Chanel Rouge Allure L’extrait Lipstick

Where I got it

Finally, finally! After 5 months of waiting, the Rouge Allure L’extrait is finally here in New Zealand. Back in February, I saw all these YouTube reviews and photos on IG on these lipsticks, but have heard nothing from my Chanel beauty SA about these coming into the country. Personally, I think this range of lipstick has not had a good response from the general consumer even though this is Chanel’s first ever refillable lipstick. The lipstick with the bullet is around $20 extra with less product. A standard Rouge Allure lipstick is $66 and you get 3.5g of product. the L’extrait is $86 and you only get 2g of product. The refill is $63. This is close to the size of a travel-sized or sample-size lipstick but Chanel is charging more for less. I think generally people are not happy with this.

However, out of curiosity, I wanted to try the formula myself and there are two shades that I saw were really appealing. The lipstick comes in a total of 20 shades and besides the 2 beige-toned shades (814 and 818), the rest are really bold and deep shades. Mostly in different tones of red, coral, deep pink, and some beautiful deep berry and purple shades (872, 874, 878). I also bought the Demaquillant Yeux intense gentle bi-phase eye makeup remover and the Le Gel Top Coat. I will review the eye makeup remover in another post, but not the top coat. I will just share my thoughts on it over on Instagram.

What I got

I picked up only two shades of the Chanel Rouge Allure L’extrait lipstick (shade 814 Beige Imperieux and 818 Rose Independant). Infused with an ultra-high concentration of pigments, this refillable satin lipstick reveals incomparable shade intensity upon first application that lasts for up to 8 hours*. The formula offers up to 12 hours of hydration**, up to 10 hours of protection*** and all-day comfort, thanks to nourishing waxes and ume flower extract, which form a deeply moisturizing complex. A combination of powders and a plant-derived oil chosen for its strong light-reflecting powers delivers infinitely luminous colour. The distinctive thin shape of the lipstick itself allows for ultra-precise application in a single swipe. All in the signature ROUGE ALLURE click case, reinvented in a sleek format. – Chanel.com

*Clinical evaluation of 22 women
**Instrumental evaluation of 15 women
***Instrumental evaluation of 21 women

Ingredients: DIISOSTEARYL MALATE | HYDROGENATED POLYDECENE | C20-24 ALKYL DIMETHICONE | CELLULOSE | SYNTHETIC WAX | OCTYLDODECANOL | POLYBUTENE | JOJOBA ESTERS | ETHYLENE/PROPYLENE COPOLYMER | BIS-BEHENYL/ISOSTEARYL/PHYTOSTERYL DIMER DILINOLEYL DIMER DILINOLEATE | POLYGLYCERIN-3 | PRUNUS MUME FLOWER EXTRACT | DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE | SQUALANE | TOCOPHERYL ACETATE | PEG-30 DIPOLYHYDROXYSTEARATE | PROPYLENE CARBONATE | ACACIA DECURRENS FLOWER WAX | HELIANTHUS ANNUUS CERA SEED (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED WAX) | PARFUM (FRAGRANCE) | PEG-8 | ALUMINA | TOCOPHEROL | ASCORBYL PALMITATE | SILICA | DIMETHICONE | ASCORBIC ACID | CITRIC ACID | [+ / – (MAY CONTAIN) | CI 12085 (RED 36) | CI 15850 (RED 6) | CI 15850 (RED 7 LAKE) | CI 15985 (YELLOW 6 LAKE) | CI 17200 (RED 33 LAKE) | CI 19140 (YELLOW 5 LAKE) | CI 42090 (BLUE 1 LAKE) | CI 45380 (RED 22 LAKE) | CI 45410 (RED 28 LAKE) | CI 73360 (RED 30 LAKE) | CI 77163 (BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE) | CI 77491, | CI 77492, | CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES) | CI 77742 (MANGANESE VIOLET) | CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE) | MICA] | IL63B-II

How I find it

When my SA contacted me about the launch of the range (Friday, 1st July), I was excited because I have already decided what shades I wanted so I texted her the shades I wanted and she was able to put them aside for me. I then went into my local Chanel beauty counter to see if they have the new collection yet and they did! The display stand was quite tiny and quite underwhelming, to be honest. The display has all the shades for testing and you can see how small the product is when you pull the tester out. Each tested is a little refill attached to the base of the bullet. You are unable to just purchase the refill and use it properly, you need to get at least one bullet to use the refill with otherwise you are unable to twist the product up. The case of this lipstick has a chic push-pop mechanism like all other Rouge Allure lipsticks.

I tested out some of the shades in store and I was really impressed with the swatches on the back of my hand. It is creamy and pigmented. Very moisturising indeed. I posted stories of the launch on my IG and I’ve had some comments on the price of the launch and people were not really buying into it. I would think if you are a dedicated Chanel makeup lover or collector, you would have a couple of these, but if you are a normal consumer, this definitely is not something people would go for.

Let’s get to the review of the shades I picked up. 814 Beige Imperieux is a beautiful warm-toned, light-medium coral that I am very excited about. The creaminess of this lipstick combined with the soft coral shade makes this lipstick very easy to wear on a daily basis. It has that perfect medium deepness to it so as not to make me look sick but still look very natural and almost nude on me. 818 Rose Independant is a moderately warm-toned, medium-dark coral. This also has a creamy finish and is very pigmented. This wouldn’t be a shade I would wear on a daily basis to work, but I would wear this on the weekends for going out with friends and family. It is not too bold or formal, but it would still make me look nice and polished.

I would say a good 2 swipes over the lips would give you full coverage and full pigmentation, but I also use this in a light layer and then blend it out on the lips for a sheer/medium coverage. This is not a long-wear lipstick and it does transfer so don’t expect too much on the longevity. However, your lips would feel comfortable and moisturised while wearing this. I can tell this little 2g of product could be used up pretty quickly if you wear this on a daily basis and would reapply.

This is Chanel’s first lip product to be refillable. You simply pull the lipstick tube out from the base of the bullet (see below). You will see the shade name of the lipstick on the side of the tube which is not visible when it is attached to the base. Chanel has designed this refill to be used ONLY with the bullet as the twist-up mechanism is at the bottom of the tube. Therefore if you purchase just the refill, you won’t be able to use it on its own (very smart for Chanel). The refill is 2g of product at $63 which is not as expensive as the full-size lipstick, but a standard 3.5g lipstick is only $3 more than the refill.

Overall

So far, I am happy with the purchase in terms of the colours I picked, despite the hefty price tag. The formula is great, but it is definitely not something I would run out of and buy another one when I run out. I would suggest you get one full-size bullet and buy refills of the colours you want. I would consider getting one of the 2 deepest shades – berry and purple tones because these shades are usually difficult to look beautiful if the formula is bad.

The formula of these lipsticks is creamy and very comfortable on the lips given the lovely pigmentation. However, it is not long-wearing and after about 3-4 uses, I can see the lipstick bullet has lost about 2mm of product (bearing in mind there is only 25mm of product in each tube).

Regardless, I appreciate that Chanel is getting into the refillable trend (Dior has started doing this last year), which will create less waste, and Chanel has done this in a very sophisticated and chic design. The inability to use the refill on it’s own was smart for Chanel, but if we were able to use just the refill, it would be quite nice because the refill is really slim and chic, very suitable for little handbags.