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| Giorgio Armani Purpura on the left and Chanel Illusoire on the right |
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| Illusoire #83 |
Sorry I've been absent for the past couple of days. I have a sick little one in the house and it's been difficult to sit down at the computer and concentrate enough to put a post together. When my daughter is not feeling well, she is especially clingy to me, not that I'm complaining (I'm a mommy first, a blogger second, after all).
Chanel's Fall collection has me bewitched. Even though these Illusion D'Ombre eye shadows debuted during their Fall lineup, these are part of their permanent line. I wanted to wait a couple of days to wear and really test out this shadow before I properly reviewed it. Given the staggering heat and high humidity ravaging Los Angeles, I've put this shadow through the ringer and it's performed beautifully. Heck, I even went swimming with the eye shadow on (I didn't dunk under the water but I was still swimming laps) and it didn't budge that much - truly impressive! I really have fallen for this shadow and its texture. I like that I can easily apply this shadow with my finger by patting it on for some sparkle over my other shadows (I particularly like it paired with Chanel's Prelude Eye Quad reviewed
here). I haven't even used the brush that comes with the shadow because I find using my finger works really well.
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| Giorgio Armani's Purpura is on the left and Chanel's Illusoire on the right |
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| Close up of Illusoire and its sparkles |
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| Illusoire on the left and Purpura on the right |
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| Chanel's Illusoire on the left and Giorgio Armani's Purpura on the right - pretty similar, right? |
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| Illusoire in the jar and the brush that is included with it |
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| Wearing Illusoire |
As you can tell from the pictures, Illusoire is very close in resemblance to Giorgio Armani's Eyes To Kill
Purpura. Their coloring may be very similar but that is were I would stop the comparisons. Armani's shadows are more dry and "crumbly" in texture where Chanel's is more like a spongey mousse. Purpura is more bold and Illusoire is more sheer. You can layer the Chanel to give it more "punch" but you don't have to. I like that Chanel shadows can be more sheered out for a daytime look. Chanel's long wear luminous eye shadows sell for $36.00 compared to Armani's Eyes To Kill $32.00 price tag for the same amount of product (0.14oz.). Because I have a sensitive nose I think it is worth mentioning that Illusoire has a scent to it. I don't notice it when I wear it, but when you unscrew the cap the smell wafts up to you. I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but I like it. I just always like to point these things out in case someone reading is bothered by fragrant cosmetics.
If I had to choose one, and really having already owned Purpura, I recognize that Illusoire is a duplicate product in terms of coloring (what can I say, I like purple!) I would go with the Chanel. I really like the consistency and the fact that there is less glitter and more refined sparkle with Illusoire. I feel more comfortable wearing Illusoire in the daytime while Purpura is great for evening in my eyes (pun intended).
I'm trying to think if there is anything else I should say while reviewing this? I pretty much like everything about this shadow from the color, to the texture, to the smell, to the size, my only gripe is that $36.00 for an eye shadow is steep. I wish luxury cosmetics didn't always have a luxury price tag attached to them, but I'll gladly pay it for my Chanel!
Retails for $36.00USD found at
http://www.chanel.com or department stores that carry Chanel cosmetics. I purchased mine from Nordstrom's.
What is your favorite purple eye shadow?
p.s. Speaking of purple eye shadows, I have the most amazingly delicious Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird eye shadow being reviewed soon! Stay tuned!
