Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder
Hello Lovely Ladies,
While reviewing the MAC Bronzing Powder, I did mention to you that since trying some bad products, I have found my Holy Grail products for Bronzing…introducing one of them to you hear – Guerlain’s Terracotta Bronzing Powder.
Before picking a Guerlain base (foundation, bronzers, etc) product, pls note one basic thumb rule, all their even numbered shades are pink toned and the odd numbered shades are slightly yellow toned, though, not as yellow toned as Bobbi Brown or Shiseido or MAC’s NC range.I am NC 30-35 and picked the shade #03.
While buying a bronzer, be clear what you need it for – overall sunkissed look, contouring cheeks, contouring cheeks and jaw-chin area – your shade requirement changes basis the need. My requirement was contouring the cheeks and jaw-chin area – so I wanted it to be only slightly darker than my skintone, else it would be a pain blending it out, especially in the chin-jawline area.
The Product Details (from the website):
A legendary product, Terracotta was the first Guerlain bronzing powder. Given the status of a magical beauty product, Terracotta echoes the soft touch of the first rays of sunlight.
Light, translucent and luminous, Terracotta restores a natural healthy glow in a few strokes of a brush. Combining the sensuality of a natural tan with the voluptuousness of light textures and a velvety finish, Terracotta perfectly reproduces the golden and coppery shimmer of sunlight. Its formula, enriched with moisturising active ingredients, does not dry out the skin. It ensures long-lasting comfort.
The skin glows with an instant natural tan that is both matte and luminous. Subtly moisturised, it radiates with beauty.
Terracotta is available in eight shades for all skin tones and comes in a non-refillable powder case.
The cult powder has a unique fragrance. The top notes reveal a joyful and cheerful accord of bergamot and mandarin. The heart takes over with the sunny, feminine notes of gardenia, jasmine and ylang-ylang, which play off the lightness of honeysuckle. In the dry-down, vanilla, blended with woody notes, gives this legendary scent all of its character and mystery.
To give a sun-kissed look to the entire face, try the Guerlain secret: trace a “3” on the skin.
With the retractable Terracotta bronzing powder brush, apply your Terracotta powder by making a “3” on each side of the face: from the forehead to the cheeks and then to the chin, following the facial contours towards the chin and then moving down along the neck.
Price:
$51 in US / In India @ INR 3225 for 10gms product
Packaging:
The packaging consists of a non-refillable compact with mirror. There is no applicator along with the product. It comes encased in a cardboard box. Refer pics pls.
The compact and the powder both bear the Guerlain logo of 2 entwined “Gs.”
My experience with Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder 03:
Color: The colour is about 2-3 shades darker than my skintone. Refer pics for the face swatch used for contouring. The colour does not have much grey in it. Bit of grey in the colour helps in creating the shadow of a hollow cheekbone but wouldn’t work so well for the sun-kissed bronzed effect. Specifically for cheekbone contouring, I could have gone a tad bit darker. However, a darker shade would not have worked as well for me for my jawline and chin contouring because It would have needed a whole lot of blending, else would have looked weird. This one, fits perfectly for the cheekbone-jawline-chin contouring.
There is no shimmer or glitter in the product, unlike the Guerlain 4 season’s bronzing powder.
Texture: The texture is extremelyfinely milled, smooth and easy to blend. It doesnot feel chalky, nor does it accentuate my pores. It come onto the brush with a single swipe and transfers to the skin without any patchiness. Works like a dream…
Pigmentation: The powder is extremely pigmented…the colour in the pan is what you get onto your skin (till you blend it) – refer pics for swatch on face with single swipe of the brush.
Lasting power:The product lasted about 8 hours on my oily skin – which I feel is great.
To sum this up for you:
Pros of Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder 03
1. Great product for contouring – cheek, jawline and chin.
2. Good pigmentation – a little goes a long way.
3. Lasts for about 8 hours
4. Finely milled smooth texture
5. Does not accentuate pores
6. Applies evenly and is a dream to blend
7. Did not break me out
8. Classy packaging
Cons of Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder 03
1. Lightly fragranced – I could tell only once I smelled the pan – for the review.Guerlain is a fragrance house so their makeup products do carry fragrance. Can be a bummer for someone allergic to perfume.
2. No applicator with the product. The Guerlain Bronzing brush costs another INR 3.5K!
3. Non-refillable compact – The reason I put it as a con is that for Guerlain products, we do pay for high-end packaging. The price would get more rationalized if the product is refillable – like their Meteorite Voyage compact.
IMBB Rating: Yes, a 5/5 product.
Guerlain provide excellent quality of product and packaging. The Terracotta Bronzer was their first bronzer and still continues to be in the product line because of the love received by its patrons. Having used it, I can see why.
When you look at the contouring demonstration in the pics, pls note that I am not a Make Up artist – just someone who loves makeup.
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great review KK……..
I have always been in awe of such magical products which takes away all the flab from face and give that chiseled look…..and its such a task to find the right product…seem u hv got ur HG product…
lets see when i get to lay my hands on this one…
and I like ur green eye liner….this is my sisters favourite color on eyes..
*thankyou* Anuradha! Your words are always so encouraging! I will share a couple more bronzers with you – it will help you differentiate between a good and bad bronzer – especially from contouring perspective. Then, you can pick whatever works better for you. *hifive*
Like your sis, I also like green eyeliner! Will share the review on this one with you so you can tell your sis too!!
Your face looks even more prettier after applying the bronzer… highlights the areas very well *clap* *clap* *clap* great pick *woot* *woot* and lovely pictures as usual *clap* *clap*
*thankyou* *thankyou* Saloni! Glad you liked it! How are exam preparations going??
Exams finish bhi ho gaya KK *woot* *woot* *hifive* *hifive*
Great! Hope you scored well and werent putting reviews instead of answers in the answer-sheet!! rofl
Awesome KK, you are reviewing such gorgeous products *woot*
*thankyou* Jomol!! *puchhi*
Another awesome product lying in you inbox right now!! *hihi* *hihi*
sigh…!! u always get the most coveted products coolpreet!
this looks super awesome. loving the way u used it for contouring.. suppa like! u r one of my fav authors on imbb…u always write such clear and precise reviews. i love ur pics as well..
Hihi coolpreet!!! So cool. *hifive*
Im re-christened to “Coolpreet”? Ive been trying to escape that since school/college days! *hihi* *hihi*
*happy dance* *happy dance* *happy dance* You just made my day with such encouraging words!! *thankyou* Jyoti! Glad you appreciate the effort! *thankyou* *thankyou*
*clap* *clap* toooo good
*thankyou* Neha!
You have reviewed it so well!! Actually this kind of products are difficult to demonstrate in a post but you made it look so easy!! Perfect detailing through step by step pics. *clap* And you look really pretty. *haan ji*
Thanks Tanvi, Im glad you liked the demo pics. My endeavour will remain to demonstrate the product as clearly as is possible. *thankyou* for appreciating the effort!
I sooo badly wanted to pick it up kulpreet but since I have a few bronzers already I decided to give it a skip. this is so getting added to my kitty in summers! looks absolutely stunning. fabb review 🙂
I totally understand your dilemma Rati! When you already have variants of the product, then its difficult to justify picking up one more. I had my eyes on the Kevyn Aucoin sculpting powder but cannot justify buying it with so many of these already there. Thats why I want to do a blogsale kind of thing – out with the old to get new in!!
KK i am in love with your reviews….your product selection is praise worthy!!
*thankyou* Sumera – glad you liked it! How are you doing? Do you get these brands there?
Moderation!!! *headbang* *headbang* *headbang* Pls rescue!
I love this bronzing powder, my HG too!! I got it as a gift from my mum early this year and it is definitely one of my most abused product! *hihi*
KK, what eyeliner are you wearing? Looks so beautiful!
Same pinch Abinaya!! *hifive* It is a fantastic product – it gives me the most natural hollows and is perfect for the jawline-chin area! *happy dance* *happy dance*
Im using YSL Jade Black liner.
Amazing review *clap* i loved how you walked us through the stages *happydance* looks good on you KK
*thankyou* Mayuri for the encouragement! Im glad you liked the review. I could just say that the product is fantastic but showing is believing…right? *hifive*
Wow… Visible difference in swatches, detailed praiseworthy review n ur endeaver to give us best n true to ur knowledge.. *clap* *clap* superb kk.. *oye balle*
You knw I nvr knew bronzers does exist before discovering imbb. *headbang* nw that I knw but I nvr used them, I dnt knw hw to use them but rati, neha n now u kk, u all r motivating me to try hands in face contouring *happydance* It is like a dream come true to appear as sculpted beauty with these magic wonders wow..
*woot* I wud love to start face contouring exp wid ur recommended pdt.. *haan ji* *happy dance*
Hey Neetu! Was wondering if you missed the post!
Thanks for your kind and encouraging words Neetu! I pray that I never fall short of my reader’s expectations!
If you want to try your hand at contouring, remember, you will need a good product as well as a good brush for application. I suggest, first try contouring with MAC MUA’s. You can tell them to show you how to do it and how it works on your face. You will be able to pick up pointers from there. You need not pick the final product from them…but atleast it will give you indication of how your face will look post contouring and how to achieve that look! *hifive*
wow great idea.. *haan ji* but please give one favor first.. i am kinda concerned about my skin n future ageing issues abhi se.. *secret* u knw, badi mushkil se i achieved clear skin unlike my teenages acne prone skin.. *headbang* N jo cheez itno mushkil se muddato baad mili h uske khone ka darr hamesha bana rehta h yaar.. *scared* *secret* I am lil scared that if i start using foundation, contouring pdts like cosmetics then will it adversely effect my skin.. *waiting* *scared* like chances of getting saggy skin n wrinkles will be more kya?? *scared* *scared* These thoughts always haunt me n i just feel scared of using skin cosmetics other than kajal n lipsticks know.. *headbang* *scared*
I understand your concern Neetu! Ive struggled with acne since teens. Even now, my skin breakouts very easily. So you do feel scared of marks and eruptions. I would suggest 3 things for you to ensure:
1. Good CTM procedure – Need to identify the products that work for you. A good quality product doesnt always mean expensive. Something which works for others, may not work for you and vice-versa. So you need to identify what works best for you. You need a good cleanser – Neutrogena Anti Acne Face wash is my staple. I dont always tone my skin but when I do, I prefer rose water rather than chemical toners. You have to moisturise, even if you have oily skin – this was my biggest learning in skincare. MY HG product for this is Cetaphil Body lation (i use it for face) – issue is getting it. I feel the Indian version doesnt work as well for me as the HongKong version – which i find to be much lighter than the Indian one.
2. Use good quality products – You may need to shell a little extra for quality but for base its essential! You have better chances of a good shade match with high-end brand (since you can tests it on your face instead of hand swatching it) and you can get a tester too. If the colour doesnt match, pls DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED to buy. Avoid foundations with alcohol in them – most of the Lancome and Guerlain foundations have high alcohol content. Try Shiseido, Clinique, Estee Lauder or good old MAC – MAC Matchmaster is very light. Or you could go for powder foundation – MUFE and Estee Lauder have good ones.
3. YOU HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR FACE BEFORE SLEEPING – This step cannot be skipped! There is no alternative to this. If you are going to be lazy about this step at end of day – do not use makeup!! *haan ji* *haan ji* Once in a while, if I am too tired, I use my kid’s wet wipes for this (they are alcohol free) but otherwise I will cleanse my face – light soap like Dove/Pears, face wash, cleansing oil, cleansing milk, whatever works for you best.
As long as you take care of the above 3 things, you should be fine! 🙂