An Enigma and a Paradox(al) from fall...

No, I 'm not speaking in riddles here, I 'm actually talking about two of the most coveted makeup items from Chanel's fall makeup collection: the Enigma eyeshadow quad and the nail polish in Paradoxal.

Now, I don't know if you remember the single eyeshadows from this collection - Vert Khaki was the khaki green and Taupe Grise was the grey taupe with the purple undertones - but what I had noticed about them, was that they were both very similar to two of the eyeshadows in the Enigma quad. And since I wanted both of the singles at that time, I figured I might as well go for the quad - after all, I 'd be getting two more colours plus a lot of sparkliness: naturally, I was sold!

The quad consists of a light golden pink and three darker shades: a khaki, a purple/charcoal and a muddy eggplant, that have noticeable amounts of grey in them, making them ideal for a different version of a smokey eye.

All four of the colours are sparkly; the light pink and the darker purple are more subtle in that aspect, while the khaki and purple grey contain a larger amount of glitter particles, as you can see on the swatches above: the second and fourth swatch, since the swatches were done clockwise.

I found the pigmentation satisfying and the consistency easy to work with. Keep in mind though, that I don't have a huge experience with the quality of Chanel quads, however I consider Enigma to be more of a hit than a miss. Of course, there will be some fall down, due to the sparkliness, but nothing too dramatic.

And that's my look with this quad (khaki shade all over the lid, darker purple for crease and lower lashline, sparkly purple grey on the outer third and light pink as an inner corner highlighter). For the upper lashline I used MAC Blacktrack fluidline and for the lower one, besides the eyeshadow, I used Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Violet(amaaazing especially for those with lighter skintones).

FOTN-wise, NARS Angelika blush and MAC Blankety lipstick complement the look.

But, to fully complete this greyish purple colour theme, we need a nail polish too, right?

So, we need... Chanel Paradoxal... or maybe not: Barry M Dusky Mauve does the job just as well.

And here's the photo-evidence:

Paradoxal is on my first two fingernails and Dusky Mauve (ps Thank You Lydia) on the rest two. Can you spot the difference? I can't. Well, maybe Paradoxal is like 1.2% more purple than Dusky Mauve, but maybe I think that because my eyes are playing tricks on me, trying to find a difference.

Gorgeous shade though - dark, sophisticated and with the subtlest fuchsia shimmer to add some dimension. I suggest you go grab a bottle of the Barry M version asap!

Now, yes, this isn't exactly a fair post, since these items were LE, but I thought they were worth mentioning. The Enigma quad would make an amazing Christmas/New Years present too if you can still find it (I spotted one at my Sephora not too long ago), in my eyes it has the character that the Holiday quad (Tentation Cuivree or whatever) lacks.

Perhaps Barry M can take note? How awesome would that be (just an idea here)?!

What do you guys think? Would you go for a khaki/purple smokey eye?

And have u ever come across a dupe that's identical to the original? Do share!