Chanel Les 4 Ombres "Raffinement," #39, Spring 2013

The pink/mauve/brown tones in Raffinement fill a gap in my makeup wardrobe, which I discovered when I added new cobalt blue and magenta clothes to my wardrobe last spring. While I don't match my clothing and makeup, it was evident that I needed something cooler than the shades I already owned.  The texture is creamy, silky, easily blended, and a dream to apply.  The wearing time is excellent - eight hours without fading - even without a primer.  I lined with Chanel's reddish brown Grenat waterproof pencil and tightlined with a black liner.  Le Metier de Beaute's Tamarak liner also looks good, particularly if it's tightlined on the bottom lid.  My only issue with the quad is the lightest color which doesn't look as pink as it does in the pan when applied.  It looks OK when applied to the inner corners of the eye, but it's a bit much as an under-the-brow highlighter. A very light hand helps.  Emerveille Illusion D'Ombre looks much better.  Emerveille also makes an excellent base for a slightly different look.

 Raffinement is allegedly the replacement for the discontinued Kaska Beige, and though both are lovely, they are quite different as you can see in the photos below.

 

 

 

 

Sorry that I can't enlarge the swatch photos - Blogger is at it again. 

Kaska Beige works well with the other warm-hued products (and clothes) I use regularly, and the palest color, a warm yellow, is richly pigmented enough to look yellow.  While all the shadows in Raffinement are shimmery, Kaska Beige had one matte shade that I find useful if my lids are puffy.  The quality of the shadows were just as silky and smooth as Raffinement, in my opinion,  and just a tad deeper in hue. I will miss Kaska Beige. I'm on my second quad, having gone to pan on all four colors in the first. Needless to say, I bought backups. I hope Chanel will reconsider discontinuing this versatile quad. 

I bought my Chanel quad at Nordstom Pentagon City.