Guerlain Birthday Candle Pearls Meteorites Pearls ($62.00 for 0.80 oz.) is a translucent, satiny powder with flecks of small, but more noticeable, shimmer throughout. The amount of shimmer was still sparse, so it still worked well for all-over application but was a little more noticeable compared to other Meteorite variations if applied more heavily to the higher points of the face.
The 30th anniversary edition of the Meteorites Pearls is supposed to “warm your complexion and bring radiance to all skin tones” with “gold pearls to fight dullness, pink pearls to reveal glow and champagne and white pearls to reflect light.” The powder, like most of Guerlain’s products, has a violet scent, though it was subtle and I did not personally detect when applied to my face, only when I initially opened the jar.
According to Guerlain’s current copy for the product, the powder can be used to “fix make-up and improve hold,” which I find to be fairly minor in practice–maybe an extra half hour but a true setting powder would do more. In the past, it has been described more as a finishing powder than a setting powder, and I think that is a more accurate description of this powder. It has often brightened my overall look slightly, breathed a little life back into my skin if I’ve gone too matte, and the like. No matter how you describe it, though, Meteorites Pearls are subtle and are designed that way, and for some, it will be a product that calls to mind a story of the Emperor with No Clothes.
Guerlain Chic Tropic Terracotta Bronzing Powder ($78.00 for 0.60 oz.) blends together to create a medium, burnt orange with warm undertones and a satin finish. The gold was an overspray, but the coral pieces went through the powder, and while there were only five of them, they definitely influenced the more subdued brown bronzer portion.
The new, limited edition bronzer is a Nordstrom Anniversary Sale exclusive, and the “dual-color powder” is supposed to “warm all complexions” with a “hint of coral.” The powder was soft, lightly dusty but finely-milled and easily applied, spread, and blended on the skin. It had good pigmentation that was easy to control (by using a lighter hand or a denser brush) depending on your preference for coverage. I tried to get as much of the overlay off of the powder before swatching or using it, and it seemed like there was a natural matte finish in the end–not quite matte but not truly shimmery either. The powder sat well on the skin and lasted for eight hours on me. Guerlain adds fragrance to their powders, though this particular bronzer was less heavily scented than past special editions.
Guerlain Ultra Shine Terracotta Ultra Bronzing Powder ($61.00 for 0.35 oz.) is a medium, golden brown with warm undertones and a fine, golden pearl. It had sheer coverage, which was buildable to medium coverage. It’s a new, limited edition powder bronzer that’s supposed to have “fine mother-of-pearl” in it that “imitates the dazzling light of skin that has been left silky by the sun.” The consistency was soft but powdery, and I suspect that the texture played a role in the pigmentation of the product.
For someone with a fair to light-medium skin tone, I think it would work well as a warm, golden bronzer but would get lost on other skin tones (Guerlain’s Terracotta range does have one of the wider shade ranges for bronzers, so look there if you are deeper!). If you’ve sensitive to scents or prefer your powders unscented, this might not be for me, as the powder is heavily scented with “freesia and orange blossom notes” that are “blended into tonka bean and vanilla notes.” I did not feel like the texture of the bronzer as as finely-milled or as smooth as past iterations in the Terracotta range, though it did blend out easily and sat well on the skin. The bronzer stayed on well for seven and a half hours before fading.
Guerlain Happy Glow Pearls Meteorites ($74.00 for 1.0 oz.) is a soft, pink-tinted white base with fine pink, gold, and lavender sparkle over a semi-matte finish. The Meteorites Pearls formula is supposed to “delicately color-correct and illuminate the complexion” with the brand’s typical violet fragrance.
Though I don’t recall it being marketed as a setting powder (always more of a finishing powder), Guerlain’s website says to use it all-over the face to “fix make-up and improve hold” under directions and that it can be used to highlight the face as well. This particular combination of Meteorites did seem to have more substance–more powder in a way–so I could see how it might work as a setting powder. In fact, this season’s Happy Glow Pearls seemed to blur my skin just slightly without making it appear totally matte like some setting powders might, though I would not describe it as illuminating or luminous either. There was less noticeable sheen or luminosity to the powder and more in the way of visible sparkle. The problem I had was that if I really pressed it into the skin like I would a setting powder, it sometimes left a whitish cast against my skin tone. If I applied it more like a finishing powder (more lightly dusted), I didn’t get any cast. It only extended the wear of my foundation by a half hour, which is shorter than most setting powders for me.
I normally like a lot of the Guerlain Meteorite Pearls, but this one just had such minimal impact compared to past versions (including their permanent ones). I think as a setting powder, it falls even shorter.
Guerlain Happy Glow Meteorites Blush ($54.00 for 0.26 oz.) is a light-medium pink with subtle, warm undertones and silver sparkle. The pink powder seemed like a soft matte–not really shimmery but not so matte that it appeared flat on the skin–but there were distinct sparkles on the skin.
It’s a new, limited edition pressed blush from the brand that’s supposed to work as a “blush and a highlighter.” The formula is supposed to “lightly sculpt and illuminate” the complexion, which I suspect is code for not-the-most-pigmented-blush-ever. It comes in a soft pink compact, which seemed a little lighter and “cheaper” to me than their usual compacts (but it seemed sturdy and functional), and the powder has the brand’s signature violet scent. It had sheer, buildable coverage (up to medium) that was incredibly blendable, as the consistency was soft, finely-milled, and smooth to the touch.
Between the coverage level and the lightness of the color itself, it is going to be more suitable for lighter complexions and someone who doesn’t want a lot of shine from their highlighter but doesn’t mind visible sparkle. I’m light-medium in skin tone, and I get only a hint of pink on my skin. It lasted for seven and a half hours on me.
Guerlain Coque d’Or (03) Eyeshadow Palette ($69.00 for 0.21 oz.) is a mix of beige, gold, bronze, brown, and green. This was one of the better performing palettes that Guerlain released, though I think the colors are more dupable than not, so at this price point, I would expect near perfection. It was a mix of textures, most of them underwhelming, but a few shades had better pigmentation. The wear was still problematic with shorter wear times than average.
