Chanel Palette Essentielle

Whoosh! That is the sound of this palette going straight into our handbags. Thunk! That is the noise of the multi-product make-up kit that we used to carry around, being ceremoniously dumped.

A completely genius three-in-one mirrored palette – it’s the centerpiece of make-up artist Lucia Pica’s Travel Diaries autumn make-up collection – Palette Essentielle features triangles of concealer (more akin to a compact foundation, we’d call it – perfect for touching up skin during the day), highlighter (for adding a little ‘lift’ to brow-bone and cupid’s bow), and a shade that does double-duty as cream blusher and lipcolour. The result? A polished look, anywhere, anytime.

There are three shades: Beige Clair (for lighter complexions), Beige Médium and Beige Intense (alas nothing for really dark skins, but if this is a success, who knows?) Yes, it’s expensive – but not if you consider the number of products it’s replacing.

In this case, the famous Chanel double-C logo on the glossy black exterior stands for: ‘Completely Clever’, as well as (goes-without-saying)

‘Covetable Compact’.

And it is indeed our new ‘essentielle’.

Chanel Palette Essentielle/£52 at johnlewis.com