Guerlain Champs-Élysées Palette for Fall 2010

When I gave you a preview of Guerlain's Fall 2010 Champs-Élysées Collection, I mentioned that Guerlain's collections are always eagerly anticipated at my house. I found the collection at Saks immediately. After vowing to buy only two of the eye palettes, I bought three. I could have bought four. They were definitely gush-worthy!

I've been admiring them for a few weeks - just looking at them, holding them, and saving them. Saving them for what? I don't know - just the "right time," whatever that is. I didn't want to use any of them, marring their perfect beauty with brush strokes.

The first thing you notice about each palette is its weight. The palettes are heavy. Before you even open one, you get a sense that there is something very special in your hand. The silver case, the lacy cut-outs, the bee etched into the design - all of the compact's features contribute to its glamour.

Then you open the palette, and the wow factor magnifies. Here is the first one I opened to share with you: #68, Champs-Élysées. Just look at it for a minute. When you open the compact, you see the double-ended brush and a protective covering that is carefully designed to flip out to the right. The black cover protects the eye shadows from any damage.

Only after you flip up the cover, do you glimpse the eye shadows and liner - color-coordinated beauties. Guerlain calls them "tailored harmonies." Opening one for the first time is like discovering a secret. The shades in #68 look and actually are more grey than they appear in Guerlain's promotional photo. In Champs-Élysées, it's about grey with a pop of a trendy lavender fall color in a hue I can wear!

The shades are shown on my arm in the photo at left (taken outside on a cloudy day), starting with the lightest, highlighting shade at the top and rotating clockwise around the compact. The "interior" lavender shade is the fifth one from the top, and the liner is shown under it. Each compact has its own liner, a nice feature that adds special value to these eye palettes. You can see the liner on the right in Guerlain's photo above. Very nice. You know you can click on the photo to see a larger version, right?

Look at the subtle, wearable shades and the variety of the colors in this compact! Directions come with the palettes, giving you a hint of Guerlain's intentions for how you will use the shades. There are paint-by-numbers pictures for a dramatic effect and smokey eye. I'm going to have fun with this one (and the others, which I will share with you soon). I may not wear the lavender shade often - or I may mix it with other shades to custom-build my own shade - but I know I'll wear all the shades. Each is gorgeous. I applied them fairly heavily to photograph them, but the choice is yours. You can apply these creamy powders with a light hand or build the color on your eyelids. I think it would be hard to overdo them.

As I dole out my new eye palettes to myself, rationing my endorphin rushes, I'll share swatches with you. If you can't wait, you can find Guerlain's Fall 2010 Collection at all the department stores that feature Guerlain makeup. It's worth your trip!

Compact photos courtesy of Chic Profile