With so much fashion existing online, there’s something refreshing about trying pieces on in-store after eyeing them first on a little screen. Enter Just Browsing: We’re taking you into the fitting room as we preview the newest collections from some of our favorite high-street brands and contemporary labels. We’ll get into fabric and quality, fit and feel, and so much more as we make our way through the shop floor. Happy scrolling (and strolling)!
Before I became a writer, Chanel Beauty felt like the kind of luxury you admired from a distance. The interlocking double C’s held a particular allure—perhaps because they happen to mirror my own initials. Long before I worked at a magazine, I would linger over its glossy ads featuring fashion’s coolest—from Kristin Stewart to Lily Rose Depp—enamored by dazzling makeup palettes and lipsticks, housed in its sleek black packaging.
As luck would have it, a few months after starting at Vogue, my best friend Ashlynn (a fellow Leo who treats celebrations like a competitive sport), gifted me my first Chanel Beauty treasure—a tube of Rouge Coco Flash, small enough to pass as a chic trinket, perfect for surreptitious touch-ups between meetings. It felt symbolic, like a rite of passage: I finally possessed the lipstick I fawned over, while working at the very magazine that introduced me to it.
Equally as kismet, a Chanel Fragrance and Beauty boutique opened around the corner from my apartment in Williamsburg. I’d pass by it twice a day on my daily commute to Vogue HQ, stealing glances through the windows as I hurried toward the L train. For nearly three years, it remained a visual temptation; though it wasn’t until my lease ended and I packed up all my things to move that I actually went inside. Taking a peek in its store, to browse the new Denim Collection, felt like a fitting farewell.
From already adored classics to the spring newness, there’s much to consider, in case you’re tempted to plan a visit of your own—or at least add a few things to cart. Ahead, everything that caught my eye inside the boutique.
Skin-Centric
While Chanel’s makeup is most buzzed about, its skin-care products deliver real potency, not just designer cachet. Consider the Le Lift Flash Eye Masks—the very ones used to prep models’ skin backstage at Chanel shows. Ultra flexible and serum-soaked, the formula is concentrated in low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid for fast absorption—a nice salve for my dry, winter skin. Them being selfie-worthy is simply an added bonus.
Then there’s the Sublimage La Crème—the cold-weather moisturizer my editor, Kiana Murden, swears by (it doubles beautifully as a nighttime treatment for parched skin). One test swatch left my skin impossibly soft—credit a luxurious blend of squalane and the brand’s star ingredient, vanilla planifolia extract.
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Eye Intrigue
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul—which makes flaking mascara and wayward eyeliner smudges decidedly unacceptable. In my experience, this category is where Chanel really shines. Take the cult-favorite Le Volume Mascara—a product makeup artists and editors have long praised in unison. One swipe added instant density to my long, straight lashes, the dense wand separating each one precisely.
Then there’s Stylo Yeux, the wildly long-lasting waterproof liner that defies the odds. As someone with oily skin, pencil liners have always been temperamental—waterline applications fading within hours, lid formulas transferring onto my slightly hooded eyes. Stylo Yeux, however, stays in place for all-day wear (My favorite shade is Espresso, added definition without harshness). And yes, hours later, my eyeliner was still in place when I got back home from traipsing around that day.
Got the Blues
This spring’s standout from Chanel Beauty? The Denim Collection. The collection features chic, washed-out denim-style packaging for classics like La Crème Main and Les 4 Ombres eyeshadow. The bestselling palette now arrives in two limited-edition shades: Denim Dream and Coco Jean. I gravitated immediately to the former, for its frosty finishes and anthracite blue. What impressed me most? The feathery-soft color payoff of the blue and metallic silver shades, rendering otherwise intimidating hues surprisingly wearable. A swipe of azure blue across my lids, a dab of metallic silver at the inner corners for dimension—the look was complete.
Blue serves as the collection’s unifying thread—Le Vernis longwear nail color debuts in a metallic electric blue. Even Chanel’s famed hand cream got a spring update; now arriving in a limited-edition denim case for safe-keeping.
Pleasant Eau de Parfums
If there’s one section I invariably beeline toward, it’s fragrance. Present me with a perfume wall and I’ll sample every bottle—there’s something instinctual about those first impressions, that immediate recognition of what resonates. Top of my list was Chance Eau Splendide, last year’s extension of the original Chance, a Y2K cult favorite. Eau Splendide, though, has a fresh, aromatic character, bursting with juicy, fresh-picked raspberries. Then there are the classics. N°5 Eau de Parfum remains one of the most iconic scents in history, launched over a century ago—yes, you read that correctly. Marilyn Monroe famously claimed to wear nothing but this sophisticated fragrance to bed.
Long-Lasting Lip Combos
If carrying around too many lip combos were a crime, I’d plead guilty. Whether you’re smooching, snacking, sipping, or serving looks for hours on end, Chanel’s long-wear lip products are legitimately next level. I first discovered the Long-Wearing Lip Liner after having my makeup professionally done before working the Met Gala a few years back. From morning touchups to after-party dance floors, that liner stayed locked in place. While browsing, I opted for the shade Rose Naturel for a skin tone-accurate shade to add a little extra plumpness to my pout.
Then there’s the pièce de résistance: the transfer-proof Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue. It s been everywhere this awards season, and for good reason: once you apply this formula, it s not budging. I tested Pink Nude, the very shade celebrity makeup artist Nina Park used on Jessie Buckley for the Golden Globes. Once the liquid lipstick layer dries, the double-sided applicator delivers a high-shine gloss to seal the deal—reapply anytime for that glassy finish.
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