“The woman who wears MAXIMALISME DE CHANEL doesn’t hide, she loves being looked at,” Lucia Pica says. “She treats makeup almost like she would an accessory – an adornment that brings subtle drama to the mix without necessarily drawing attention to itself. She chooses between products to create striking oppositions.” Starting with the sophisticated golds of the leonine colour palette, Lucia Pica’s collection builds into a deeper investigation of metallic textures and the feelings of wonderment and inner confidence they inspire.

“When you think of metallics, it’s often as non-colours. But if you really look, metals have colours too. This is why it’s important for me to approach each colour as an investigation,” Pica explains. The metals associated with the lion and its popular use on coinage were an influence on MAXIMALISME DE CHANEL, but Pica’s research took her far beyond the shiny gold of medallions. “I’m more captivated by the way light travels over a scuffed metallic surface than by a perfect, mirror surface,” she says. “When you consider those nuances is when you hit upon an unexpected colour or effect.”

“Metallic has this ‘wow’ effect, straight away. I felt, if we are going to do shine, then let’s do shine — push beyond mere gloss or pretty glittering surfaces. This isn’t metal gloss,” Pica says.

The hot liquid metal quality of ROUGE COCO GLOSS turns up the heat on MAXIMALISME DE CHANEL’s overall excess. There are two glistening metallic lip options to choose from: Liquid Bronze, a warm pink platinum sheen or Flaming Lips, a dangerous metal and pinky coppery red. And for even more intensity, ROUGE ALLURE VELVET N°5 offers a powerful matte red on the lips.

There is a compact featuring the palest gold highlighter, and four luminous OMBRES PREMIÈRE POUDRE eyeshadow each assumes a jewel-like sense of preciousness with their surfaces “cast” with lion motifs.

Both limited-edition collectables ensure the skin is kept clean and fresh for a collection of striking metallic products for eyes, lips and nails. Thus LE LION DE CHANEL’s translucent, lightweight formulation brings an ivorygold iridescence to the face.

A third exclusive creation presents an additional contrast to the metallics so core to MAXIMALISME DE CHANEL — a lip palette boasting an edit of Pica’s favourite lip colours and textures. LA PALETTE CARACTÈRE features a selection of silky, rich velvet and matte lip textures in bold, outspoken shades. “There’s something for everyone,” she says, “from a strong red and a strong berry to a bright orange.”

The OMBRE PREMIÈRE CRÈME offers subtle versatility, meanwhile. On itsown, the sheer pink gold adds sophisticated luminosity to lids and brow bone. Used as a base, it lends warm intensity to MAXIMALISME DE CHANEL  powder shades layered on top.

Nails are the ultimate extension of any beauty look and in a collection devoted to metallic textures, LE VERNIS LONGUE TENUE is the final word. With Opulence, metallic meets a gold-green pink bronze, whereas the intense red shimmer of Flamboyance flags an early warning. Its strong crimson base burning through the oscillating sparkles suspended within each glossy coat. Scandalous, yes. Also utterly elegant.