Chanel Rouge CoCo Shine in 91 Boheme

While it might appear that I am on a perpetual high-buy (because I am?), I actually make an active attempt to avoid browsing mid-range to high end western brands. After trying several, I rarely ended up loving any one of them (the only exception being Fresh Rose Extreme). Sometime it's the color that looks off, sometime it's the finish that doesn't agree with my lips. One thing I wanted to do is to try every brand at least once, just to collect different tubes. 

In my lipstick diary, many of my high end western brands lipsticks are linked with a piece of music because I kill time browsing lipstick before my concert-binge adventure. Chanel is special as it's purchased on New Years Day: There was no concert scheduled on that day, I happened to clogged my kitchen sink so I decided to go for a walk in the city, while waiting on the drain cleaner working its way through the dirty grease. Gurl, you so special...

Anyway, I was at Macy's swatching through all the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine (as I never owned any and thought, as a lipstick hoarder, I should) one shade stood up on the back of my hand. Yup, it was another sheer red, with a orange coral lean.

I have always been indifferent to Chanel packaging because (it ain't princess overkill) of a stigma that I have attached to it...Somehow, instead of elegant French women, I always associated this big labeled brand with the affluent housewives of Hong Kong, New Jersey or one of my cousins, someone who "married well" (my mom always said it with adoration) and someone who managed to give people a glimpse of her newest designer shoes no matter what picture she was sharing, be it a bottle of latte or her toddler son's school activities. I simply don't want to be one of them. 

I am guessing this is an unexpected side effect of Chanel's massive prestige and one that affect me subconsciously. Speaking of prestige (in makeup brand), I always say it with negative connotations because I feel that it's that thing costs you extra 10 to 20 bucks for no good reason.

 

Enough rambling, back to the lipstick. The Rouge Coco Shine has a slim black tube that looks and feels like the same material used by Suqqu creamy glow. For some reason while Suqqu feels metal, Rouge Coco feels more plastic? Was it because the contrast from the metallic gold interior? The inside of the cap has their signature logo hidden, something will delight the true fans.

The lipstick has an powdery old lady smell that reminds me of 90s big hair and dress suit (my mom did use Chanel lipstick back in the day). Texture is smooth, non-sticky one that goes on like apple glaze on the lips. It feels nicer than YSL sheer candy but that's not saying much (I find the sheer from YSL too thin and just sits on top of mouth). 

Overall, I find the quality of Rouge Coco Sheer similar to but a little lower than the sheer from Coffret D'Or and Jill Stuart. The Japanese two both feel and wear better but all three eventually sank deep into my lip lines when I wore them on any cold, dry day. Otherwise it's still a decent sheer formula coming from a western brand. It could be much worse (same quality as Essence), eh?

Boheme on the mouth...Dammit it's another one of those red orange/punchy pink mix that clashes with my skin tone and brings out every sallow bit. It looks particularly horrendous during winter but the clash lessens with increased blood flow as the weather is warming up. I will be able to wear it once in a while, reminding myself my poor judgment (no, I won't use tester on my mouth) and to never flush grease down the sink ever again. 

Just like a lipstick that doesn't work, caustic solution ain't cheap (and bad for pipes).