Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs from Mirror Mirror Collection for Fall 2011

I know I promised better swatch photos of Les Verts and Les Gris eye shadow quads last week when I introduced Guerlain's Mirror Mirror Collection for Fall 2011. You thought I forgot, right? I was waiting for decent outdoor light, and we've had showers or clouds every day since last week. I also had higher priorities, with sneak peeks of some of my other favorite brands. Now, I have more swatch photos for you, although I'm not sure they are enormously better. I took them in full morning sun, and I applied the shadows heavily with a sponge-tipped applicator. I've had more time to play, and I can describe the shades more thoroughly, I think.

Les Verts is really a quad of brown tones with a green thrown in for punch. The color at the top of my arm (and left in the compact) is medium chocolate brown and matte. Not flat matte, but matte on my skin. The green sparkles. It's an intense minty green - one that coordinates beautifully with the brown shades surrounding it. The light taupe on the right side of the compact is a gorgeous lid shade. I think it's also a perfect shade for wearing as a liner smudged under the lower lashes (on me). The bottom shade on my arm (and the bottom in the compact, is a different shade of taupe, one that has a "camouflage green" cast to it. At first glance, it looks taupe on my skin. Upon careful examination, I can see that it has that green lilt. These shades, as I mentioned last week, have a different appearance on the skin than they do in the palette. The green-toned taupe is a good example. All in all, Les Verts is a fabulous quad for everyday wear.

Les Gris is not an everyday quad - at least not in my life. It packs a punch, lending a dramatic shimmer to the eyes. Some of you may be braver than I am, but I think I'll reserve Les Gris for evening events (except for the pink-taupe shade, which actually blends well with the browns in Les Verts.

Les Gris has a matte charcoal grey on the left side of the quad, shown at the top of my arm. It's a nice liner. It's much too dark for me to wear on my lids, but I'm sure some of you could. The pink-taupe shade at the top of the quad has an ever-so-slight shimmer to it, which was magnified by the sun's reflection. That's why I included a shade photo below. That pinky taupe shade is really pretty because it doesn't make me look like an albino bunny. In certain light, I detect a faint hue of lavender in the shade. The silver shade is metallic. It offers major shimmer for a high-wattage look. The teal-grey shade at the bottom of the quad is a gorgeous lightly shimmering grey shade that's enlivened with blue-leaning teal. It's my favorite shade in the quad because it's unique.

Here's that shade photo of Les Gris at right. I showed multiple photos of Les Cuirs last week, so there's no need to repeat that quad here. It's a beautiful palette of everyday neutral shades.

What I love about Guerlain's new collection of eye shadows is that there's something for everyone. Regardless of your skin tone or preferences, I'll bet one of the quads will reach out and grab you. I understand these are not limited editions. You don't need to rush out to buy them, although department stores are so cautious in this economy, they might have to re-order when their first allocation of palettes sells out.

You can purchase these gorgeous Guerlain palettes and see the rest of the Mirror Mirror Collection at Neiman Marcus (where I did) or your favorite Guerlain counter. It should have arrived everywhere by now. There are new Rouge G lipsticks, new eye liners - there's plenty to see.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty