I had been umming and ahhing about Guerlain Meteorites for years. A truly iconic beauty product, Meteorites were a product that I thought were not for me because of my rich skin tone. Colour correcting blue and lavender pearls (balls)? Luminizing white pearls? I’ll pass. Then Guerlain extended the shade range of the Meteorites so there are now for shades. Dore the deepest shade has bronze yellow, pink and lavender pearls.
Recently when I went to my local Guerlain counter to look at fragrance. The Meteorites were there but even better for me, the counter was unmanned! It gave me a chance to play with Dore and the limited edition Perles de Legende which is part of the Shalimar Christmas Collection. It is also a collaboration between Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova and Guerlain. It is said to be inspired by Indian pigments…but for me that is just marketing blurb (sorry).
As is expected from the House of Guerlain, the packaging is stunning. Meteorites are truly a dressing table staple. You get twenty five grams of product which is plenty of powder and the violet fragrance that is Guerlain’s signature is a pleasant part of the experience every time you open the tin.. I plumped for Perles de Legende for two reasons It is far more sparkly than Dore but it is also more translucent than Dore which has a very slight white cast on my skin. The ratio of five green to twenty pink pearls (yes I did count them) is good for my skin tone. Also I preferred the packaging!
Having made my purchase, I have been playing with these every day for a couple of weeks, so I feel like I truly get it now. Perles de Legende is sparkly but somehow it is not glittery on the face. There is something special about the formula because you think that you are going to look like a glitter ball but somehow you don’t. The brush picks up gold pink and blue reflex from the pearls, yet they are so small and smooth on the skin it just gives a very pretty gentle glow, You think it is going to be too much, but somehow it isn’t.
The key to meteorites is the application. Choose a fluffy brush, either a powder brush if you are going to wear it all over the face or a highlighter brush if you are going to be focusing it on the high points of the face.
- Don’t pick up too much product. You can always go back into the beautiful tin. A couple of dabs on the balls is enough.
- Use a light hand. This product is a finishing powder, you don’t bake with it or apply it thickly. A a gentle swipe over the face allows you to see the magic.
- Let it settle on the skin. Give it a minute. The sparkle will be almost imperceptible unless you hold a bright light 2 inches from your skin. You will just look good.
People get obsessed with this product buying every permanent and limited edition release. I get the obsession. They are pretty on the skin and your dressing table, and of course they are highly Instagramable. I am glad I took the leap, and waited for the Perles de Legende iteration, but in all honesty, this is not going to be the start of a meteorites collection for me.