I've been a fan of Guerlain's Météorites for many years. The first time I bought these illuminating and correcting pearls of powder, I lived in Turkey. They came in a cardboard box then, but a very pretty one. I still have that box in the Mythic shade, which was renamed Claire when they updated the packaging. I get very excited whenever Guerlain releases a new limited edition of their cult Météorites, so of course I purchased the Gold Pearl created for the Holidays 2017. Is this version as amazing as the others? Let's find out!




I don't want to beat around the bush here, the answer is no. No, sadly, the Gold Pearl edition is definitely not my favorite version of the Météorites, and I'd even say it's not worth the price ($65).




First there's the packaging. I was just saying in last week's #FrenchFriday post about Guerlain's new liquid matte lipstick that you can always count on the brand to create gorgeous packaging. Well, not this time. It might look great in pictures, but trust me, it's not up to the brand's usual standard. It looks like it should be metal, but it's actually a rather light plastic that feels cheap to the touch.




Guerlain's attention to detail has gone out the window here: their logo on top of the lid is not engraved as you'd expect, it's an ugly sticker. And the logo is printed off-center. There's also a big gap where the lid opens, so the container doesn't look like a smooth sphere. I think the idea for this golden ball with ridges was great, but the execution is mediocre at best. Sorry Guerlain, but this is unacceptable for the price, especially considering the wonderful, luxurious packaging we usually get for the Météorites holiday editions! Just compare to last year's stunning metal container, I have lots of photos in my review.




Then, there's the size. This 2017 Holiday edition contains 20g of product, versus 25g last year. And the price remained the same. Obviously you don't pay for better packaging since last year's was considerably more luxe, all metal, all engraved. Not only do you get less product, the inner container which houses the pearls of powder is super tiny and shallow. That makes it very difficult to swirl a full size powder brush in the pearls (that's how you're supposed to use the Météorites) without throwing a few out of the ball by accident. In my container all the white balls are on top, and the larger, tan balls are at the bottom. There's absolutely no way I can pick up color from these darker balls...




Let's talk about the effect. The Météorites are meant to be very subtle, but this edition really doesn't do much for me. It mattifies, but I don't get any illumination of my complexion, not much blurring of my imperfections, and there is no color correction at all. Many versions of the Météorites contain green, lavender, pink or blue pearls to correct redness, sallowness and dark shadows, but the Gold Pearl edition does not. It's just white, beige, tan and gold. I can see a few sparkles here and there on my face, especially in direct sunlight, but I don't get the soft focus, luminous effect that the pearls from the permanent range provide.

The Gold Pearl edition in direct sunlight

Swatch of Guerlain Meteorites in Gold Pearl It's here, I swear

I'm very sad to say the Météorites Gold Pearl for Holiday 2017 is a miss for me. The packaging is a real let down, far from the quality I expect from Guerlain. As for the effect, it's much less visible than with other versions of the pearls of powder.





The product featured in this review was purchased by me. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links. I receive a very small commission when you click on those links, and the money generated covers a small portion of my expenses to purchase products for review. Clicking on those links helps ensure that Beaumiroir continues to publish reviews of new and exciting high end French products - at no cost to you!