I've Tried Almost Every Chanel Makeup Product—These Are the 11 I'd Put In Your Makeup Bag

We cannot talk about Chanel's best makeup products without talking about Les Beiges Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream-Gel Bronzer. "Iconic" gets bandied around a lot to describe beauty products, but this bronzer truly is a timeless classic that deserves all the praise it receives. The cream-gel formula is buttery soft, effortlessly blending into the skin to deliver a natural-looking glow wherever you buff it. It has the tiniest amount of shimmer to it, which adds radiance without looking sparkly. Instead, it looks like satin on the skin, and it's one of the best cream bronzers I've tried. It now comes in five different shades, and little goes a long, long way, so a pot will last for ages and makes it absolutely worth spending a little more for (it also has the signature Chanel scent you'll find across much of its makeup—it smells so luxurious).

Ask any beauty editor about their favourite Chanel products, and they will undoubtedly include this in their list, and I count it as one of my favourite products of all time. Baume Essential is a highlighter like no other. This stick bestows a glossy, dewy gleam upon your cheekbones (or wherever you wish to apply it—it looks beautiful on eyes and lips too) and makes your skin look like you just emerged from a £500 facial. It comes in a few different shades, but they are all largely transparent and sheer, some with a touch of pearl or pink, but you can also find one that is totally transparent if you would prefer. My favourite is Sculpting, a sheer shade with just a hint of champagne pearl that subtly illuminates, but the blush-toned and bronzy tones are equally beautiful. I like to take a little and apply it with my fingertips, tapping it in for a healthy, lit-from-within, glassy glow.

Those who favour skin tints over foundation, step this way. This serum has droplets of pigment suspended in water that burst on contact with the skin, delivering a fresh veil of hydrating colour with a dewy, healthy-looking glow. It's not at all heavy on the skin, but delivers impressive coverage when built up on areas of redness or pigmentation (the included brush is nimble enough to deliver targeted coverage, such as the corners of the nose or around the chin. But my favourite way to wear it is as a lightweight veil to lightly even the skin tone while providing a second-skin finish that looks like you're not wearing anything at all. It's a must for your makeup bag if you love "no makeup" makeup.

I'm often asked about Chanel foundations (I'd argue that it's what the brand does best with its makeup range), and I love several of them. But I had yet to try this particular one. Truthfully, I hoped that I wouldn't like it because the price tag is eye-waterlingly expensive. But after testing it, I am here to tell you that this foundation is beautiful, so if you do have the money to drop over £100 on a foundation, then you won't be disappointed. The serum texture melts into the skin with a buttery finish. It's the perfect amount of satiny luminosity and has light-to-medium coverage that can be layered. Included is a Chanel foundation brush, which has a uniquely shaped domed brush that effortlessly hugs the concaves of the face and blends the formula to perfection. It's not often that this happens, but I feel my skin actually looked better as I wore it throughout the day. It's on the dewy side, so it's best suited to dry or mature skin types.

This is the very lip balm that Sofia Richie-Grainge wore on her wedding day, and you'll see countless celebrity MUAs using it, too. It can be worn as a sheer tint to hydrate the lips, or layered for more pigment that's akin to a lipstick. It's silky on the lips and has a natural-looking sheen to it that wears away into a pretty, worn-in matte finish. I do find I have to top it up more often than other balms (my lips are chronically dry), but when it's as beautiful as this lip balm is, I don't mind pulling it out of my bag each time to enjoy every swipe. My favourite shade is Pink Delight, peachy-beige-toned pink that works for any occasion and always makes for a well-received present if you're in need of some beauty gift inspiration.

This is one of Chanel's hidden gems, and is one of the best lip liners I've tried—hands down. The pencil is creamy and pigmented, almost with the texture of a lipstick, but the lasting power is outstanding. It dries to a slightly waxy finish that defies eating and drinking, and even the swatch I drew on my hand in the morning hadn't budged at all 10 hours later. It's easily one of the most long-wearing lip liners that has passed my lips. Included on the other end of the pencil is a lip brush, which makes it easy to tidy up your liner or sharpen the edges prior to lipstick application, but to be honest, I like to wear it alone with a lip gloss or lip balm.

Chanel lipsticks are legendary for so many reasons. The shades and textures are amongst the best around, and the Rouge Allure lipsticks are in a league of their own. Swiping it on feels like draping satin over your lips, drenching them in a luminous sheen that's equal parts comfortable and hydrating to wear and stunning to behold. The packaging itself is also special. Gabriel Chanel was enamoured with the sound of car doors closing, and the bullet of the lipstick has the same satisfying click as you open and close it. Embossed on the base of the lipstick is the interlinking gold Chanel logo, which, when pressed, releases the lipstick from the case. It feels like the kind of lipstick an impeccably dressed undercover spy might own.

If you're more drawn to matte lipsticks, then allow me to draw your attention to 31 Le Rouge. The glass lipstick case itself is rich with Chanel lore, having been inspired by the reflective facets of the iconic Art Deco staircase at Gabrielle Chanel's apartment on Rue Cambon in Paris. It's a chic keepsake that you'll undoubtedly treasure forever, and it can be endlessly refilled to top up or switch your lipstick colour. It comes in both satin and matte formulas, but the latter is my favourite. It applies buttery and cloaks lips in velvety softness. Unlike other matte lipsticks, it's not drying, thanks to the addition of both maracuja oil and gardenia oil that keep lips pillow soft throughout the day.

If you want an unfussy lipstick that you can swipe on for instant lustre, then Rouge Coco Flash is the unfussy lipstick for those who don't like traditional lipsticks. It has a melting texture that glides on to impart a high-shine finish and silky slip. It applies sheer with one swipe, but has impressive pigment when layered for a more opaque, high-shine finish. I adore how moisturising this lipstick is, and it's the kind of product you can confidently apply without the need for a mirror. I always have one in my handbag.

As a beauty editor, I'm constantly combing through celebrity MUA's Instagram profiles to find out the exact products they're using, and a lot of the time, I spy this hybrid eye stick being used on countless celebrities. It's part eyeshadow stick, part eyeliner, and I often see the shade Contour Clair being used on the likes of Margot Robbie. This muted cool-toned grey-brown is perfect for defining the crease of the eyes without looking like you're wearing eyeshadow at all. The creamy texture is easy to blend to offer natural definition without looking like you're attempting a cut crease eyeshadow look. However, the nimble tip makes it double as a liner, too.

Chanel’s mascaras always deliver, but if volume is what you’re craving, this one stands out. The wand is 3D-printed with short, spiky bristles, which deposit just the right amount of product at the roots before swooping the inky black formula through every lash. The result? Bold, full lashes with zero clumps. It captures even the smallest of lashes to enhance each one to its full potential, and it layers beautifully, so you can dial up the drama as you please if you want more impact. Plus, it keeps your curl perfectly in place from morning to night. And obviously, with it being Chanel, the sleek tube is easy on the eyes, too.

This is a little pot of Chanel heaven that I've put many of my friends onto. It's another multi-purpose product, of which Chanel excels at. Its buttery texture melts onto the cheeks and lips to deliver a soft hint of colour wherever you dab it. I like to tap a tiny amount into my lips for a just-bitten stain that has a hint of luminosity to it, but I equally love it as a cream blush for a sheer tint of colour that emulates the glow you get from a brisk walk in the cold. The pot is the perfect size to drop into a bag for on-the-go touch-ups, and the lid is embossed with the Chanel logo. So chic.