Best Things in Beauty : Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base.

the Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronze Universel Embelliseur Effet Hâlé / Bronzing Makeup Base will be the last item of my bronzer summer 2011. this infamous bronzer was on backorder everywhere the whole summer but when it came back in stock on douglas.de i ordered it right away (there were even rumours that it would be discontinued).

it contains incredible 30g and costs 40.95€.
the Bronze Universel comes in a classy massive plastic tub with the golden Chanel logo on the lid. it has an extra insert inside to prevent the cream/mousse product from drying out.

the bronzing cream itself looks like a caramel pudding inside the tub (some would associate dog's poo with it... ;) ). it has a sweet peach scent.
it's a rather solid whipped cream texture which melts non greasy or silicony but still blends out very beautiful and effortless.
the rather orange brown colour with very fine golden shimmer looks surprisingly natural on my skin and seems to melt in beautifully. it creates a warm hue to the sides of my face, my temples and the hollows of my cheeks to give back some life to my complexion after paling out all the imperfections with foundation. initially it's meant to be used all over for a bronzed look but i prefer to use it its popular way as a cream bronzer over my foundation (and before powder). it doesn't interfere with my foundation and leaves my skin look smooth and even since it has some coverage itself. the fine shimmer is very subtle and gives me an elegant glow.

i tried it with several different brushes and came to the conclusion that it works best with fluffy round natural hair brushes. the synthetic brushes don't blend it as beautifully as my MAC 181 baby kabuki (which is my brush of choice for this product - it's dense, it has the perfect size and it's soo soft! strongly recommend it if you can still find it somewhere since it's discontinued) or my Hakuhodo 210. if you prefer synthetic brushes though, i recommend you the Sephora Professional #45 Mineral Powder Brush. it acts very similar to a natural goat hair brush. the synthetic brushes by Sigma turned out to be too dense and tugging on the skin.

i just need to stipple my brush head into the bronzer and then apply with small circular motions in a C-shape from the hollows of my cheeks up to the temples and then in feathering strokes from the outside of my face towards the center to frame it in a warm tone. i also take some down the neck at the sides. i think the colour should work as a bronzer on skin tones up to about NC/NW 40 in MAC (i'm about NC 25 at the moment). above, you can probably even use it all over as a light glowy foundation.
i didn't expect it to be soo easy to work with, i really enjoy it. i was afraid that it could be greasy or that it would interfere with my foundation or that it would be hard to apply evenly. it became my favourite bronzer of this summer next to the Dior Aurora bronzer.

(btw, did you also experienced this problem with your Dior Aurora?

)

back to topic:
although it's a cream product, i don't have any problems with my oily skin. the warm tanned look lasts all day on me without oxidising or fading. luckily it doesn't irritate my skin or cause me any break outs.
i sill only recommend it as a bronzing product, it's too orange to use as a contour (and would look obvious and weird on me when autumn/winter comes). for a contour, i would add some Hoola by Benefit or Earthy Blush by Burberry.
considering the amount you get, this product is not that expensive (just like the lose powders by Chanel - they are excellent and you also get whopping 30g for your money) but will probably last a long time. still i can't say anything about its performance over the years regarding drying out etc.