Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Collection Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush for Summer 2012

A beautiful summer is a summer when the warm sunlight blends with the scents of the Mediterranean.

The Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Collection embodies the union of two prestigious houses in perfect synergy. This exceptional makeup collaboration draws its inspiration from summertime in the Italian Riviera, with its light-hearted and energetic dolce vita attitude that welcomes the warm, sea weather. Created by Guerlain Creative Director, Olivier Échaudemaison, and Pucci’s Image Director, Laudomia Pucci, the collection embraces summer with delightfully sunny shades and vibrant bursts of color. The common thread of this second collaboration is a motif inspired by an iconic print, “Winter Capri,” taken from the Emilio Pucci archives. Exclusively retouched for this collection, this signature print, a blue flower interlaced with swirls and flames, adds a joyful and elegant Pucci touch to the Guerlain summer products.

The limited-edition Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush ($75), shown above, is the star of the collection. This exquisite powder and blush combines two success stories: Guerlain’s legendary Terracotta powder and Emilio Pucci’s iconic prints. The world of beauty and fashion unite in a single case to beautifully enhance the complexion. Half bronzer and half blush, this hybrid powder has a lightweight formula and offers a universal harmony of four shades. The outer case pays tribute to the paneling of a Riva yacht with an ebony-colored varnished wood. The Bronzing Powder & Blush is presented in an accessory pouch with the Pucci motif - the ultimate summer accessory.

I love the blue and green padded pouch, and I love the compact's magnetic "snap" case. See the magnets on the compact photo above? They line up with the magnets on the top of the large compact. This magnets "snap" together for a firm fit between the top and bottom of the compact.

The bronzer-blusher itself is a knockout. I took many swatch photos, and for some reason, most of them are out of focus. It looks like my camera lens fogged up from humidity. Fortunately I got two half-way decent ones. I took my photos in full sun.

For this first swatch photos, I applied the shades heavily with a sponge-tipped applicator. At the top of my arm, the brown bronzer shade is swatched alone. In the middle, I swatched across the three other shades, peach, rose, and pink. For the bottom swatch, I ran the applicator equally across all shades in the palette.

I also swatched very heavily across all the colors using a circular motion with a dense blush brush. The close-up photo directly above shows how warm the shade is, but also how perfectly it straddles the line between a bronzer and blusher. I think it's drop-dead gorgeous and I'm thrilled to have it.

I purchased mine from Bergdorf Goodman. The entire collection will be arriving (and selling out quickly, I'm sure) at all Guerlain counters soon.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty