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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The Day in Beauty, Vol. 9: A Good Hair Day, Aveda Color Conserve, Low-Maintenance Hair, and Guerlain Spring 2016

February 5th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

Slowly, she pulled herself up atop the rocky plateau, then stood tall and gazed out across the vast horizon. It seemed like all of eternity stretched out before her. She could see for hundreds of miles in every direction, the mountains, the rivers, the valleys and forests, the endless sky and the distant sea. There were towns and cities far below that looked like little dots. Suddenly, with every fiber of her being, she roared into the great beyond: “I DID MY HAIR TODAY!!!”

Honestly, I just needed to feel a little bit more like myself, ya know? — because I’ve had it up in a messy bun all week long. Seriously, I haven’t even bothered to run a brush through it. That’s how tired I’ve been, but when I woke up this morning, I was like, “Karen, do your damned hair.”

So I did. I did my damned hair. 🙂

Here’s a great hair tutorial on using the T3 Bodywaver to get BIG curls

I was randomly cruising “the YouTube” last night and looking for different ways to use my T3 Bodywaver curling iron when and came upon this short video by one of T3’s head stylists (head as in top, haha). It shows this technique where you slowly unwrap each section of hair from the barrel in such a way that the curls retain more of a wavy pattern at the ends.

I tried it this morning, and yay! Pretty good results.

So it’s all about the small victories. 🙂

Time to stock up on Aveda

I also wanted to do my hair today because I washed it last night (and I’m so happy about that!) partly because I wanted to try some things from Aveda. I’ve been stocking up on color preserving shampoos and conditioners because, ya know…I’m getting my hair done and colored tomorrow, and I figure that since I don’t know how long it’ll be before my next trip to the salon (kinda revolves around BG’s schedule), I want to get as many color preserving products up in the mix now as I can.

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The Day in Beauty, Vol. 2: Smiles, Guerlain Spring Glow Blush, a Banila Co Moisturizing Lace Mask, and Pea Soup

January 27th, 2016 by Karen 41 Comments

And here’s Karen with your public service announcement of the day: “Smile, and your Guerlain Spring Glow Blush smiles with you.” 🙂

This tantalizing two-tone head-turner is part of Guerlain’s Spring Glow 2016 collection, and how could you not smile while looking at it?

SO FREAKIN’ CUTE.

There’s a reddish pink on one side and a lighter baby pink on the other. Plus, a funky 8-bit font, which is kinda unexpectedly cool, I think.

And, hello! — because it’s Guerlain, it’s expensive (well, duh, Karen!). I believe it’s $62.

Yeah…62 big ones for a Guerlain blush, but I do have to say that when it comes to the overall user experience, for fancy-schmancy makeup, Guerlain’s got that sh*t on lock. Everything from the packaging (amaze!) to the formulas are almost always top notch, and I love the luxe touches like the smile imprint on the pan and, although this depends on your personal point of view, the scented powders.

“Ah…” she sighed, as she practically stuck her nose in the pan.

Their stuff smells so darned good to me! This one, like a lot of Guerlain powders, smells like freesia, and if you can, please try to be that weirdo who rolls up to a Guerlain counter, sticks her nose into all of the compacts and takes a deep breath.

And I’m not just saying that because I haven’t had my nap yet. 🙂 I really do think you owe it to yourself to smell Guerlain’s makeup. I really mean that!

Speaking of naps and tired people, gosh, I sure am getting tired (there I go again!) of saying that: “I’m tired!” Seriously, how many times am I going to say “tired” in this sentence?

Nevertheless, I woke up at the witching hour last night — right at 3 a.m. — which always freaks me out. If, instead, I get up at 4 or 2, I’m fine, because I guess I know I’ll be able to fall back to sleep eventually without worrying about being an unwilling star in a scary movie. (“Slowly, as if gently pushed from behind, the door opened a crack…”)

But yeah, there’s something about waking up at exactly 3 a.m. that scares the living crap outta me…

Anyways, I had a really hard time going back to sleep. I did eventually, but it took a while… I just lay there listening to Red Queen on my phone until I nodded off.

So if I say anything a little cuckoo-crazy in this post, that’s why (the witching hour).

Oh! — one of the things I want to do this afternoon is try this $5 It Radiant Lace Hydrogel Mask.

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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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