Oh darling, hand me the pearls.

I thought I’ll punctuate my travel blogs with one of my well-kept secret of 2010.

2010 was my best year in terms of collecting Chanel’s costume jewellery. The seasonal pieces had hints of class in them, they were all so covetable. It was not easy to walk out of the boutique without laying my hands on at least one of the pieces!

One of my favourite jewellery of 2010 that I’ve not told anyone about is this long strand of CC pearl necklace. The necklace is knotted on a silk thread and can be worn as a double strand.

It is a precious find for only 3 strands were brought in.

I shall not bore you with the details on the frantic I-need-that-necklace call to the SA. Let’s just say that this baby was the last in the warehouse.

Funny how costly costume pearls cost. Liken it to carrying a Chanel clutch on my chest.

The pearls are off-white - which is a colour that I like very much as it compliments my Asian skin tone.

I also like that instead of the usual smooth costume pearls, this necklace has a good mix of pearls of different size and shape. It breaks the monotony of the necklace.

I can’t say that this necklace is something that can be worn on a daily basis. Rather, save it for a special date.

A close up of the pearls. Reminds me of the bubbles in champagne.

And for today, I shall leave you with a quote by Co Co Chanel, the very lady who made costume jewellery hip.

“Jewelry should be viewed with innocence, with artlessness,
just as we enjoy the sight of an apple tree in blossom
at the side of the road as we speed past in a motor-car.”

I don’t know about you, but I do know that I’m guarding my collection of pearls and diamonds very tightly.

Chanel: You had me at 18

Chanel is addictive.

It’s cliche to say that “once you start, you just can’t stop”.

But it truly is.

My not-so-secret love affair with Chanel started exactly 2 years back. Way before the crazy price hike. Way before women, and for that matter, men, became obsessed with the CCs.

It was quite coincidental.

I found it a pity that my sister wanted to sell her bag to a reseller and decided that I had to buy it off from her. Poor reseller who practically drooled at the bag. But thank God for the lucky save. That bag probably costs thrice its price now and no way I’m parting with it.

And since, I have babied more CC bags than nieces. I have also succumbed to CC jewellery temptation. Not to mention, how infatuated I am with Chanel’s make-up.

My deepest love for Chanel has yet to begin and lies undiscovered, tucked away at Chanel’s l’Espace.

With an open mind, my sister and I made an appointment with Jean, the perfume specialist at Chanel. We were promised an olfactory experience the Chanel way, that is set to change the way we thought about perfumes. Also, unlike the perfume bar at Ngee Ann, at l’Espace MBS, we were guaranteed an intimate experience with Les Exclusifs De Chanel parfum. It is notable that MBS perfume bar is the only fragrance boutique in whole of South-East Asia that retails Les Exclusifs.

The counter is overlaid in black and white. The chairs were made of tweet material. In an instance, I felt like a little girl in a gigantic boutique store going wow.

Before my eyes were rows of ceramic blotters. I was surprised to know that each blotter represented a Chanel perfume. I didn’t know that there were that many Chanel perfumes!

These are the 12 Les Exclusifs De Chanel parfum. Lined neatly in a row with the ceramic blotter.

Advertorial postcard that I received two months back.

Our journey started at 31 Rue Cambon where Coco Chanel looked on the media and press through the reflection of the mirror-panelled wall alongside the infamous spiral staircase. Fresh grassy spring with a thin breeze of Parisian air. The scent journey continued into the bright floral of Spring and the woodiness of the forest. Say hello to Allure and Chance. As we walked through 28 La Pausa, and waved goodbye to the flora aroma, we were led to experience the variants of No. 5.

No.5 is powerful in its own right. It marked the turning point of perfumes. No longer do women need to spot a single scent of their favourite flower, but now, they were given the rights to own a scent that was rich and womenly. It was at this point in the journey that I realise that Eau de Toilette need not necessarily be a thinner and lighter version of the Eau de Parfum. It is all about what the perfumer wants to highlight.

A coffee-break later, we were led to discover some of Coco’s favourite haunts - 18 Place Vendôme and 31 Rue Cambon- and the Gardenia. Three unique scents that will appeal to different types of people. 2 hours later, as our journey came to an end, we were greeted with whiffs of masculine scents that were darker, more mysterious and woody. As a finale, the perfume experience ended with Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie - whiffs of leather and tobacco. An interesting ending note I have to say.

So the question is which fragrance hit all the right notes with me?

No. 18.

To Coco Chanel, this perfume was a representation of one of her favourite place. 18 Place Vendôm. The street in Paris that sold Fine Jewellery. No. 18  is essentially a fragrance that is to resemble that of a diamond. Multi-faceted, sparkly, and beautiful.

But to me, No. 18 is sweet, surprising and most importantly, it is my favourite number. It is also a scent that I have never owned - all my perfumes are flora, powdery with an underlying vanilla tone. No. 18 is also part of Les Exclusifs De Chanel parfum - only the best and most precious ingredients go into the line. A rarely used perfume ingredient, ardette seeds, went into the bottle that I bought.

As a parting gift, Jean gifted us with this pretty little ceramic charms spritzed with our favourite scent.

Maybe its time for me to explore the Chanel clothes rack.

Rose Tourbillion

Hey ladies, it has been a while.

I finally had the time to pop by Chanel to get my eye candy fix. A pity I did not like any of the new colours on the bags. Fall colours ain’t my cup of tea. But, I did hear that the pre-fall collection jewellery will be in store sometime mid June! So I’m definitely getting my eyes on that collectio.

Anyway, after 2 months worth of combing all the Chanel beauty outlets in Singapore…

My luck has turned for the better!

Do you see what I see? It’s rose tourbillion! The sold out blush colour in Singapore!

An asia limited edition fit to flatter any lady.

Check out the vibrant colour. Falling in love with Chanel’s blushers is just an understatement.

I also snag the pearl highlighter at 20% off!

I haven’t gotten around to using any of them, because they are just too precious.

The smell of rose for spring is just too good to be true.

Lumières Byzantines de Chanel

So I was looking for a lost password in my old mail accounts. And hey ho what did I see?

*Slaps myself on the head for having missed out on all of the flyers from Chanel.sg!*

I totally missed out on the Spring collection with a tearful wave to the covetable Rose Tourbillon. On the bright side, I fell totally in love with their now-in-classic-collection Espiegle.

So what is this latest collection about?

Inspired by the Byzantine period - a period where women could participate in public life and had a voice - this collection bears resemblance to Co Co Chanel’s unorthodox life in a time where women wore dresses. Not a bad continuation to Chanel’s Spring collection where it is all about Co Co Chanel’s love for pearls.

Make up: Regard Signé de Chanel in Topkapi and Joues Contraste Powder Blush in  Or.

The make-up is a little bronze with a tinge of gold. Befitting since Byzantine women loved to be adorned with gold jewellery.

Oh the glamour.

Coco Mademoiselle

Guess what popped into my mailer the other day.

Hello Chanel.

“It” girl Blake Lively scores high on Lagerfeld’s chart and is inked as the new muse of Chanel.

I had a lukewarm feeling when CoCo Cocoon hit the shelves. It was too sporty for my build.

But hello, hello Ms Coco Mademoiselle. You look pretty fine indeed.

I like this very much. But it’s $9000! Exotic skin. If only Singapore’s weather permits.

The larger size.

I find it ingenious that someone thought it wise to pair their classic clutch with a handle and charge $2000 more.

One of the many reasons Chanel is calling my name despite my protests in stepping into the NAC store.

Mademoiselle retails for SGD$4000 and up.

Nails dripping with pearls

Meet Black Pearl and Pearl Drop - Chanel’s latest nail colour.

Inspired by Coco Chanel’s love for pearls.

I have to be frank. As much as I love to wear white pearls strung, applying Pearl Drop on my nails was a tricky affair. As you can tell, it is sort of a little streaky and unevenly painted. The shine wasn’t very obvious as well.

However, I did feel like a princess for 3 days - till I decided I had enough of chipping polish.

Perhaps, it’s just that I prefer goth.

I had little qualms with Black Pearl.

I had no trouble painting these on my nails. 5 days on and it still looks good!

Initially hesitant, I’m falling in love with the colour. It does look like black pearls - slightly teal grey with hints of blue-green. It looks very good paired with a white top and heels.

The nail polish retails for $36 at the respective Chanel make-up shops.

Miss Ribbon Chanel

Hello folks!

Adding to the Chanel CJ inventory list.

Here’s my sister’s crystal ribbon earrings.

She bought it a while back, but I never took it out to take a photograph.

It was a rather pricey pair of earring, but my sister bought it after oogling at it for a few days.

It has crystal studded ribbon on the front and back of the earring drop.

Happy  CNY!

Chanel Ombres Perlees de Chanel

It was love at first sight.

Inspired by Coco Chanel’s love for pearls.

I first spotted it in the Her World magazine - talk about propaganda - and I knew I had to have it.

It was unfortunate that shortly after reading the article, I left the said magazine in the car and totally forgot about the palette for a week! I got too carried away celebrating my birthday.

The palette was launched 3 days after I read the article. And within 4 days, it was sold out at the counters. You do the math.

A frantic call to the boutiques and one lucky phone call to a kind SA later, revealed that the Chanel boutique at Centrepoint released it later than the rest of the Chanel boutique. So hello to my new palette!

What a pretty mosaic cast onto the palette. Who knew that windows could make such interesting prints.

Ditch the plan on being frugal with my make-up money stash and dish out $91 to bring this baby home.

What I love about this palette is that it is all the colours are so user friendly; unlike the past mixed palettes that I’ve purchased - I am able to use only 75% of the colours as the 25% are either too loud, too pigmented or they do not match my skin tone.

The sheen is an added bonus. It makes application very easy.

A close up of the colours on the palette. The left most colour is more yellow-cream than white-pink.

They were very thoughtful to have added two mini stick applicators.

I’ve yet to break into this palette, so I won’t do a swatch. But you can easily google search for it online. This eye shadow palette has received lots of positive review and is one of the most photographed colour this season.

Centrepoint still carries the stock, but they are running dangerously low. Grab yours before they run out!

Happy happy birthday!

Last year, I bought myself a red wallet on chain to celebrate my birthday. Seen here.

I have used it only once; on that birthday. I lug my 2.55 far too much!

This year, I upgraded to a red classic in medium size. One down from my wish list!

It’s the famed classic’09 in lambskin which a lot of women clamoured for.

Bold in a red lipstick hue. It adds a pop of colour to my outfit.

Bought it second hand, simply because the recent addition of Chanel handbags are less hardy than those made 2 years ago.

Have a great day ahead!

The quilts

I’m so post-dated on my CJs, I’m starting to lose track of what I have not posted.

For three seasons in a row, this duo was the most popular (besides the classic CC swarvoski that you see here).

The first season that this was out, people scrambled to get their hands on them. It is classy and totally Chanel. It is versatile and can take you through many seasons ahead.

It doesn’t kill that it has quilts on it. It makes it a must for Chanel fans.

The first we got was the quilt and the pearl. I’ve seen this on a lot of fashionistas. The editor of Bazaar has one, and so does my SA!

The second was the quilt stud. My sister had to scour for it for a long time! It was on her ‘must-buy’ list and I have to say she has worn in probably about 50 times.

I was still into dangling earrings at that time - hence le duc and jade. But two seasons later… reasonable price and classiness took over and I jumped the wagon.

It’s my first gold plated Chanel earrings! Don’t you say that it would be the perfect earrings to pair with my 2.55?

Happy holidays everyone!