Guerlain Ombre Perlees — Matte Eyeshadow

I did this look over the weekend with Guerlain’s Ombre Perlees Palette. Even though the shades look like they have a hint of shimmer, they’re near-matte, particularly when used over a matte base. This is such a fall look, though, ha!

You will need the following…

• Eyes: MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot (neutral beige base), Guerlain Ombre Perlees Eyeshadow Palette (pale white-pink, darkened coral-brown, dark taupe brown), Shiseido Brown (BR 602) Smoothing Eyeliner Pencil (brown), MAC Plushlash Mascara (black)
• Face: Guerlain Parure Gold (Beige Naturel #03)
• Cheeks:  Benefit Sugarbomb (peachy pink), Guerlain Beige Tint Meteorites (highlighter)
• Lips: Chanel Imperial Rouge Allure Laque (darkened red), MAC Desire Lipglass (dark red-purple)
• Brushes: 226 (fluffy crease brush), 219 (pointed crease brush), 249 (flat, firm brush), 239 (fluffy shadow brush), 116 (dense blush brush)
• Substitutes: N/A

For eyes, start by applying Soft Ochre paint pot as your eyeshadow base all over the eye area with the 249. Using the 239, apply the light white-pink eyeshadow on the inner third of the eyelid. Next, apply the coral eyeshadow on the middle third of the eyelid and lightly blend with the inner corner. Darken the outer third of the lid with the taupe brown eyeshadow with the 239, gently brushing it into the lower crease. Lightly blend the taupe brown eyeshadow, with the 239, on the outer corner and lid. Lightly tap and brush the coral eyeshadow directly above the crease to soften. To finish the eyeshadow look, sweep a mix of the light white-pink and coral as a highlighter on the brow bone. Bring everything together by applying Brown eyeliner on the lower lash line. Finish by sweeping lashes with Plushlash mascara.

For cheeks, apply Sugarbomb blush to the apples of the cheeks and sweep upwards towards the temple with the 116. Highlight cheekbones with Beige Tint Meteorites with the 165.

For lips, apply Imperial Rouge Allure Laque first, and then layer Desire lipglass for a complementing lip.

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For our Natural Beauties: Guerlain’s Take on Summer

This summer, Guerlain goes supremely natural with their Meteorites Perles Collection. It is definitely different from last summer’s Summer Splash Collection.

I think those who find summer colors too bright, shimmered, or the like will find the Ombre Perlees Eyeshadow Palette ($59.00) a refreshing experience. It contains four shades: a dusty pinked white with a near matte finish, muted pinky-brown with a near matte finish, softened gray lilac with a satin finish, and grayed taupe with subtle satin shimmer.

I’ve always found Guerlain eyeshadow to have a supreme texture–soft, silken, smooth, nearly buttery–and this quad is no exception. All four shades applied smoothly and had good pigmentation. These are not bright shades in the least bit, but they swatch exactly as you’d expect given the way they look in the palette. Like most limited edition eyeshadow palettes from Guerlain, the flower design is only an overlay and will disappear after a couple of uses.

The packaging is luxe and traditional to Guerlain’s line, except it’s metallic silver, not quite the typical “metal” feel. I personally like that while Guerlain keeps the same shape and style of its palettes, the color will change based on the collection itself. Included with the palette are two sponge-tip applicators, but like all sponge applicators, they’re nothing to write home about and could easily be left out as far as I’m concerned! Brushes, please!

Being a more high-end, luxury brand, Guerlain doesn’t come cheap, but at least they’ll give you a good amount of eyeshadow (0.24 oz. — for reference, a MAC eyeshadow is 0.05 oz.) and make it look pretty while they’re at it!  There are no real low points to this product–it’s a solid natural-toned eyeshadow palette.  Price is really the only negative that I can think of!

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

• Product: 29/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 5/5

Recommendation: If you’re cool-toned and looking for more natural shades to play up your eyes with, I think this should definitely be on your list of products to keep an eye out for. Warmer skin tones can still wear this quad, because all of the shades run closer to neutral than strongly cool, but it really strikes me as exceptionally beautiful on cooler skin tones–even more so on fairer skin tones.

Availability: April/May 2010

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