Le Mat de Chanel: Jumbo Luxury Lip Crayon

I've been meaning to write about Chanel's Jumbo Longwear Lip Crayons for a while, but the arrival of what could potentially be my all-time perfect lipstick shade ("Discretion" from the AW18 collection) suddenly made this review a bit more urgent. Because the new colour is just sublime; a pale peachy-nude that manages to look creamy and plump despite the matte finish.

Chanel's Jumbo Lip Crayons are a triumph anyway, in terms of texture and ease of application - they glide on almost without friction, feeling more like a liquid than a crayon, and have reasonably good longevity without the usual associated dryness. But where Chanel's standard Jumbo Crayon has a sophisticated sheen, the matte version (from the aptly-named Le Mat de Chanel collection) has a very modern, understated flatness. Like a high-pigment lipstick that's been blotted down.

And paler shades can be so difficult to get right - if the texture of the lipstick is too sheer and juicy then your natural, darker lip colour tends to show through and it looks patchy. Too matte a finish and the lips look dead, or as though they've been plastered in chalky concealer. Too waxy a lipstick texture and the effect is almost grotesque - a thick, clay-like coating that looks like two plasticine sausages rather than human lips.

None of these problems with the new Rouge Crayon de Couleur Mat (sounds excellent in French); it glides on and seems to gently rest on the skin like a silky veil. Just fine, concentrated colour.

One of the greatest appeals of this Jumbo Crayon is the fact I can use it as liner and lipstick - I'm always forgetting to throw a lip liner into my makeup bag when I leave the house and so this dual function just makes my life a tiny bit easier.

(I make it sound as though I throw things into my makeup bag frequently, like one of those power players in the movies who rushes about in stilettos shouting at the children to eat their cereal because she needs to be at the White House press briefing in minus three minutes. In fact I don't leave the house at all more than about four times a week, and that's only if I've run out of crumpets, but I like to imagine.)

The only snag with this luxury lip wonder? The Jumbo Crayon doesn't seem to ever fully set. It doesn't smear around like sauce on an uncooked pizza base, but neither does it hold fast like one of those 24-hour stay-put jobs that need a blowtorch to remove them. Personally, I never feel the need for such levels of indestructibility and so the slight movement in this one isn't a problem, but those looking for semi-permanence may wish to look elsewhere.

You can find the new Chanel Jumbo Longwear Matte Lip Crayon online at Feelunique here* and Selfridges here* - it's £31. As well as the nudey Discretion I love the shade Provocation - a hot orange-red that looks amazing against sunkissed skin.