Chanel Irreelle Ombre No. 23 Sphinx

I can't say no to a duochrome shadow, especially not when one is dangled in front of me - and Chanel Irreelle Ombre Sphinx is no exception. When my friend Erika from Duhast Makeup couldn't get this shadow to work for her, that sounded like a challenge to me!

Close up to see the hint of duochrome green.

When I first laid eyes on this warm brown shadow, I could barely see the green duochrome. I had to take it outside in the bright daylight to see the glint of slightly iridescent green. When I swatched it, I immediately understood Erika's unhappiness with the shadow. Despite the interesting color, this shadow doesn't really want to stick to your skin and doesn't really show up too well.
I really had to try many methods to get the best of the color. First I tried my regular eyeshadow primer- Urban Decay Primer Potion, and allowed the primer to dry completely before brushing on Sphinx. No luck. I tried it wet, but then the green sparkling sheen was lost. Then I utilized a few bases like L'oreal HiP Shadow Paints and also the NYX Jumbo Eye pencil in Milk, but both didn't really do much. Finally I tried applying Sphinx on damp Urban Decay Primer Potion and that really did the trick! It captured the true color of this shadow.

Outside, direct sunlight, no flash. As you can see, damp
primer was the clear winner!

Texture wise, this shadow is a little crumbly. Though I don't have other Chanel shadows to compare it to, since it is my first! But I can see why Erika was willing to give up on this shadow- who wants to pay $30 for a shadow and have to work hard for good payoff? Nobody! That's just not what you expect from Chanel.
So while I find this shadow very interesting and very unique in my collection of duochromes- it's definitely not something I'd recommend as far as value goes!

Do you have a product that you have to work really hard for? Is it worth it?

Product was purchased by me, for my own use.