Chanel #62 Presage, Le Blush Creme de Chanel from Superstition Collection for Fall 2013

I was interrupted by Armani Fall madness but now I am back on track. Going on with my review of Chanel Fall 2013 collection Superstition, today I would like to introduce you to Presage. It is one of the six shades of Chanel's new creme blush line, four of which are announced to be permanent. Presage is listed as limited edition together with an interesting burgundy shade called Fantastic. The packaging resembles Chanel's eye shadows and blushes but it is square and almost as sleek as their single eye shadows.

Chanel #62 Presage, Le Blush Creme de Chanel from Superstition Collection for Fall 2013

Presage appears as an intense apricot coral in the pan. Once applied and sheered out, it transforms to a pretty wearable coral on the cheeks which should be flattering for a wide range of skin tones. It is possible to build the intensity up until you look like a clown (which is a positive thing!).

Some blogs report that it dries like a powder, I would say it is not tacky after applied but on me it is not powdery either. I tried different ways to apply it: 

• With fingers by lightly padding, 
• With duo fibre blush (like MAC's new limited edition blush from Tropical Taboo collection, No. 159)
• With Tom Ford creme foundation brush.

I love applying cosmetics with fingers, I got to feel the texture and the product is not wasted. For Le Blush Creme de Chanel though, I had similar experience with Sabrina from Beauty Look Book, once applied with fingers, it almost didn't last for the next three hours. With Duo Fibre brush it was slightly better but lasting power still needed improvement. I do my make-up in the morning before going to work and rarely take makeup with me for touch ups. Since I have normal skin, products usually last on me long, that is from 9am to 6 pm. I was first a little disappointed with Chanel creme blush, until I applied it with a dense brush, Tom Ford creme foundation brush in my case, using circular motions and working it into the skin, it lasted around 8 hours on me. On a side note, I am spoiled by Armani Brush Fabrics, which is a gel formula and last up to 12 hours on me so let's say I am very demanding ;-)

Close-up: Chanel #62 Presage, Le Blush Creme de Chanel

For comparison, I pulled out two similar shades and textures from my stash.YSL Creme Blush #6 and recently released creme blush from Dior in shade Panama (previously reviewed here). Once I run my fingers on them they have similar cremy consistency, but when I swatched, it showed some difference formula wise...

Comparison of  Chanel #62 Presage, Le Blush Creme de Chanel to similar blushes

I think the following swatch shows the difference in textures quiet well. For all of the three I used my fingers and one swipe on my arm after picking up some product. You can see that the shades are pretty close but Chanel Presage is definitely more pigmented, is more matte, it slides like butter and covers the area homogenously. I think this photo speaks for itself too.

Comparison swatches of  creme blushes, Chanel #62 Presage, YSL #6, Dior #651 Panama

I was blown away after the swatch, but would this smooth pigments transfer the same way onto my cheek during application? Since the shades of Dior Panama and Chanel Presage are very close, I decided to carry on an experiment. I applied Dior on my right cheek, Chanel on the left. 

Day #1, Test Dior vs. Chanel, application with fingers

I padded both Chanel Presage and Dior Panama with my fingers. I have to admit I liked how easy was to blend Dior, probably since it was a little less pigmented it was easy to make it look more natural. Dior lasted a few hours more than Chanel, beating it on the first round. 

Day #2, Test Dior vs. Chanel, application with a dense brush

I applied them again one on each cheek, this time using Tom Ford creme foundation blush for both at about 9am. At noon Dior was mostly faded and Chanel was like as if freshly applied. Afternoon Dior faded to almost nothing, leaving a very slight hint of color. Chanel was significantly there. Chanel won the second round.

A few more things to compare, Dior has 7 g of product, Chanel is only 2,5 g (0.09 OZ) and the price point is close, Chanel being slightly less expensive so you get more for your money from Dior but Dior creme blushes are all limited editions and almost sold out everywhere here, which makes it an argument against it. If you ask how I feel about it, I am going with Chanel because it does last me longer, although some of the "anyway tiny amount" of product goes to waste between the fluffy hairs of my lovely Tom Ford creme foundation brush.

Before I conclude, here is how I use Chanel creme blush

1. I apply my base (below it is Guerlain BB Creme in shade Light 01).
2. I apply the creme blush heavily on the apples of the cheeks (a little heavier than I would feel comfortable wearing it).
3. I go with my Chanel Les Beiges powder in B20 on top to fix the base and the creme blush. Since I applied the blush heavily, it fades a little under the powder, giving me a natural look.

Chanel Presage in action, right side without,  left side with

Final thoughts: I like the smooth matte texture of new creme blushes, Le Blush Creme de Chanel. I found out that for my skin, it is crucial to apply it with a dense brush (like Tom Ford creme foundation brush) for it to last all day, which is very important for me. If you like applying creme blushes with your fingers, I recommend you check out Dior creme blushes from their recent Summer Mix collection which gave better performance with fingers.

Do you use creme blushes? Which formula is your favorite? How do you like to apply them?

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