This fall Guerlain has released a stunning collection for fall. The standouts for me are the Écrin 4 Couleurs: nine eyeshadow quads in a diverse range of shades from neutral to colorful to dramatic ($59 each). Each palette is encased in a heavy-weight luxurious compact. I love that each palette comes with a unique mixture of finishes (matte, satin, iridescent). I’m one that prefers a finely milled shimmer in shadows to add depth to the eyes, but find the matte colors in each are equally beautiful as they do not fall flat like some mattes tend to do so.
The colors designed by Guerlain are all exquisite. It was hard to pick just one and I was eager to order even before seeing or trying these in person. You can see all nine colors 01 Les Violets, 02 Les Bleus, 03 Les Verts, 04 Les Bois de Rose, 05 Les Gris, 06 Les Fumés, 07 Les Cuirs, 08 Les Perlés, 09 Les Noirs previewed with details on Café Makeup and swatched on Yuki’s Lazy Channel. Thanks to their lovely previews I narrowed down my initial picks to 04, 05 and 06. I have been further tempted to purchase one more, but am going to wait for the next beauty event.
I have yet to play with these as they just arrived yesterday from Bergdorfs, however, my initial thoughts are that these appear to be highly pigmented, versatile, classic, polished and well designed. Even the neutral palettes seem fresh and unique compared to what we’ve seen in past years – something I think can be difficult to do given all the innovative products various brands have released in recent years. I definitely think the packaging and design is an improvement from the past quads. I only have 3 quads from Guerlain (here and here) and as you can see from the comparison below, I don’t find myself using them frequently.
Each palette comes in a black slip case (which I usually toss) and a tiny booklet of instructions/how-to’s. I haven’t tried these ideas yet but thought I’d include it for your reference. The diagrams, while detailed and inspirational, rarely work for me as my eyeshape rarely is the same as what is on the pictures.
Last fall Guerlain released a stunning collection of luxurious eyeshadow palettes with 6 shades per compact at jaw dropping price of $85 each. Amazing reviews, detailed features and lovely how-to’s complete with swatches tempted me from Karla Sugar, Temptalia, The Non-Blonde, Café Makeup and Yuki’s Lazy Channel (to name a few). I must admit I was very tempted. Yet when I saw these in person, as lovely as each palette was, I could not bring myself to spend a full $80+ on a single item. Irrational, I know. Buying multiple eyeshadows individually can easily exceed a total price of $80, still $85 on a single item was too much for me to swallow given the neutrality of each palette (they seemed very basic when I swatched them in person). The fall offerings this year seem better suited for me in terms of price and color selection. There is more to choose from, a more diverse range of textures in each palette and the price is lower making it easier for me to justify.
Detailed reviews and swatches to come soon on each palette. Have you seen the new quads for fall in person yet? Initial thoughts? Did you love last fall’s collections? Is there something I missed that I need to go check out again?
