Review: Chanel Notorious Joue Contraste.

Chanel came out recently with a limited edition contour shade in the form of a Joue Contraste, called Notorious. 

No need to say I was quite greedy to get one excited about this when I heard about this and decided to purchase one and give it a try and see if it lives up to the hype.

Before this has been even released, Chanel was already using it on their models on the runway which caused a lot of publicity as well for this product.

Before I start, I just want to say that I got Notorious awhile back (around 2 months ago I believe) but I wanted to give this a good try before doing this review.

Notorious JC

Notorious is definitely an unusual shade for a contour product since it's more of a greyish taupe colour with a hint of purple. What came in mind when I first saw it was that this colour will not suit all skintones for sure.

Like most of the Chanel Joue Contrasts, Notorious is baked like most of the EU versions of their products. 

Despite of that there was no issue at all with the colour payoff. In fact it almost leans towards powdery to the point where a light hand is needed to apply it.

Close up of Notorious JC

The greyish shade can look a bit unnatural on the skin (esp. when you're pale) compared to the usual brownish contour powders. Nonetheless with the right amount and application, this will give beautiful defined cheekbones.

Using a contour brush like the Hakuhodo 210 and Yachiyo or the Ray Morris Small face kabuki would work best with this product.
But honestly any soft squirrel brush would do the trick and won't deposit too much product onto your cheeks.

Here are swatches of Notorious compared to other contour products that are kind of simular in shade. Yes some of them are eyeshadow but this is just as a reference for the shade.

Notorious compared to other shades.

1. Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium
2. Catrice Starlight Espresso eyeshadow
3. Catrice Grey's Philosophy (discontinued)
4. Chanel Notorious
5. Addiction Concrete Jungle
6. Lunasol Sheer Glossy eye EX 01 Nuance Gray (LE)

As seen on the picture, the closest dupe would be Catrice Starlight Espresso in terms of undertone. 


From the ones mentionned above, the only other contour powder besides Chanel Notorious is the Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting powder which is more brownish compared to Notorious.
This would look the most natural on most skintone and the texture is very smooth and silky which makes this one of my favorite contour powders out there.


Chanel Notorious retails for $43 USD or £31 GBP if you're in the UK and can only be found online or at the Chanel boutiques.
As mentionned above, this is a limited edition product so it will be sold out very quickly.