Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Illusoire

 Who among us is NOT attracted to glittery, pretty soft things? OK…I’m not talking about wearing pink fairy wings and prancing around the office (although at some point in my life I was attracted to pink fairy wings so there’s that…). What I’m referring to are things that attract the eye and make a statement. In my case, my latest attraction is Chanel’s Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Illusoire. I’ve been “eyeing” (bwaahhhhh!!!) this shadow since it came out a couple of years ago but it was only within the last couple of weeks that I actually purchased it. Initially, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to wear it in all its glittery, shiny splendor but I found a way to do it. Read on to find out more!!!

The Illusion D’Ombre line is full of beautiful, soft eye shadows that are of an interesting texture---a spongy, fluffy, almost whipped-like cream not only glides onto the eyelids effortlessly but is also long lasting. Illusoire appears to be a purple/brown in the pot but looks more taupe on the lids. It contains very visible but fine chunks of glitter that look transparent and sparkly at the same time (it’s an interesting effect). The biggest thing I worried about when purchasing this product was that I wouldn’t be able to wear it because of all the glitter and that I would waste the $36 that I paid for it (yes, it is definitely a beauty splurge). After playing with it for awhile, I was able to find a beautiful and simple way to wear it on my hooded lids (those of you with wrinkly lids will also be able to pull this off)!

See how sparkly (and beautiful) Illusoire is? Normally I would steer far clear of a shadow like this but it just killed me not to try!!! The only “rule” I followed (one of my “special” rules) is that I did not apply it anywhere near the brow bone or the “hood” that covers my eyes. So here’s what I did---I applied Illusoire over the lid from the outer edge to the tear duct. Then, I used a slightly darker matte shade from Mac (Brun) in the crease and up over the hood, blending well. Next I used a lighter matte shade (Urban Decay “Naked”) in the taupe range as a “transition” shade, blending it with the upper edge of the darker matte shade right under the brow bone. Last but not least, I applied a vanilla matte shadow (Mac Vanilla)  right under the eyebrow and a slightly sparkly version of the same color (Mac Crystal Avalanche) over the tear duct. See below for pictures.

The picture doesn’t really do the shadow justice but you can see the sparkly on the lid. The gradation in the color is due to the shimmery nature and you can see the darker matte blended in the crease along with the transition shade above. By blending the darker matte shade over the “hood,” you can see how the hood is helped to “disappear.” Below you can really see how my eyes are hooded and how the shadow helps. 

  

Illusoire makes this a really pretty eye look that is very do-able for women our age, despite our hooded or wrinkly lids (or both)! This shadow would also look great with purple or plum tones as well as layered with other shades for a smoky eye. I just may have to try that out!!! :)

Have you tried Illusoire? What do you think of it?

Chanel’s Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow is available at Nordstrom for $36. You can purchase Illusoire or any of the other available colors by clicking here.

Ages of Beauty rating: ****