Guerlain Météorites ‘Perles du Paradis’ Spring 2013
It’s no secret that I have a “thing” for high-end cosmetics (I’m guessing quality & pretty packaging may have something to do with it), but Guerlain is one brand that I only began exploring last year (see earlier reviews here, here, here, and here). For years, I’ve heard raves about their Terracotta bronzing powders and Météorites illuminators, but always resisted the call – until I saw the Spring 2013 release, and just like that, I fell hard. Then there’s the pink powder puff … everything about this beauty needs to be proudly displayed on a vanity table, calling to mind the days when women lavishly indulged their subtly powerful feminity!
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis (ingredients list)
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Météorites Perles du Paradis Illuminating Sparkling Powder (CAD $67.00) – beads of illuminating powder for the face, in 6 varying tones – pearl white, baby pink, lavender, pink, dark rose, and silver – all in Guerlain’s signature violet scent. The pearls come housed in a black cardboard container with a pale pink ribbed outer cover, printed with the brand’s floral emblem on top, and includes a black beribboned pink powder puff as well. The beads are apparently oversized, although I personally don’t have others from Guerlain for a complete comparison (but I can attest to the claim, having seen them at the counter). In one of my photos (below), note that I’m showing only 5 of the 6 coloured beads; mainly because I mistakenly thought the pale pink ones were the darker ones, with the outer coating rubbed off – so wrong!
Breakdown:
- pearl white – 13
- baby pink – 9
- lavender – 8
- pink – 10
- dark rose – 5
- silver – 4
- Total: 49 beads
I have a confession to make: up until now, I could not understand the hype & fuss over these little balls (sorry – “little balls” cracks me up!). Even swatching this product at the counter, I still hesitated – because I couldn’t see anything happening. For anyone else who has resisted getting on the Météorites bandwagon, here’s an important lesson: department store lighting does NOT sell this product; you need to see yourself first in natural light, to truly understand the effect.
As the container has a nice wide opening, it’s very easy to swirl your brush through the beads; sometimes I even gently toss them (before opening) to get a uniquely different distribution of colours. The powder is exceptionally fine-milled – almost invisible to detect, while the silver balls are the only ones to give off a slightly more discernible shimmer. From the “ball breakdown” (keep your laughter to a minimum, please) the white & lighter pinks dominate, while the lavender acts as a colour-corrector, the dark rose gives depth, and the sparser silver flecks impart an extra little kick.
Once applied to the face, however, is when the magic truly begins; the first thing you notice is a gently diffused overall look, then it’s almost as though imperfections are somewhat softened, and you’re left with this beautiful luminosity. Not an obvious glow, this is more a product that imparts a certain vitality to your skin – I would never have believed it, had I not experienced it first hand. Eight hours later, I could still see traces of this effect, and I even felt like my skin’s natural oils were well absorbed as well – kept the shine at bay longer than I expected from a face powder.
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis (closeup detail)
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis swatch (natural light)
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis swatch (blended, natural light)
Guerlain – Météorites Perles du Paradis swatch (blended, with flash)
Final thoughts: For those who tend to shy away from anything labelled “illuminating” for fear of the dreaded disco-ball effect, then this is the product for you. If you want a face that looks lit from within (looks better than that sounds, actually), then you NEED this. I was worried that the predominantly pink hues of this grouping would totally clash with my skin tone (light medium with yellowish undertones), but instead it served to balance everything out – colour me impressed!
The star of Guerlain’s Spring 2013 Collection, the Météorites Perles du Paradis Face Powder is also limited edition – just a friendly reminder. I’d love to hear who else has fallen in love with this beauty!
Hey All! Has anyone tried the Guerlain Meteorites Voyage pressed compact? I just bought it..I have a fair to medium complexion but I am somewhat tanned. I’m not sure if this is the product for me…is it better on a fair complexion? I am not looking to “cover” up my tan and I’m almost seeing this give a whitening effect to my skin. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
Wish I could help you, Sarah, but I don’t have this and never tried it — sorry!
i have a few tubs of these, 1 teint rose from their permanent collection, 1 emillio pucci from summer 2012 and dragon ones from winter/ xmas collection… love every single one of them! totally lovely.
my country hasn’t got the stock for Paradis yet last I check, but when it comes out I most probably will head to the counter and take a look. I much prefer it to come in tin casing like their other meteorites, cardboard casing just doesn’t seem right!
I know what you mean about the cardboard packaging; it somehow feels like it cheapens the entire product – something I didn’t expect from this brand at all. Still, I guess I can overlook that seeing as how I love the effect of these little beauties!
ohh i love the classic ones so much!they give you that light from within!and i agree they work for me much better than the rest powders i own!
Even though I’m very happy with these Météorites, something tells me that I’ll definitely be looking at some of the other ones the brand offers!
I’ve all but had to avoid Guerlain’s products, as the majority contain fragrance, but I have no problem gazing at them from afar! I always think these meteorites are so lovely, and you’ve proven that they most definitely are, Eugenia!
Darn! I forgot about your fragrance sensitivity – such a shame, as I think you’d love these!
Ahh, soooo beautiful!!
You could show the inside of the pearl
I’m sorry…I’m not sure I understand what you mean
I LOVE that shot of the balls lined up…so cute and elegant at the same time. I think the powder puff is my favorite part about the product though, lol. It’s so overwhelmingly pink
I know, right? I felt very Marilyn Monroe holding that little puff! Haven’t used it yet…just like petting it, lol!
I love that too – and how you labelled the shades with the matching colour fonts, lol! I wish I was a Meteorites kind of gal, but not yet.
Pretty cheesy, huh? LOL! Liz, I never understood the whole craze for these little balls, but HOLY MOLY! Swatching this at the counter did nothing for me; I bought it because I couldn’t resist the packaging but was still second-guessing my decision UNTIL I tried it on at home and them WHAM! I would never have believed the effect had I not witnessed it first hand!
I love these. I’m so torn as to which version to get, since I’ve found the Pucci ones online (I love the case), these ones, or the regular ones in the silver tin. Sigh, decisions, decisions lol..one way or another I will own some!
I didn’t pick up the Pucci version, even though I fell head over heels for that entire collection AND the fact that Emilio Pucci is one of my all-time favourite designers. Why didn’t I pick it up? Stupid me…. but I digress….
Now that I’ve discovered what these pretties can do, believe me – this won’t be the last box of balls I pick up. I had to say that.
Guerlain perles are so pretty but the box has shrunk, I remember more balls and a bigger size which lasted ages and miraculously my mum actually finished one!
I have avoided these because I mistaken them for little vitamin pills!
LOL! I don’t recommend that you ingest these, my friend!
In fact, this box is apparently oversized compared to their regular size versions, with the balls larger too (snicker), but there seems to be less IN the container – strange, that. And props to your mom – I didn’t think it was possible to finish one of these babies!
LOVE the sparkly balls, btw that cracked me up!
Thanks for the review, these are gorgeous! How much do they cost? I always used to ogle at Guerlains meteorites and they’re always so pretty, but I kind of just shook my head at them. But I NEED this one!
Glad you enjoyed the review! This items costs CAD $67.00 and US $70.00 (I’m surprised that it’s less expensive in Canada – that doesn’t happen often, lol!) and available either through select department stores and at Sephora!
I was excited to see this was your post! And I wondered why you, of all people (lol), did not have what seems to be for many the Holy Grail of bronzers; Guerlain Terracotta. Not that I do. Yet, anyway. These Guerlain Meteorites have been something I wanted after visiting someone in the early nineties who had this and what it did for her! Your fabulous post just reinforces the yearnings of my heart! Thank you for that!
Yve, you should check out Physician’s Formula at drugstores. They have several products with ‘balls’ of bronzer and other products, I haven’t tried them myself, though.
Hahaha! It IS odd that I don’t have the be-all-and-end-all of bronzers, Guerlain’s Terracotta; it may be because I never used to be into bronzers in the past, but I do believe I will invest in one of those – can’t have gaps in my collection, right?
Thanks for the update on a less expensive alternative; I considered Physician’s Formula, but I wasn’t sure if they had something similar that wasn’t a bronzer or not. Good to know there may be other options out there!
I haven’t looked on the web to see where I can purchase this product here in the USA, but I’ll check the usual suspects, i.e. Nordstrom’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks.
Eugenia, you should work for Guerlain, because let me tell you, I’m convinced I need this product!! Your description of it is so enticing!
I am hoping it won’t be too expensive, but as you quite correctly pointed out, this product will last a very long time. And if I use it regularly, with each use it will cost pennies a day.
How many products do you buy, only to use infrequently? Those are the ones that don’t hold their value.
Does it sound like I’m trying to convince myself that I deserve this little splurge? lol
Just wondering though if you think it will go with my skin tone. I don’t know how to describe my colouring, so the easiest thing for me is to tell you I resemble, (in colouring only!) from the celebrity world. (Since although I look like my sister Karen, I doubt you know her, lol)
My background is Irish/Slovak, but my hair and skin colour is just like the actress Debra Messing. I call that fair with red undertones.
Thank you so much for your help and any input you offer is really appreciated!! (Sorry for such a long post)
Hahaha! Thanks, Nancy! Definitely check out the department stores, but I know that Sephora also carries Guerlain – could be an easier option for you! As to convincing yourself, don’t look in my direction – I’m not that disciplined when it comes to cosmetic purchases *my weakness*!
With regards to your colouring, I take it that you lean more fair, with perhaps ruddy undertones, correct? In that case, I can totally see this powder working on you, but the best test would be swatching it at the counter; remember that Guerlain makes several versions of Météorites, some with eve more colour correcting properties, so even if you ultimately find that this particular version doesn’t suit you, there are others to look at as well!
Is there ant product similar to this that doesn’t break the bank? And also, laughed the entire time over the little balls (hahahahaha little balls).
To be honest, my cosmetics are all high-end brands, so if a drugstore or mid-priced brand offers something similar, I may not know of it. The quality of the Guerlain powder is pretty impressive plus if you break down the cost over how long this product lasts, it winds up being very economical! Wish I could be of more help …
Physicians Formula has something similar. They even have a bronzer/highlighter that is hearts instead of pearls… Sooo cute!!
I also saw a Lise Watier product that looked exceptionally close, both in format and colours!
That packaging is stunning! I want it so much, but it seems quite expensive for a powder. Do you apply it all over the face, or just on cheekbones?
I prefer to apply it all over – it really looks totally amazing on! I figured that this one container should last me pretty much my entire lifetime, so the splurge seems less harsh that way!
Wow, are those ever gorgeous. Great review, and I admire your maturity when describing large, sparkly balls. You are truly an inspiration.
Hahaha! Thanks, Sarah – wasn’t easy keeping a straight face in writing my post, let me tell you!
These look beautiful! Do you apply it all over your face or just use as an illuminator on certain parts?
I’ve actually done both – applied it only along the cheekbones for just a hint of illumination, but I prefer applying it all over – it’s subtle enough that you can do so easily!