Hi and happy Saturday! Here to discuss a few products i’ve been testing out from the Courrèges collection.
As you may know, the Courrèges collection was released a while back in the U.S and pretty much sold out instantly. For those of you in Singapore though, now is your chance to finally get your hands on this wildly successful launch, it just released here.
Today i’ll be sharing my thoughts on the Illuminations Face Powder, Eye Amplifiers Black Silver and Aqua Silver & the Rosy Future Super Gloss.
The Courrèges collection comes in a very futuristic style packaging. Unlike anything i’ve seen from Estée Lauder before. As you can see, the eyeshadows & highlighters are packaged in white pots with domed screw top lids with a similar globular style running through out the collection.
So far i’ve found this packaging quite nice and of good quality. The domed design does take up an odd amount of space in ones makeup storage but at least it’s something sturdy and not a flimsy, gimmicky design.
Anyways aren’t we all tired of seeing the same uninspired, run of the mill type makeup packaging? I think yes.
Moving onto reviews…
The most sort after item from this collection has to be the Illuminations Face Powder. Not to be confused with ‘beauty powders’ (that MAC releases) which can be used all over the face, this is in fact a powder highlighter.
Illuminations is a shimmering champagne beige with a hint of peach.
For those with warm complexions this would translate to more of a silvery beige, with the cooler complexions drawing out more of the rosy warm golden tones.
As evident from swatches, the pay off is very impressive, leaving a highly reflective shimmer bomb that blends out to an angelic glow!
I felt even the lightest touch would pick up more product than needed. My advice would be dusting off the excess on the back of your hand before going anywhere near the face so you don’t over do the highlight.
The formula is very finely milled and blends easily, and the shimmer disperses evenly without any patchiness so it never looks ott or vulgar.
Overall I really do love the formula of this even though it slightly exaggerated the pores.
Here’re some comparison swatches I put together for you.
I chose some champagne & rose toned products so you see how Illuminations looks alongside. (Please note, over here Illuminations photographed more silver than it’s actual light rosy beige tone. The other swatches are quite true to colour)
From this line up, the Chanel has the most ‘chunky’ shimmer with everything else swatching much finer. The MAC Summer Opal is the most rose toned out of the lot and quite finely milled. I find the Laura Mercier Spellbound to be the most reflective with a high shine and the EL Illuminations highlight the second most reflective. Both of these have very fine shimmer so they do blend out well and look rather nice worn. The Hourglass in comparison is the most subtle from the lot and can be worn as a beauty powder and not just a strict highlight.
Next up, Eye Amplifiers.
Starting with Black Silver.
Black Silver is as the name suggests, is a soft black with fine silver shimmer.
According to the press release, these Eye Amplifiers can be used wet or dry (which I realised a little too late, after I had taken the swatch pics for the post! sigh) where the dry application gives a wash of shimmery colour and the wet application providing a more dense, high intensity colour pay off.
The dry application of this left me slightly underwhelmed as my initial swatches looked more pigmented and I was expecting this to translate to the eyes. Unfortunately on the eyes it looked more of a soft gunmetal, dull black.
The overall formula of this was quite nice. It blends easily and I didn’t notice much fallout during application which was great as it did take quite a bit of layering to achieve desired intensity.
Wear wise I got a solid 8 hours without any creasing or fading with very slight fallout during the day.
Now on to, Aqua Silver.
Aqua Silver is a neutral minty green with fine silver shimmer.
The quality and formula of this was similar to Black Silver, with the dry application being quite sheer. Wet application delivered a less shimmery, more opaque result. I have to say I preferred the wet application better as the overly sparkly finish of the dry application did look somewhat dated and slightly dull on the eyes.
The idea of an intense, minty green used as a liner under the eyes does inspire me to wear this a lot more somehow.
Here are swatches of both shadows applied dry.
Now onto the lips! Here I have the aptly named Super Gloss in Rosy Future.
Packaging is sleek with a rather unique dispenser that allows just a drop of product per pump. The silver tipped applicator is a lovely hygienic option to other standard doe foot applicators as the product never gets contaminated by a used wand. This design is ideal for keeping the product fresh for longer and extend it’s shelf life.
Here’s a closer look at the pumping mechanism. Just click once to dispense.
So Rosy Future is a medium, bright fuchsia with heavy magenta tones. The consistency of this is quite thick and highly pigmented for a gloss. The formula is slightly tacky when worn but seems to adhere well to the lips and prolong wear (3-4 hrs in this case) while keeping lips moist and hydrated. I like that it lasted even after a meal without looking terribly worn off with still enough colour I could get away without having to reapply.
Overall it’s a gorgeous gorgeous pink that’s youthful and perfect for a bright summery lip. I HIGHLY recommend you check this out.
*On a side note i’d like to mention that getting used to application with this tip is quite tricky. And I had to cheat a bit with a lip brush to get a nice even finish just for the photos.
Lastly, here’s a look I created using all the products discussed today. I went for a glam, day time look.
Overall thoughts and recommendations
I’d direct you to the highlighter and the lip gloss as the best buys.
I feel the highlighter especially is great value for money and is a worthy investment if you don’t already own a ‘nice’ champagne highlighter. Most high-end highlighters are priced well over the SGD60 mark and this is such a steal at just SGD42!
The lip gloss on the other hand is the funkiest thing ever and I am super impressed by the packaging as well as the quality of the product. It’s a winner!
Product Details
Illuminations Face powder comes with 7g of product and retails at SGD 42
Eye Amplifier Eyeshadows each come with 4g of product, retailing at SGD 42
Super Gloss comes with 6ml of product, retailing at SGD 36
All products currently available at the Tangs Orchard Estée Lauder Counter.
*Products seen here are press samples sent for review.
