Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs 06 Les Fumés Review and Swatches

I bought this from Tracy during her blog sale for $44 including shipping, which is more than 25% off the full price. It's still rather more than I would normally spend, but I wanted something compact and pretty for the conference. (Ironically, it was so hot that I only did my eye makeup one day out of the 4, but hey, best to be prepared?) Now that I have it, I see myself getting a lot of use out of it for school––between my new hair and the classy eyes this palette creates, I'm gonna get mad respect from my students.

Which is clearly warranted.

When Indulgences Aren't

Another one for the "things I sent back" mental pile: Guerlain Meteorites in Teint Rose.

$58 for 1.05 oz, via Sephora

I bought it after finishing the term, and because I had the $20 off Sephora coupon, and eagerly awaited its arrival. Beautiful packaging, lovely presentation, I actually really like the smell (like candied violets, which is a perfume I would never want to wear, but it's nice as a face powder), and even the fact that I didn't see much of a (okay, any) difference when wearing it didn't mute my excitement. Care to guess what did?

Yep, it broke me out. SURPRISE! To no one, ever. It may be the bismuth oxychloride, which is known for causing break-outs, or it may be some completely innocuous ingredient that no one has ever reacted badly to, ever, and ugh, wouldn't it be nice to not have insanely reactive acne-prone skin?

So back to Sephora it goes. And now I'm on the lookout for a replacement "hurray, you not only survived the term but got good grades to boot! Way to go, self!" present. I'll probably pick up something when I'm in SoCal––where I'll be for Christmas, yay! My mother and I are vacationing down there for a few days, bracketed by some time up in Portland (starting tomorrow!), and I plan to do lots of cosmetics shopping, or at least swatching, while I'm around places that actually carry a variety of brands.

Have you tried Meteorites? What did you think? Any suggestions for luxe beauty indulgences I should check out? Or places in the LA/Newport Beach area we should visit (and, more importantly, eat at)?

Lips and Tips

The lovely Larie inspired me to try matching my nail polish to my lipstick, so here's the combo I came up with!

There is no way to get nails and lips together in a photo without it looking ridiculous.

I wanted to wear the gorgeous Wet N Wild Waves of Enchantment (which according to the internet is very similar to Zoya Rica, which unlike WoE is not limited edition), and it then occurred to me that I could probably construct a lip that was similar! I first applied Guerlain Chamade, then topped it with Revlon Sweet Tart and blended them together. I finished off with a layer of Clarins Coral Pink, which gave my lips a similar golden sheen as my nails.

Trust me, I tried. (Out of focus to show the lip shimmers)

The lips were definitely less blingy than the polish, but the color scheme ended up being very similar! They're more alike in the sun than the shade, though, as the polish tends to be very orange-gold in the shade and loses the pinkness. All told, I quite liked it! And I wore it with Bella Bamba on my cheeks, which is a blush that seems to be closely related as well. Oh, coral-pink-gold, you are so summery.

Ahaha, stock photo of girl holding hand up and laughing at nothing? I don't even know.

Have you ever matched your lips and nails? What's your favorite combination?

30 Days: Day 11

Hey, y'all! I'm writing this (note; the post itself was written awhile ago) from Bandon on the Oregon coast, a lovely little town. My mother and I came for a few days for a much-needed vacation, and so far it has been lovely. I've taken lots of pictures, but unfortunately forgot to bring my camera cord, so a full post will have to wait until I get home, at which point I will also catch up on comments and other blogs. Until then, though, have another 30 Days!

Show us your lippie collection! (Where "lippie" includes anything tinted you wear on lips, because I forgot to include lip balm and am too lazy to take more pictures.)

Full-coverage lipsticks: L'Oréal Infallible Le Rouge in Bold Bordeaux, Sephora Rouge Cream in Sexy Game, Clinique High Impact Lip Color in After Party

I rarely wear any of these, because I tend to not go for opaque lipstick, since I find it to be much less forgiving. I absolutely loathe the L'Oréal lipstick, and will post my scathing review once I take some more swatch pictures (the ones I have right now are after I fiddled with it for awhile to try and make it work, which is not as accurate a portrayal as I would like). The Sephora lipstick is a pretty color, it's just, again, really opaque, and I may throw it out. The Clinique is also very dark and vampy, but I find I can apply it sheerly when I want, and it was my first department store beauty purchase, so I'll hold onto it for sentimentality's sake if nothing else!

Fragrance Friday

I've been inspired by the Muse in Wooden Shoes' Scent Diary, and have decided that it may be a suitable compromise for Fragrance Friday: I can talk about perfumes, but I don't have to worry about writing a Real Review for which I am wildly unqualified. Let me know what you think! I'm happy to adjust as is appropriate.

Friday, June 1
Morning: Overcast but warm and humid, my least favorite kind of weather. Transferred Bond No. 9 Washington Square (Floral Woody Musk: rose [um, if you say so], tarragon, leather, vetiver) into a spray vial; dabbed the emptied vial onto my arm and spritzed once down my cleavage. I quite dislike the opening, though it's better dabbed than sprayed; it smells a lot like bug spray, and if I had Clinique Aromatics Elixir, I would compare them. It gets a lot better after ~half an hour, though, and turns into a "floral woody musk" with awesome longevity, managing to survive my sweatiness.

Evening: Finally started raining and cooled down some. Took a shower post-nap, because I felt gross and sticky. Sprayed Guerlain Nahéma (Oriental Floral: rose, peach, bergamot, green, aldehyde, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, jasmine, lilac, lily of the valley, vanilla, passion flower, Peru balsam, vetiver, sandalwood) down my shirt twice (equivalent of one big spray) to wear out to BFL; smells like "virtual rose" (LT, in Perfumes: The Guide), but I apparently do not want to smell like rose, virtual or otherwise. It's fine, it's just not love. Good sillage and longevity, though.

Saturday, June 2
Morning: Cooler and still overcast, had been raining; sprayed Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle (Floral: jasmine, orange blossom [blessedly absent to my nose], hyacinth, tuberose, nutmeg, clove, styrax, musk, vanilla) down my shirt. Really unpleasant opening that reminds me of L'Heure Bleue (camphor and menthol galore), but after half an hour the tuberose starts to come out to play. Remains somewhat icy, which makes it nice for cool, damp weather, but the tuberose keeps it from being unfriendly (unlike Après l'Ondée, which is an ice queen through-and-through). Weather ended up warming up and the sun came out, and TC remained lovely. Great sillage.

Evening: Wasn't really feeling any of my perfumes, so decided to burn a Pacifica candle instead (Mexican Cocoa [Oriental Spicy: nutmeg, cinnamon, almond, vanilla, mexican chocolate], a chocolate-y, warm oriental). I think the soy candles release more scent than the votives, but it still made my office smell nice. Took MM's advice and picked up a $1 long-handled lighter at the Dollar Tree, which means I can now light candles with impunity! (I am very afraid of fire.)

Fragrance Friday: Some Mini Reviews (Miniviews?)

I've been entirely too busy with life stuff lately and haven't really had the chance to write up full reviews for perfume, not to mention I am so unqualified to do so. And so, I've decided to post "miniviews" of things I've smelled, with links to more substantial reviews from other legit perfume bloggers where warranted. These are basically just the notes I took on my phone when I went perfume hunting with L at the Eugene mall (which has a truly paltry selection of perfume, so don't be expecting anything niche here), so some are very brief and uninformative, though I've added some extra comments in parentheses. Hopefully they're witty enough for you to forgive me their lack of content! (Also, if you haven't already, be sure to enter the giveaway! It closes Monday.)

Cacharel Anaïs Anaïs: Nope, smells outdated. (Classified as a floral by Fragrantica, where it received not great reviews. I think the vintage was better, but am not about to try and hunt it down.)

Chanel No. 5: Yes, aldehydes, but I like it much better in edt than edp form, because the underlying floralcy can come out. Worth smelling, should probably try on skin. (Aldehydes and I don't get along particularly well, so I don't actually plan on getting a sample of this. I know, cue perfumista horror. See Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This's reviews.)

Clinique Aromatics Elixir: L described it as bug spray. I cannot put it better myself. Perhaps it's better when worn, but I don't really feel a burning desire to find out. (This is a classic, polarizing chypre, so I really should try it on skin sometime. Maybe I'll try the next time I'm at the mall. See Bois de Jasmin's review.)

Dior Hypnotic Poison: Okay, smells like vanilla and licorice to me. Maybe the woods come out when you wear it, but I'm not willing to find out. Too strong, too sweet. (See Now Smell This's review for a more flattering opinion.)

Dior Poison: Smelled this years ago and hated it; still holds true today. Way too big, couldn't even try and find the notes. Just no. ("Poison" is an accurate name, at least! This is arguably THE perfume of the 80s, with everything that comes with that. Should stay in the 80s, thank you very much, along with shoulder pads, big perms, and the Berlin Wall.)

Currently Coveting: Bronzers and Highlighters

Currently Coveting is an intermittent feature on products that catch my attention, whether new, cult classics, or something in between!


I'm pretty pale, much like French is pretty nasal. I've never been matched to MAC's main line of foundations, but Matchmaster 1 is just a little bit dark for me, so I'd guess I'm in the NW 5-10 range depending on season. Most of the time, I'm just fine with that; sure, I have to wear sunscreen like whoa, and gigantic sun hats are my best friend (after bunnies, I mean), but I am just way too lazy to try to fake a tan. I'm also pretty oily, much like cheese is pretty delicious. I use multiple products daily to try and keep my shine to a minimum, and still am not entirely pleased with my results.

And yet. And yet. Lately, I've been finding myself feeling like picking up a bronzer and/or highlighter. I already have a bronzer, Benefit Hoola, and almost never wear it, and a luminizer, theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, which I can't even tell is there after application, so I justify considering buying new ones by saying I'll use it them contouring, since, while the Meow Skinny Dipper is the perfect color for contouring, I am always far too lazy (notice a trend?) to bother with loose powder in the morning, and Hoola is too dark to be a foolproof contour. Really, though, I just want them because they're pretty. Fortunately, I have more restraint than that (barely), but here are some that have particularly caught my eye:

Combos

Korres Magic Light Contouring Trio Santorini, $28 for 0.30 oz

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush, $75 for 0.56 oz

Guerlain Rouge Automatique Lipstick in Chamade Review and Swatches

I've wanted to try the Rouge Automatique line since Temptalia reviewed Champs-Elysees and showed that it lasted through an Italian meal and said it was moisturizing to boot. Guerlain's Rouge G line of lipsticks is widely regarded as one of the best lipstick formulas there is (and is Temptalia's favorite), and Rouge Automatique is apparently nearly as good for $11 less. Unfortunately, that still means it's $35, so I knew I needed a good excuse to buy one. Guet-Apens was my long-time lemming, but I ended up deciding on Chamade since I figured I didn't have anything else like it, whereas I do have other darker lippies. Temptalia's review, which said Guet-Apens was lacking in the formula department, just confirmed my choice.

Guerlain Chamade Rouge Automatique

Fragrance Friday: Guerlain Mitsouko

I've been battling a cold since last Thursday, and while the sore throat has gone back where it came from (hell), the congestion has been much more tenacious. As such, I haven't been able to smell properly, which makes writing a fragrance review less feasible. Fortunately, I happened to have one already written, which I'm posting today! I was intending to post it with one or two other Guerlain frags, but what with the phlegm and stuff we'll just have to settle for the one. And really, if any fragrance deserves its own post, it's Mitsouko. Beautiful, beautiful Mitsouko...

Mitsouko, image via Fragrantica

Fragrance Friday: Guerlain Jicky and L'Heure Bleue

There are untold numbers of reviews and articles on Guerlain's classic perfumes, and I really don't have enough to add on the topic to warrant giving each their own post, so I've decided to cover a few of them at a time. I don't yet have all of the Guerlains that I would like to try, but I have several of the classic must-haves, 2 of which are the focus of this post. Before ordering my samples from The Perfumed Court, I had never actually smelled the classic Guerlains, only the newer ones available at department stores (like L'Instant de Guerlain and Insolence, and even those were years ago), but after reading so much about them I knew they had to be featured in my initial forays into the field.

Guerlain as a perfume house has been around since 1828, with the position of head perfumer handed down through the generations until 1994, when the company was sold to Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (MHLV), the luxury conglomerate (and though Jean-Paul Guerlain remained head perfumer until 2002, they brought in other perfumers to compete). Check out other perfume blogs for the general consensus on this (hint: 'fume heads were not, and still are not, pleased with the direction the company has since taken). The classic perfumes have been reformulated, some many, many times, both to make them more profitable and to eliminate ingredients that the perfume self-regulating agency deemed allergens or carcinogenic (nitro musks, for example, are no longer included in perfumes). Most perfume connoisseurs find the older editions superior to the reformulations, but some perfumes have had more successful updates than others (Mitsouko is considered a pretty faithful reformulation, whereas Balmain Vent Vert's new version is quite loathed). I am reviewing, and will probably always review, the new versions, unless the vintages are available from TPC/Surrender to Chance for a comparable price. There's also the matter of different strengths smelling different; the parfum/extrait versions are apparently all superior to the edt/edp versions, but they are also much more expensive, so I will stick with the cheaper, less potent eau de parfum (or eau de toilette, depending on which is the standard).

And now, without further ado, I give you the Guerlains, part 1!