Contrary to what you might think, Guerlain’s Meteorites are not the traditional and age-old product they may seem. They were born in 1987 (I’m ten years older), and in my mind, they belong firmly in the 80s – hedonistic, violently scented, and luxuriously packaged. Do they still hold up today? Let’s find out!
That luxury vibe
Let’s first take a slight detour into the realm of luxury purchases. First, the price of a product is relatively unimportant when it comes to perceived luxury. A Chloe handbag? Definitely. But then: A Tom Ford lipstick? Undoubtedly, even if we speak of $50 in relation to $1000. It’s not limited supply, either – you can buy a Chanel perfume at the drugstore. And still. Packaging? Sure.
But what I really think: it’s the allure of a product. The aura. That little thing that convinces you that this is special and that convinces you that spending $50 for a hand cream is a good idea (looking at you, Chanel!). Performance doesn’t play a big role in this, which is why it’s so irresistible to me to poke at it and see what happens when you remove the allure. And that means: performance time, baby! Are the Guerlain Meteorites Perles worth it? Do we want to part with $63 or €50 for them?
What it is
Depending on the variations of Meteorites out there, this is a (somewhat) pressed finishing powder with glitter ranging omfgEdward! to some lonely sparkles. Because it is, in fact, a finishing powder, this won’t set your foundation or, God forbid, concealer, and it also won’t colour correct. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
Guerlain says:
Today, the Météorites hold the secret to Stardust technology – a light-creating polymer, which transforms light invisible to the naked eye into a pure and endless glow on the skin. A subtle blend of matte, rosy and radiant blue-toned white pearls, combined with corrective coloured pearls (…) they light up the face in an illuminating and corrective halo to give endless radiance.
Packaging
Without doubt, packaging (all those limited editions!) and the distinct violet fragrance is the biggest allure of the Guerlain Meteorites. Both add to the fairy princess feeling of dipping and swirling your brush in a container of appealingly pastel pearls. The regular pearls come in a metal tin topped with an art deco motif, and include 25g of different coloured pearls (white, beige, peach, pink and purple in the 02 ones, but it really depends on the edition you buy), topped with a sponge (gone are the proper powder puff days, sadly).
You’ll see that my version of the Meteorites is a bit older: the packaging is slightly different nowadays, and instead of 30g you now get 25. Mine are also still labelled Teint Beige, while today No. 02 is called Clair.
Performance
As you can see from the swatch (I swatched the dust collected in the tin quite heavily for that), the effect is both chalky and glittery at the same time, with a faint peach hue. This is also where my annoyance level rises quite a bit, because: we have visible glitter particles, which is just not a good look if you want to achieve the glow advertised above.
If you have a look at the ingredients (see at the link above), you’ll recognise actual starch (!!!) and honestly, I’m not surprised. Corn starch from my kitchen couldn’t perform any different. It’s starchy and chalky and doesn’t colour correct, because what happens if you mix all those supposedly colour correcting pearls together? BEIGE IS WHAT HAPPENS. (Whew. Sorry, I didn’t know that I have FEELINGS about this.)
How to best use the Meteorites
Guerlain Meteorites Perles 02 swatched (far right are the Meteorites Flocons Enchantes from 2015) – pics are clickable for a larger size!
Unsurprisingly, when used, you don’t get a proper highlighting effect. You get glitter particles. If I really, really want to use the Meteorites (and yes, I do know that there’re oodles of different versions with different effects), I do it in winter, because under harsh sunlight, the effect resembles glittery fallout all over my face. I do own another version of the Meteorites Perles, the Flocons Enchantes from Holiday 2015. They are paler, and rather shimmery than glittery, which turns them into a semi-decent highlighter.
And please don’t get me started on the ‘Starlight technology’ – there’re some light-reflecting polymers (eg plastic particles) in there. The end.
Comparison
As a finishing powder, these are completely and utterly useless. Let’s have a look at some other finishing powders. First and foremost, there’re Hourglass’ Ambient Light Finishing Powders that actually do what Guerlain promises. Sure, they’re a bit tricky to figure out (not only swatch, but apply to your face and test them properly before buying, don’t commit at once and don’t be disappointed when one doesn’t work for you – there’re six, you’ll find one). They’re the best thing since sliced bread, and I couldn’t love them more. They are the real deal.
If you want to get a traditional finishing powder (you know, that has that HD blurring effect), go for Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder, for example, or By Terry’s Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder, or even Nars’s Translucent Setting Powder (both reviewed here). All give the skin that little glow and extra blur effect that Guerlain can absolutely get right – but mostly, not in their Meteorites.
Worth it?
An indulgence that make you feel good when you use it, or a useless product? You decide. Guerlain still has the allure, though. The allure of ultimate indulgence, of dreams come true.
PSA: If you love the Meteorites scent, don’t go for their Meteorites perfume, but for Chanel’s Misia. The Meteorites has a sickly sweet base, while Misia captures the scent of the pearls perfectly.
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
I do own three versions of the meteorites and rarely use them… My favourite is the 01 Blanc de perle, just because those have nearly no glimmer at all.
It looks like Guerlain did change the colours a bit, the 02 Clair seems less beige than your version.
But in the end You’re absolutly right, I can’t see an effect besides that litte brightning that the 01 version does give me. And of course that sparkle that the Pucci and that Flocons Enchantes versions add!