I’d not been paying a lot of attention to many new and seasonal makeup releases for a while, so I actually had no idea that a new tub of Guerlain Meteorites had emerged on the scene. It wasn’t until I spotted it on Instagram that I felt a faint stirring of interest.
When I see the words “limited edition” and “Meteorites” together in one sentence, my first instinct is to run out the door for the nearest Guerlain counter and throw wads of money at them. This time, I didn’t actually stroll out to view this newest addition until a little while later. Goodness gracious. Am I losing my touch?
I think though, it’s mostly because it didn’t look too special or different or unique. Unlike the Pucci Meteorites from a couple of years back, I didn’t see bright blue balls staring at me, that piqued my interest. (Yes, I know you know what I did there! 😉 ) Unlike the unique packaging of Perles d’Etoiles or Perles de Nuit, I didn’t see a unique packaging that made me want to add it to my collection.
So, since I’m not jumping up and down with excitement about these Guerlain Meteorites Rainbow Pearls, should you be?
Good question.
Before I answer that, I’ve been asked how different the Rainbow Pearls are from the regular permanent range. The truth is that it’s not very different.
For me, Guerlain Meteorites powders serve a function as a finishing powder. I dust it on all over my face at the end of my base routine, and it sets everything and gives my skin a glow that has thus far, been quite unrivalled by any other product I’ve used (well, except maybe for the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders but I’ll deal with those separately) . I love these, for the function they serve. But for the most part for me, with a few exceptions, every tub looks the same on me.
It’s all imperceptible. The only one that looks noticeably more pigmented on my skin is Dore, which I use as a very faint bronzer, whenever I feel like it. Sometimes, the shades may make my skin look a touch lighter, sometimes a touch warmer. It’s imperceptible to anyone but me, and it helps me adjust my foundations accordingly.
Rainbow Pearls fall into the “touch warmer” category. I won’t say they are warm toned because once you blend the powders and apply it to your skin, you can’t really tell if there’s any colour on your skin. I found Aquarella a little light so Rainbow is a nice balance.
The shades of the balls in Rainbow do look quite deep. There’s bronze, champagne, yellow, mint green, red and white powder balls in there but don’t worry too much about the colours coming off too strong on your skin. Unless you are Snow White, it’ll just come off transparent. But the champage and bronze powders do serve to add a touch of warmth to the skin which makes it look more natural. In that sense, I find this a little similar to Pucci Meteorites, which I found to be a little warm.
So, should you be excited about the Rainbow Pearls?
- Well, yes if you’re a collector. It helps to round off your collection (which is the category I fall into. I might have to stop soon, seeing as to how the prices are on the up and up).
- Yes, if you use 03 Medium which is a tad matte, and want something with a little more glow, but the same warmth.
- Yes, if you missed out on the Pucci Meteorites and have been wishing for a warmer toned Meteorites powder ever since. Most Meteorites offer a slightly cool tone.
- No, if you already have a tub of Meteorites and are happy with it.
The fact is, as pretty as the Meteorites may look, they all serve the same function. Once you have one, you don’t really need more than one. Well, unless you’re a collector, as I said. On skin, any difference in tone is very very slight and I find, often not noticeable.
As for myself, I like this. But then, I’m a collector of Meteorites and a user. I notice the difference when I use the different tubs of balls, and I use them according to how I want to look on a certain day. But that’s me.
If you’ve never owned a tub, I think the Rainbow Pearls make a good start. I usually tell people who ask which they should go for, for their first tub, to go for the permanent range in either 02 Clair or 03 Medium, depending on their skintone. But in this case, I’d make an exception and say that the Rainbow Pearls make a good “My First Meteorites”. It’s warm without being too warm, glowy without being shimmery, and doesn’t give a whitish cast to the skin.
IN A NUTSHELL
The Guerlain Meteorites Rainbow Pearls are a limited edition Meteorites for Summer 2015. The powder offers a fairly neutral, translucent glow to the skin with just a touch of warmth. It isn’t too shimmery either and if you’ve never owned a tub of Meteorites, I think this makes a good one to start with as I feel it’s universally appealing on all skin tones.
PROS: Adds a warmish translucent glow to the skin
CONS: Limited Edition, Pricey
WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Collectors of Guerlain Meteorites powders, Anyone who has never owned Meteorites and want to start
I’d seen some mention somewhere (I forget where) that the Rainbow Pearls are a repackaged Aquarella, which didn’t find its way to many counters across the globe. So, to dispel that notion, here is a small comparison of the Rainbow Pearls to Aquarella, Pucci and Clair.
While Rainbow looks deeper than Pucci, it isn’t much deeper on the skin and offers the same sort of warmth. Compared to Aquarella, Rainbow is significantly warm in tone, with Aquarella coming off whitish on skin even for me. Clair is translucent for me, so it’s the one I use most often, and Rainbow is actually very very similar, with only minor differences. The pink balls in Clair were swapped out for red (which you will find in Dore) and the purple balls were swapped out for bronze (also found in Dore).
Technically therefore, if you have both 02 Clair and 04 Dore, you could make your own Rainbow Pearls! 😛
Did you get yourself some Rainbow Pearls? Do you own any Meteorites?
I think part of the reason I almost missed this one was because Guerlain’s Summer collection this year looks a little confusing. Here in Malaysia, we aren’t getting the Terracotta range, so no bronzers nor funny gold and blue lipsticks. But I noticed that the Rainbow Pearls don’t form a part of the Terracotta collection nor what is passing for the Summer collection. So suffice to say, it’s a little confusing, but if you want to get yourself a Rainbow in a tub, the Guerlain counter is where you’ll have to be! 😀
Paris B
Guerlain Meteorites Rainbow Pearls Price: RM217 Availability: Guerlain counters Limited Edition: Yes, Summer 2015
Just wanna know. Have u done a comparison of these meteorites? To be honest, this meteorites does not feels like rainbow to me. My impression of rainbow is bright n colourful.
I sometimes run down briefly thoughts of the new Meteorites compared to others that I own, but I don’t compare them per se, because if I’m to be honest, for the most part, there isn’t a lot of difference in their function. Sometimes, they may be a tiny bit warm or a tiny bit matte or a tiny bit more bightening, but nothing to write home about to be honest. I think the “rainbow” might be referring to the brighter red and bronze balls, as compared to the regular Meteorites, but they aren’t super colourful that’s for sure.
The blue balls of my Pucci are all crushed lol. Of all tubs I have, Pucci is the one I used the most. The blue balls gave me a fairer finishing comparing to the rest. They are so small now 🙂
I nearly ran to get Aquarella when it first came out but somehow I wasn’t in the mood to when it really hit the counter. Then I saw Sephora Sunway Pyramid selling the compact version for RM150. Now I regretted for not getting that haha!
This one pique my interest due to the darker pearls. But like you said, it all goes on the skin transparent :). The price is what’s stopping me and the fact that I hardly reach to my meteorites now because I keep forgetting them 😛
Wah, they actually diminish? I haven’t noticed any of mine diminishing in size or quantity 😛 The compacts are permanent though so they’re still available 🙂 I think the bronze pearls in this one actually warm up the skin a little more but yeah the price is getting far too high to justify a purchase just for fun anymore 🙁
I’m fine with my Pucci Ballz! I like them so much better than the Ambient Light ones, but that’s me. I don’t like how the Ambient light ones add so much colour to my face. On my fair skin it’s quite noticeable, except for the white one Ethereal. But all the others you can see colour on me. But meteorites don’t do that, so I prefer them. I’d love to collect these but, I’m fine with the one! Oh, but I DO have the pressed one from Spring, and the Mythic pressed one too so-yeah! I’m good haha!
Pucci ballz! They are one of the more interesting Meteorites released to date. Aside from the blush ballz that is 😀 I wasn’t sure about the hype about the Ambient Light powders, but I’ve grown attached to Diffused Light which doesn’t seem to add much of anything to my skin except a…erm… diffused light LOL! 😀 I plan to review it soon so I hope I’ll be a little more coherent 😛
stupid question from me .. how & when do you actually use this meteorites? after sunblock?
Use it at the end of your makeup.. As a finishing powder.. It gives the perfect sheen on your face plus it controls some unnecessary oil at bay..
Not stupid Iza 🙂 Meteorites are a finishing powder, so they go on after your foundation (and concealer if you use it) Think of it as the last step of makeup you put on. If you have good skin, you can even wear it after sunblock. I sometimes wear it on top of BB cream and it just ties everything together 🙂
It’s really pretty though! Actually, what was I saying. .. all meteorites are gorgeous 🙂
That is true fact! LOL
What’s the difference between the Meteorites and Ambient Lighting powder?
Well, what a great idea for a future post Esme 🙂 But to me, I find that the Meteorites are actually more “friendly” in that they give skin a lovely diffused glow without too much shimmer and is for the most part, translucent. I only have 1 Ambient Lighting Powder which I like because I picked one that fits my skin. But being pressed, I find that it applies more thickly on skin and also, that the different shades do actually show up on the skin (based on other people’s reviews and based on my cursory swatch at a counter in Melbourne). So, it’s easy to make a mistake when picking an Ambient Lighting Powder but the Meteorites are pretty idiot proof 🙂
I missed the Pucci meteorites, so I may get these instead. They do look so pretty and tempting! But then all Meteorites do. 🙂
That they do! I think you’ll like this Gio 🙂
RM 217 for a powder? No thanks! Hahaha!
I guess oily skin people like me wont like it
It actually controls my oil face at bay.. It is an investment but it last a long time coz u need a little to cover the whole face.. My meteorites is 2 years old but i am not even half thru it..
It’s not just a powder, Evan, it’s magic and lasts for ever! Well for me that is haha! But RM217 is a bit rich even for me right now. I started collecting when it was about RM160 or thereabouts so I’m feeling the pinch now. I was using this even when I had a more combination skin type and it was fine. Doesn’t show up as shimmery or overly glowy, and as Shija has mentioned, as a tiny bit of oil control. But it’s not a must have naturally 🙂
Oooo I wonder if I could get away with the Rainbow pearls in summer… Do you think I could get away with these?
I’ve never owned my own Guerlain Meteorites before and I have to say that after I missed out on the Pucci range I was a little disheartened and vowed never to give into the hype of these 😛 (that’s how hard I took it!) but I’ve secretly been waiting for something similar to come out again…
Oh I’m sure you could get away with Rainbow Pearls in summer, autumn, winter and spring, BB! 😀 It truly does go on translucent with just a tiny bit of warmth, which might be nice in winter months as well eh? 🙂 I think it’s worth taking a look, but Aussie prices would be wallet busting!
I wasn’t sure if they came to our stores, but when I went with my friend, we saw them. They’re looking nice, like all the other Meteorites, but I didn’t find them any special. I have Clair and Medium, and a compact version of Clair. My favorite is, Clair. Aquarella never came to our counters.
I love all of your reviews 🙂
Hi Lena, thank you so much for enjoying my reviews 🙂 It means a lot to me! I actually do tend to agree with you that these Rainbow Pearls don’t really look special in a sense. Pucci, with its bright blue balls, made us look twice, but these look like the regular versions right? I like Clair too! It’s for me, the “basic Meteorites” 😀
Since I’m tan, I directly tried the Doré ones and you were right about the effect of the meteorites (now I only have to save to buy them, or even bit the bullet and be on a beauty diet for months) but now you make me doubt between the Doré or the Rainbow pearls.
I adore Dore as well! I don’t wear bronzer, but it makes the best bronzer for me. Transparent yet gives a slight bronzed effect 🙂 Absolutely save for them Efrain. I’m sure you’ll own it one day 🙂 Why not go down to a counter and see which you like better?
Oh this one sure is pretty. Thankfully, I’ve kinda lost interest in them so I’m very happy to stick to my original one and the one that you gave me. 😀
Haha good for your wallet Tine! I have to go pick one up for Geek though 😉
This immediately caught my eye at Sephora and I remember thinking, “the colours, so pretty like candy!” 😛
Bought the compact at a discount just before GST, and I love it as it really livens up my complexion! I use it when I want that extra oomph 🙂
Awesome to know you like the compact! I have it, but haven’t yet dipped into it. I know! I’m horrible 😛
I ran out and bought the Pucci pearls a few years back on your recommendation – I really like the idea of them, but unfortunately I’m usually applying my makeup at the gym or in the car, and it doesn’t always make sense to travel with them. So I bought a pressed version not too long ago and I love it. 🙂 Definitely a Guerlain convert because of you! I just adore the scent and the lovely finish.
Oops! Nope the balls most certainly do not travel well! But happy to know that you love the pressed version too 😀 I really think that these are the best things Guerlain has ever made, agree?
Ugh absolutely. I don’t need it so much here in Malaysia because my skin tends to get oily really quickly in the heat and humidity. But when I’m back in the US it’s wonderful to be able to add back a little depth and shine after mattifying my skin with bb cream, foundation, etc. I even started to get into Guerlain’s lip glosses – bought a 3 pack at duty free in Singapore a while back and I just love the texture and the shine.
Oh I used to love Guerlain glosses too but the Kiss kiss ones. Not so enamoured with the new gloss d’enfer but they sure are pretty! 😀 Tell me about the heat here – it’s a wonder any makeup stays on in this heat yeah? 🙂
I’m trying to get through my Meteorites – I’m using the pink one at the moment and have Dore to go. I probably won’t buy these but hey, you never know…
It takes me a couple of years to get through a tub!
hahahaha would it make you feel better to know that I’ve never ever used up a Meteorites even with daily use, and that it doesn’t bother me that I don’t? 😉 In fact I think it’s such great value for a product that never finishes LOL! 😀