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Rant & Rave: Guerlain
Share: Tell us what you love and hate about Guerlain!
my answer: I love so many of their base/face products, along with limited edition highlighters and most of their lip products. Their newer nail lacquer is also excellent, though the shade range could use some less basic, more unique shades in it! I don’t love their eyeshadow formula more often than not (sometimes it is really good, sometimes it is a big miss). I really like how they tend to put out more luxurious packaging with less plastic components. I really wish they had refills for Rouge Gs, and they discontinue formulas very frequently!
I wish they had a wider shade range for their foundations.
Ditto! I would love to try their foundations but not a lot of variety for deeper skintones.
Rant: It seems like the foundation shades that suit me are hard to find online. I’m in a remote area so I rely on the Temptalia foundation matrix & accessing beauty products online.
Rave: I have to agree that the base products are beautiful. I have never been displeased with a face product from Guerlain
Two things I don’t like – I do feel their prices are ridiculously inflated. And it really irks me that, with all their beautiful and very costly packaging, that it is ALL just “toss in the trash when you’re done” – you can’t get refill bullets for the lipsticks or more economically packed Meteorites balls. There is so much truly lush packaging that could be refilled (mind you, I date from a time when Revlon’s UltimaII line and Estee Lauder, etc. offered refills for lipsticks and powder compacts, etc.). You’d think nowadays, when the whole “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra exists (it didn’t in the 70’s and 80’s), a company like Guerlain would pair this concept with the costly and luxe packaging…
What I love…..pretty much EVERYTHING, especially their Lingerie de Peau foundation and their original eyeshadow quads (I think some of the newer ones don’t measure up in terms of quality).
I wish people would buy me Guerlain products because there’s no way I can afford them.
I’ve really liked several of the perfumes over the years, but the cosmetic range has just never appealed to me… I feel the brand comes off as being a bit pretentious, but that has *alot* to do with marketing/availability. When I shop for more “luxurious” items, I enjoy the whole counter experience, and being able to only biy the brand at Sephora or online kind of cheapens the experience. While the perfumes are available at department store counters, it seems no stores around me carry the cosmetics, except Sephora, which I look to for more “unique” finds, and while Guerlan is more elusive, they’re still “mainstream”.
I actually do like that I’m able to get Guerlain at Sephora because it’s an easy in and out to pick up items that I need to replace. When I want to know more, I head to the department store. 🙂
Even with the availability at Sephora, the selection is sooo limited-even in terms of foundation shades. Sephora, to me, has also lost so much appeal over the last few years; it seems the more brands they carry in-store, the less options there are, and many of the brands-Lancome, Bobbi Brown, Dior, etc…-are brands I have the most access to, yet Sephora seems to carry the largest selection of these brands in-store. I used to look to Sephora as a place I can get less available brands, but they’ve become so mainstream…
I couldn’t agree with you more! As a Rouge G collector I cringe the day when one of my shades needs replacing. I’d rather have a refill than having to toss that paperweight. :/
Rave- love their super elegant, luxurious packaging.
Rant – eye shadow palettes are so-so, and at that price, they need to be perfect or close to it. Adding fragrance to the meteorite powders. And their prices are total budget busters.
Guerlain is probably one of my very favorite beauty houses as almost everything I’ve tried performs impeccably. The price point is lofty, but at least the quality is there. If I’m in a position to splurge on something, Guerlain rarely disappoints. However, I do find the fragrance in some of their products to be a bit overwhelming. And, they do tend to discontinue products on a regular basis. I typically like their packaging, but the shiny gold is a fingerprint magnet. I often wondered what some of their products would look like in brushed gold. All-in-all, it’s hard to beat Guerlain’s luxe feel and performance.
Rant: They’re so expensive. The expensive packaging is not even refillable.
Rave: I love everything I’ve tried, though most of it I’ve just tried and don’t own. The colors are always pretty and pigmented, and the formulas wonderful. Packaging is gorgeous and classy.
(My entire Guerlain collection consists of 3 Ecrin 4 Couleurs palettes [Les Vertes, Les Violets, Les Bois de Rose], Meteorites pressed in Mythic 01 + a refill, and the heavy silver metal compact with the big, pale pink flower on it.)
Pro? So much pretty. Much want.
Cons? SO EXPENSIVE 🙁
Such pretty! Much lipstick! Very Meteorites.
No refills. Very price. Much sad.
(Sorry for the Doge kick, I just couldn’t help myself.)
I love Guerlain, I would go as far to say they are one of my favourite luxury brand, especially when it comes to skincare and perfume. I have never been disappointed by their luxury packaging and formulas. My only rant could be the price, although you could argue luxury come at a price and they are amazing.
Wider shade range and a slightly lower price point.
I do not like that there are NO COUNTERS anywhere within a 100 mile radius of me and I live 5 minutes away from a major shopping center.People drive 3 hours to shop for weddings, Christmas,and stuff here..it’s absurd! I do not like that their foundation/powders have a very limited range which usually means mixing.Plus, since their are no counters, that’s hard to pick out. I do not like the whole not offering refills either..a waste. I will keep and reuse the meteorites jars. But, I have no idea what I could do with an empty lipstick container if I ever get a Rouge G one and get through it. I don’t like their high prices. But, that being said, I will say the few Guerlain products that I own, I love and think are worth that $. But, like all luxury brands, I do wish they would offer a half size at a lower price.
I love,love,love meteorites. I would fill a room with them and roll in them if I could! the smell is divine and I hate heavily fragranced things. I think it’s a floral fragrance that makes me want to barf. If they ever discontinue meteorites, I may go into heart failure.
I love their packaging. It makes me feel like I should be in the back of a Lincoln Towne car pulling into La Perla. So elegant and sexy.
I do wish they made more stuff and never had a miss. But, then I would be completely broke!
Rant: They are obviously expensive
Rave: Everything I own of Guerlain, I love. I haven’t been disappointed with it and I never regretted the splurge. Guilty yes but that fades away eventually he he
Rave: Guerlain is one of the brands that got me hooked on makeup. I absolutely love the Meteorites, that I’ve used for years, I also generally love their lipsticks, and I’ve had very good experience with their more recent eyeshadow palettes. I also have a few LE blushes that are lovely.
Rant: Guerlain foundations just don’t work for me, even the ones that seem to make everyone else unanimously happy, like Lingerie de Peau. I hated it.
I haven’t been too excited by their recent seasonal collections (with the exception of last year’s Spring collection). I think they’re starting to milk the Meteorites franchise a little too much. Their color choices are too classic, I wish there would be a little more daring.
And the biggest complaint, their products are just too expensive. In many cases I think they’re just not worth it!
I love pretty much most of their face products (oh Meteorites, my Achilles’ heel!) and the lip products. I like the eye shadows but I have to agree, they’re not always as great as they should be for the cost. I would like a little more compact packaging, especially as the Meteorites don’t fill up their containers. They could be in something smaller but just as cute. Also the Meteorite brush I find to be very uncomfortable to use on my skin. Granted the brush picks up color that way from the perles but I don’t need exfoliation while I apply makeup.
Rave, just about everything!
Rant, a bit less shimmer in the eye shadows, I prefer satin finishes.
I´m testing the new Mètèorites Baby Glow and it´s a keeper!
LOVE – LE blushes/highlighters are top quality, lipsticks come in gorgeous colors and have wonderful formulas.
HATE – very limited shade range for their foundations. not everyone wants to be or is tan.
Reading your blog brought me to Guerlain makeup though I’ve worn their perfumes for many years. I now use their Lingerie de Peau, Les Voilettes powder and Meteorites, as well as some of their lipsticks. Since developing anemia I’ve lost so much skin color (I went down nearly three foundation shades) and their products really have made my skin look better. So I will say thank you for introducing me Christine!
I’m so glad I could help 🙂
Rave: I like that they really do go in for properly luxury packaging (wood, metal), and their lipsticks are top notch (which is a big thing for me, product-wise). They also recently did a 12% (I think) price drop in NZ, which is awesome! More brands need to follow that example, I think – they’ll sell more, for a start!
Rant: The price, Oh Gods, the price! The Rouge Gs used to be $88 each, and now they’re $77 or so, which is ‘better’ but still buttock-clenchingly expensive… Also, I wish they would bring some non-orange, non-medium shades of foundation to this part of the world. I believe they make them, but they seem to think everyone here is approximately the same shade of warm medium…
I would buy everything guerlain if it didn’t have frangrance! I have very sensitive skin so I have to forgo all their base products and stick to their lipsticks and my les fumes palette. Actually the floral frangrabce in thr lipstick is kind of obnoxious too. Probably the #1 reason I don’t wear it as often as I could.
Rave: love the Gloss d’Enfer and the Rouge G (although the packaging for the latter is both rave and rant, given it’s absolutely gorgeous but not refillable, even though the mascara has become so). I like the Aqua Allegoria fragrances for a summer feeling – I have Limon Verde and Pamplelune, both lovely citrusy scents that can be such a pick-me-up this time of year.
Rant: whyyyyyyy does everything have to smell so strongly of violets?!?!?! Météorites look like something I would love, but I can’t abide the scent. I do have – and love – the Petroushka palette from last year, which apparently featured a special edition vanilla scent instead of the standard violet. I have one Terracotta bronzer with an included brush. The bronzer is okay, not too smelly (especially as unlike a finishing powder, it does not go right under my nose!), and a nice matte shade. The brush has a cool shape to the handle but it’s cheap plastic, which was disappointing.
I have just got two of the two-colour little eye shadow palettes, as John Lewis had them on clearance. Haven’t used them yet so no idea of performance, but the packaging sure is pretty!
Rave: Mitsouko, L’Heure Bleue, Jicky, etc. Although i have some OLD Guerlian m/u (including the original meteorites, i look to them as a fragrance house. esp. the old classics + men’s. m/u: always can set the standard for CLASSIC colors (e. g. Garconne/Terracotta) They seldom put out anything that screams “DATED!” Powder products literally last forever.
Rant: w/ the newer m/u, so few refillable options. Given some of the gorgeous packaging, it’s a waste to throw it out. Prices are getting hefty. m/u scent could be sensitizing for many, but fragrance was the jumping off point in their beauty empire, so it is hardly surprising.
Rant: Cost and lack of refillable packaging
Rave: Beautiful colors, textures, and packaging; Gorgeous perfumes
Actually I have a few of their eyeshadows – but not their most recent ones. Les Gris, Les Aqua and Les Verts – they are all sensational. But I think their newer eyeshadows have missed the mark. Their lipsticks are gorgeous and even though I have not tried their fluid foundation it is apparently excellent.
Love: Smell of products, formula of Rouge G, LE products are very collectable, pigmented shadows
Hate: Price, foundation shade diversity, regional differences (Blanc de pearl line just came out in USA), lack of many shades overall. I tend to have it oxidize or I put on too much Terracotta for my own good.
I still go to Mac and MUFE for eyes. I own a lot of Guerlain products at one point having it be the only brand of products I own.
Their foundations don’t have my shade so it’s disappointing.
Their Rouge Gs are the best lipsticks I’ve ever used and their Meteorites is like the masterpiece of modern highlighter we love today.
I only like Tenue de Perfection (for daily) & Parure Gold (for special occasion) among their foundations range, but sadly the Parure Gold is now only available in Europe, I guess? As far as I know it’s not being discontinue there, correct me if I’m wrong.
But discontinued or not, I think their foundations needs wider selection of shade range, especially their Parure Gold. I’m a 23 Doré Naturel in their foundations, but the shades that are available on Parure Gold are the Beige range and one Rose shade (cool tone) only, no Doré range (warm tone). Yes I can use their 04 Beige Moyen in term of color depth, but hue speaking, it is not yellow enough.
I wish their eyeshadows were up to par with the rest of their range, which is brilliant quality – from skincare, to foundations and powders, to lipsticks and glosses. But the eyeshadows just fall short everytime!!
I LOVE their skincare and primers though, those are just amazing.
My Guerlain collection consists of Meteorites Pearls (in Dragons and d’Etoile), the Wulong compact, the Travel Touch (I open the lid and use loose powder to set my undereyes), Maxi Lash Mascara in every colour and, my all time favourite, four – yes four – Guerlain Turandot quads (I use only one, which has a backup, which has a backup, which has a backup). I love these babies! Unfortunately I haven’t found a Guerlain lipstick to my taste. And I am lusting after a bottle of Tonka Imperiale. My only rant is about dusty messy unattractive Guerlain counters near me: I am deprived of Guerlain counter experience! So I buy my Guerlain online.
Good : pretty packaging
Not so good: heavily fragranced, always discontinuing a good product
Guerlain was the brand I tried before any other high end or drugstore brand, so I feel like I have a LOT to say on the topic, and I’ll start out with the rant:
Guerlain, most of your best limited edition collections dont arrive to the middle east… WHY??
Guerlain, your L’or primer doesnt get 100% dissolved and I can always detect gold specks afterwards, for the price, thats unacceptable!
Guerlain, your blush duos are your biggest meh product in your line, they’re not very creamy nor are they pigmented enough, I think your blush range can benefit from a bit of a change.
The Black Dress perfume smells like a cherry market!
And finally, we need a better covering concealer than the Precious Light pen!
Now into the rave.
Lingerie De Peau is a godsend that better never be discontinued because I”l cry a river over it!
The Meteorites are stunning, the light they bring into one’s face in yet to be duped.
The quads! THE QUADS! I have 10, no joke! I’m a Guerlain quad addict! Yes not all are equal, but I love them the most! And yes I have tried Tom Ford.
The lip products are GLORIOUS! Super creamy yet long lasting, very pigmented and comfortable, the packaging is beautiful and durable! I cannot fault them!
THE BRONZERS!!! OOOOH dear lord! How can you not LOVE them? HOW?
The smell of the powders, the smell of the liquids, and the smell of the lipsticks is heavenly!
What else… The list goes on and on and on… If I remember anything else I’ll just add it somewhere! Overall, Guerlain has my heart!
I love every single thing I’ve tried by this brand. Quality quality quality!!!
Cons: Price! And the limited edition finishing powders are always amazing but gone forever!
Wow – I’m really suprised no one mentioned the racist remarks made in 2010 by Jean-Paul Guerlain. I don’t buy anything Guerlain anymore!