Guerlain’s Ecrin 6 Couleurs palettes have been accumulating in my stash for a few months, and I thought it timely to take a look through them to compare, examine and play with them. At $85 each, this permanent line of palettes landed last Fall with some controversy. They are among the high end for prices on a single palette, their packaging is on the high side of luxurious and their colors are understated. To me, these palettes are quinotensentially French–high quality, neutrals and with a beautiful finish that can be appreciated once applied.
Previously, I did an overview of the architecture of these palettes. Since that post, I’ve come to appreciate how well-designed these palettes are. The come with a magnetic closure that would never dream of breaking your nails and a highly usable dual-ended brush that I’ve used several times to a nice effect. Also, the lid of the palette closes over the pigment completely so that, if disaster strikes and the powder breaks, the lid sits flush against the bottom pans so that the powder will stay its compartment. The mirror is enormous, a real pleasure to use.
Also, there’s a balance to the palette which I didn’t appreciate until I compared it to another line’s–with Guerlain’s, the brush does not go flying out when the palette is tipped to use the mirror. It’s a nice touch when one is already rushing to get ready on busy mornings.
Here’s a close-up of 29 Rue de Sevres (click to enlarge), which presents an unusual mix of colors that harmonize beautifully together:
- First, a pearly light blue that can be used as a pop of color on the lid, or in the inner corner. This is a chilly blue, that looks fabulous with the warmer soft tones in this palette.
- Second, a shimmery soft beige highlighter, that looks like a cross between a pearl and a cafe au lait.
- Third, a matte black.
- Fourth, a complex grey-teal-burgundy with blue reflects, which gives a very steely effect.
- Fifth, a pearly brown with red reflects.
- Sixth, a shimmery oyster-toned beige-khaki.
Once I understood the tone-on-tone application technique, I found Rue de Sevres extraordinarily easy to use. The pearly highlighter (shade #2) is beautiful on the browbone, and the matte black can be used as a liner or softly smoked in the crease. Then, I chose an overall lid shade– #6 works well, with either #4 or #5 in the crease.
#6 is also nice under the eye. Shade #1 is a nice color to dot on the center of the lid to add some dimension and light. I would not wear #1 as an overall lid shade, but it is a fabulous accent.
Swatch:
One of the reasons that these palettes have been controversial is that many find the colors too similar to each other–in fact, I find that they really lend themselves to a tone-on-tone look. They’re so easy to use. These palettes are the very first ones that persuaded me to wear dark colors on my lid–the colors have a luminescence and they are designed to work together in a way that enhances (rather than overwhelms) my fair coloring.
Another:
I wish I could tell you that these shades are so common that there are duplicates everywhere. Unfortunately, I cannot. As one complication, these average to about $14 per shade so duplicates may run higher than the Guerlain originals. Plus the quality of these shadows are particularly delicate and beautiful, I could never assure you that a similar color could give you the same wearable eyes.
Rue de Sevres is beautiful. As a side note, if you are near a Guerlain counter ask for some pointers on their use; although I consider myself quite experienced with eyeshadow, I learned a lot about how to get the most from the palettes with one-on-one advice.
16 Responses to “Guerlain Rue de Sevres”
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Oh my gosh Amy! I talked myself out of getting one of Ecrin palettes and now you’ve enabled me a big time!
I had a chance to swatch this, but all the shades seemed bleh. Having said that, a lot of high end shadows, such as Chanel seem bleh on my hands, but fantastic on my eyes. Is Rue de Sevres your favorite out of Ecrin palettes? Do you think they are better than Chanel? I am fair too, so I prefer shadows that are subtle, buildable, but interesting 
Natalie–I think that the Ecrin palettes are their own species, so it’s hard to compare with Chanel. The Ecrin’s texture is very refined (like Chanel, you won’t get a heavy or overwhelming look from them), but like Chanel they are meant to emphasize the woman (not the makeup). I love the design of the colors together for the Ecrin, I think that the tone-on-tone concept is very intuitive and easy. I simply can’t wear darker colors on my lid from some other brands–they close down my eye. But the Guerlain seems to open them up. I will be doing a review of all of the Ecrin palettes over the next little while, I can’t say that I have a favorite yet. One thing I will say, Guerlain has managed to make a gray that doesn’t pull blue on me, and that’s a very rare thing!
Thanks Amy for taking your time and answer my questions. You have been really helpful
I have to agree with Eileen that you must be using a great camera. The 4th & 5th shadows seem to have some duochrome shimmer particles that I have not seen in any swatches before? I can’t wait for your upcoming review on all of the Ecrin palettes
Hi Amy,
Thanks for highlighting the Rue de Sevres palette. I’ve been on the fence about buying this one for months…you’re helping push me over to the “buy” side!
If it’s not too much trouble, would you share some of the tips you’ve gotten about how best to use these palettes (either here, or in a post some time)? I buy them online as I live many (many!) hours from a Guerlain counter, and would love to learn more about how best to use them.
Thanks again for focusing on these gorgeous palettes. I can’t wait to see which other ones you’ve gotten!
Sam
Of course Samantha! I’ll try to do some eye charts too. In the meantime, here’s a makeover video from Hello Beauty! by a Guerlain National Makeup Artist. The eye palette portion starts at about 5:00 minutes in. The look he does is very subtle, you can absolutely go deeper and smokier with this palette. Nonetheless, you can see how he is using the vibrant shade to add just a tiny pop of color as a liner. With Sevres, I use the light blue as a pop of color on the middle of the lid or in the inner corner, but it might be fun under the eye as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGlVxlPwzaE Enjoy!
I also thought that the colours in these were very similar considering the price but I may reconsider after your review! I find with guerlain eyeshadows in general that its best to press the colour on the eyelids rather than sweep and build it up. it takes longer than other eyeshadows but the finished effect is beautiful!
Thanks, Amy. I’d actually watched this video at one point and forgotten about it (I forget everything!), so thanks for reminding me. I’ll definitely check it out again. And I look forward to seeing your eye charts when you get the chance to do them, too. (I love the suggestion of the light blue under the eye–great idea.) Thanks again!
Amy, you are using a great camera. I’ve seen swatches on many other sites, but they have failed to do what you have done: show swatches that perfectly illustrated how the colors work together to reinforce the color scheme of the palette. Are these palettes dupable? No, not really. Sure, there are similar colors out there that can be put together, but they won’t obtain the same synergy that Guerlain’s palettes so beautifully achieve. There is something about the pigments and the soft, luminous formula that inables the colors to subtly echo each other and produce a delicate watercolor effect wherein one color gently merges into another to create a continuous flow of variegated color that opens the eye area. You were 100% correct when you told Natalie that these are their own species.
Amy, can you briefly explain the tone-on-tone concept? it sounds like it should be fairly obvious, but just in case….does the youtube video posted above explain it?
Hi Polarbelle–I don’t mean to make it sound more mysterious that it is–it’s really (as you suggest) an obvious concept where you use similar colors with tone variations to create a smoky eye. For example: 1) start with the medium to light tone all over the lid; 2) work in a deeper crease color; 3) Add the deepest color to line; 4) Add another color (whether a pop of blue, purple, or a deeper tone to emphasize the liner); and 5) add highlight color if desired. Some of these palettes lend themselves to using as a brow color, depending on your hair color. I hope this helps!
Thanks, Amy! The MA who taught me how to apply eye makeup used that same technique, so phew, not a foreign language after all!
i loooove these palettes! i also have accumulated 3 of them, swatches and pictures i have done on my blog .
Hi Trang–thank you for reading. I took a look at your blog–it looks lovely. In the future, you may not want to put a link in your comment, sometime spam filters place those into a spam folder from which they are never retrieved. Because you have a link in your signature, please be assured that readers can find your blog from there. Again, I think you are doing a lovely job on your blog–I loved the brush and powder posts!
Take care!
This is so pretty! A big uh-oh for me as I have Rue de Passy so far and I love it. This one would be the perfect complement!
Isn’t Rue de Passy beautiful? From warm rose tinged beige to deep shimmery plum, the colors in this palette are lovely, indeed. It’s one of my favorites.
I can hardly wait to see Amy’s pictures of this one and the others. Although i’ve seen plenty of adequate swatches of these palettes, they don’t begin to tell the whole story. Enter Amy! Her pictures show readers why there has been such a frenzy over these Guerlain gems.
Thanks Amy for taking your time and answer my questions. You have been really helpful
I have to agree with Eileen that you must be using a great camera. The 4th & 5th shadows seem to have some duochrome shimmer particles that I have not seen in any swatches before? I can’t wait for your upcoming review on all of the Ecrin palettes 