Crack out the tarot cards, Chanel’s new collection is inspired by all things mystical

It’s time to lean into your mysterious side

Woo-woo de Chanel. Image: Chanel

Chanel's Fall-Winter make-up collection – the third by the Cometes Collective – encourages you to lean into the mythical and divine. 

If there’s one thing they say about the French, it’s that they all have a certain level of je ne sais quoi. 

Directly translating to ‘I don’t know what’, it makes the phrase a little hard to explain (for obvious reasons). But it’s that special something about a person that makes them intoxicating, unforgettable. 

Gabrielle Chanel had je ne sais quoi in spades – there’s a reason the House has stood the test of time, after all – and in turn, she was enthralled by the concept of allure and the dreamy, often mystical nature of life. 

The latest creation by the House’s beauty arm pays homage to this fascination with the divine, and encourages all who dare to lean into their mysterious side. 

Dubbed ‘Clairvoyance’, the Fall-Winter make-up collection is the latest from the Cometes Collective – a trio of creative, boundary-pushing make-up artists, tasked with “shaping the future of beauty” at Chanel. 

This is the third drop from the Collective thus far, and the first by Cécile Paravina, who leant into notions of mystery, attraction and the unexplainable, along with flashes of colour in varying shades. 

“I love the connection between tarot, colour and allure” Paravina tells Body+Soul. “There is this idea of shuffling colours like you would shuffle cards, and that one of them is an obvious choice among an ensemble of available combinations.”

"There is this idea of shuffling colours like you would shuffle cards". Image: Chanel

Astrology, divination and numerology inspired Mademoiselle throughout her life, and she often featured star sign motifs (such as le lion) and symbols alluding to 31 Rue Cambon, her creative studio, through her work. 

It’s an approach that’s carried on through the House of Chanel, be it fashion, beauty, or fragrance, and one that was laced through the creative process of the Fall-Winter collection. 

“Allure is not a tangible idea for me,” says Paravina. “It is like when you catch a glimpse of a female silhouette in the distance. You can see her moving, but you don’t know exactly what composes or gives her this allure and this presence. For her beauty to exist, it takes an element of enigma and unsolved mystery.”

“Beauty can be found in this incomprehensible element, which cannot be explained.”

Purples, greens and warm oranges feature heavily throughout the collection. Image: Chanel

Purples, greens and warm oranges feature heavily throughout the collection, using a technique called ‘chiaroscuro’ which involves the use of shades varying in intensity, to create depth and meaning. 

The powder blush is imprinted with a unique tarot design in shades blood orange and lavender, aptly named ‘Les tarots de Chanel’.

Across two Les 4 Ombres palates, warm and wearable peaches are accompanied by soft lavenders and punchy greens – shades which would never typically be seen together, yet curiously work in tandem (particularly when amplified by a bright lilac mascara). 

Chiaroscuro involves the use of shades varying in intensity, to create meaning. Image: Chanel

“The vast range of shades [Paravina] developed for the new Rouge Allure Liquid Velvet is especially interesting,” Valentina Li, a fellow member of the Cometes Collective, tells Body+Soul. “Each shade is designed to suit and flatter every complexion.” 

The Rouge Allure collection includes a hefty 15 shades, ranging from a bright poppy to a seductive purple, and can be complemented with the four new hues of Le Crayon Lèvres eye pencils, all varying tones of orange. 

Two new versions of Le Vernis nail polish complete the collection with a bang: a classic orange-brown, and a futuristic purple-green chrome – the perfect finishing touch for every beauty clairvoyant. 

The Fall-Winter collection is a limited-edition drop and is available from chanel.com

Originally published as Crack out the tarot cards, Chanel’s new collection is inspired by all things mystical