One item we reach for every time …
The Chanel Cruise 2026/27 show in sunny Biarritz highlights fresh, radiant skin and a sunkissed complexion. While the fabulous feathered eyelids may not be an everyday look for most of us, the glowy skin certainly can be.
It reminded me yet again why Chanel’s Baume Essentiel (€46) is simply one of my favourite make-up products ever, and has been in my make-up bag non-stop since the minute it first launched, back in 2019.
Why? It’s a sleek moisturising highlighting balm in a stick format. And it’s foolproof to use – just swipe up your cheekbones, and blend. Use it on lips and eyes too, wherever you want to reflect some light. You don’t need to have any make-up skills whatsoever to use it. Yes, there have been copies. No, they are never as good as this one. I defy anyone to try Baume Essentiel and not become an instant convert. This is not an ad, just an ode to brilliance.
For me, Baume Essentiel is ideal for us 50-somethings and beyond, as it instantly brightens the skin even when it’s looking a bit dull – a great alternative to the deadening, flattening effect that powder can have. The sheen lasts all day, without feeling sticky. Though it works for all ages: my 19-year-old doesn’t wear highlighter much as a rule, but she loves the subtle sheen you get from this.
So many beauty brands now are chasing the younger demographic, but forgetting about core customers in their fifties, sixties, seventies and beyond. So we love it when a make-up item has such a universal appeal, and is effective and enhancing at every age.
Baume Essentiel is available as a transparent balm as well as various shades, from bronze to pink, so that you can just add shine, or add both shine and some translucent colour too. I’m currently very into Refresh, a soft pink that works perfectly as a summer blush.
Get The Chanel Look
For the Chanel Cruise show, the skincare routine featured the glorious golden Sublimage range. For the complexion, Chanel artists used Les Beiges Water-Fresh Complexion Touch (€67), plus Ultra Le Teint Le Correcteur concealer (€48), applied using the Retractable Dual-Ended Concealer Brush N°105.
Under the cheekbones, Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream (€60) was blended along the hollow of the cheek, from the inside to the outside of the face.
Then the piece de resistance: Baume Essentiel in either Sculpting or Scintillement, depending on the model’s skin tone. “Apply with a brush or fingertips, then apply with light touches to the tops of the cheekbones for a fresh and luminous result. Gently tap to blend into the skin.”
The lovely soft and moisturising lip colour here is Rouge Coco Flash – 280 Sweet.
By the way, the lovely Raw Brown shade, part of the sell-out Denim Collection, is still available at Brown Thomas.
