Guerlain Meteorites Perles Impériales ($53.00 for 1.2 oz.) is the latest limited edition shade of Guerlain’s famous Meteorites from their holiday collection, slated for release this October.
Perles Imperiales is a soft, icy cool-toned pink highlighter with silvery-pink shimmer. I’m not sure if it’s possible to use this as a blush, as it’s really quite sheer and soft on me, so I do think the best way to use these is as a highlighter/luminizer. The pearls themselves are a mix of medium pink, pale lilac, peach, and burnt peach. What separates Guerlain’s Meteorites from other highlighters is how subtle and fine the shimmer is. It’s just a very silky, smooth highlighter that works well on a variety of skin types. It doesn’t make you look like a disco ball, but it still gives you noticeable “glow.” This is something you can subtly apply all over the face or just strategically to highlight certain areas (e.g. cheeks), which I like.
Guerlain describes Perles Imperiales as, “Easy to apply and almost magical, these famous multiple-effect pearls are as luminous as imperial silk and come in three formats – mini, medium and maxi – in order to optimize their evening-out and corrective action. They are also reinvented in three new shades intended to create a fresh, sublime complexion. Mauve and white illuminators, with pink for freshness and gold for light, brighten and smooth the skin to a sleek satin perfection. The famous Météorites compact features an opulent pouch in shiny black fabric, decorated with light-infused silver and rhinestones.”
The packaging for this limited edition shade is gorgeous. It’s in the same traditional cardboard packaging as the rest of the Meteorites, but the outside is solid black with black rhinestones/sparkles all around the side and then a smattering of silver rhinestones/sparkles on the top. I love how this packaging looks, because I do find the Meteorites packaging, in general, to be a little cheap for Guerlain (since it’s out of cardboard), but they really classed it up with the sequin-like look of Perles Imperiales. I do prefer using a brush like the 165 or 187 by MAC with the Meteorites for best application.
I know some feel Meteorites are pricey, but you always have to look at the volume you get for your buck, too. This is one of the least expensive high-end highlighters, believe it or not! This is priced at just $44.17/oz. compared to my all-time favorite Dior Skin Shimmers, which are $122.86/oz. — nearly three times the price per ounce. I imagine one box of Meteorites will last you quite awhile. There is also something to be said about the design itself–beautiful, colored pearls of powder.
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you like subtle highlighters, fine shimmer, and luxe products, you might want to check out Guerlain’s Perles Imperiales when you can!
Availability: October 2009
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Guerlain Greta Le Rouge G de Guerlain Lipstick
Guerlain Greta Le Rouge G de Guerlain Lipstick ($45.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a rich, intense shade of blue-based red. Where Geisha has an orange tone to it, Greta is its counterpart–blue-based. Even though I’m warm-toned, I always find myself drawn to blue-based reds. I just find they’re more flattering on me (maybe I’m wrong, but if you’re going to wear red, you have to feel confident, so I’m sticking with my blue-based reds!).
Greta is a gorgeous shade of solid, completely opaque slightly cool-toned red. It’s quite the stunning shade, and it’s perfect for the upcoming holiday season. It’s creamy, silky, and moisturizing on lips. It wears well for hours, and it comes off only minimally through eating/drinking, particularly because it is so rich in pigment. There’s a slight glossy sheen to it with microshimmer that gives it that subtle sparkle. One of my favorite shades of Rouge G so far!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Guerlain Bal de Nuit Eyeshadow Quad ($58.00) is the latest limited edition palette to be launched with the Imperiale Holiday Collection this October.
This is a stunning, incredibly elegant combination of classic shades that are perfect for year-round, but the shimmer and sparkle make it particularly fitting for the holiday season. This is not necessarily the most original eyeshadow quad of all time–it’s, at the very least, four shades of neutral-toned eyeshadows.
It includes four shades: a soft, sparkling gold-tinged white; a peachy-pink champagne with a frosty finish; a neutral-cool dark taupe brown with brighter bronze shimmer; and a warm-toned chocolate bronze with gold shimmer. All four shades have good color pigmentation, and as is standard with Guerlain eyeshadows, they feel silky smooth and apply like butter. They’re very blendable, and all four shadows work extremely well together. (Sometimes you’ll get a beautiful quad, but it’s not so easy to work with on its own.)
For me, this is just an easy, no-brainer eyeshadow quad that looks good, works well, and great for travel. I can just use the lightest two shades for a quick swipe of lid color, or I can use the two darker colors to add depth to the crease or go for more of a smoky eye. The quality is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Guerlain, so overall, I’m pleased.
It’s pricey, but as far as value goes? These eyeshadows are the same price, by the ounce, as MAC eyeshadows are. This eyeshadow quad contains roughly 6.7 oz. of eyeshadow, which is pretty good for a palette. With Guerlain, you do get the velvety soft case and the luxe, slighty hefty gold-esque packaging. It just all requires more of an initial investment than smaller-sized MAC eyeshadows.
Bottom line: This is a great, easy-to-use eyeshadow quad that has soft, silky colors that are natural and suitable to many. It’s practical and looks elegant while the shimmer is sophisticated.
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
Recommendation: If you’re in the market for a travel-worthy eyeshadow quad or a great set of neutrals, Guerlain’s latest just might work.
Availability: October 2009
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Animated
L’Oreal HIP Matte Eyeshadow Duos ($9.99) are a more budget-friendly way of obtaining brighter, more pigmented eyeshadows. Each contains two shades of matte eyeshadows with a total weight of 0.08 oz. L’Oreal currently has five different matte eyeshadow duos available: Animated, Dashing, Perky, Poppy, and Striking.
- Animated contains a chalky grayish-white and a periwinkle blue.
- Perky contains a medium bright grassy green and a grayish-black.
I don’t love the matte eyeshadow duos. They’re okay–about average–but they’re not stellar. Since they’re matte, I do expect some chalkiness when I swatch, which is always minimized when you’re actually applying them with a brush. Nonetheless, the whitish side of Animated definitely looked and felt chalky and almost garish. I did love the shade of periwinkle blue in Animated, though–not a shade you see often, period. Perky has a lovely shade of green that doesn’t feel chalky or powdery, but the darker grayish-black shade has a lot of drag and just doesn’t have a great texture. So in the end, each duo only has one good shade–the other half is just so-so.
For comparison, a MAC eyeshadow contains 0.05 oz. of product and retails for $14.50 each. You get 0.03 oz. more and pay $9.99 a pop. A lot of mass retailer brands, like L’Oreal HIP, do go on sale on a frequent basis, so when they’re on sale, I’d be more willing to purchase these. At full price, I feel like it’s more than I want to pay for L’Oreal. I do consider the HIP line to be one of the better pigmented eyeshadow lines available at mass. I just wish you could swatch before you bought!
Bottom line: I wouldn’t pay full price ($9.99) for either of these duos, and I’d only really recommend Animated for the periwinkle blue, just because I don’t see that color in a lot of other lines. I love that L’Oreal is bringing matte color to the forefront, and I think the price point is affordable for many, particularly if they’re on sale.
- Product: 21/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: If you can catch L’Oreal’s H.I.P. line on sale, they’re worth trying. Paying full price on the other hand…
Availability: Drugstores/Mass Retailers
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Chanel Mandarin Rouge Allure Laque
Chanel Mandarin Rouge Allure Laque ($32.00) is the last shade in our seven days of Chanel Rouge Allure Laque feature.
Mandarin is a deep, reddish coral. It’s very, very deep — it’s not exactly the summer coral that comes to mind when I’m thinking about coral lip color. It’s an orange-red base with lighter, coppery orange shimmer. It’s incredibly opaque and goes on full coverage in one layer. It has the same glossy sheen as the other shades, and it has the amazing staying power of intense shades like Dragon. It lasts through hours of talking, eating, and drinking, with only the glossy sheen fading, but the color staying true. Even though these are long-wearing, they don’t dry out lips, but actually keep them fairly hydrated. Mandarin is a deeper, more intense and redder version of Dynastie.
Since I don’t want to just re-write what I say about the formula (since it is the same–if there are any variations, you can be sure I’ll call them out), here’s a quick bullet-point summary.
Pros
- Satiny, creamy lip color that hydrates
- Opaque color in one layer–very pigmented
- Lasts for hours and even through eating/drinking
- Glossy sheen
- Looks like a lipstick AND a gloss
- Easy to travel with
- Sleek packaging
Cons
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 5/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you like a pop of bright pink on your lips, mandarin has you covered!
Availability: Nordstrom
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Benefit Georgia Face Powder ($28.00 for 0.4 oz.) is a pale, warm-toned peachy pressed powder. Benefit describes it as, “Our “just peachy” face powder leaves your complexion warm and vibrant. Georgia is a dream…it’s peaches and cream!”
Georgia is best used as a sheer, all-over powder on light to medium skin-tones. I think darker skin tones will find this can go on ashy or so sheer they’re not sure they’ve put anything on. It’s really good for brightening and warming up lighter skin tones, so it’s actually a very product for barely-there makeup days. When I’m in a rush, this is something I can easily dust on to make my face look a little more alive and less likely I only slept four hours the night before.
I think only the lightest of skin tones will find this useful as a blusher, just because the color is both sheer and pale. In my swatch, there’s only a hint of product that shows up, so you can see that my NC25/30 skin tone starts to get close to the end of the spectrum for this product’s usefulness. I also think that some people go into purchasing this product expecting to use it as a blusher, and then find themselves disappointed by its sheerness. I do like it as an all-over face powder, but it does have shimmer in it, so if you don’t want shimmer all over your face, this isn’t the best choice in all-over powders for you.
Additionally, this can be used as a highlighter on cheeks alone, too. It’s a more versatile product than you’d think, but I think a lot of us just get trapped into expecting a blush and not getting it. Georgia also feels a bit powdery/chalky, which is yet another reason I think it’s not a workable product on darker skin tones. I find this best applies with a stippling brush (like MAC’s 187) all over the face for a light, warmed up look without too much shimmer or product.
By the ounce, Benefit Face Powders/Blush colors are actually cheaper than MAC! Benefit comes in at $70.00/oz. while MAC is $88.10/oz. Benefit Face Powders/Blushes are actually some of the most bang-for-your-buck in the high-end department. The packaging is cute and exactly what I’d expect out of Benefit. Georgia actually does have a light peach scent to it, though it’s not something I notice while wearing the product–only when I sniff the product itself.
Bottom line: It’s not replacing any products I’m already using, and I’d probably be more apt to use it if it provided more of a peachy blush color than an all-over color. I prefer other highlighters and all-over powders with setting qualities, as well. It’s a quality product, but it doesn’t work for everyone, and it’s best used as an easy all-over powder. I think if that’s what you’re looking for, you’d enjoy this product. For others, this is nice, but it isn’t a must-have.
- Product: 25/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 3/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re looking for a sheer, warm-toned all-over powder and you’re light to medium in skintone, this might work for you.
Availability: BenefitCosmetics.com
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