Meeting with the “Comètes”, the trio of thirty-somethings who are reinventing Chanel makeup

We were impatiently awaiting the first eyeshadows from this collective named two years ago, like a beauty triumvirate. To compose it, the makeup creation studio headed by Nathalie Lasnet chose thirty-somethings whose very different worlds embody all the diversity of Gen Z. Either the Frenchwoman Cécile Paravina, a non-conformist strongly influenced by the singular work of Serge Lutens, the Chinese Valentina Li, noted for her futuristic color experiments, and the Spaniard Ammy Drammeh, as sharp in the mastery of pigments as in that of textures. An international avant-garde, therefore responsible for shattering the very (too?) normative framework of the “house make-up artist” accustomed to delivering seasonal looks and sometimes hackneyed application advice.

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And if each works on different individual projects, their trio is designed above all as a pigment think tank. “ We are used to collaborating with photographers, stylists, hairdressers, but when it comes to creation, makeup artists work alone and rarely share their vision with others», underlines Valentina Li, who sees in this group the opportunity to confront artistic influences, inspirations and expertise. At the mention of this creative dialogue, it is impossible not to think of the tandem Dominique Moncourtois and Heidi Morawetz, who, from 1980 and for thirty years, were the heydays of Chanel makeup. Together, they designed their eyeshadow palettes as real little jewels of inventiveness and poetry. Ephemeral editions expected every season and so beautiful that we hardly dared to use them, like the unforgettable Jeans eye shadows with blue powders printed like the weft of a denim pocket.

If Moncourtois, keen on innovation, versatile materials and hybrid products, and Morawetz, an expert in color, have invented new gestures such as duo blush and monochrome eyeshadows from 4 Ombres, pioneers of the genre since 1982, they have above all succeeded in the feat of imposing new tones on the market: White, firstly, a universal complexion enhancer, and, of course, Rouge Noir, a garnet inspired by “the inside of a black cherry » and marketed in 1995 within a range of more conventional pink and beige varnishes. Its success, as phenomenal as it was unexpected, would therefore become associated with the Chanel allure. That is to say, a certain simplicity despite the preciousness of the textures and nuances. “Etymologically, the word “pace” comes from the verb “to go” and it also says this idea of ​​movement, of something difficult to catch. In this sense, appearance is truly linked to beauty, which, as soon as we try to define it, to freeze it, to frame it, is less interesting.», analyzes Cécile Paravina.

To translate this allure, however elusive it may be, into colors, the three Comets delved into the archives. Behind the windows where makeup and skincare are kept by the heritage service in Pantin, they discovered the first lip glosses available in 1924 in three shades – light, medium, dark – and presented in a case with Art Deco lines in braided ivory. black. A founding makeup of Gabrielle Chanel’s modern vision of an emancipatory beauty, that which gives confidence and freedom.

The three young women took the time to familiarize themselves with the chromatic codes of the house: black which highlights the essential, white, gold, beige (admirably translated into healthy-looking complexion products by Peter Philips, which will succeed the Moncourtois-Morawetz duo in 2008) and red, of course, which will even become lacquered on the eyelids with the makeup artist Lucia Pica, who arrived in 2015. They also studied the less frequently highlighted color charts such as the raspberry, purple or green of the different house tweeds. “In a saturated cosmetics industry, where new products are constantly coming and going, the Chanel heritage offers us a real purpose.recognizes Ammy Drammeh.Especially since the challenge is to create something that stays. Think about Rouge Noir: when it came out, some found it too dark, too punk; today, it has become a classic and has been used by all make-up brands.»

The challenge is to create something that stays. Think about Rouge Noir: when it came out, some found it too dark, too punk; today, it has become a classic and has been declined by all make-up brands

Ammy Drammeh, make-up artist from the Comètes de Chanel collective

It is therefore through color that these three choose, in a balancing act, to renew the grammar of Chanel makeup, without ever straying from the founding codes. For her first collection, Cécile Paravina tackled monochrome. Its Ombre Essentielle (to be used at the base of the eyelashes, as a halo on the eyelids, or even up to the eyebrows) is available in 14 shades, including a suede beige inspired by the iconic sofa in the apartment at 31, rue Cambon, and a white pearl evocative of Mademoiselle’s necklaces, a talpa brown close to the patinated jackets of the Duke of Westminster and a leather red similar to that which lines the inside of the 2.55 bag. “Color is the most direct way to express an abstract and complex idea. Keeping only one for makeup ensures you deliver an even more impactful message», says Paravina.

Valentina Li focused on blue. A refreshing seaside blue that it brings into dialogue with the iridescent reflections of shells and pearls (the all-purpose Mermaid Glow balm) and the warmer reflections of orange-red marine corals. As for Ammy Drammeh, she is currently revisiting the sunny shades of Belle Mine powders. Because it is one of the singularities of this collective to launch, in turn and only a few weeks apart, their different lines of makeup. A way of rethinking the temporality of the offer in this sector, which until now was very standardized and linked to a season: here, the pigments participate more in a story of self-affirmation than in any prescription. “For us, it is an unlimited play space to translate a liberating, almost jubilant vision of makeup.», Write the three Comets in their manifesto. And to conclude: “What is beauty, if not the audacity to become oneself?»