Guerlain Christmas 2013 - Crazy Paris Eye Palette

  
This is my final post about the Guerlain "Crazy Paris" Christmas 2013 collection, On Monday I featured the Sulfurous nail polish and UV topcoat, on Tuesday there was the Provocative Rouge G, yesterday I featured the Crazy Pearls Les Meteorites, and today I'm showing you the Crazy Paris eyeshadow palette, which is on the far right of the picture above.

Guerlain haven't done a stand-alone eye palette in the Christmas collection for about four years now, I think it was a Russian theme last time (I still have it somewhere, must dig it out now I come to think of it), but this is a little different.  In the same sleek black-lacquered case we've seen in the rest of the collection, but this time the neon pink adornment is on the inside, not the outside:

There are four eyeshadow shades, a copper, a pale gold champagne, a shimmering white, and a cool sparkling pink.  Next to that, there are two shadow liners, one a mid-grey and the other a dark charcoal (it's definitely not quite black), the liner shades are "wet & dry" powders, meaning you can wet them down for a more pigmented look.

Here's how they swatch:

As you can see, they're not the most hugely pigmented shadows out there - the coppery shade is by far the softest and easiest to work with.  The pink is the least pigmented, but it is intended purely to add a sparkly finish to the other shadows, using the pink brush supplied in the palette, rather then being a stand-alone shade in its own right.  Guerlain suffer from patchiness when it comes to shadows, and this palette shows off the vagaries of their formulations quite well, some shades are soft and buttery, and some are rather hard and are more difficult to work with as a result.   I think the liners will work well wet, however, and a primer underneath all the shades would really give all the colours a  bit of "oomph".

It's an unusual mix of shades, I think, with the warm richness of the copper contrasting hugely with the rest of the cool shades, but I think I can make it work, I'll show you a FotD with this palette soon.

So, which are my top picks from this collection?  Well, it's the products featured below ...

 What caught your eye?

The Fine Print: PR Samples.
 
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Guerlain Christmas 2013 - Les Meteorites "Crazy Pearls".

All this week, I'm featuring my picks of the Guerlain "Crazy Paris" Collection for Christmas 2013.  On Monday, I showed you the nail varnish in Sulfurous and the UV topcoat, and yesterday, it was the turn of the new Rouge G in Provocative. 

Today it's the turn of what is the cornerstone of any Guerlain Christmas collection, Les Meteorites Perles:

Thankfully back in a tin pot this year (I hate the cardboard pots of perles that occasionally get released, if you're spending £37 on a pot of face powder - and you are - then you want it to last), it's black-laquered, and it is adorned with the words "Champs Elysees" embossed in neon letters around the sides.  Whilst I love the black and pink that is the signature of this collection, I have to admit that I'm not a massive fan of this particular tin this year, I much prefer the sleeker styling of the Meteorites Perles de Nuit from Christmas 2011.  This is ... whilst I hesitate to actually say it's tacky, I'm think I'm going to have to say that it's a  ... bit tacky.  So there.

Right, having got that off my chest, let's take a look at the perles, eh?

New to the mix this year is a "tangy" pink, cool toned, it mixes with the gold, white, lavender and beige of the rest of the perles quite well:

It's quite a bright pot this year!  They're still delightfully scented with violets, and give the same "airbrush" finish that you get with the normal perles.  They're not coloured enough to act as a blusher, and don't appear pink on the skin.

I tried my best to swatch the perles, but this is a hiding to nothing, as you can see below:

I always have a pot of Les Meteorites on the go, they're easy to dip into, I adore the smell, and love the airbrushed, non-cakey effect. But, whilst it might be a collectors item, I'm not a huge fan of the tin.  Still, you don't wear the tin, eh?

What do you think of the packaging this year?

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Guerlain Christmas 2013 - Rouge G in Provocative.

All this week I'm featuring the "Crazy Paris" collection from Guerlain this Christmas.  Yesterday, I featured the Sulfurous nail polish and UV topcoat, and today it's the turn of the Rouge G from the collection, in Provocative.

I mentioned last week that I love a Rouge G (or seven),  and this one is no disappointment either.  Given a black coat of glossy lacquer, and with a neon pink button, I think this might be my favourite packaging of the entire collection.  It's reminiscent of the summer collection from a couple of years ago, but those had a silver button rather than pink.  So, what's inside?

A glorious pink.  Pink took over as my favourite lipstick shade a good while ago, and this is a great medium pink.  Highly saturated in shade, but neither too cool or warm, it's a good, extremely versatile colour that I think would suit all manner of skintones (I'd love to see this on some very dark or deeply tanned skins).  I'm still currently sporting my winter shade of pale blue, owing to trialling a number of factor 50 suncreams recently, and I like the contrast between the pale skin and bright lipstick, as you can see below.

You can see the skin on my hands makes the colour seem a little bluer than it will look on darker skins, but on my rather pigmented lips, it's not quite so cool, and pulls more neutral. It very definitely isn't a "hot" pink, however.

It has the same great Rouge G formula, being soft and moisturising, and rather featherlight in wear.  The lasting power is average, reaching 4-6 hours, depending on what you eat and drink whilst wearing it.

It'll be £36 pounds (yowch!) and launches November 1st. 

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Guerlain Christmas 2013 - Nail Polish 861 Sulfurous & UV Topcoat

 
This year's Christmas Collection from Guerlain is a little departure from the classic Guerlain designs. Taking its theme as "Crazy Paris", it's a celebration of colour inspired by the sights and sounds of the brand's home city. Packaged in shiny black accented with glints of neon pink, it consists of an eyeshadow palette, a nail polish and top coat, a new Rouge G, a Rouge Automatic, the iconic Meterorites perles, a perfumed shimmer powder (this year in La Petite Robe Noire), and two new pressed powders one a bronzer, and one pressed Meteorites.  I'm loving the black and the pink (in the most part), but how do the products stack up?

 Well, I have a selection of them here, and I'll be showcasing the collection throughout the week, starting today with the "black without black" nail polish: Sulfurous (£18).

I love this colour, it's a deep, dark grey, with hints of brown but there's a beautiful hint of violet and pink in there too. Whilst it is deep, you could consider the shade almost a neutral.  In some lights it is brown, others it's a grey, and in yet others it could be considered a purple, it's a very complex, and rather beautiful colour, I like it a great deal.

The pictures in this post show the shade after three days of wear, and I have to admit I've been impressed with how it's worn so far.  I was a little sceptical when Guerlain announced their entry into nailcare, but on the evidence of this polish, and the other one I've had to test recently, I have to admit my cynicism was a little misplaced.

The collection also comes with a UV topcoat (£18), which has three main functions.  One, as a glossy topcoat, obvs. Two, if you wear it on bare nails, the slight purple tones will have a whitening effect on any staining, or yellowness,and thirdly, it'll also glow under ultra violet light!  Now, I can't even remember the last time I went near a UV light, and I doubt I'll be near one in the near future either unless I buy an aquarium ... however, it's a good very glossy (albeit slightly on the gloopy side) topcoat, which really does seem to protect the polish it's covering.  It's not particularly quick-drying though, beware!

The "Crazy Paris" Christmas collection from Guerlain will launch on November 1st.

Back tomorrow with more of the collection ... 

The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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Lippie's Lust List #847,563,476: Guerlain Christmas 2013

Basically, this is just a sneaky peek at what's coming up on the blog next week (what do you mean I only showed you Guerlain Autumn last week?) ....

Anything catch your eye? 

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Gels from L'Occitane, Ioma and Champneys.

Confession time: I am not doing well in this heat.  I am exhausted to the point where I've actually considered getting myself admitted  to hospital just to get some damn rest (and I'm not even slightly joking), sleeping in this humidity is proving next to impossible, and when you add in that July brought some bad tidings, and well, it's not been my favourite month this year, not by a long chalk.  Things are, however, getting better as the heat starts to lessen.

These gel body products have also been helping.  Ordinarily, I don't use body lotion (I have normal skin from the neck down, so I don't need body lotions very often at all), and I definitely don't get along with gel products as a rule (up until recently, you couldn't have paid me to use a gel product on my face, however, that's a topic for a different blog post), but in this heat, these three have been a godsend.

First of all, L'Occitane Lavande Body & Massage Gel.  Ostensibly a product designed for massage, this lavender-scented gel is thick and rather viscous, but rubs in nicely and is gloriously cool in the doing so.  I like this rubbed onto the back of the neck and over the forehead to both cool and soothe on stressful days. £20 from L'Occitane stockists.

Next is Ioma Soothing Gel for Legs.  A menthol-scented gel that is simply THE most cooling thing on the planet.  It's wonderful on your feet if you've had a hard day wandering around all over, refreshing and feels cleansing, and really cools down hot limbs and extremities.  The bumpf that goes with this product claims that it is great for all kinds of skin and leg concerns (including varicose veins). Sadly I haven't been using it long enough to test any of those claims, but this feels magnificent on the skin, and the added menthol zing really adds to the cooling sensation.  On the down side, this is £55 from Harrods.

And finally, the cheap and cheerful option, which is the Champneys Energising Lime Hydrating Body Gel.  Deliciously scented with lime and peppermint (reminiscent of a mojito), this rather thin and runny gel is great for cooling chests and arms, where you can smell and enjoy the refreshing scent.  It's not quite as cooling as the Ioma gel owing to the lack of menthol in the mix, but it is a good moisturising product, and the smell is lovely.  Cheap as chips too,  it's available at Boots for £8.  Get some in!  Anyone for a cocktail?  Anyone? Anyone?

How are you managing in the hot weather?
 
The Fine Print: Mixture of PR samples and purchases.

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Sneak Peek! QVC TSV 02/08: Ego Boost Pod

 

I love a TSV, don't you?  And I love beautiful packaging too, luckily for me the Ego Boost Pod is both.  What's an Ego Boost Pod? I hear you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  It is, essentially, a set of heated rollers, but with a bit of a difference, one not limited to the lovely package.

Inside the box is a "pod", a set of 14 rollers, and clips to hold them in your hair.  They're extremely simple to use - you just pop a roller into the pod, wait till it beeps (it'll take just four seconds), then roll it into position in your hair.  Then you simply pop another roller into the pod to heat up, and repeat until you're done. You can get all of them both heated up, and into position in about five minutes, or even less if you've already combed and sectioned your hair ready to go.

Best of all the rollers don't burn your fingers! The heat is on a bit of a delay, so they only really start warming up once they're already in position, very handy if, like me, you're a bit of a cack-handed muppet.  You take them out once they're cooled (which takes about 15-20 minutes), brush through, and presto! Lovely hair.  I've tried them out a few times this week, and my hair has been great, full of body and bounce, and not having to wait for the rollers to heat up has been a blessing.


The pod is a beautifully designed bit of kit, I especially adore the way the back of the pod pops out to give you somewhere to store the cable - so useful! Hey, I'm easily pleased.  It means you can keep it out on your dressing table without having a tangle of messy wires all over the place.  I have an Ego hairdryer which has been going strong for nearly five years now, they're a company I like (well, I'm a big fan of burgundy, I would).  Whilst I'd say the purchase price was high, on a cost per use basis, they're as cheap as chips if the use I get from my hairdryer is anything to go by ... one handy hint though, you will need some extra rollers if you have a lot of hair, so if you get a chance to buy some supplemental roller packs, do so.

The Ego Boost Pod set of heated rollers will normally retail  on QVC at £120, but on Friday 2nd August, it will be the Today's Special Value on the channel where you will get the pod, alongside fourteen rollers alongside clips, for an extra-special price - look out for it!  EDIT: Today's price is only £99.99, and is available on Easy Pay for three instalments of £33.33.

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