Chanel Superstition Fall 2013: Les 4 Ombres in Mystère 43, Review, Swatches and Photos

This review is a little late to the game as Chanel's fall collection has been out since August, but the collection is still available online and on counters at such retailers as The Bay and Holt Renfrew in Canada.

I have the American version of the eye shadow quad for review which features the non-baked eye shadow formula (Canadian and European counters get the baked version). This quad is LE and retails for $59.00 US/$62.00 CD. Photos in natural light, swatches on NC 35/40 skin.

Mystère features four shades (clockwise from the top right): a sheer cream with tiny gold flecks, a satin mid tone cool grey brown, a light satin taupe and a deep green/brown/black with tiny gold flecks.

I swatched this quad two ways, the top swatch is on bare skin and the bottom swatch is on top of Urban Decay Primer Potion. This quad got mixed reviews on the interwebs, with some notable blogs such as Temptalia panning it, and other blogs such as Beautezine loving it. 

The apparent deal breaker for some is the level of sheerness of a few of the shadows.  Both the cream shade and the taupe shade are fairly sheer, even on top of primer as my swatches attest. If we use Le Metier de Beaute's shadows as a marker for pigmentation/opacity (100%) then I would rate the cream and taupe shadows at 55% opaque and the two darker colours at around 70-75% opacity.  While I did find using them over primer increased the opacity, only the darkest shade showed a dramatic change, while the cream and grey brown shade showed modest improvement and strangely the taupe shade almost remained the same!

For me, the sheerer quality of these shadows isn't a deal breaker, sheerer eye shadows can mean less blending. In the end, I do think Chanel should offer a creamier, less powdery and more pigmented formula as seen in the Topkapi palette for their regular offerings given the price point of their palettes. What I do really like about this palette is the range of cool neutrals and satin finish shadows. Cool neutrals are a favourite of mine, and these shades can run the gamut of looks from natural to sophisticated to edgy. 

Grade: B