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Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer Review, Photos, Swatches

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer ($78.00 for 0.70 oz.) is a brightened, medium orange with warm undertones and a golden sheen. Bobbi Brown Bronze (LE, $45.00) is darker, cooler. Make Up For Ever #25I (P, $36.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer. MAC Delphic (LE, $33.00) is less shimmery. Too Faced Jingle All the Way Bronzer (LE, ) is more shimmery. Too Faced Sun Bunny #2 (P, ) is more shimmery, warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

The compact is oversized, so you’ll have plenty of powder to go through (perhaps half a lifetime!) and the majority of the shimmer is an overspray, but there is some gold shimmer that seems to run through the underlying powder as well (I brushed away all of the overspray prior to swatching/testing)–just a much subtler sheen than an overt shimmer as it appears in the pan. The texture was fairly soft and blendable on the skin, and the color payoff was semi-opaque and buildable, but it seemed a little drier than other Terracotta bronzing powders I’ve tried. On me, it wore for almost eight hours before fading slightly. I expect that this is going to be too orange for some, though. The biggest takeaway from this review should be that this is heavily scented with the brand’s tiare flower-based fragrance, which is very, very strong. I can leave the compact open for five minutes, leave the room, and I can smell it wafting just outside the doorway. I’m always excited to remove this, as the scent lingers for hours and hours and essentially feels like I’m eating perfume all day long.

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Guerlain Terre d'Ete Terracotta Bronzer
Guerlain Terre d’Ete Terracotta Bronzer

Makeup Look
On face:
  • IT Cosmetics CC Cream
  • Urban Decay Naked Loose Setting Powder
On eyes:
  • LORAC Pro Matte Palette
  • LORAC Teal Eyeliner
  • LORAC Nude Eyeliner
On lips:
  • NYX Tea Rose Matte Lipstick

24 Comments

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Crystal Avatar

i’ve had this for a month now and I cannot love this no matter how hard I try because, first, it is a pain to swatch/use (because the sun is embossed… i cannot get the other colour AND of course because it is densely pressed…), second it is sheer (but buildable) and really leans orange-ish. While it is buildable, once it is buuilt up, i can actually see powder on my face. but that’s just me..

Third, the scent… last year I owned the Terracotta fragrance and tiare is just not for me so I gave it away, now this smells exactly that perfume. As if they submerged the granules into the fragrance before pressing it. And you are right – it really lingers.

Also the idea of adapting to one’s bronze (hence, maybe the embossed sun?) as the summer progresses is really a funny concept. How about next summer? Will I then start with a darker bronze? (ok I am just being sarcastic, but i hope you know what I mean)

Ultimately, I was just maybe expecting a more usable product for me and I was so excited to see this with a very nice presentation, and a good amount of product – for the same price as a normal Guerlain bronzer, I am guessing. And this is my very first Guerlain bronzer… so, very sad 🙁

Nancy T Avatar

The idea of basically putting orange colored perfume on my face *GAGGING* is an absolute NO-GO! It would drive me nuts and give me a migraine! Oh, and I do wear perfume and usually don’t have a problem, but all over my FACE? Nauseating!!!

Nicole Avatar

Oh my goodness on the scent thing! I like the way my regular Terracotta bronzers smell. But, I don’t notice it once on my face for a couple of seconds and I am pretty sensitive to fragrance. So that put this down a notch for me. Then I saw the price! Then to finalize the “no way-my wallet is safe from this statement” the swatch…nope…passing! Plus, I do not understand why Guerlain brought this out so late in summer.

MelanieB. Avatar

This looks insanely orange, which is surprising, because in the pan in my eyes it looks like it should be a peachy-brown bronze.

Yadira Avatar

I always buy the Limited Edition Terracottas. I have naturally red/tanned skin because of a skin condition, so this looks stunning on my skin. The scent is not my favorite, but I can work with it.

Debra Avatar

Oh, gosh, an air freshener that doubles for makeup! Not my idea of multi-tasking. I bought the Joli Teint bronzing powder ($53) and it’s quite lovely on its own or paired with blush. The scent is noticeable but not choke-ingly cloying.

It was a gamble for me to buy the Joli Teint because I’m NW-25 in summer and most of the Guerlain bronzers pull way too orange on me. They could broaden their market by offering LE for cool tones but since Guerlain is Guerlain, they don’t have to!

Bonnie Avatar

This is a huge pass. Thanks for the review!. I can’t stand heavily scented face products!! Christine do you find their other face products, like the meteorites (pressed and perles) are heavily scented as well? I was considering getting the new summer ones at Nordies, but…I’m not sure about the colors and all the Nordies exclusives are so bad so far, I’m thinking maybe not.

fancie Avatar

The design is pretty but after seeing the reviews this is an easy skip. I hate that the shimmer is just an overspray. This would probably do very little for me and I’m not all that thrilled about heavily scented face makeup. A little scent is fine but this seems too strong

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