Guerlain Paradis Exotique Ombre Eclat

RRP: £33
available from www.slapiton.tv and at Harrods

--What does the promo say?--
"Guerlain Paradis Exotique Ombre Eclat 4 Shades Eyeshadow is a beautiful limited-edition collector's item for riveting eyes. Discover Guerlain Guerlain Paradis Exotique Ombre Eclat 4 Shades Eyeshadow is vibrant, exotic, sparkling and extremely sexy that gives the eyes a bright fashion look with a modern bronzy twist, for a truly captivating look. An exhilarating palette of four shades: pink, orange, green, brown embellished with an exotic leaf motif in pearly green. The celebrated metallic compact designed by Herve Van der Straeten dons a new dress for spring, in a pure and fresh bronze-green subtly etched with delicate plant motifs and an elegant, slender bird of paradise."

--Packaging--
Simply gorgeous - just opening it is like unwrapping a present. To begin with you have the black box, shot through with grey lines and bearing the Guerlain logo. Then you have a black velvet drawstring bag (again bearing the Guerlain name, this time in curly silver script), and inside the bag, along with the substantially-sized compact, is a little booklet of instructions giving details of possible combinations to help you make the best of the eye colours. The compact itself contains two sponge brushes, one smaller and more tapered than the other, opens and closes easily, and the compact lid has an embossed design of beautiful tropical fronds, as well as the curly Guerlain logo engraved at the bottom of the lid. It contains a goodly sized mirror and a plastic tray to protect the shadows and hold the brushes, and the shadows themselves are embossed with an extra fronds design in gold powder. Sadly, this powder is gone after the first application, but the colours are just as lovely even when it's gone. The only disadvantage is that it's very easy to get fingerprints all over it, so just pick it up at the edges.

--Application--
As mentioned, the instructive booklet is really helpful for giving you room to try out lots of different looks - all of them successful. This means that application is made easy for even the most inexperienced of makeup wearers, although a little patience is required to work up the amount of colour needed on the brush.

--Appearance--
A really unique, subtle look that's great for spring and summer. All of the colours are visible individually as well as blending seamlessly together for an opalescent rainbow look. Boyfriend didn't like the green quite so much, claiming it looked more yellow than green, but the other colours are sublime, especially the pink. The finished look is surprisingly matte, and, as previously mentioned, not too in-your-face either. I can also see this colour combination working for all ages and complexions.

--Texture/consistency--
Finely pigmented, so, as I said before, you need a little patience to get the necessarily buildup of colour on the brush prior to and during application (as is in keeping with other Guerlain eyeshadows, such as the now defunct Meteorites Eyeshadow Pen). However, it's worth it in the end for the excellent results.

--Longevity--
This is part and parcel of the aforementioned excellent results. Lasts all day without even a hint of a crease (though this is with the help of an eyeshadow primer, of course, but not all eyeshadows fare as well with one). Absolutely no complaints.

--Value for money--
I can completely understand people baulking at the price of this; indeed, I myself dithered for quite some time before making my purchase. However, it has already proved to be a worthy, versatile eyeshadow. Buy it now, before it disappears off the shelves to make way for Guerlain's Autumn/Winter 2009 collection.

perfect partner
Paradis Exotique KissKiss Gloss, £16 (available in 3 shades)

Guerlain Paradis Exotique KissKiss Gloss

RRP: £16
# of shades available: 3 in the Paradis Exotique range (Pomme de Désir, Cerise Tentation, Orange Interdite); many more in the normal range

--What does the promo say?--
"Guerlain Paradis Exotique KissKiss Gloss Pomme du Desir is a delicate, non-sticky gloss that boasts lasting hold. Guerlain Paradis Exotique KissKiss Gloss Pomme du Desir is a pale golden green shimmer donating you a vibrant and fashion focused look veiled in sparkly transparency."

--Packaging--
The box this comes in is quite edgy, with gold and red pinstripes penetrating black. The lipgloss canister is disappointingly made of plastic (well, this has obvious benefits for travel and general carting around etc, but for the brand and price you sort of expect something more substantial), as is the screwtop lid, but the lid is nicely decorated with the Guerlain logo and with good use of a gunmetal-type sheen. The canister itself is see-through, and the brush is very fine and soft without feeling fragile or cheap.

--Application--
Stroke over lips, making sure you apply evenly and avoid tide marks at the edges of the lips.

--Scent--
None. Disappointing, that - with such a juicy name you almost expect something similar to bombard your senses in terms of scent and/or taste. Still, having it smell of nothing is infinitely better than the unpleasant smell or taste that some lip glosses can have (waxy/soapy).

--Texture--
The glitter particles in this gloss are quite large, and you can feel them on your lips. This didn't bother me, but it might bother other people, even though they're not really physically irritating.

--Appearance--
Provides a really unusual, pretty, and not-at-all scary sheen which is perfect for spring and summer time. The glitter is clearly visible without making you look like a disco ball either.

--Longevity--
Sadly not fantastic; expect to reapply every couple of hours.

--Value for money--
This is definitely at the upper end of expensive for a lip gloss. I only really bought this because the colour was so innovative (not to mention that I'm a sucker for anything limited edition), and on that score I was certainly satisfied. I'm equally sure that the Orange Interdite would fulfil expectations on that score. However, if you want a more commonplace colour, go for something a little less hard on the bank balance: there are plenty out there that are cheaper and that last longer too.

perfect partner
Guerlain Paradis Exotique Ombre Eclat 4 Shades Eyeshadow, £33

Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Eye and Lip Cream

RRP: 117,10 euros/$155/£80.00 for 0.5oz/15ml

--What does the promo say?--
"The longevity of the Orchid now captured in an extraordinary Eye & Lip Cream. The protective and regenerative benefits of the extract restore firmness, suppleness, density and hydration to these particularly delicate areas:
• Targets under-eye puffiness and dark circles with autofocus reflectors that light up the eye area.
• A tightening agent creates an instant rested look around the eyes.
• Crow's-feet are immediately smoothed."

--Packaging--
Now, mine is a sample that I got free from a shop (please don't think I'm rich enough to buy this stuff, I'm a poor student after all...), so the packaging is totally different. Mine is in a small tube about the length of my thumb with a screw top lid. The entire tube and lid is gold with all of the product information in navy blue. As far as I can tell, the real thing comes in a glass pot with a gold and blue lid, the pot itself being transparent - through it you can see a smaller blue pot in which the cream is kept. All in all very opulent and expensive-looking and surprisingly not at all gaudy, though clearly aimed at older women. (Would I offend anyone if I hazarded my guess at age 45+?!)

--Application--
Easy really. Just take out a really tiny amount of the cream - think an amount roughly the same size as a pinhead - and apply to the eyelid and to the under-eye area using your fingers. You can also apply it to your lips, but personally I think there are better lip creams out there.

--Appearance--
You almost expect to glow from such an expensive cream. No glowing, but it did sink into the skin extremely well - hence it was invisible once applied to the eye area. The cream itself is almost pure white with no iridescence.

--Texture--
On the eye you can't feel it at all. On my finger it seemed slightly watery, but not much, and overall I'd say it's extremely gentle. It's a bit too watery for the lips.

--Scent--
It's utterly odourless, which is sort of disappointing given how much they seem to rely on the whole orchid thing.

--Does it do what it says it does?--
I've been using it as a sort of eye primer while I've been waiting for my Benefit Lemon Aid to arrive from ebay, and it does this very well. Their claims for what it will do seem pretty outlandish: 'instant rested look', 'immediate smoothing of crow's feet' - sorry, my fine wrinkles just under my eyes are still there, unsurprisingly. Nothing is immediate or instant. Why? Because it's an eye cream, it's not magic. Over time it *may* make a difference but I somehow doubt it. The only claim that seems plausible is the rehydration claim.

--Value for money--
Well, it seems nice enough, and you really don't need to use much at a time so I'm guessing one pot would last the distance. However, I have a sneaky suspicion that other eye creams would do the job just as well, if not better, and there's something in my blood that prevents me from thinking that spending £80 on an eye cream is sensible. But do you know what the best bit is? My little free 2ml tube helped me decide that there's no way I should ever buy this, and if 15ml costs £80, then technically I just got £10.50's worth of product for nothing. Sweet.