Lately I’ve been testing three of Guerlain’s Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzers in Nude 00, Naturel Blondes 02, and Moyen Blondes #04 ($75 each/ 0.35 oz.). These were part of a recent comprehensive release by Guerlain, which considerable expanded their shade range for the 4 Seasons line.  You can see all of the shades here at The Beauty Look Book. These come inside a tortoiseshell compact that is both beautiful and quite strong and sturdy.  The shape fits comfortably in a side pocket of one’s purse, beach tote or carry on.

Although I am beyond pleased to see this French company offer shade ranges that will look beautiful on women of all skin tones, I chose Nude (Nude #00), Natural Blondes (Naturel Blondes #02), and Medium Blondes (Moyen Blondes #04) because they fell at the lighter end of the spectrum range to coordinate with my skin tone (MAC NC15/20, Chanel Claire/Ivoire, Guerlain #2).

Although the price point of these is high, the quality level is excellent. These are incredibly finely milled.  Applying them is a luxurious feeling, and they meld beautifully to the skin. These bronzers would never even come close to highlighting or creating imperfections. The formula is truly superb. As you can tell, these bronzers each have four shades that allows you to emphasize certain tones in different seasons for different effects. I think the brush head would have be fairly small to get precise effects (something like a small face highlighter or small contour). I use my standard brushes and swirl over the top.

Here are my thoughts about the colors that I’ve tried on my skin tone. Starting with Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons in Nude 00, this color gives a barely perceptible, natural glow.

The slight pink mixes with the warmer bronzer colors to give a very natural finish. This adds a touch of natural color that helps me look alive, especially when I’m wearing  a medium coverage foundation which covers my natural skin tone variation. It’s a good “winter bronzer” color, when you aren’t expected to show much sun (although it certainly could be worn by those with pale skin tones who love to enhance their natural coloring with just a touch).

Nude is a good daytime office bronzer, it doesn’t look like I’ve flown to Hawaii over the weekend. Instead it’s a “is she wearing bronzer?” type of natural look.

Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seaonss in Naturel Blondes 02 gives me a standard bronzer look, sort of similar to Edward Bess Daydream in tonality. I cannot say it more accurately than this–> Naturel Blondes will be a perfect everyday bronzer for summer.

One of the quarters has a very slight touch of shimmer, which mixes with the other powders to give a natural skin effect. There is nothing over the top about this shimmer. Here is Liz wearing Guerlain Naturel Blondes, topped with Burberry Coral Pink Blush and Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Yu.

 Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Bronzer in Medium Blondes (Moyen Blondes) on my skin tone is a high drama bronzer that I absolutely love.

 

As the sun is filling out California spring skies, I’ve enjoying it’s beautiful glow. As with the others, the powder is excellent quality, so that it melds with my skin. Unlike the others, this one does give me a “I’m just back from Hawaii” tan glow.

Although this color will not be for everyone (some may find it too obvious), I find that I love this bronzer particularly when I’m wearing nude tones (which otherwise cause me to fade out), or very vibrant corals and pinks (when my face needs some color for balance).

Here are swatches of all three shades, which don’t do the bronzers justice. One really has to try them on the skin to see how they look once applied.

A reader asks a good question–how does Nude 00 compare to last year’s Burberry Sheer Summer Glow palette? Here are some swatches that show that Burberry’s Summer Glow is swatching much more bronzy/shimmery than Guerlain’s 4 Seasons Nude 00:

Overall, this trio is a beautiful selection of shades. The quality is excellent, really worthy of a luxury line.

Available at Nordstrom.com and other Guerlain counters.

 Cafe Makeup received Nars Yu without charge for consideration for review. This post includes affiliate links (for more information, see About Cafe Makeup)