Guerlain Cruel Gardenia

Guerlain's Meteorites Cruel Gardenia highlighter initially launched in January 2012 with the Guerlain Spring 2012 collection.  It sold out of its initial run and quickly became one of those cult, hard to find products.  You can still find some from the original run online for a 100% mark up.  I've been lusting after it for two years and then randomly, it was available at my local Dillards a few weeks ago.

I have no idea when it was re-released.  There is nothing on the official Guerlain site about it and I haven't seen any press releases.  I have no idea if this is another limited edition run or if it is now part of the Guerlain permanent collection.  It's not on the Dillards website, but it's definitely on counter as I know several other people who have seen it nationally.

(daybulb)

(indirect natural light)

The design on the powder is surprisingly resilient.  Using a brush, it is difficult to pick up too much product.  (And I had a heck of a time trying to get enough product for a heavy swatch without running my fingers all over the design).  Heavily swatched, it can look like a cool, pinky metallic, but otherwise adds a very subtle sheen with a tiny bit of microglitter.

I tried to find a dupe just for the color and ended up with eyeshadows.  I don't have any highlighters which are overly similar to this.  Of the shadows that are similar in color, two are metallic cream shadows.  I think it's safe to say you're probably not going to be slapping those babies on your cheeks, but purely as an exercise in product duping, here you go:

(daybulb)

(indirect natural light)

(direct natural light)

As for how Cruel Gardenia compares to other highlighting products, I compared heavy swatches. You probably aren't going to use a highlighter this heavily, so your mileage will most assuredly vary depending on how much you apply.  

Cruel Gardenia is as bright as the more metallic highlighters without being overly metallic itself.  It really is a beautiful product.  Everything about it is beautiful.  The design is beautiful, the packaging is beautiful, the effect on the skin is beautiful.  This is a lovely, totally non-essential product that, if you have the money to spend, is totally worth it and will keep you warm on those cold winter nights (or maybe that's just me.)

The packaging is nice and luxe (as it should be at this price point).  The compact is heavy and is made of high gloss plastic that manages to not feel cheap at all.  It feels substantial in your hand.  

My only complaint is that the lid of the product screws onto the base at exactly the same level of the powder.  And the design in the powder is actually raised, so it would be easy for someone as suave as myself to accidentally gouge the product while trying to either open or close it.  It hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

The Guerlain Meteorites in Cruel Gardenia contains 9 grams of product and retails for $68.  As stated before, I picked mine up at a Dillards counter and I know other people who did as well (at a different Dillards counter from mine), but it does not appear to be available at any of the major retailer websites or the Guerlain website.  If you find one, please let me know where you got it.

Overall:  10/10

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Baked Bronzer in Light Bronzer

Seriously, what is it with Physicans Formula and the names?!?!

I mentioned that a couple of weeks ago, I picked up some Physicians Formula products at CVS while they were 50% off.  One of the products that I picked up is the Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Baked Bronzer in Light Bronzer (what a mouthful).

As previously mentioned, while Physicians Formula could definitely improve their pricepoint (and occasionally, their quality), they certainly get packaging right.  Just look at this thing.  It's adorable.

Unlike the blush I reviewed recently, which was a big old disapointment, I really like this bronzer.  You can get three distinct shades.  

• Heart -  is an orangy gold.  I don't think you could use it as a bronzer, but it could definitely be used as a highlighter, though I tend to use it as an eyeshadow.  
• Outer circle - is a champagne brown.  On lighter skintones, it could be dark enough to be used as a bronzer, but again, it's shimmery enough that on some skintones it could be a highlighter (or eyeshadow).
• Mixed - is a slightly warmer champagne.  Again, highlighter, bronzer or eyeshadow depending on your skintone and proclivities.

The bronzer is baked, so you get an irridescent sheen, but it doesn't contain any straight up glitter.  It has good color payoff, but can be easily sheered out.  I got a good six hours of wear time out of it before I noticed any fading.

The Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Baked Bronzer in Light Bronzer contains 9.5 grams of product and usually retails for around $11 wherever Physicians Formula is sold.  I got mine at CVS (for 50% off).

Overall:  8/10

Rouge Bunny Rouge Highlighting Powder in Sweet to Touch

As I mentioned a while ago, this spring I went on a bit of a kick and picked up several Rouge Bunny Rouge products.  I got them from BeautyHabit, which is still a far better deal for people living in the US than buying direct from the RBR web boutique (FWIW).

Overall, the haul was pretty hit or miss.  I absolutely love the eyeshadows and lipsticks.  The blush and this highlighting powder and rather underwhelming.

I know that people seem to rave about the RBR liquid highlighters, but I already have several liquid highlighters, so I opted for their powder highlighter in Sweet To Touch.  They do have another, darker, shade, called Goddess.

As with a lot of highlighters, it's really difficult to swatch.  The product doesn't provide much color on my skintone, but it does add sheen.  I would be concerned that this product could look ashy on darker skintones.

The effect of this powder is similar to the Kevyn Aucoin celestial veil highlighter in candlelight (review forthcoming), but it's not as good.  And really, at this price point and with this much hype, I want it to be great.  It's not great.  In fact, I think it's very middle of the road.

It's a subtle highlighter.  It's finely milled without being overly powdery.  It's not glittery at all.  It's ... lovely.  But the thing is, at this price point, RBR is competing with lines like Kevyn Aucoin, Tom Ford, Guerlain and Armani.  

And while RBR is nice, it's not on par with those brands.

If you buy direct from the RBR site, this product will cost you 39 euros, which as of today, is just over $50 - before shipping.  (If you buy it from BeautyHabit, it's $39).  That puts this product in Meteorites territory and while it's nice, it's certainly not Meteorites nice.

The packaging is cute.  It's high gloss black with a floral design and a nicely sized mirror.  But again, at this price point, it is competing with brands who can put out some seriously substantial and luxurious packaging.  This packaging reminds me of MAC.  It's good, sturdy, aesthetically pleasing, but not great.

The Rouge Bunny Rouge highlighting powder in Sweet To Touch contains a substantial 12 grams of product.  As I said earlier, if you buy it from BeautyHabit, it's $39 (which puts it in the range of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders and I do think it compares well to some of those shades and textures).  If you buy it from the RBR web boutique, you're looking at around $50 plus shipping.

Overall: 5/10

Avon Glow Bronzing Pearls in Sunkissed

I know, just about every beauty line out there now have their very own ripoff of the Guerlain Meteorites.  I lust after the Guerlain Meteorites.  But I do not need another finishing powder, no matter how beautiful.  So I've saved myself the $58.  However, this does not preclude me from trying the cheap knockoffs.

I've seen several YouTubers using the Avon Glow Bronzing Pearls.  I'm pretty sure they came out with Avon's summer 2012 collection.  They're no longer available from Avon and I have to tell you, if you missed them, you're not missing much.

I'm not exactly sure what complexion this particular shade could bronze.  You see the swatch above?  The one where you can barely see where the product is swiped.  Yeah.  There's virtually no pigmentation to this product.  I picked up Sunkissed.  I'm sure it came in at least one other, darker, shade.  

It's a highlighter.  It does have a decent amount of shimmer.  Not the most finely milled or flattering shimmer, but it's there.  I know that a lot of people love the scent of this product.  As previously mentioned, my sense of smell is pretty non-existent, so that's not exactly a plus for me.

Overall, this product feels gimmicky.  It's a chunky, gimmicky highlighter and it sits largely unloved in the back of my makeup drawer.  If I was in desperate need of a highlighter, I suppose this would work, but I have other highlighters that I love far more and that are far less messy and cumbersome to use.

Avon Glow Bronzing Pearls in B01 Sunkissed contain a whopping 22 grams of product.  I picked mine up on sale from Avon.com for $6.99.

Overall:  4/10

Givenchy Healthy Glow Powder in 1 Premiere Croisiere

I absolutely love bronzers and blush.  This is a known fact.  And lately I've been really curious about some higher end, harder to find brands, specifically Rouge Bunny Rouge (which I will talk about in a separate post) and Givenchy.

Givenchy is available exclusively through Sephora, but is not carried in my local Sephora, so there's pretty much no way to see before you buy.  So in a fit of impulse buying the other day, I decided to pick up the Givenchy Poudre Bonne Mine Healthy Glow Powder, which Sephora categorizes as a bronzer.

It's lovely, by the way.

And the description sounds lovely.  Sephora says:

 "Totally weightless and invisible on the skin, this creamy formula provides ultimate softness and a light-as-air natural finish. With a consistency that’s easy to blend, this bronzer can be applied alone with the Givenchy Kabuki brush or over Mister Radiant. Use it year-round to smooth pores, even the skin’s texture, and provide a healthy glow."

I will fully admit it's my own fault for not looking up swatches first.  (Here, go look - Karla Sugar has some fantastic swatches.)  I made an assumption based on the Sephora description that this was indeed a bronzer (it may be if you buy it in one of the darker shades, but it doesn't seem that the line as a whole is a bronzer line).

I think this is more of an illuminating finishing powder, much like the MAC Mineralize Natural line, Guerlain Meteorites, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, etc, etc.  And like the Guerlain and Hourglass products, it is hella expensive.  $50 for 7 grams of product.

Don't get me wrong, it does look lovely.  I'm sure it looks nice on the skin.  I don't know.  Because I need another illuminating finishing powder like I need a hole in the head, so I returned it (without swatching, not that you would have been able to see anything even if I did swatch it.).  

I wanted a bronzer.

Even for my pasty pale skin, this shade is certainly not a bronzer.  I probably would have had to get the darkest shade if I wanted something approaching a bronzer, but that doesn't really seem to be what this powder is designed to do.

I'm not going to bother rating this product since it seems designed to do something vastly different than the purpose for which I purchased it.  I am thankful that Sephora did give me my refund without any hassle (though I did get a dirty look, which whatever.)

I was really curious about Givenchy.  I picked up several different products (reviews coming soon) and it was really hit or miss.  At this price point, I expect more.  The packaging is underwhelming and it is really irritating not to be able to see it in person before purchasing.