Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Capri Eye Shadow Quad: The Rundown

Finally! I have gotten around to reviewing the Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Terra Azzura Capri eye shadow quad from the delightful Summer 2012 collection. I’ve had a few weeks to road test this product and see how versatile it is and how the shadow formula behaves.

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Eye Shadow Quad in Capri–French Riviera memories!

The Product Details

There are four (4) colors in this quad chosen to replicate a feeling of being in the French Riviera at summertime are as follow:

A shimmering ecru
A smokey brown
A satin pink
A semi-frosty peach coral

At first glance if you think you’ve seen a quad like this you probably have. MAC’s Call Me Bubbles quad that came out for Spring 2012 for Shop MAC/Cook MAC is almost identical at first glance. But unlike with MAC’s quad, I found all four colors in the Guerlain palette to be buttery smooth with amazing color payoff. More often than not I got too much product on the application with less effort than with my MAC shadows. For darker-skinned beauties NC/NW40+, these colors will definitely work for you however I would suggest using either a white eyeshadow on the lid, or a light color eyeshadow pencil such as Make Up For Ever’s Shadow Pencil in Pearly Peach (26E) or Urban Decay’s 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Sin.

Guerlain’s new eye shadow palette by Emilio Pucci–Great for everyday!

The palette seems like it is all warm colors but there is enough neutrality for it to look nice on all skintones. Even with my screaming red undertones all of colors complimented me very well and I found myself reaching for this palette more often than not. Out of all of the colors, the cool dusty brown and peachy orange are my favorites for a surprisingly wearable summer smokey eye. The pink color is nice but as I have the Les Roses palette and this one is more matte, I use to enhance the peachy orange shade moreso than on its own. The beige color is fabulous as a highlighter or a light wash of shimmery ercu across the lids.

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci swatches from bottom: Kohl Kajal, Eye shadow palette (no flash/HDR)

I would highly suggest using the included custom applicator to apply the shadow. My MAC brushes didn’t seem to play very well with this. And if you have oily eyelids as I do, definitely use an eyeshadow primer like Too Faced Shadow Insurance and a cream shadow as a base such as MAC’s Quite Natural or Painterly paint pots, or Maybelline’s Color Tattoo 24hr cream shadow in Tough as Taupe or Pomegranate Punk. Total weight by volume of all four shadows is .24 oz which is a very healthy amount compared to MAC’s usual .17 oz total weight for a quad.

Final Recommendation

While the price point is quite high ($59), the different finish of the case and quality of the eyeshadows (and big mirror in it) more than qualify the price. For women of color, the shadows do not turn ‘ashy’ but to make them pop I would suggest using a cream shadow underneath either a few shades lighter than your coloring or use a white shadow pencil. All colors are easily blendable and while this pallete is showcased for Summer, it is a lovely one to have year-round for olive to dark-skinned beauties.

The Guerlain by Emillio Pucci Capri eye shadow palette is a limited edition item and is available at Nordstrom, Sephora.com and NeimanMarcus.com

Back of Capri eyeshadow palette by Guerlain by Emilio Pucci

The velvet sleeve for the eye shadow palette–a true identifier of luxury cosmetics

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Eye shadow quad – Flash

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci swatches from bottom: Kohl Kajal, Eye shadow palette (flash)

2 Comments Leave a comment

Shop MAC / Cook MAC Lipsticks: The Rundown

My mission was to get three of the lipsticks from the Shop MAC collection. I managed to pick up Watch Me Simmer (Amplified) and Quick Sizzle (Matte). Dish It Up (Lustre) I’m waiting on to arrive as it is on backorder from Nordstrom.com. As soon as I receive it I will post the review here. This collection is on sale in North America right now and scheduled for International release in March of 2012.

Get ya Shop MAC on!! And don't forget the 1980's Dynasty hair!

Quick Sizzle (Matte) is a surprisingly smooth pink-fuchsia lipstick. It goes on much nicer than MAC’s usual dry matte texture lippies I skip on general principle. Whatever smooth formula they put in the Iris Apfel collection matte lipsticks (of which I have a few and I love them) it’s obvious it’s been used in this shade. But like all matte lipsticks you need to make sure your lips are well hydrated/exfoliated or else this color will cling to every scrape, flake, bump, dent and pothole on your lips. It is very well-pigmented and quite stunning on cool skin tones. Quick Sizzle has more of a flat finish and more of a purple tinge as compared to Something New (Amplified/Stylishly Yours). Pink Pigeon (Matte/Iris Apfel) is definitely pinker and cooler in tone. The only lipstick color I can think of from the permanent range that comes close to this color is probably Girl About Town (Amplified) but it isn’t a matte finish.

Shop MAC Lipstick in Quick Sizzle (Matte)

On NW43 skin from left: Pink Pigeon (Matte), Quick Sizzle (Matte), Something New (Amplified)

Watch Me Simmer (Amplified) is well worth the hype behind its quick disappearance. A strong pink-coral, it is very pigmented and goes on smooth the way I’ve come to expect from all of the Amplified finish lipsticks I own from MAC. It is very easy to ‘overdo’ applying an Amplified lipstick so I advise using a lip brush if you are wary about this being too bright on your lips. This shade is pinker than my favorite coral lipstick of all time, Vegas Volt (Amplified/Permanent) so if you own Vegas Volt, picking up Watch Me Simmer won’t result in a duplicate. I’ve heard some people compare Watch Me Simmer to Full Speed (Sheen Supreme) and while it may look similar in the tube, on my NW43 skin it is obviously a more reddish-pink coral with more sheen. For me personally this shade of coral lipstick is more suited to cool skintones like mine where Vegas Volt seems to require I wear cooler-toned eyes to balance out the look.

Shop MAC Lipstick in Watch Me Shimmer (Amplified)

On NW43 skin from left: Vegas Volt (Amplified), Watch Me Simmer (Amplified), Full Speed (Sheen Supreme)

Of the two lipsticks, Watch Me Simmer is definitely the most ‘on trend’ shade to have for Spring 2012. Unfortunately it is sold out in a lot of places. MacCosmetics.com has it as ‘coming soon’ so stalk the website if you haven’t gotten your hands on a tube yet. But if you can’t get this shade don’t worry–it’s scheduled to be repromoted in the upcoming So Reel / Reel Sexy collection scheduled for release in early April. Also try pairing Vegas Volt with a light to medium pink lipglass as a ‘color hack’ of Watch Me Simmer.

5 Comments Leave a comment

MAC Tour De Fabulous Lipglass: The Rundown

By the time you read this, if you are in the US chances are you missed this release. If you are outside the US, pay attention as these are scheduled to be released in February.

MAC Tour de Fabulous lipglass --Taste The Rainbow 🙂

Along with the lip pencils I reviewed recently, I picked up three (3) of the eleven shades of Lipglass available in this limited edition collection. The three picked up were Real Posh, StylePacked and Tour de Fabulous. I purposely picked these three to match the four lip pencils I purchased from the Tour De Fabulous collection.

Swatches on NW43 skin (indoors with flash)

Swatches on NW43 skin (indoors without flash)

Real Posh is a reddened berry that looks quite opaque on. I love how it looked with the Just Wonderful lip pencil but it is opaque enough to wear on its own. I’d almost go as far to say it’s just a degree or two below being as totally opaque as my favorite lipglass by Afrobella, All Of My Purple Life. If you have very pigmented lips I don’t see a problem with this shade showing up on you without lip pencil.

Wearing MAC Real Posh lipglass over Just Wonderful lip pencil

StylePacked is an uber-cool blue-toned pink that is semi-opaque. I was quite dissapointed it wasn’t as opaque as my favorite pink lipglass, Pink Poodle but over the Embrace Me lipencil (or even better over High Magenta Chromagraphic pencil) it still looks rather nice. If you have very pigmented lips I wouldn’t look for much color payoff from this shade unless you wear lip pencil. I really think this color would look amazing over Pink Pigeon from the Iris Apfel collection or Pink Nouveau Amplified lipstick. And if you were unfortunate enough as I was to pick up that Niki Minaj Pink Friday lipstick, this lipglass will actually make that hot mess wearable.

Wearing MAC Style Packed lipglass over Embrace Me lip pencil

Tour de Fabulous is a pretty semi-opaque coral orange that is more suited to warmer skintones but not so much that cooler-toned gals like myself couldn’t wear. I wore this over Entertain Me and Lasting Sensation lip pencils and while I prefer the latter lip pencil because it leans more pink coral, I was pleased with how this lipglass looked over both. Many people are curious as to how this color compares to Strange Potion first released with the Disney’s Venomous Villains collection and repromoted with Surf Baby! Tour De Fabulous is definitely more orange coral while Strange Potion is more pink. As someone with a cooler skintone, I definitely prefer Strange Potion. If you have Strange Potion in your stash and cash is tight, I would pass over this color and grab the Entertain Me lip pencil to wear with it instead. You would get pretty much the same color as Tour de Fabulous and you can use the pencil with other colors.

Wearing MAC Tour De Fabulous lipglass over Lasting Sensation lip pencil

MAC Tour de Fabulous and Strange Potion

Lipglasses are usually a MAC staple for most women of color. The pigmentation is translucent enough not to look ‘ashy’ even in lighter colors. They are slightly-tacky and usually last longer over lipstick and lip pencil than alone. Vanilla-scented and taste free, they are jam-packed with moisturizing goodness like jojoba oil to keep your lips soft and smooth especially in cold winter weather. The lipglasses from this collection retail for $14.50 USD and are available now for a limited time. For International release date, MAC press materials project February 15th.

Definitely pick up a few of these lipglasses as they are colors sorely lacking from MAC’s permanent lip glass lineup.

MAC Tour de Fabulous lipglass --Yay for more colors!!!

3 Comments Leave a comment