I’m not going to lie, I’ve been a Guerlain fan long before I even knew what a blog was and spent a lot of my hard earned moneyz from my student jobs on luxurious makeup back in the day. The Guerlain Terracotta light sheer bronzing powders (Blondes) and Precious Light corrective concealers were some of the Guerlain products that had their permanent spot in my makeup bag. However, when it comes to eye shadows and blushes, I always went for other brands like Dior or Chanel. Rightly or not? I’m curious about that myself!
Some background on the Fall 2012 inspiration:
Women have the incredible talen to continuously re-invent their femininity. One day she can be an angelic flirt, the next a passionate seductress. Guerlain’s fall collection pays tribute to these two juxtaposing looks and celebrates a woman’s ability to decide who she wants to be today. The Femme Fatale is steeped in passion and seduction and boasts beautiful red shades. The Femme D’Amour shades perfectly define the angelic, romantic woman with a vast color collection ranging from beige to plum. The look is innocent and fresh, yet still seductive and sensual.
The Fall 2012 collection contains only 1 eyeshadow palette, but it sure is a pretty one! Ecrin 4 Couleurs 14 Les Fauves is a new (and permanent) warm-toned palette with orange and red undertones. The eye palette is housed in a beautiful gold-tinted metal case (fingerprint alert) and comes with a big mirror and double-sided sponge applicator. I’m not really a fan of sponge applicators, so I prefer to use my cheapo Hema/Sephora brushes instead.
The shade on the left is a medium-dark copper-shimmered red-toned brown with a soft frosted finish. Next, there is a medium brown with strong orange-red undertones with a mostly matte finish. Below that shade is a warm orange with hints of red and coral and a mostly matte finish. The final shade on the right-hand side of the palette is a warm-toned light-medium copper with a champagne sheen–very metallic in finish. All shades had a lovely soft buttery texture and great color payoff. The amount of product is also very satisfying (over 0.06 oz.).
I’ve worn the colors without a primer a couple of times and so far I haven’t experienced any fading or creasing during the day. The pigmentation was really amazing and I was surprised -and happy- it had survived my trip to the forest. Overall I think it’s a fun take on neutrals for Fall and it looks great on cool skin tones with blue eyes.
Ecrin 4 Couleurs eyeshadow palette in Les Fauves € 52
Women change their outfit, lipstick and handbag each day – so why not their blush? Guerlain’s new blush duo, Rose aux Joues, offers vibrant color pairings that allow you to re-invent your beauty routine everyday! One dominant shade adds a pop of color to the cheekbones, while its smaller counterpart can be mixed or used as a striking juxtaposition or contour shade. Rose aux Joues is a must for all women who want to have fun with colors.
I couldn’t agree more, Guerlain! I like to have a few options to my disposal to match my eyes, outfit or even my mood. Everything depends on the look you’re trying to create. Young and fresh? Go for peachy red and apply on the apples of your cheeks. Or perhaps you want to shape your face and make it look more slender? Opt for a tone that is close to the skin, only a little bit darker than your foundation.
The great thing about the Rose aux Joues blush duo’s is the many options each palette gives you. Wear them separately, together (blush and highlighter) or mix and apply. Pretty neat, huh? I got to try 2 palettes of the range; 01 Peach Boy and 02 Chic Pink. Each blush duo is housed in the same gold metal case like the eye shadow palettes and has a same sized mirror. It contains 2 shades; dominant shade that yields a pop of color, while the smaller shade can be used blended in or used to highlight or contour. It also comes with a blush applicator with soft bristles (perfect for those with sensitive skin). Like always, the shades carry the typical Guerlain perfume.
In 01 Peach Boy a vibrant orange-coral with a mostly matte finish makes up the dominant color and the peach-coral shade with gold shimmer is a highlighter. Combined, the two work together to create a soft gold-shimmered, light-medium coral-orange. The matte orange-coral shade is very pigmented, so some caution is advised because it can look heavy quickly. The highlighter has a lot less color and it’s shimmer adds a nice detail to the mix. I prefer to use them together, as a blush + highlighter. Matte alone looks kinda dull and the sheen makes it look healthier and more natural.
The shades will last throughout the day, but there will occur some slight fading along the edges. Or maybe that’s just because I tend to touch my face a lot during blogging (like resting my head on my hand).
02 Chic Pink contains a slightly shimmery vieux-pink shade that kind of reminds me of NARS Orgasm, and a matte soft pink. While the dominant shade is very wearable, the soft pink had me a little confused on how to wear it. I can’t really use this as a highlighter because it doesn’t contain any shimmer and it doesn’t really show on my pale skin. I wonder if it will show at all on darker shin? In the end I found that it looks best when worn mixed with the shimmery shade or added right on top of it. So less options for this one. Otherwise the longevity and texture is about the same as the blush duo above.
Qualitatively speaking, I really have very little to complain about. It’s all going to depend on your skin tone (so visit the store and swatch away) and the ways you’re planning on using them. A little tip: If you have to pick one, I’d say go for Peach Boy. Despite the heavy-looking orange/coral shade, it’s extremely wearable when applied right and in the end, it will leave you with more options for the same price. I used it for my look below.
Rose Aux Joues blush duo in Peach Boy and Chic Pink € 45
Wearing Erborian BB Cream light, Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Les Fauves, Max Factor False Lash
Effect mascara, Guerlain Rose aux Joues in Peach Boy and Tom Ford lipstick in Pink Dusk.
Forget about the blank stare for a sec and have a look at my baby blues. Are they poppin’ or what?! As you can see the palette makes a perfect match for blue eyes. My eyes were already pretty shimmery so I opted for the matte coral shade of Peach Boy to go on my cheeks. On my cheekbone and nose bridge I added a bit of the highlighter. Because it was my first time experimenting with the palette, I was a bit reserved to go all out and use the Rouge G L’Extrait Luxure on top, so I’ll just save that for next time. What do you think of the look?
The Guerlain Fall 2012 makeup collection is now in stores.