It is very unusual for me to want a purely neutral quad, but the photo above shows that it’s not impossible to draw me in. I knew I didn’t need this newest addition, and I had an entire month to try to talk myself out of buying it after seeing the sneak peeks on Instagram, but I couldn’t help it.

Les 4 Ombres Boutons Eyeshadow Palette in 219 Boutons Couture

The compact is typical for Chanel, but the embossing on the shadows, the gorgeous chocolatey shades, and the pattern on the velvet dust cover sleeve are such alluring qualities!

As someone with brown skin, the thought crossed my mind that these shades might not look distinctly different enough on my eyes. I grew excited when I swatched each color on my arm, and felt hopeful as I put each shade solo on my lids. I can clearly tell them apart when used separately. However, when building an eye look, the end result of using all four shades together is that it looks like one single eyeshadow. That’s how much the colors blend into one another, making it wasted effort. I can’t speak for anyone else, but on me, using 1-3 shades actually allows me to have more variety in the eyeshadow looks I create.

I’m content with the pigment level of the darkest three eyeshadows, but the beige shade (Shade 2) is practically the same color as my eye base. It’s too gently pigmented to show up easily on my eyes, and it makes the bare minimum of impact if used to highlight the center of the lid. Wetting my brush does not intensify it. It makes for a nice color to soften edges at least.

Shade 4 is a mauve-taupe that has the most shimmer of the four, and it adds a pretty gleam to the lids. I consider it to be an intense satin though. Applying this shade with a wet brush helps to pack more color onto the lids, increasing the opacity level. So, it ends up looking a tiny bit shinier, but I imagine most people don’t consider it worth the effort for a minuscule difference.
Perhaps Chanel doesn’t consider impactful shimmers to be “Couture.”

Shade 1 is a warm satin, whereas Shade 2 is darker, cooler toned, and more matte.

In terms of performance, the longevity is there. I don’t get fading or creasing. I can pick up a good amount of eyeshadow with my natural hair brushes, but the eye look will be visible yet soft on that first application. If I want to speed up the process of building maximum pigmentation, using my fingers is an easy way to do that. The sponge tip applicator housed in the compact works well for that task too.

01 Tweed Cuivre is the first and only other Chanel quad I own. In side-by-side swatches, it is so apparent to me why I think so highly of Tweed Cuivre, as it is much closer to my eyeshadow preferences. Tweed Cuivre is my version of “subtle glam,” yet it still has way more oomph compared to Boutons Couture.

Since these two are my only experiences interacting with Chanel eyeshadows, I can’t say whether or not they’re worth the upcharge compared to the permanent line. From photos alone, so many of the Chanel quads’ eyeshadows look like dusty baked domes. Swatches often looked chalky, thin, and lacking in pigment. I couldn’t understand why the brand’s eyeshadows continued to be popular and thought Tweed Cuivre was the exception. If Boutons Couture had a little more bling and the light shade was more opaque, I think I’d be more interested in exploring the brand.

These eyeshadows turned out to be much softer in texture than I expected (Tweed Cuivre is creamier though). This makes it easier to use than the original Guerlain Ombres G line, but I still very much prefer the YSL formula, which happens to be less money as well (especially in Europe).
That being said, I still like this quad. I would have liked to be strong enough to resist the marketing, especially with the number of influencers stating how limited this collection would be and the sharing of exclusive links to pre-order. I admittedly got caught up in the hype and there was the fear of missing out.
I don’t know how many units were divvied up across the world, but every quad is still available in Germany at the time of me writing this. I heard it sold out within days on the US website though.

At this point in time, I still don’t regret buying it, even if I acknowledge that I could have managed without it.

I don’t intend to give a full review of the Chanel Noir Allure Mascara sample that I got with my order. However, I wanted to point out that I’m wearing it in the three eyeshadow demos and full face photo. I like the length it provides, but the formula is so susceptible to water. If my eyes got watery at any point in the day, the mascara easily transferred onto my fingers while I tried to wipe my lashes. Another time, the mascara dripped into my actual eyeballs. I’m not surprised that a non-waterproof mascara would run, but this is the runniest I’ve ever experienced.

Going back to the topic of the Boutons collection, I think the 239 Boutons Baroque Quad is extremely eye-catching. I’m drawn to the colors, but I’m not confident that I would be happy enough with the shades on my eyes if I tried to use them all together. One review that made me content with my decision to ultimately skip buying this quad is from Nikki. One review that made me reconsider my decision is by Lauren on YouTube. I will continue to stay strong and resist though! One palette from this collection is enough.

Also, in order to keep the embossing around for as long as possible, I have only dipped into the right halves of the shades. This is how it looks after just five days.

That’s all for this week! I had to push back some pre-scheduled posts in order to get this review out as fast as possible, especially given the apparent limited quantities of this collection. The next few posts should be featuring products I’ve used for a lot longer.

-Lili ❤