic lipstick that delivers beautiful color and hydration to lips all day long.”
What it does: “Its formula combines three vegetable waxes that include mimosa, jojoba and sunflower to hydrate, nourish and ensure immediate and lasting comfort. Silicone wax delivers a sensorial experience, allowing the soft formula to glide on easily and fuse with lips. A polymer film and silicone microbeads encourage lasting hold and boosted shine.”
Ingredients: Some recognizable ingredients are jojoba esters, sunflower seed oil, and synthetic wax.
How to use: Apply directly to lips. For an accentuated look, follow by tracing your lip colors with a lip pencil or crayon.
My thoughts: I love this color and it’s very hydrating and creamy! It doesn’t make your lips feel stiff or dry. It’s almost like a lip balm but with the color of lipstick. It does not last all day, however. I found that I needed to reapply after 3 hours. However, I was eating and drinking during this time.
What women are saying
Positive: I had given up on lipsticks…they did not stay on my lips and would melt into the lines around my mouth. But you get what you pay for. My mom used to always use Chanel lipsticks and now I know why. I bought three of these in different colors, Coco, Romy and Dimitri. The coverage is great and I don’t have to use much color for my lips to be completely saturated. I know these lipsticks will last me probably a year! I put my lipstick on in the morning and it stays on until I wipe it off at lunch time. It even stays on when I drink water from my hydroflask during the day. I will never buy cheap lipstick again! You will love this Chanel lipstick! Definitely worth the price!
Negative: “Too Sheer……not long lasting.”
CHANEL LA CREME MAIN Hand Cream
What it is: “A moisturizing, brightening and protective hand cream with an innovative design.”
What it does: “Formulated to absorb quickly into skin without leaving a sticky residue, the cream leaves skin 40% more protected (instrumental evaluation of 22 women eight hours after application), and 45% more hydrated (self-evaluation by 33 women after two months of use). Regenerating and brightening iris pallida protects the skin barrier and helps to diminish the appearance of dark spots. Hydrating and softening May rose wax leaves a moisturizing, protective veil on skin for lasting benefits.”
Ingredients: Some key active ingredients are iris pallida, may rose wax, licorice root extract, and shea butter. The powerful ingredient here is iris pallida as this is what’s meant to brighten your skin.
Scent: This has a “perfumey” scent.
How to use: Apply as desired.
My thoughts: The scent is a little strong to me, but it does moisturize really well and it makes my hands feel silky! I’m not sure I experienced hand brightening benefits, but at the same time, I do not have age spots…yet!
What women are saying
Positive: “Have you ever fallen in love with a hand cream? Well you will with this one! The scent is beautiful the texture the best! At first I thought 50.00 for hand cream? but its worth every penny and it lasts a longggg time. Do youself a favor and treat yourself to this.”
Negative: “I purchased the Chanel hand lotion specifically because it mentioned helping the hands and nails. Been using it for about two weeks and truthfully don’t notice any difference in my nails or hands. The hard plastic packaging is difficult to use unless you’re satisfied with one pearly drop at a time, maybe two. It was tiring to try and get more of the metered product out if I wanted more. My guess is Chanel doesn’t want the customer to use the entire lotion too fast because at $50 a pop you’ll be finished before you see any results. I gave it two stars for the lovely scent and the softness your hands will only feel immediately after use.”
CHANEL LE VOLUME DE CHANEL Mascara
What it is: “A high-precision mascara that achieves instant volume and intensely luscious color in a single stroke.”
What it does: “Its innovative formula expands, plumping lashes to their fullest. The exclusive Snowflakes brush combines long and short bristles to deliver an extreme, eye-opening effect.”
Ingredients: Some recognizable ingredients are beeswax, paraffin, and carnauba wax.
How to Use: Coat lashes from roots to tips.
My Thoughts: I don’t think I’m easy to impress, but wow, okay, this mascara is pretty amazing. I’ve tried many different types of mascaras at all different price points and this one is my new favorite. $32 for mascara could be a little much, so if you are on a budget I’d recommend L’Oreal Telescopic. It’s my 2nd favorite mascara and less than $9.
What Women are Saying
Positive: “I have tried many,many mascaras, every brand. I have tried cheap and expensive. Ladies this is the best. So many ads have fake lashes and they lie to us. This is the BEST!!”
Negative: “This mascara was very wet, so you have to be careful applying it to keep looking forward or it ends up all over. Then throughout the day, it flakes. Very disappointing, especially for the price”
Final Thoughts | Chanel Skincare Reviews
As far as skincare lines go, these are good products that live up to their product claims. But I have to be honest, you could find a product that would do the same thing for less. However, if you are interested in luxury items then you probably already know that a lot of what you are paying for is the brand name. If you’ve been wanting to purchase these items anyway because you love Chanel or their product claims, then these are worth adding to your vanity! If you are hoping to transform your skin without going broke, then Chanel may not be the brand for you.
Product Alternatives | Chanel Skincare Reviews
Face oil-
Chanel’s face oil is meant to leave your skin looking nourished and radiant. This 100% Cold-Pressed Virgin Marula Oil from The Ordinary is meant to hydrate the skin and help restore a radiant tone, all for under $10. Many skincare products have a crazy long list of ingredients (some fillers, parabens, and sulfates) whereas this product from The Ordinary has one ingredient: Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil.
No. 5 perfume-
For under $15 you can get your own version of this iconic scent. This InStyle fragrance is inspired by Chanel, has some of the same notes, and lasts 3-4 hours. One reviewer said, “Smells great and lasts. My friend didn’t know the difference but my wallet did.”
Hand cream-
For about half the price, you can still carry around a classic French brand in your purse. This lotion from L’Occitan has similar ingredients such as shea butter and is small enough that it can be carried around in your handbag or pocket. One reviewer says, “The quality of this hand lotion is sublime, and I have been using this exact item for about 7 years. There is nothing else I would even bother purchasing in terms of silky hand lotion that absorbs, little to no odor, and works like a charm on hands abused by hot water, hot/cold climate changes in Texas, and general hand aging.”
If you want an even more affordable option, check out this one from Medix 5.5. Though the branding is not Frenchy or chic, it has both shea butter and brightening ingredients. It has 4.4/5 stars and thousands of good reviews for getting rid of age spots.
Mascara-
Though the Chanel mascara is worth the money, for a fraction of the price, you can still get definition and length. Check out this one by L’Oreal for less than $10!
Related: L’Oréal Telescopic Mascara Review | The Ultimate Mascara?
Lipstick-
For an affordable alternative, check out this one by Revlon. They make some of the best drugstore lipsticks out there. Down to the color and black and gold tube, you almost can’t tell these two apart. One reviewer says, “Love That Red is my all time favorite lipstick. It is reasonably priced, moisturizes upon application, and stays on all day. I always wear Red and everyone is always asking me what lipstick I wear as they love it.”
Now that you’ve got some new products to add to your skincare routine, it’s time to make sure your makeup bag is all good to go. You can do that by checking out these next makeup reviews!
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