Guerlain for Emilio Pucci Meteorites

 Guerlain, Powder  10 Responses »
May 282012
 

Emilio Pucci for Summer 2012

Guerlain for Emilio Pucci is a gorgeously successful collaboration for Summer 2012. It includes a version of Guerlain’s Meteorites Illuminating Powder ($59).  The packaging on this is so Pucci, please indulge me as I post several pictures of this amazing creation. The box, which includes a metal box housing the Meteorites:

The metal container has a Pucci-patterned top and a deep blue-violet ridged side.

Close up, Emilio’s signature is reproduced on the top:

Guerlain’s signature embossed on the side:

Inside, the violet-scented Meteorites provide a neutral-to-cool matte yet luminous veil that looks like a beautiful cool background for summer’s warm bronzers:

I almost didn’t buy these, because I’m so delighted with the Guerlain Meteorites that I already own. They differences between them is subtle. Yet I find myself reaching for these Pucci for Guerlain Meteorites like a kid into a candy jar. Sometimes warm summer makeup can look a little too warm and one-note. Using these as a finishing powder under my other warm summer color provides a perfect neutral canvas that balances and modernizes the warmer bronzes and golds.

I did not pick up the Pucci for Guerlain brush–it’s adorable and I’m still on the fence. I use a very soft powder brush, usually my Shu Uemura 18R just because it’s handy, but a Bobbi Brown Blending Brush or any other large, soft brush should work as well.

If you are on the edge, I’ll just say that I’m glad that I made the leap. The powder is very long lasting, and really adds an expensive finishing touch that’s absolutely gorgeous. I find the effect too subtle to swatch for the blog, but I do provide my enthusiastic support.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, Guerlain’s Marcus Monson will be at the San Francisco Center Nordstrom this Saturday. There’s a nice gift with purchase for the event (please call the store for details and an appointment).

Guerlain Emilio Pucci Terra Azzurra Bronzer

 Blush, Bronzers, Guerlain  6 Responses »
May 272012
 

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Terra Azzurra Bronzer & Blush ($75/ .56 oz.) is Guerlain’s complex and beautiful summer offering. This product displays a very high level of care, design, and attention. In many ways, the beauty of the product was thoughtful in both its creation, display, and the high quality of this finely-milled, beautiful powder. First, the presentation includes a blue-Pucci patterned inner box and fabric sleeve.

The bronzer is housed in a wood-composite round compact, which is comparatively lightweight but still substantial enough to feel luxurious.

The domed compact is embossed with lettering “Geurlain by Emilio Pucci” and relies on a magnet closure:

The compact has a mirror inside. The bronzer pattern includes a narrow strip of highlighter on the outer edge, two blush strips (one orange, one fuchsia violet), and a large section of a pale, pearly bronzer.

It’s very easy to pick up the blush separately from the bronzer on a brush. However, it’s nearly impossible to pick up the highlighter or bronzer strips separately unless one uses an unlikely choice, such an eyeshadow brush.

 

The compact is large, in line with other limited edition Guerlain bronzers of years past that come in similar compacts:

Swatches of the highlighter, the two blushes and the bronzer, and then all products mixed. I found that the blushes are highly pigmented, and the bronzer is subtle. When the powders are mixed, the blushes strongly predominate the mix.  The combination of the orange and violet seem to create a fruit punch color that reminds me a bit of the formerly released Geurlain Series Noir Blush G.

As you can see, the bronzer is golden and light. Those with deeper skin tones may find that the bronzer is too light for their skin tone. On Megan, you can see how the blush tones predominate. I found a similar effect on me:

The quality of the product is amazing. There’s really no discussion that Guerlain is a master in powdered bronzer, and this bears all of the hallmarks of a beautiful presentation treasure. I typically use a small headed brush (a MAC 168) to apply the bronzer first, and then the blush on the upper cheek. As an all-in-one product, it’s a beautiful compact to place on your makeup table. Although the pouch is fun, this isn’t something that I’d travel with as the top might come loose under the rigors of airline baggage travel (although I would put it into an overnight bag).

Bottom line: gorgeous.

Guerlain Shine Automatique in Rose Pompon

 Guerlain, Lipstick  6 Responses »
May 262012
 

Guerlain Shine Automatique in Rose Pompon ($35/ #264) is part of a new line of lipsticks introduced by Guerlain. This line is sheer,  moisturizing and shimmery.  Using the convenient one-touch case (no separate cap required), Rose Pompon has earned a place among the very few that I’ve been carrying around in my bag since I purchased it.

Guerlain Rose Pompon is a flattering pink with a strong touch of mauve. The formula is luxurious, it feels like I’m wearing a gorgeous moisturizer. Like many sheer lipstick formulas, this is not an all-day commitment. I found that the wear time was better than the Chanel Rouge Coco Shines, but not as long as the Burberry Lip Mists.

Swatched next to some other sheer pink-mauves, here is Guerlain Rose Pompon next to Chanel Bel Ami and Nars Vendanges. On Megan:

Here’s Megan’s full look with Guerlain Rose Pompon (with Chanel’s Sable Rose Bronzer and Guerlain’s Capri Eyeshadow Quad). Here, Megan has applied a few layers of the lipstick (no lipliner or lip base):

Bottom line–lovely, wearable color. Very moisturizing and shimmery formula.  Although this isn’t the longest-lasting lipstick that I own, the ease and pretty, sheer look have won my heart.

 

 

Guerlain Emilio Pucci Terracotta Khol Kajal in Blu Acqua

 Eyeliner, Guerlain  8 Responses »
May 252012
 

Guerlain / Emilio Pucci Terracotta Eye Khol in Blu Acqua ($36) is a violet kohl eyeliner. The packaging is beautiful, and the color is a vibrant, shimmery violet with only a touch of blue.

The Blu Acqua Kohl is not the typical pencil design, but rather the shorter, wider open kohl design. I’ve asked several Guerlain sales associates how they are sharpened. One advocates simply using a standard sharpener. The other professed that this is “self sharpening,” which only seems possible to me if you continually apply the kohl held at an angle.

Despite its name, the kohl really is much more in the purple/violet category which I view as a plus. It’s an unusual, striking color but deep enough in its tone to work in almost any setting.

I like wearing this pushed up into my top waterline, among the mascara. It seems to brighten the whites of my eyes. I noticed that I had to use a few layers to get a good rich color (a few swipes). The texture of this is far softer than many of the kohl pencils that I’ve tried.

Verdict: Pretty color, if you swipe a few times I think you’ll fall in love.

 

Guerlain Capri Eyeshadow Quad for Summer 2012 Review and Look

 Eyeshadow, Guerlain  9 Responses »
May 232012
 

Guerlain’s collaboration with Emilio Pucci for Summer 2012 has led to the creation of the Capri Eyeshadow Quad ($59 Ecris 4 Couluers Capri). This shimmery confection plays off of this years trend toward hot pinks and bright oranges. Of course, for this piece, those colors are infused with a grown-up sophistication and a pearly texture. There’s nothing “Sugarpill” about this quad–rather, it’s formulated for depth and impact but still plays well with a sophisticated look.

Unlike Guerlain’s other silver quad cases, this limited edition summer creation has a deep bronze compact. It has the same gorgeous magnet closing mechanism and clean, travel-friendly design. There’s simply no possibility of chipping your nail polish on this–a quick and firm movement is all that’s needed to open the case.

Back label:

Inside, there is a pearly highlighter, a clear coral orange, a vibrant pink and a deep cool brown.  All shades have a beautiful shimmery-pearly quality characteristic of other quads in Guerlain’s current permanent line. There’s a tiny sponge-brush as well.

Closer, the brown looks close to black in the pan (but applies as a deep brown):

I ordered this with some trepidation, but the Guerlain associate assured me that this is wearable. Note that the white shade is subtle, as is this year’s trend. I put only the tiniest bit just directly under the brow arch, and as an inner corner highlighter.

Swatches:

The application recommendations that I’ve gathered from Guerlain makeup artists is to mix the pink and the coral on the lid. This is what Megan did here, using the pink on the outer portion of the eye, and the coral on the inner portion of the lid. She used the deep brown as a liner, and the white as a subtle highlighter.

For advice, those with a touch of deeper tones on the lid will want to prime first with an opaque primer to provide a nice, skin-tone base. Laura Mercier’s Eye Basics and Edward Bess’ new Illuminating Eyeshadow Base (reviewed here at The Beauty Look Book) would work well, although there are other options out there. Here, Megan applied the colors over the Lorac eyeshadow primer, which applies clear.

 Here’s a full face look, together with a touch of Chanel Sable Rose Bronzer. On lips, Megan chose Guerlain Shine Automatique in #264 Rose Pompon (review forthcoming) As you can see, the eyeshadow color doesn’t seem to overwhelm at all. Typical of Guerlain quality, the color looks pretty, bold and summer-appropriate.

I found the same result on my paler skin tone. The palette delivered a generous amount of pigment with a standard eyeshadow brush. I tended to use a bit more of the brown shade in my crease, but not enough to muddy these very clear colors. I kept the pink and orange below the crease line (Megan brought it up a bit higher). Although this palette would look amazing on deep skin tones, I found that Capri added a fun, pretty touch of color for a daytime lunch or party on my lighter skin tone as well. Love.

Guerlain Terracotta Sun Blondes Bronzer

 Bronzers, Guerlain  3 Responses »
May 222012
 

Guerlain has numerous bronzers, including the permanent Blondes and Brunettes bronzers with the iconic mosaic pattern surface. As someone with a lighter skin tone, I found that Guerlain Blondes, although recommended for those in my coloring range, was too subtle for my personal taste. I gifted mine to Liz, who I suspect rarely uses it.

This summer, Guerlain’s limited edition Terracotta collection includes two new shades, Guerlain Terracotta Sun Blondes (04) and Sun Brunettes (05) ($50 each), which are stronger versions of the permanent shades.

Longtime brand fans might remember Guerlain Terracotta Blondes Hâlées released in 2o10.  I found that the 2012 Terracotta Sun Blondes and Blondes Hâlées are remarkably similar. You can see the same mosaic pattern in this comparison between my new Sun Blondes and my well-worn Blondes Hâlées:

The difference that you see in the above picture is because the Blondes Hâlées on the right is well-used.  If the products were both in the same condition, they would be quite similar.

Swatched side by side, they both shared the similar pink-bronze tones, and a very similar texture. I found that the Blondes Hâlées swatched slightly darker. The difference was so subtle that I felt some might be due to the fact that my Blondes Hâlées is quite well-used by now. The powder might simply come off more easily on the more worn product. Both applied heavily:

I’m going to call these “close enough” to be duplicates. You should note that we tried to apply Sun Blondes on Megan, but given her medium skin tone we found Sun Blondes too light. Those with skin tones roughly NC30 and higher should explore Sun Brunettes (05) instead.

I really love this more pigmented version of the Guerlain Blondes bronzer. It has enough tone, looks natural, and has a touch of textural glow that I find very flattering. The pink tones don’t substitute for a blush, but sometimes I wear the bronzer alone for a very natural glow. If I hadn’t worn down so much of my Blondes Hâlées, I might have skipped Sun Blondes. However, I do use my bronzers up all the way to the bottom pan, so I know I’ll get good use out of this years version.

 

Guerlain Parure de Nuit Highlighting Powder Review

 Guerlain, Highlighter  11 Responses »
Oct 222011
 

Guerlain’s Holiday 2011 offerings include a star product, Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder and Blush ($67/0.35 oz.).  The product comes housed in a formal, lacquered housing that is well-designed and sturdy.

One half (or more) of the bulk of the compact is due to the brush housing, in a lower compartment:

I must admit that this product is not within my particular demographic. The peacock pattern, I’m guessing, may be released to evoke the New York City Waldorf’s Peacock Alley to celebrate the re-opening of Guerlain’s Day Spa at that location. However, peacock feathers seem to evoke my mother’s generation rather than my own.

This violet-scented product has a glittery clear glaze that sparkles like diamonds in the sunlight, but sweeps away easily after the first few brush strokes.  If you look in the mirror reflection in the photograph below, you can see how dramatic the overspray diamond effect is:

Is clear glaze the new overspray?  It appears to be; although I suppose its slightly preferable because one can see the product colors underneath a glaze (whereas metallic overspray covers it entirely).  However, I’m a texture fanatic.  I don’t like anything that gets inbetween me and the powder, thank you very much.  I’m now patiently awaiting the demise of a clear glaze trend.  After brushing away the glaze layer, Liz and I started to use the Guerlain Parure de Nuit highlighter.

Here is the result–above is a picture of Liz wearing Guerlain Parure de Nuit in full sun (thank you, Liz, we know posing in full sun is not so fun).  There is some bronzer on her lower cheek under her hairline.  The largest percentage of the Guerlain Parure de Nuit powder is a nearly-invisible peach tone that is near a fair skin tone.  The circlets of more intense apricot give the powder some very subtle color when applied.  The effect is a more shimmery, pinker version of Nars Sex Appeal blush (reviewed here).  The effect when wearing foundation is very faint pink-peach color, a near-nude that glimmers in full sunlight.

My sense is that you are either going to be very attracted to the packaging and presentation of Guerlain Parure de Nuit, or you are not.  Or perhaps there is a friend or family member that would adore this compact based on their individual taste–for a bit, I flirted with the idea of shipping mine off to my mother rather than reviewing it here (my mother prefers accessories to makeup, so I declined to do so).  For me, this Guerlain does the highlighting/subtle blush job beautifully but no more so than others available at a lower price point with a less elaborate presentation.  My sense is that you could do just as well with a Dior Star Shimmer Powder at $44, or several other options reviewed on this site, and tuck the remainder away toward the Spring ’12 collections.

Guerlain Meteorites in Perles de Nuit for Holiday 2011

 Guerlain, Powder  18 Responses »
Sep 272011
 

Guerlain’s Holiday 2011 collection includes a new Meteorites Perles de Nuit ($56 / 1.05 oz.).  As with the other recent Meteorites releases, these are packaged in a beautifully designed metal container in shades of deep midnight blue.  It’s safe to say that these are limited edition.

Here’s the bottom label:

 Inside, the powder pearls are shades of pink, gold, orange and silver pearls to illuminate without whitening.

All the pearls:

I’ve worn these for two days, and absolutely love them.  They seem to mattify and give a pearl glow at the same time.  Unlike last year’s holiday meteorites Perles D’Or (reviewed here) which have a warm rosy gold glow, Perles de Nuit is a more neutral pearl effect which works well on both warm and cool skin tones.  These meteorites are gorgeous.  By the way, these are currently for sale on AHALife.com.

Guerlain sent this product to Cafe Makeup without charge for consideration and review.

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Les Perles

 Eyeshadow, Guerlain  18 Responses »
Sep 212011
 

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Les Perles ($59 / #08) is a pearly, shimmery glowing palette of gorgeous color.  The colors include:

  • On the left, a shimmery pearl-oyster beige-gray (Guerlain does these types of colors really well)
  • On top center, a soft white pearl
  • On bottom center, a deep, multifaceted richly pigmented burgundy-purple
  • On the right, a pearly soft light pink
This was my favorite palette so far from the Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs line.  The pigmentation and coloring is beautiful. It gives a lovely, luminous effect.  I didn’t find any comparable palettes in the Ecrin 6 Couleurs palette line.  Here, the colors:
Liz and I found application was very easy.  The colors blended well, and were easy to lay down on the lid with a soft brush.  The texture was smooth and luminous.  We had excellent wear time as well.  Neither of us is very consistent using a base, but we both found that the color held up well all day without one.
Lis used the pink pearl (right) as her base color.  She used the gray (left) in the outer half of the eye, and the burgundy (lower center) in her crease very softly.  Then she placed the white in her inner corner.
We loved the glow of Guerlain Les Perles.  It gives a delicate look without too much heavy color.  We absolutely loved this palette.
One last look:
Here’s a picture of the outside of the Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs palettes (all colors have identical palettes outside):

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Les Noirs

 Eyeshadow, Guerlain  9 Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs Palette in Les Noirs ($59 / #09) is a combination of three very dark gray to black shades, with one pearly light pink highlighter.

The left black shade is a near-matte, very deep-toned and pigmented.  It can be used as a liner shade or touched more lightly to add depth to the crease or the outer corner.  The bottom metallic pearly gray is complicated, it is infused with multicolor shimmers.  It has a “black oil” effect that swatches in a very pretty way.  The light pink pearl is a traditional, soft color for browbone or inner corner.  The right medium gray shade has a pearly shimmery texture.

Liz and I wanted to love Les Noirs.  Unfortunately, we found a few issues with the palette that left us cold.  First, the colors are really too rich and black for our pale skintones, at least for our taste.  These three very deep colors are statement colors, and regrettably these aren’t the statements that we wanted to make.  Rather than adding drama, we found that their cool dark tones a bit aging.  Second, we found the texture of Les Noirs significantly harder to blend that the other palettes in the line.  We found that we really had to “pat pat pat” these colors on the eye area.  They seemed to drag and pull, even with very good brushes we didn’t get a smooth laydown of color without significant effort.  We had much better luck with the other Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs that we tried.

We gave this one a few tries before we thought this was ready for the camera. Here, Liz used a patting motion, and primarily relied on the pink pearl color touching the grays in the crease and outer corner very lightly.  By using mostly the lighter tones, she minimized the darkening effect which seems to close down our eye area (in a not-very-flattering way).

Liz is using Benefit’s “They’re Real” mascara (reviewed here).

Bottom line–there are better palettes in Guerlain’s Ecrin 4 Couleurs line. Based on our experiences, we’d give this a “miss.”

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