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I have to admit that seeing holiday makeup collections being launched before the end of the summer annoys me a lot. I'm not ready for snowflakes, reindeers and large makeup sets when it's 90+ degrees outside! But for Guerlain I'll make an exception, I painfully learnt my lesson last year when I waited so long that the LE Météorites were sold out when I was finally ready to indulge. They were probably the most beautiful variation ever, and I missed them, ugh... Take a look at the breathtaking snow-globe inspired box they came in and you'll see why I'll never get over it. So this year I clicked the Add To Bag button as soon as I first saw them on Nordstrom!
Guerlain's entire holiday makeup collection this year is inspired by their iconic fragrance Shalimar, which is were the gold and blue theme comes from. The Perles de Légende (it means exactly what you think) Météorites come in their classic metal box, but in a stunning limited edition version. The lid's intricate geometric pattern evokes oriental decorative elements - not surprising when you know that Jacques Guerlain's inspiration to create Shalimar was Mumtaz Mahal, the woman for whom the famous Taj Mahal was built. As for the repetitive engraved pattern on the sides of the box, it looks like the decoration on the upper part of Guerlain's historic bee bottle, but with an extra line that reminds me of the tassel on Shalimar's bottle. If you have not clue what I'm talking about, look at those pictures below.
The top of a Bee Bottle - Picture by Guerlain |
When you open the magic box, you find a large black sponge covering the opening. This is not really a puff but more of a protection for the pearls of powder below, so it's not made to be used for applying product to the face. The Météorites have their unmistakable sweet violet scent that I adore. I could bathe in this scent every day! One thing I noticed was that the pearls seem a little bit more powdery and soft than usual, so it gets messy easily with powder flying around when I handle the box. I also get a lot more product than expected on my brush when I simply dip it in the pot, while with my other Météorites I need to swirl it around a bit. I'm not sure if the Perles de Légende are indeed softer or if mine just suffered in transport.
This year's Holiday Météorites contain pearls in three different colors: pink to refresh the complexion, gold to illuminate and blue to correct. There are few blue pearls in the container, the majority of the product is made of small golden and larger pink pearls, so don't be afraid to apply this odd color to your face. At first sight the Perles de Légende appear very sparkly, there's a jewel-like effect when I swatch it heavily with visible multi-colored glitter in pink, gold and blue. Because of the amount of sparkles I thought that I could only use it to highlight the high points of my face, cheek bones, forehead, nose and chin.
But to my surprise, the result is much softer and more subtle than expected when you apply a normal amount with a brush, so I have no problem using it all over the face as a finishing powder. That's how I use the Météorites in Clair from the permanent range. If you look closely enough you can see some individual shimmer particles, but from a normal viewing distance they're not noticeable. It's really not over-the-top, so you don't have to fear the disco ball effect. And I'm saying that as someone who prefers a rather matte base and dislikes shimmery primers such as Becca's Backlight because they're too shiny!
Wearing Guerlain Meteorites Perles de Legende on top of Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. See, no sparkly face! |
What the Perles de Légende do is make my skin look smooth and radiant. They add soft luminosity and they lightly blur texture and discoloration. Their effect is not very different from what I get with the permanent Météorites in Clair, with a bit more radiance and less color-correction. Because the result is very natural it's absolutely impossible to capture in photos for me, but in real life they visibly make my skin look more beautiful. It's subtle, refined and very pretty. On me the powder stays all day long, although I do need to use blotting papers on my T-zone in the middle of the day when it's hot.
The Météorites never look powdery on the skin, and since they're sheer I believe that deeper skin tones should be able to use the Perles de Légende as well. They're so luminous that I don't think they would turn ashy, but they may be better as a highlighter for the deepest complexions. If you have a deeper skin tone than mine and you've tried them, let me know what you think!
Overall
The Perles de Légende are a gorgeous edition of the iconic Météorites! Guerlain did a fantastic job with the Shalimar inspired metal box, and the pearls offer the same luminous, radiant effect as the shades in the permanent range, with just a bit more shimmer. In fact their result is similar enough that you may not need them if you already own a permanent version. But if you're a collector, if you're new to the Météorites world or if you just like nice things, don't hesitate to get the Perles de Légende, you won't be disappointed!
Where to buy?
Take a look a the rest of Guerlain's Holiday 2016 collection:
The product featured in this review was purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.
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