Guerlain

Two Toasty Twins From the Guerlain Summer 2017 Collection

May 23rd, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

guerlain sun tonic brunettes and orange peps — Wearing Guerlain Terracotta Sun Tonic Bronzing Powder ($53) on my cheeks and Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lipstick in Orange Peps on my lips ($37), both of them limited edition from the summer 2017 collection.

I know it doesn’t officially turn summer until next month, but even unofficially, it doesn’t seem like summer until I get a Guerlain bronzer up in the mix.

There are so many good bronzers out there, but when I think of flawless, natural-looking, old-school, tried-and-true classic summer bronzing, Guerlain is the godmother of them all.

Oh! — speaking of good bronzers, though, the new bronzers from Hourglass are so dang beautiful, as are BECCA’s, and Marc Jacobs did one recently that’s perfection on light skin.

guerlain sun tonic brunettes — Guerlain Terracotta Sun Tonic Bronzing Powder

Every year Guerlain releases limited edition versions of their powder bronzers, and every year I await them with bated breath. This week I tried one from their new summer 2017 collection called Sun Tonic Brunettes.

Ah… Excuse me while I smoosh my nose into the pan. I’m getting a whiff of it right meow, and it smells SO good.

Guerlain usually gives their bronzers a tiare flower scent, but this one smells a little different. I still get strong tiare flower notes, but there’s also some jasmine up in there. I love it.

guerlain sun tonic brunettes and orange peps swatches — Swatches of Guerlain Sun Tonic Brunettes and Orange Peps

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Guerlain Happy Glow Pearls of Powder

April 14th, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

Picture it: a crisp Easter morning. The windows are open, the finches are chirping, and the bees are buzzing. The sun is up and bright in the sky.

How cool would it be to wake up on Easter morning and find a jar of Guerlain Meteorites Happy Glow Pearls of Powder ($74) in your basket beside the jelly beans and Cadbury Mini Eggs (yum!)? I’d be like, thank you, Easter Bunny!

(Side note: you can have the marshmallow ? Peeps. Frankly, I don’t want anything to do with ’em.)

You gotta admit, there is something a little Easter Eggy about this packaging…

These happy pink, peach and purple pearls are actually a color-correcting face powder. All you do is you swirl your brush in the jar, then apply all over your face to even out any redness.

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Guerlain Terracotta Pause d’Eté for the Crème de la Crème of Bronzing Bad-@ssery

August 11th, 2016 by Karen 22 Comments

I don’t know which is more breathtaking — the intricate braided design on the Guerlain Terracotta Pause D’Ete Bronzing Powder Duo pan or its breathtaking price.

$86.

I KNOW.

Both are equally able to knock the wind out of you.

When I think of high-end, crème de la crème bronzing bad-@ssery, Guerlain is the first brand that comes to mind (Terracotta Healthy Glow Powder Duo in 03 Naturel Brunettes is always in my makeup bag). Whenever I wear their easy, effortless, beautifully buttery bronzers, I feel like I’ve been kissed by the sun…even when I haven’t spent any time in it.

Unfortunately, they’re also expensive.

This summer their Terracotta Pause d’Eté bronzer pan has three powder parts — a brown powder ring of Guerlain Terracotta shade in 03, and a golden braided overspray (which blends away after a few uses) surrounding a peachy blush center.

Mixing the three together creates a warm peachy brown with a hint of golden pearl that reminds me a little of MAC Gingerly Blush, which is probably why I’m into it. I’ve been into barely-there cheek color lately (it’s a phase), but you can build up the intensity.

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The Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 Collection: For Ladies (and Lords) Who Love Luminous Looks

February 8th, 2016 by Karen 20 Comments

You know what? Eff it! Let’s play hooky this afternoon. Whatdya say?

COME ON! Let’s do it. 🙂 The sun’s out; we could drive into the city, go to the Japanese Tea Gardens, walk around, check out the cherry blossoms, have a cup of tea and watch the pink petals glide in the wind… Doesn’t that sound nice?

I would love that, actually, and by the way, I’ll be wearing the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection, because this collection is all about that laid-back spring lifestyle.

No, not like you’re hiking up a mountain or, like, parasailing or doing X games. More like just enjoying a sunny day outside at the park, or kicking it in the city with your girlfriends.

guerlain spring glow 2016 packaging — Highlights from the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection…

guerlain spring glow 2016 — A few pieces from the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection

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Guerlain Holiday 2015 Winter Fairy Tale Collection Highlights

October 7th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

“SNOW DAY!”

Two words I have never spoken in my life, although I’ve always wanted to, but growing up here in this part of California, the only snow we get is on TV, except for the fake kind they use at the mall by the scary Santa…

No offense to any mall Santas out there, but the ones I remember were terrifying! They were just so big and loud and red and sweaty…

Wait — what were we talking about?

Oh, yeah! Guerlain…

guerlain holiday 2015 eye blush palette — The eyeshadows from the Guerlain Holiday 2015 Eye & Blush Palette (it’s a compact with two tiers)

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With the Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint Powder Duo Bronzers, Subtlety Plays a Big Part

May 29th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

If there’s one thing Guerlain “gets” better than most brands it’s bronzers. They do toasty, tanned glows so well.

The latest additions to their brood of bad-@ss bronzers, the $53 Terracotta Joli Teint Natural Healthy Glow Powder Duos, are available now in four shades — 00 Light Blondes, 02 Natural Blondes, 01 Clair Brunettes and 03 Naturel Brunettes — and even though their names correspond to different hair colors, I don’t think you have to necessarily stick to your matching shade. Myself, I bounce back and forth between 02 Naturel Blondes and 01 Clair Brunettes.

These face powder duos pair a bronzing shade for warmth with a brighter pop of color for radiance in every pan, and breaking with their own tradition when it comes to bronzers, Guerlain made these less pigmented this time around. These are more like light golden tan browns than the rich bronzed browns I’m more accustomed to seeing from the brand.

The goal was to glow without looking garish, so subtlety plays a big part — more subtlety than usual for bronzers by Guerlain.

And that’s also a caveat. When I wear these, I don’t really see a major wow factor on my medium-toned skin. The effect may be a little too subtle for some makeup lovers, especially darker divas, and especially considering the $53 price.

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Guerlain Summer 2015: Bronzed Skin, With Accents of Blue, Hot Pink and Yellowy Gold

April 15th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

Hand on my heart, toes in the sand and face to the summer sun, Guerlain’s Summer 2015 Collection threw me for a loop.

Mind you…it was a colorful, lovely loop, but still — a loop, nevertheless.

I’m more accustomed to seeing them summon golden goddesses for summertime, with baked bronzes, toasty tans and luscious corals, all of which, you know, I absolutely LOVE, but they took a different path to the sun this time down a boulevard of bronzed skin (of course), with accents of blue, hot pink and yellowy gold.

It’s more color than I’m used to seeing from them this time of year, but I’m cool with that. I love wearing color, especially when it’s handled elegantly like this.

The collection includes two bronzers, two lipsticks, two waterproof cream eye shadows (a first for the brand!) and a nail polish. All of them are limited edition and coming to Guerlain counters and online this May.

This being Guerlain, and with us talking about summer, it only seems right to start with a Terracotta bronzer. This year, the two My Terracotta Bronzing Powders in the release ($55 each) are wearing special outfits! The pans come with a — I’m not sure how to describe it — scuba suit?

A very fancy scuba suit…

Basically, the cover slips on and off the compacts like a rubbery, silicone sleeve. The sleeve for 02 Natural Blondes is turquoise, while the sleeve for 03 Natural Brunettes is coral.

The first thing I did when I opened 02 Natural Blondes was sniff the pan. LOL! You have to do it, man. Like Guerlain’s other bronzers, these have their trademark tiare flower scent (which I love!).

Tiny flecks of shimmer wink at me when I see the pan sitting in the sun, but the shimmer doesn’t really register on my skin. I’m fine with that, though, since my pores and I usually prefer matte bronzers to shimmers.

Even though the bronzer shown here in this post is 02 Natural Blondes, you don’t have to be fair-haired to wear it. This deep, warm and toasty orange-bronze should suit a wide range of skin tones, depending on how it’s worked. It’s easy to blend and very pigmented, so the bronzed effect is noticeable immediately. You don’t have to use much at all, and if you do, things will go orangey.

As for eyes, the new Summer Waterproof Cream Eye Shadows ($32 each, available in two shades — a shimmery beige called White Sand and a shimmery turquoise called Blue Ocean) are a first for the brand. Cream shadows with a fluffy mousse-like texture, you apply them directly to bare lids with the included doe-foot applicator. Wear them alone or as bases for powder shadows.

Guerlain Summer 2015 Collection: Pictures

guerlain blue ocean nail — Guerlain Le Vernis Nail Lacquer in 700 Blue Ocean, $26

guerlain blue ocean eye — Guerlain Summer Waterproof Cream Eye Shadow in Blue Ocean, $32

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Possibly Inspired by Cherub Cheeks: Guerlain Baby Glow Light-Revealing Sheer Foundation

February 27th, 2015 by Karen 30 Comments

The new Guerlain Baby Glow Light-Revealing Sheer Foundation

Guerlain Baby Glow, Guerlain Baby Glow, Guerlain Baby Glow… Now try to say that three times really fast without thinking of tiny glow-in-the-dark infants.

It’s almost impossible, isn’t it?? THOSE DAMNED GLOWING BABIES.

I’ve always wanted to look like an incandescent infant.

OK, not really. 🙂 But I like the idea behind Baby Glow. It’s a sheer foundation that’s supposed to make you look less stressed and flat-out exhausted by appearing to plump your skin (only aesthetically; it doesn’t actually plump it) and make it look more luminous.

The new product line recently launched with the spring collection in just three shades ($54 each) — 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore.

Guerlain Baby Glow Swatches from the left: 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore — Swatches from the left: 02 Clair, 03 Medium and 04 Dore

I’m closest to 04 Dore, the deepest shade (incidentally, I’m an NC42 in MAC-speak), a medium-toned peachy golden tan, although I think it’s still a tad too light for me to wear on its own, so I warm it up with some bronzer or mix it with a darker foundation.

Before applying Guerlain Baby Glow in 04 Dore

And after! I’m wearing Guerlain Baby Glow in 04 Dore all by itself

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