The three lip products above look almost identical in tone, don’t they? When I was trawling through my still life photos (I tend to do a huge batch all at once, at the beginning of the month) this picture really caught my eye – strange to have such similar shades in a relatively small seasonal collection. The Rouge Coco Shine, Brilliant Extreme Gloss and Rouge Allure Intense are all from the Chanel Spring 2015 makeup collection and – in this photo at least – all look to be very juicy, bright coral-reds. I was intrigued enough to sit down the next day and have a play about, so here they all are, tried and tested:

First of all, the Rouge Coco Shine in 97, Désinvolte. (£25 at John Lewis.) I love the texture of Rouge Coco Shine; it feels nourishing and balm-like, but there’s also a low-key sheen, almost a gloss, but entirely non-sticky and absolutely maintenance free. It’s the kind of lipstick you just want to keep applying and it’s just sheer enough to be pretty much foolproof. Désinvolte is a cheery springtime coral – a beautiful shade for giving a little “lift” to your makeup collection if you fancy something colourful but at the same time slightly muted and non-scary.

For those who prefer a true glossy gloss, the Brillant Extreme Glossimer in 192, Fleur d’Eau (£22 at House of Fraser) is pretty:

but it’s quite similar in tone to the Rouge Coco Shine, and I must confess I find the lipstick easier to wear. That applies as a general rule, I suppose – I prefer to be absolutely stickiness-free – although watch this space for my rave about the Rouge Allure glosses, which are simply sublime.

But back to the spring shades, and my pick of the three has got to be the Rouge Allure Intense in 152, Insaisissable:

Punchy, perky and just the thing for whipping out on a dull, grey day. Because that’s the thing with all of these spring makeup collections, isn’t it? They come out in the winter, and so really they have to stand up to the constant drizzle and the bitter, windswept mornings – no sign of blossom or green shoots or gambolling lambs. By the time the lambs come and the trees start looking lovely, the summer collections are out and we’re thinking of beaches and bronzing and improbable eyeliner colours.

Anyway, Insaisissable, the most impossible-to-pronounce shade name of any lipstick in existence, ever, is quite hard to track down online – it was sold out in most places at time of writing. I found it at Boots here – it’s £26 or 2,600 of your most splendid Boots Advantage Points. A lovely, luxe little treat if you can hunt one down…