[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I feel that this is my lucky week! So much beautiful make-up appearing so I’m in my element right now. Skin care is my least favourite thing to write about because separating marketing materials from fact is arduous – and there’s just so much. Plus, it’s so difficult to test properly – I’m having my first ever retinol ‘purge’ at the moment and it’s really not pleasant (spots) but I’m trying to truly get to whether retinol suits my skin or not. Anyway, there’s nothing more cheering than lovely lipstick so let me introduce you to the CHANEL Rouge Allure Velvets in a set of new shades.

Two things to note – first, the shades are all accents of six iconic shades: Libre, Abstrait, La Favorite, Rouge Charnel, Rouge Feu and Rouge, and second, these are luminous, not flat, mattes. Can you imagine being charged with creating nuances, undertones and accents from six colours to create twenty more? I’m envisioning elaborately corniced walls covered in paint swatch sheets but it’s probably all computerized on some sophisticated design tool. I’ll stay on the path of decked walls and French creatives arguing vigorously over the exact tone of a kiss. Rouge Allure Velvet made its first appearance in 2011 and is known for not feathering.

Above, from left to right, is Eternelle, Legendaire, Entemporelle and Mysterieux.

From bottom to top in the swatch: Mysterieux, Entemporelle, Legendaire and Eternelle. They’re £35 each HERE at John Lewis.

Non affiliate HERE