Golden Hour Immortalized in CHANEL Makeup - V Magazine (2025)

If you peek around the skyscrapers and scaffolding (or wait for Manhattanhenge, the annual phenomenon in which the sun aligns with Manhattan’s east-west streets juuuust right), you may catch a fleeting glimpse of the source. The source of that honeyed light, the one that makes the city’s overcrowded streets a little less cramped and a little more romantic. Under the sun’s retreating rays, the piles of trash and the clanging of train tracks fade to the background. In essence, golden hour is magical. In reality, it’s all too short-lived.

Courtesy of CHANEL

So when Chanel launched a makeup line centered entirely on preserving that exact moment, V jumped at the chance to try it out. The Maison’s Summer 2025 makeup collection, Les Beiges Golden Hour, utilizes variations on shimmery pink, soft coral, and copper-tinged orange for a luminous, sun-drenched, healthy glow.

Courtesy of CHANEL

For the complexion, Chanel Global Makeup Creative Partner Valentina Li created the Healthy Golden Glow Powder, a palette of two illuminating powders crafted in an ultra-lightweight formula to ensure seamless blending for a sheer, natural-looking radiance. Available in two color combos — Éclat du Soir, a stain pink and a shimmery rose gold-colored highlighter, and Soleil Couchant, a muted orange and a coppery bronze highlighter — the compact is complemented by the Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Stick, the perfect partner for a subtle touch of polished warmth. The stick comes in two translucent shades of blush, an orange with golden shimmer and a luminous golden satin pink, and lends that oh-so-dewy sun-kissed skin.

Courtesy of CHANEL

Moving on to eyes, Li has teamed up with the CHANEL Makeup Creation Studio to concoct a range of natural and sumptuous pinks and oranges with the Healthy Glow Natural Eyeshadow Palette. A rose gold-colored highlighter, a luminous coppery orange, a matte mauve brown, and a soft satin coral accentuate the natural shape of the eye, while maintaining that sought after ‘I just spent hours basking in the Mediterranean sun’ glow (although, V would never say no to a trip to the Cyclades).

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Four soft new shades of Rouge Coco Flash make up the collection’s lip selection. Sun Bliss is a shimmery, golden pinkish beige, Sunset a pink sienna, and Sun Kiss a luminous pink blush, while Late Sun, a shimmery, golden brick red, is a welcome outlier.

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Two limited-edition shades of Le Vernis place the finishing touch on a golden hour approved look, as Solaire, a soft, satin golden shade, pleasantly contrasts with Incandescente, a luminous orange red shade, reminiscent of bursting berries and juicy cherries.