I’m quite a fan of blue eyeshadow. But I will also be the first to agree that blue isn’t an easy colour to wear. If you’re not careful, it can look a bit dated, or too bright. But if the colour and tone suits you, it has a very fresh vibe, while being eye catching.
When my eye fell on the Guerlain Les Aquas eyeshadow palette, my eyes lit up. Guerlain reformulated their eyeshadow palettes recently, and did away with the chocolate tray style palettes (see Perle d’Argents and Brun Mordore). The first change came with the Ecrin 6 colours Eyeshadow palettes. After that, Guerlain came up with the Ecrin 4 colours eyeshadow palette. I have one in Les Noirs that I should tell you about also. But today, its about Les Aquas, released with the Guerlain Spring 2012 collection.
Rejoice! Because this one is permanent! 😀 True to its name, it has 2 beautiful aqua toned colours that anchor the palette, a matte black and a shimmer silver for interest. And boy, is this one interesting! I would even say perfect for Summer!
Just swatching it blew me away. The quality is amazing but I expect nothing less from Guerlain. Their eyeshadow palettes have consistently been of impressive quality. More pigmented than Dior palettes and less shimmery. It is also quite rare to have a high end brand showcase such a bold eyeshadow palette – they usually stick to the safe neutrals.
Guerlain Les Aquas L-R: Matte black, Shimmer Seafoam blue, Shimmer bold blue, Shimmer silver
Les Aquas is impressive. I swatched these with my fingers and 3 out of 4 colours swatched very smoothly on the first swipe. The matte black takes a bit of layering to get it to show up. However, if you use a brush, there is absolutely no issue. It applies very easily and this is true of all the 4 colours.
My eye was drawn immediately to that bright bold blue – it isn’t often you see such a bright colour in any brand. It is shimmery but not glittery and it shows up very nicely on the skin. The thing is, this is probably the one colour most people would be scared off by. They would swatch it, admire it, but never wear it. Pity, because its pretty!
The palette comes in a gold metal compact that feels surprisingly light. A dual ended sponge tip applicator is included as well as a very large mirror in the cover. The compact is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but very elegant and unobtrusive. It is just a simple gold case with the Guerlain name etched on the side – quiet understated elegance.
I will tell you that Les Aquas is a fun palette and not quite for the faint hearted. Some of you may consider it too pricey to be treated as a fun palette and I will agree. But the texture in this one is sublime, the colour is true to pan and best of all, that beautiful bright blue remains a beautiful bright blue on my skin – quite a feat you know, most turn a little green thanks to my Oriental yellow tones 🙂
In a nutshell
A newly formulated 4 pan eyeshadow palette from Guerlain with an assortment of eyeshadow textures. The quality of the shadows are very good, with shimmer colours swatching strong and pigmented. With a brush, the matte colour too translates well on the skin and is a good foil for adding depth to the bright blues. However, I can see that many may opt to pass because they are afraid they can’t pull off these colours. A pity, because the texture, pigment and packaging is sublime.
Pros: Bright pigmented colours, The deep blue and seafoam aqua blue is true to pan, The packaging is sleek and minimalist and compact
Cons: Some may consider the colours too bright, Pricey
Guerlain falls under the category of luxury cosmetics and those never come with a small pricetag. However, I am also impressed by the quality of these eyeshadows as based on personal experience, few luxury brands will produce eyeshadows of this sort of colour and vibrancy. This is what makes Les Aquas special, and what makes it stand out in the sea of luxury brand shadows.
Here’s an example of how I’d wear this palette:-
Seafoam blue all over the lid, deep royal blue near the lash line and to line the lower lash line, Silver to highlight and black to line. This is a very eye-catching look and perhaps, not one to wear to work unless you have a very relaxed dress code 🙂 However, you may be able to pull off just using that royal blue on your lash line for a bit of colour.
And here’s how it looks overall 😀
Featuring also: Guerlain Blush G Serie Noir on cheeks, A-England Tristam polish on nails
Are you bold enough to pull off a palette like the Les Aquas eyeshadow palette? Or do you prefer just sticking to something safer? Its not quite as bold once you apply it and blend it out on the skin – all comes down to technique and I think I’ve sort of gotten the knack of pulling off bright colours daily. Yes even to work. Well, sometimes 🙂
Paris B
Guerlain Les Aquas Eyeshadow Palette Price: RM190 Availability: Guerlain counters Limited Edition: No
Tracy says
January 19, 2012 at 8:43 amI saw this today and totally agree with you!! It’s stunning! I’m hoping this shows up at my drugstore so I can get it with redemption points! You look lovely in it!!
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:21 pmThank you Tacy and you can get Guerlain in your drugstore! *faints* I was hoping my debate vouchers would get here in time for me to splurge on the Guerlain collection but it was not to be. That said, I wasn’t too keen on the lipsticks and glosses because they were a bit too pink. Quite happy now LOL
Hanny Daforcena says
January 19, 2012 at 8:53 amSo, so pretty indeed!!i like blues, and I convince meself that I can pull them off because I am not that fair, so the clolors won’t look so stark on me, heh heh heh.
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:22 pmI think blues are very fresh but it depends on the type of blue used and as with all makeup, the tone on the skin. Tanned skin does look very pretty with teal 😀
Juan says
January 19, 2012 at 9:32 amU look so much younger and cheekier with that cny haircut. And your pose kinda show it 😉
Sandra says
January 19, 2012 at 10:13 amI agree. & I can feel the positive vibes! 😀
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:25 pm*sends positive vibes* 😀 Thanks Sandra!
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:22 pmHaha thanks Juan 😀
Applegal says
January 19, 2012 at 9:45 amVERY NICE! I thought the colours looked a bit scary in the pan, but I love how you pulled it off!
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:23 pmIn pan, it is very strong indeed but on skin its surprisingly nice. There is a pink palette available too but that one I found a wee bit scary although I could see it being a pretty blush palette 😛
mrsdjones says
January 19, 2012 at 9:46 amI love your new hair! And as usual, pretty eye makeup! 😉
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:23 pmThank you Mrsdjones! 😀
sharon says
January 19, 2012 at 10:11 amvery pretty indeed! and with a huge price tag nonetheless 😉 i should be glad i cant afford these luxury items or i would go broke at double quick time lol. the colours look good on you and i think if u do an outer v with the bold bold and it your bottom lash line with it, it would be great for a night/more corporate look 🙂 i love blue eyeshadows too maybe cos i am not that fair or have too much yellow under tones 😉
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:24 pmYep luxury goods – very hard to get past that pricetag 🙂 I have found a similar palette with a smaller price tag though, so I hope to feature it some time soon 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion. I have tried using that bold royal blue as a primary colour and its very pretty too!
Lily says
January 19, 2012 at 10:12 amYou rock this blue! And with the new haircut, you look totally modern and hip. I love this =)
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:24 pmThanks Lily 🙂
Cas says
January 19, 2012 at 10:20 amIt IS a gorgeous palette but I dont think I’ll be able to pull it off. But its a great look for you, no doubt about that.
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:25 pmIts a very bold palette and quite surprising coming from Guerlain. Usually high end brands play with very safe colours. The other palette that has 4 pink shades is even more bold but I could never pull off that one 😛
peach_ says
January 19, 2012 at 10:40 amYou look so pretty! I love that you do subtle, wearable looks. I saw this the other day and it is so gorgeous (as are other Couleurs), but I decided I’m only getting Guerlain when I travel or can get it from elsewhere. This palette is 8,085 yen in Japan, which I converted to be 328RM there. It actually sounds “reasonable” in yen relative to other cosmetics here and without knowing outside prices LOL, but so overpriced compared to other countries!
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:27 pmThank you Peach 😀 I sometimes wear these to work so I have to create something a wee bit more subtle – I don’t know how to do very dramatic looks either 😀 The prices in Japan are so scary, I don’t know how you guys can afford anything there, seriously! Its no wonder I hardly bought anything in Japan when I was there LOL! But I had a great time and I want to go back!
Renee | Beauty Fool says
January 19, 2012 at 1:18 pmAww Paris you look adorable! It really suits you well!
You know, a lot of people say that blue eyeshadow should go back to the 80s where they belong, but I quite like blue! It looks especially nice against brown eyes 😀
x Renee
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:28 pmThank you Renee 😀 I agree with you that there is a time for blue eyeshadow. So long as we don’t plaster it on with a trowel from lashline to eyebrow, I think blue shadow is lovely! 😀
gio says
January 19, 2012 at 3:03 pmWhat a gorgeous palette! I didn’t expect the colors to be so bright and pigmented. They look very pretty on you too.
Paris B says
January 19, 2012 at 3:28 pmThank you Gio. I think the bright colours in this palette is right up your alley! 😀 I was surprised too when the colour came out as pigmented as it did.
Jamilla says
January 19, 2012 at 6:17 pmThis looks great on you – but too cool for me. Lovely look!
Paris B says
January 20, 2012 at 9:26 amThank you Jamilla – gotta admit I pull off cool tones better but I can imagine this will look a bit off on warmer skintones 😀
lavender says
January 19, 2012 at 9:28 pmThis is a beautiful palette. i love blue too. I must say that u look better in blue than brown.
Paris B says
January 20, 2012 at 9:27 amThank you Lavender – isn’t blue shadow so fun? 😀
LeGeeque says
January 20, 2012 at 8:25 amThis is so perfect for summer. Swoons. Love it. I’ve been very uninspired and unadventurous with my eye colour lately and this has just sparked my interest in them all over again. Should this be part of the parcel to be delivered to Melbourne, I wonder 🙂
Paris B says
January 20, 2012 at 9:27 amThis one will definitely bring the colour back into your life! 😀
Jyoan says
January 20, 2012 at 10:43 amI really like the colour payoff! Looks wonderful on your eyes!
Paris B says
January 20, 2012 at 12:45 pmThank you Jyoan 😀 Its a lovely palette!
Sam says
January 21, 2012 at 3:59 pmOoh pretty! I would definitely try this, I love bright eyeshadow!
Paris B says
January 27, 2012 at 9:47 amThis one’s very pretty and I hope you like it if you get it 🙂