09/01/2026
In the spring of 2002 Chanel released Les Gouaches de Chanel, a set of mixable shades for eyes, cheeks and lips inspired by traditional opaque watercolor paint. The set also contained a clear gloss and tiny tray for mixing, similar to an artist palette. Not to be outdone, Dior released their Summer Hits collection or Les Tubes de L’Ete. A set of 5 tubes in 3 colorways - Pastel Graffiti (shown here), Chic Graffiti and Fun Graffiti - appeared, at first glance, comparable to Chanel. However, while both were packaged in tubes, Chanel seemingly offered more versatility as the colors could be used anywhere on the face, whereas Dior opted for just 4 eyeshadows and one shade of gloss. There was also a sizeable difference in price point with Chanel ringing in at $65 USD and Dior at $35. So, if you were around in 2002, which one would you choose? I remember buying Les Gouaches because I couldn’t resist the packaging - it was one of several pieces that led to the formation of the Makeup Museum…but I actually like Dior’s color scheme way more! (The other sets were beautiful, hope to track them down eventually.) 🎨👩🏻🎨
