Guerlain Parure Extreme & Dior 649 Ready to Glow

About 2-3 weeks ago, the local drugstore chain here, Shoppers Drug Mart had another of their bonus redemption weekends. I took the opportunity to redeem my store points since the bonus was an extra $50 in addition to the $150 worth of points I had.

In fact, this weekend is another bonus redemption weekend - perhaps the last chance to redeem points before changes to the point values take place in July.

Anyway since I don't really need more colour makeup, I did some research, and decided to focus on foundations since I don't have a good summer foundation. I settled on the Guerlain Parure Extreme, and Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Powder foundation. I also decided to try a Dior quint for the first time. (The rest of the redemption was made up of just non-makeup items.)



Guerlain Parure Extreme in 02 Beige Clair. This is the lightest shade available here(I think they might have a lighter one in Asia), but I find it a shade too dark for me right now :(




Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup SPF 10. I haven't opened this because I am still trying to decide if it is worthwhile keeping...should I? I have 1 more week to exchange it...any opinions on this foundation?




Dior palette in 649 Ready to Glow, Summer 2010 collection. My first Dior quint! I've used Dior Detective Chic palettes before, but their texture is quite different from their iridescent quints.






The colours are very glowy, and quite suitable for daytime wear at the office. I like that there is a cool grey shade and a warmer brown shade that allows you to darken the colour for a more intense look, just in case you are going somewhere right after work.




Here you can see the Guerlain Beige Clair shade is a tad darker than my neck :S I tried dusting some Guerlain Mythic meteorites on top but it doesn't help to lighten the look very much.

I do like the finish of the Parure Extreme though, it controls oil nicely, and seemed to last longer than other foundations. Not to mention the scent is light and pleasant, quite different from the sweet rose scent Guerlain uses in their powder products.




The colours in the Dior 649 quint are quite iridescent all right, you can see how glowy my eyelids are! The only drawback to the light colours is that the pigmentation isn't intense, so they look similar from far.



Funnily enough, despite the mismatched foundation colour I received some compliments on my skin the day I used it, but perhaps it was because I was indoors where the difference between my face and neck wasn't quite as apparent. I think I may still keep the Parure Extreme because of its wear and finish, but find ways to match up my neck skintone instead...


What I used

Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation 02 Beige Clair
Guerlain Meteorites Mythic
Cargo Blu-ray concealer 01

Etude House Cheek Stamp Blush in Happy Peach
Marcelle Lux Gloss in Muse

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Dior 5 Color Iridescent Quint in 649 Ready to Glow
ELF Pink Ice to highlight under brow
Mary Kay Ultimate mascara in Black

Guerlain Meteorites Minatures & new winner

On my way back from vacation I picked up the Guerlain Meteorites Minatures:





All 3 swatched - they really don't show up well on pictures as they are more like translucent, slightly tinted powders with very faint shimmer.



They don't look that impressive in swatch photos but do provide a faint glow when used as a face powder. The difference is detectable if applied on the face but I can't capture it properly on my arm, unfortunately. There is some sparkle in the formulation as you can see in the swatch, but there is so little that it isn't noticeable when applied.

Mythic 01

- swatches mostly translucent with a faint lavender tone





Pink Fresh 02

- swatches mostly translucent with a pink tone





Beige Chic 03

- swatches mostly translucent with a beige-champagne tone.





This set is the Asian Seasons Limited Edition set so it has a different pattern from the standard Meteorites on the sides as you can see above. Although pretty, the box is still made of cardboard. Also the powder from each container tends to fly everywhere when you open and close the box.

I was actually disappointed in the size of these minatures. I had googled pictures of previous Minatures releases before, and they contained more product and had a cute pink brush as well. These, although in special packaging, had no brush and only contained 7g of product. Although Paris B had warned me they were small, these were even smaller than I had thought! Considering they retailed for US$67 that means you're paying $22+ for each colour...which doesn't contain very much! Oh well, I guess it would take me years to finish a full sized Guerlain Meteorites anyway.

Oh and I should note the pics above are wayyyy zoomed in. In real life each container is approximately the same diameter as a MAC blush.

Anyway, I still didn't hear back from the person who won the Tarte giveaway, and more than enough time was given so I used Random.org to pick another winner:



Comment #3 = MJ

Congratulations! Please email me within 3 days with your shipping address to claim your prize :)

Airport shopping

...and I'm back! In the blogging world that is. The end of March was quite busy for me in all aspects - work and life so I did not get to post what I'd planned to. The good part is, I just left on my vacation so hopefully I'll have some time to post while visiting friends and family.

In the meantime, here are some interesting things I spotted in the airport/plane while waiting for my flights (all pics are clickable):

A crystal skull bottle!


I was sooooo tempted to pick it up and launch into a Hamlet inspired soliloquy...


Alas, poor Yorick...

However the bottle design is inspired by the 13 crystal skulls:



Made by Crystal Head Vodka.

I also spotted some Hello Kitty weirdness...HK maple syrup! Though the label and bottle design could have been much improved. All they did was slap her likeness on an ugly label.




And Hello Kitty maple cookies:



Absolut Vodka in a special limited edition bottle, most likely for the Vancouver 2010 Games:




There were also some things I was tempted by at duty free...





Dior Travel Exclusives:





Guerlain Travel Exclusives:




What do you think? Which would you pick, if any? I'm really tempted to get the set of 3 Meteorites on my way back...

Best and Worst of 2009

I must admit I did not stick to my resolution of sticking to a makeup budget this year...on the contrary I went way over it :( On the bright side, I did discover several gems I will be repurchasing, but there are also a couple of products that I wish never to see again!

Lets start with the good stuff...

Best eyeshadow

Yaby Pearl Paints



Gorgeous shimmery colours that are pigmented and easy to work with. I will be reviewing these shortly!

Best mascara

Lorac Visual Effects mascara - lengthens AND thickens! The only drawback is that it does get clumpy with age.




Best coloured liner

Lunasol Geminate liners



Ok this is cheating a little since I got my Geminate liners end of 2008 but because I hadn't really used them as much then I did not realise how awesome they are until this year :) The metallic/subtle glitter in these are so unique and undupeable. They bring a subtle sparkle to the eye without being too obvious unlike glitter liners (eg. Urban Decay's)


Best glitter liner

Too Faced So Smurfy liner in Smurf You (glittery smurf blue)



Yeah I know I just bashed glitter liners above but this is one I really like to use over black liquid liner to jazz it up with more obvious sparkle.


Best concealer

Cle de Peau concealer stick in Beige



Goes on super creamy. Colour matches my skintone once blended right.


Best foundation

Lunasol Water Cream Foundation




This purchase was of course influenced by Fuzkittie. I had been debating this purchase for ages, and was not disappointed as the formula feels divine and glides on beautifully with fingers or sponge. Coverage is excellent since it is a cream but does not feel heavy at all. Best of all, it does not oxidize!


Best tinted moisturizer

Cover Girl Smoothers SPF 15 Tinted Moisture



Finally got to try this (because its not sold in Canada) and was blown away by how well it matched my skintone without oxidizing. Coverage is like a typical tinted moisturizer so that was to be expected. It trumps La Mer and Laura Mercier in that it contains UVA and UVB protection (both LMs have only UVB).


Best blush

Jill Stuart Mix Compact blush in 07 Lovely Tulip



Subtle cool pink perfect for spring.


Best highlighting product

MAC MSF in Refined



Gorgeous peachy glow without shimmer or glitter! Can also be used as blush.


Best drugstore lipgloss

Marcelle Vita Lip Plumping Gloss



Fragrance free, non sticky gloss that gives the illusion of fuller lips without any chemicals to sting your lips. Love it!


Best drugstore lipstick

Joe Fresh cream lipstick in Strawberry



Creamy, pigmented goodness in a tube for CDN$6 - what more could you want?


NOW for the bad...

Here are a few things I regret purchasing - not necessarily for poor product performance but also the price.

1. Guerlain le2 mascara in Bleu Cerise



Too expensive. Even though I hardly used it the formula went clumpy after 3 months. That may sound normal but considering I hardly opened the tube (like 4x in the 3 months) it really sucks!


2. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer



It looks great at first and gives a lovely glow that I got complimented on. However after a few weeks of use I noticed it tends to oxidize and make my face look darker :( For the price I was expecting better...


3. Urban Decay Box of Potions



Already went over this one here - do not recommend! All the products besides the famed UDPP failed to perform for me. Fortunately I was able to return the set.

4. Lunasol Full Glamour Gloss



Pretty to look at but wasn't much different from a regular clear shimmery gloss. Not to mention I paid well above retail, silly me.


What about you? Feel free to share yours in the comments or on your blog, and let me know! :)

cool heat

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my haircut! Actually I didn't change my haircolour at all so its probably just the lighting that might make it seem brownish.

Maya Hair Salon is located in Koreatown, halfway between the Bathurst and Christie subway stations. Here's their contact info:

635 Bloor St W, Toronto
416-588-1480

They do get very crowded on weekends, so be sure to make an appointment! Also they only open Sat not Sun. Even with an appointment once it hits afternoon they tend to fall behind in their schedule, so try to make your appointment in the morning. The name of the stylist I had was Toshi.

There's also an Amore store selling Laneige products that you'll pass if you walk from Christie station to the salon (or the other way around).

***

Anyway enough of hair, back to makeup :P Here's a look I did a long, long time ago, during the summer months.




Eyeshadow was from the Best of Becca Palette, and bottom blue was from Guerlain Terracotta Kohl in Lagoon Bleu (LE colour).



Mascara used was Guerlain le 2 in Bleu Cerise (an LE colour). I know I've said it before but Guerlain mascara is quite possibly the best I've used in a while. It volumizes AND lengthens, and I like how you get two brushes, a regular size for lashes and a mini brush for lower lashes or just for extra definition. If you were to get the Guerlain le2 mascara though don't get a waterproof version unless you are prepared to spend some time removing it with even the best makeup removers. Lancome Bi-Facil is supposed to be the best waterproof makeup remover there is, but on this mascara it still takes a while to get everything off! Usually I'll think its all off but then wake up the next morning with blue under my eyes...lol

Anyway don't forgot that my giveaway for Canadians ends tomorrow night! Sorry to Quebecers and international readers who were unable to enter....but my 2nd blog anniversary is coming up in 2 weeks and there will be some prizes from me personally up for grabs :)

midnight aqua

Finally took pictures of a look using the Barry M pigments I got from Liz. I also use the Gosh liners mentioned in my previous post here.







My nose is a bit red because I had allergies that day...

What I used



Face
Everyday Minerals Winged Butter Intensive foundation
Everyday Minerals Multitasking concealer
MAC Emote to contour
Everyday Minerals Soft Touch blush

Eyes
Smashbox Photofinish Lid Primer
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Aqua Gold all over lid
MAC Aquavert on inner 1/2 lid
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Midnight on outer corner of lid
Gosh Velvet Touch liner in Metallic Brass (not pictured) to line top lashline
Gosh Velvet Touch liner in Green Grass on lower lashline (not waterline though)
Guerlain le 2 mascara in Bleu Cerise

Lips
Dior Addict Ultra-reflect gloss in 347 Raffia Orange
(ignore the MAC gloss in the picture, I ended up not using it)