Guerlain Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder and Blush

Guerlain x Pucci Summer 2012 Collection

I'm not going to review the Météorites Perles d'Azur in-depth because try though I might (and believe me, I've tried hard) I couldn't capture a photo that would show you how these balls worked on the skin. When applied, it gives off a subtle glow – I would describe it less as a highlighter and more like an illuminating powder. I think this iteration of the Météorites is less sparkly/glittery than many others I've tried, especially compared to the holiday ones. Honestly though, even if these did nothing for my skin I probably would have bought it anyway. Those turquoise pearls slay me. 

I do encourage you to hop on over to Beauty Reflections for Tracy's hilarious and thorough coverage on the Météorites Perles d'Azur. She even has individual swatches of the different colored pearls!

And now to the star of the collection, Guerlain Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder and Blush. While I love that the company gave the packaging extra thought and housed it in a lush Pucci-print pouch, I have to say it's wasted on me. After all, my makeup bag is already too cluttered to house all my products, it doesn't have space to hold an extraneous pouch, even one as pretty as this. 

The funny thing about Terra Azzurra is although it houses four distinct colors, once your brush picks up the orange it's like the rest doesn't exist. If you swirl your brush across the pan, chances are the resulting color will be a frightful bright orange. If you target the application at either half, however, you get a regular bronzer/blush duo (for swatches, see this earlier post). Guerlain's forte is in their powders, and Terra Azzurra is no exception. The powder is finely milled, smooth, and blends easily. It features the heavy floral scent typical of Guerlain powders, which may be the only scented makeup product I actually like.

The powder is fairly versatile. It is easy to apply the colors with a sheer hand or pack on the pigment for intense shading. Case in point:

Barefaced (...which translates to concealer and eyebrows, and the Météorites)

Contoured with bronzer

Contoured with bronzer and applied the colored strips on the apples of my cheeks

Halfway through applying, I realized that the colors in the pan looked exactly like those used in the Rodarte fall '12 runway look (the actual products used are NARS Bronzer in Laguna and NARS Blush in Gaiety), so I decided to have my slice of fun. 

Rodarte F/W '12 from style.com

I used the lighter pink shade at the inner corners and bottom lash line, then applied the darker pink shade to the outer corners of my eyes (it was actually quite difficult to get the colors to show, but since Terra Azzurra was never meant for the eyes, I let it slide). I used a big eyeshadow brush and fluffed the bronzer shade from the lash line to the brow bone. I also shaded a bronzer arch just above my brows. 

I swirled a blush brush across the entire pan and layered it repeatedly on my cheeks to create the burnished look. Finally, I swiped a layer of Guerlain Noir G Mascara on my lashes to finish.

And just a reminder that it's perfectly possible to wear Terra Azzurra and not look like a clown:

Guerlain Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder and Blush retails for $75 and should be available at Guerlain counters nationwide. Beauty Insiders can also order it from sephora.com.