Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Blush: Review

I can’t really remember when I first became interested by Chanel makeup. I’ve been into all things makeup for a long time, and for a long time, wasn’t really interested in it. Something about it seemed too boring for me, and too feminine. But somehow in the past few years, I’ve started trying things here and there that have really blossomed my disinterest into a love of the brand. I’m not interested in every product they release, but I admit, the products that I have tried, I really love. There are certainly some misses in terms of quality, but thanks to the many blogs and makeup resources, I have a pretty good idea of what to avoid.

In contrast to some other brands, where I seem to want every product and every shade, every time I go online or to a Chanel counter, I have a few products that I want to check out, and then I’ll purchase a subset of those products. Yet, when I saw that the Rouge Coco Lip Blushes were released, and saw swatches, I went to a counter the next day, bought one, and then subsequently bought two more after that. They are $30 for 5.5 g of product, which I feel is quite reasonable for a Chanel lip product.

These lip blushes are a completely new and limited edition product, and one of the truly exciting products Chanel has released for awhile. They are described as a “lightweight 2-in-1 lip and cheek blush” with a buildable formula and a “soft gel-touch formula.” So basically, everything that I love – multipurpose, lightweight, and gel formulas.

I love some lip and cheek stains, especially in the summer. My favorite right now are the Vincent Longo Lip and Cheek Stains (swatched here), but those have a more traditional stain formula with a slight gel like consistency.

On the other hand, the lip blushes feel a little bit more like a gel-cream than a liquid stain and have just the slightest silicone feel to allow them to be easily blended on the cheeks. I have a lot of liquid/cream cheek products, and don’t have anything quite like this. They truly feel lightweight on the lips and cheek and leave a slight staining effect that is almost like a light watercolor on the lips and skin. They don’t stain like a traditional liquid stain, and as a result, not quite as long lasting, but they also don’t settle in my lip lines or emphasize dry patches as much like traditional lip stains can sometimes do. I also love that they actually work well on both lips and cheeks, since many multipurpose products I try seem to only work well on one or the other.

The three shades that I picked up are the three brighter shades out of six total shades, which is slightly uncharacteristic of me. As you’ll probably notice, I usually gravitate towards neutrals, brown toned reds, or soft rose pinks. I have plenty of bold lipsticks that I bought during a bright makeup phase, but don’t reach for them as often anymore. The six shades range from light and subtle peaches to a dark vampy plum. I was initially a little worried that I wouldn’t find a good match in the range, but as I swatched them all, I was really impressed by how they applied.

The two lighter shades looked nearly identical when I swatched them in the store, and area little too light to wear on my cheeks with my slightly tanned skin, though I still have my eye on getting one of them for my lips. I also swatched the dark plum, but opted not to get that one because I already have similar shades….but I also still have my eye on that one. The three bright shades that I bought are:

• 412 Orange Explosif a orange shade with some red undertones
• 416 Teasing Pink – a bright warm pink, and surprisingly, my favorite shade
• 418 Rouge Captivant – a bright neutral red shade

Swatches on my arm: swiped with applicator, and then slightly blended out with the applicator.

Although the bright shades looks crazy bright in the tube, the lightweight formula allows them to be applied very very sheerly- the water color effect I was talking about – or layered on more opaquely. They are pigmented, but they are so blendable and can be applied lightly to give the slightest hint of color on the lips. Applying all the shades lightly gives me a beautiful wash of color both on my lips and cheeks that looks fresh and light. When I apply them to my cheeks, I like to dab a few dots onto my cheeks, and then lightly tap them with my fingers to blend.

To give you an idea of how they look on the lips and cheeks, I applied 412 Orange Explosif, applied with one layer on my lips and dotted on my cheeks, then blended out. In the third picture on the right, I applied a second layer on my lips.

With two layers, the effect is definitely bright and fresh, but not super bold or opaque. On the cheeks, the effect is subtle yet a beautiful flush.

Chanel lip blush in 412 Orange Explosive: one layer applied sheerly on the lips

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Blush in 412 Orange Explosive on lips and cheeks

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Blush in 412 Orange Explosive on lips and cheeks, 2 layers

Next up, I applied 416 Teasing Pink. Left side is one later on the lips, and on the right side, two layers.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Blush in 416 Teasing Pink on lips and sheeks

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip blush in 416 Teasing Pink on lips and cheek

Lastly, here is 418 Rouge Captivant on the lips. In the picture on the right, I applied a second layer of 416 Teasing Pink on my cheeks to show you how it looks just a little bit more built up.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lip Blush in 418 Rouge Captivant on lips and cheeks

Here are all three shades lightly dabbed into my skintone. You can see how light and subtle they become!

Once they start to dry down and set, they start to feel almost cushiony, but they set into a comfortable finish. After a couple minutes, I don’t see any transfer, and then it starts to set into a stain. It’s really not a consistency that I’ve felt or seen before, but they are kind of in between a stain and a cream blush, if that cream blush were more of a gel consistency!

Because they come in a small tube, like the Glossimers, I find them easy to slip into my bag for quick touchups or if I want to apply them on my cheeks when I want to quickly brighten my face. I bought Teasing Pink right before my vacation to Japan and used it nearly everyday to touch up.

Although they do have light staining properties, I think the silicone textures make these a little less long wearing than regular stains. They last about 4 hours on the lips, and 6-8 hours on my cheeks with a powder blush layered over it. But because they don’t dry my lips out all and feel so lightweight, I’m fine with reapplying them throughout the day. They feel very low maintenance, so they work best when I just want to look fresh and natural as opposed to a more dramatic and made up look.

All in all, these have become one of my favorite lip and cheek products. They layer well, are long lasting, and feel comfortable on the lips. I definitely want to get a couple more shades before they are gone, and I hope they release more shades in the future. Although these are limited edition, my experience is that Chanel keeps their LE products out for awhile, so I’m not in a huge rush to get the other shades, but I am also considering backups given how much I use them and anticipate using them for the summer.

Final rating:

Packaging: 9/10

Shades (range, tones, selection): 7/10

Formula: 10/10

Have you tried any of these? Are you interested in trying them out? Let me know!