Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder ($70.00 for 0.52 oz.) is a metallic yellow gold with buildable color. It doesn’t take a lot of product to achieve an appropriate amount of highlighting color on the cheek, but it is very blendable so it can be sheered out or applied softly from the start.  When I wore this, it lasted for seven hours with noticeable (but not disastrous) fading by the eighth hour.  I wore it as a blusher, just because it’s easier to identify how well it wears when you cover a larger area, but I’d typically dust this on cheek bones and paired with a warm-toned blush (maybe a coral or natural brown).

If you have a yellow gold eyeshadow, you could likely achieve a similar look with that. Chanel Empreinte de Chanel is a little darker, almost orange-ish, as is Chanel Shimmering Tweed. While Guerlain often has incredibly subtle, finely-milled highlighters, this one is more metallic, more noticeable–it’s therefore easier to dupe (it’s usually that finish that is more difficult to dupe). It still feels soft to the touch, but there’s that metallic shimmer that keeps it from being buttery soft. The way it feels reminds me a bit of Estee Lauder’s Illuminating Gelee formula, though this is less dry.

Guerlain knows how to design a powder; the design looks like fields of golden wheat swaying in the breeze.  The design doesn’t fade away after one use either, which is nice, though eventually you will wear away a lot of the texture on the top, it should take several uses or more.  The compact also contains a brick o’ highlighter–weighing in at 0.52 oz.–and most blushes and highlighters come between 0.15 oz. and 0.25 oz.  It is heavily fragranced, as is typical for the brand, so if you’re sensitive to scents, you may want to check it out in person.  I had this open on the desk where I take photos, and I could smell it from a couple of feet away.

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder (Diffused/Bounced Flash)

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder (Natural Light)

Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Illuminating Powder