Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Color - 96 Excentrique (AKA fulfilling my orange lipstick obsession)

Well...after 8 makeup empties I'm finally posting my first beauty diet reward buy of the year and OMG did this develop into one hell of an obsession leading up to the purchase!

I know I have an obsessive personality at times and when I get a fixation there's no way of getting around it - it just builds and builds and builds!  Much like a chocolate craving where I try eating my way around it but inevitably I will cave - Aargh!!! Yes as per usual it started innocently enough with an evening in the other world of Pinterest when I pored over all the orange-lipsticked  muses and realised that, perhaps, maybe, I didn't have a true orange lipstick? Orange-red, yes indeed I do have that, but true orange? This progressed - logically in my mind - on to what were the perfect true orange lipsticks which led me to Chanel Excentrique...

True to form it's the last thing to catch my eye that I must have first! And here it is...

 

Because of the unfortunate natural lighting situation in my bedroom Excentrique does look more orange-red in these pictures but, oh my, it is most definitely ORANGE in real life!  For reference Chanel describes it as "Intense Apricot" which should give you the idea. 

I don't know if you want me to go on about the packaging (and this is not a new line) so I'll keep it to the point:  obviously the lipstick casing is in keeping with the signature minimalist Chanel look of sleek shiny black and the yellow gold bullet smoothly slides out with the press of a finger, which is something of a novelty for me. 

The formula is quite intensely pigmented and wears very comfortably with a semi-matte finish on my lips. I can only imagine how perfect a true red in this formula would look, although one tube will do me for now while I'm on my beauty diet. Chanel says this lipstick formula contains "... concentrated, ultra-thin pigments...offers radically intense, long-wearing colour with full coverage and a satin finish. Leaves lips supple and protected with lasting comfort."  While I agree I'll stand by my opinion on Tom Ford and Bite Beauty lipsticks as having superior moisturising properties for my lips because of their creamier formulations. However as far as semi-matte lipsticks go Rouge Allure has to be one of the most comfortable I've tried and I'm not unhappy I made the leap - even if it was driven by my obsession with the colour!  Wear time is good as you'd expect and I got through about 4 hours and my midmorning coffee before I had to freshen up the colour.  Pricewise this sits between Bite Beauty and Tom Ford at $50AUD.

 Swatched on the back of my hand

And on my lips. I love how orange brightens up my whole face.

What's your latest colour obsession?