Chanel Christmas Collection 2011 (+Swatches!)

You may have already seen the stunning promo image for this years Christmas Collection from Chanel? As soon as I layed eyes on the collection I knew it was a special one. 

I'm not usually taken in by Christmas collections too much but this year Chanel have really hit the nail on the head in my opinion, and I think any beauty (or Chanel!) addict would be thrilled to find any of the 13 products in their Christmas Stocking!

The entire collection:

The lovely ladies at Chanel were kind enough to give me a couple of my favourite products from the collection to show you all, so without further ado... The stand out product from the line that everyone's talking (and blogging about!) is the Lumiere Sculptee highlighting powder (£46).

The powder comes in the classic Chanel compact with a tapered brush (on a side note, this is genuinely the best quality brush I've ever seen in a compact and a vast improvement from the Chanel compact brushes I've had in the past).

The intricate design carved into the powder was apparently inspired by a belt buckle worn my Coco Chanel in the 1930's. It reminds me of Aztec design and it's simply stunning in the pan.

I'm a sucker for almost any beautiful or gimmicky product like this, so I am pleased to say that the powder itself is actually a lovely product. It's quite chalky (Which you can see in the picture above), and because it's such a pale shade, I wouldn't recommend it to those with a medium or dark skintone. If you are pale however, it looks simply gorgeous on the skin, leaving a subtle, golden sheen.

Above: Upon application, Below: After Blending

I'm very hard to please with highlighters. I hate glitter on the cheeks, and am very wary of shimmer in general but this is very subtle and gives your complexion a very natural looking glow.

My second pick from the collection has got to be the Rouge Allure Lipstick in Famous (£24). I'm normally terrified of red lipsticks and tend to go for pinks so this is the perfect red for me. It's a bright and vibrant cherry hue with subtle fuschia shimmer, giving it an almost-pink look on the lips. 

For me this actually outshines the Lumiere Sculptee. It is the clear gem of the collection and is simply perfect for the Christmas party season.

Wearing both products... (excuse the crazy hair! Just on the way to the hairdressers!)

The Chanel Christmas Collection will be on counters 4th November. Anything from this collection going on your Christmas list?