Hi there, I hope you are all doing great!
I have been sick during Christmas and New Year. It was a little unexpected, with fever and a nasty cough. However I have managed to get the right medication to be able to leave the bed on time for important events. I feel that I didn't miss a thing.
On the blog front, top products of the year posts are delayed because I was able to get my hands on quiet a few of Spring Collection offerings. I am almost finished reviewing Chanel Spring and started with Guerlain and Dior. I will try to get Top of 2014 in between all the madness going on here.
After a week of blogging break, I would like to start with many many swatches for you. You might have heard that Gucci's beauty line is launched in 2014, together with Fall Collections. I have already reviewed two of the quads (020 Tuscan Storm and 040 Autumn Fire). Today I would like to share lots of swatches from the counter at Gucci Store in Kurfürstendamm, Berlin.
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| Gucci Store in Kurfürstendamm, Berlin. |
As I walked in the store, I started searching for a corner or a section with lots and lots of make-up. After asking to the sales associates, it turned out that there is only one wall dedicated to make-up. The counter is rather compact. It only has a selection of their range. The complete line is available through gucci.de in Germany. Nevertheless since there are not many swatches on line at the moment, I thought it would be helpful to swatch their selection.
I would like to thank sales associates and security personal who were beyond helpful and very kind to me. I have managed to take photos with day light but then I was kindly warned that each time I go in and outside the store a customer counter is activated. I must have walked at least ten times by then, so decided to get the lipstick swatches in store. I hope they still give some idea about the shades. The sales associate made a guess that I was a blogger, well done ;-)
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| Gucci Counter at Gucci Store Kurfürstendamm, Berlin. |
Gucci Make-up line has seven blushes, which received good reviews as much as I am concerned. It was the first time I touch them to swatch and I haven't tried any of them on my cheeks. They felt very finely-milled and soft, a little like Burberry quality. The textures of the four shades at the counter were all matte to satin.
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| Gucci Sheer Blushing Powder Coral Flower, Soft Peach, Spicy Petal and Tulip Blossom |
Tulip Blossom is the most pigmented of the four shades I have tried. It is a gorgeous fuchsia pink with a hint of plum. I am very much tempted by this one.
Spicy Petal is a great everyday neutral shade, it is a coral with a tad of bronze. This one is also very pigmented and would show up nicely on deeper complexions.
Coral Flower is a cool pink. I think the name of this one is a little misleading. It is a brightening blush but can look a little ashy starting from medium complexions.
Soft Peach is a lovely coral with decent pigment, great to combine with your coral lippies. Soft Peach had a great formula, only since that part of my hand is chronically very dry, it didn't swatch very well.
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| Swatches of Gucci Sheer Blushing Powder Coral Flower, Soft Peach, Spicy Petal and Tulip Blossom |
Since I have only tried Gucci quads, I was very excited to touch and feel the monos and duos. Unfortunately there were no duos available at the store. I had a nice playtime with monos though. I have read previously that monos perform much better than quads, and after playing with them I can agree to this statement. Since monos cost 34€ per piece, it is hard to order them sight unseen. After swatching them though, two of them stood out for me and I ended up purchasing them. You will see them soon on the blog.
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| Gucci Magnetic Color Shadow Monos |
010 Liquid Silver is a very light silver shade with metallic finish.
020 Sunstone is a very light champagne with a hint of rose. It has satin to metallic finish
040 Starlight is an easy everyday taupe. It would especially look good on fair ladies. On me it was rather close to my skin tone and got a little blended.
060 Iconic Copper is a mid-toned copper with metallic finish. I really like the metallic finish of these, which don't look frosty nor cheap.
070 Sasso is a shade I was most excited to check out in person. It turned out to be cooler than I expected it to be though. It is a grey taupe/ silver mix with metallic finish.
080 Cocoa is a deep neutral brown with matte to satin finish. It has a lovely buttery and pigmented texture.
100 Oro is a light warm gold with satin to shimmery finish. I was expecting it to be less yellowy and more metallic but it is rather an everyday ship and go beige shade.
190 Iconic Bronze is a mid-toned reddish bronze with metallic to shimmery finish. The finish in this one is very breathtaking. The shimmer is very complex and it flashes in a very pretty way under light. Iconic Bronze is one of the highlights of their monos for me, so I ended up getting one for myself.
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| Swatches of Gucci Magnetic Color Shadow Monos |
170 Iconic Gold is breath taking beautiful. It is an antique gold shade, without turning too green or too warm. Its finish is close to Iconic Bronze and the shimmer is again very complex and special. This is the second shade I have picked up from the line. I can't wait to try it out!
120 Iconic Ottanio is a mid-toned teal with satin finish. Gucci is known for this shade, hence it is rightfully iconic and gorgeous. I have fallen out of love with blue eye shadows lately so I was able to leave it behind, for the time being.
160 Anthracite is a very deep blue grey with metallic finish. It looks rather like a navy blue than anthracite to me. It is a very nice shade for a smoky eye, with a slight edge.
180 Iconic Black is a very deep neutral black with matte finish. I really like the matte texture of Gucci's eye shadows, also at their quads. This one was very pigmented and buttery, if you are in search for the black of your life, I would recommend it.
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| Swatches of Gucci Magnetic Color Shadow Monos |
Six of the ten Magnetic Color Eye Shadow Quads were available at the counter. I have already swatched and reviewed two of them, 020 Tuscan Storm and 040 Autumn Fire, and it turned out those were the two of the quads they had. They were also the only two which were sold out. I have swatched the other four for you here.
Cosmic Deco consist of a light metallic white, a mid-toned shimmery brown, a lovely grey taupe and a deep cool brown. Taupe has a hint of purple on my skin and it looks very unique to me. All shades are shimmery other than the deepest one. I really wished the deepest shade would be more intense. It looks darker in the pan but it has a softer pigment than the others once swatched, which is great if you would like a fool proof palette but for my drama loving heart, it is a deal breaker.
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| Swatch: Gucci Magnetic Color Eye Shadow Quad in Cosmic Deco |
Aquamarine Dream is an all shimmer palette with a light shimmery white (which appears taupe below, probably because of a previous swatching, sorry for that), a mid-toned shimmery grass green, a frosty mint and a very deep metallic teal. My favorite of the shades here must be the deepest shade, which has lovely blue/green shimmer under certain light. All in all too much shimmer for me though and a frosty mint which appears almost white which I would probably never use. If you like metallic eye shadows and on the market for a cool green palette, it might be right for you.
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| Swatch: Gucci Magnetic Color Eye Shadow Quad in Aquamarine Dream |
Ocean Rhapsody is a gorgeous vivid blue palette with three shimmery and one matte eye shadow. The deepest black is very close to mono in Iconic Black, great formula there. The mid-toned vivid blue is to die for if you like bright blues on eyes. Light sky blue with a touch of grey is also very lovely. Frosty white is there again, maybe looks nice on the inner corner? Love love the three of the shades, certainly recommended for blue eye shadow lovers out there. (oh and such a poetic name too)
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| Swatch: Gucci Magnetic Color Eye Shadow Quad in Ocean Rhapsody |
Smoky Amethyst is a less shimmery quad with more satin textures. The deepest shade is a very deep brown, which swatches almost black and has a great texture similar to the black in Ocean Rhapsody. The lightest shade is a very light frosty lavender which is not as stark as the whites in Ocean Rhapsody and Aquamarine Dream. The vivid purple is very lovely. I also loved the grayish purple. I might go back for this particular quad once I am in the mood for a bright purple smoky eye.
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| Swatch: Gucci Magnetic Color Eye Shadow Quad in Smoky Amethyst |
I caught myself while I was about to skip that section. It seems my mind blacks out glosses on a counter since I don't wear gloss myself. I have seen it right before we quit swatching. I hope some gloss girls will find it helpful. Some of the glosses are sheer, some of them are pigmented though. I remember reading that all the losses are sheer, which is not true.
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| Gucci Demi-Glaze Lip Lacquer |
010 Mystique White is a sheer clear gloss
020 Breathless is a light milky neutral pink which is also rather sheer
030 Bronze Silk is a semi-sheer bronze gloss with fine golden particles
050 Innocent Peony is a mid-toned coral pink without shimmer
080 Potent Violet is a semi-sheer vibrant purple fuchsia with lovely purple shimmer, great to add that little bit of something to the lipstick.
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| Gucci Demi-Glaze Lip Lacquer Swatches |
The following shades are more pigmented. Sorry for the shaky blurry photo. If I would be there, I wouldn't hesitate to go and swatch these again, but it turns out I am 650 km away at the moment. I hope this still gives an idea though.
100 Unapologetic Pink, great name and a lovely old rose tone
110 Iconic Bronze is a mid-toned bronze with golden shimmer
160 Iconic Red is one of the most opaque lip glosses, the following swatch is only one swipe. The formula is great on that one. It is a blueish pink, a really pretty one.
190 Wild Amerena is a very deep berry shade, which is also mostly opaque. Especially pretty in fall and winter.
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| Gucci Demi-Glaze Lip Lacquer Swatches |
I have also swatched the selection of lipsticks. There were many Audacious Lipsticks and a few Luxurious ones. I have smelled the bullet since I have read that the scent is too strong. I didn't think it was. I think it is not worse than some other scented high-end lipsticks. Audacious Lipsticks appear frosty on the swatches but actually they have a nice sheen to them, the lights are to blame.
020 Whisper is a mid-toned neutral pink
030 Spring Rose is a mid-toned beige pink
050 Cashmere is a mid-toned neutral mauve pink
060 Cerise is a dense terra-cotta
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| Gucci Audacious Lipstick Swatches, Whisper, Spring Rose, Cashmere and Cerise |
090 Iconic Bronze is a mid-toned bronze with metallic finish
100 Iconic Copper is a mid-toned gold with metallic finish
110 Fever is a lovely soft coral
120 Ardor is a vivid orange coral
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| Gucci Audacious Lipstick Swatches, Iconic Bronze, Iconic Copper, Fever and Ardor |
140 Iconic Red is a mid-toned blue red. This one has a great formula, below you see it with one swipe.
150 Berry Vanity shares the great texture of Iconic Red. It is a lovely berry red for fall and winter.
190 Wild Amerena is a cool deep berry with a touch of violet, a very lovely shade, I can't think of anything in my stash coming close
200 Velvet Burgundy is a deep reddish raspberry.
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| Gucci Audacious Lipstick Swatches, Iconic Red, Berry Vanity, Wild Amerena and Velvet Burgundy |
220 Imperial Red is a very deep berry
230 Orchid Overdose is a deep raspberry, close to Velvet Burgundy but more low-key
240 Bitter Grape is a deep agenda with pink sheen
250 Dark Romance is a deep burgundy, it has a good texture but my hand bone made the swatch look patchy.
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| Gucci Audacious Lipsticks, Imperial Red, Orchid Overdose, Bitter Grape and Dark Romance |
Finally I have some of Gucci's Luxurious Moisture Rich Lipsticks for you. I have tried Libertine after swatching. It felt moisturizing on the lips, also had nice coverage but I can't comment too much on the staying power because right after we have drunken coffee and test was over.
300 Exposure is a light neutral pink
310 Cipria is a very light champagne
330 Libertine is a mid-toned mauve pink which is my lips but better shade for me
380 Rush is a very intense orange red
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| Gucci Luxurious Moisture Rich Lipstick in Exposure, Cipria, Libertine and Rush |
390 Iconic Red is a neutral red. In this formula it pulls a little warmer than the other namesakes in the collection
460 Rose Dragee is a mid-toned rose beige
490 Purpurite is a deep berry with a tad of violet
510 Seduction is a deep warm red
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| Gucci Luxurious Moisture-Rick Lipstick in Iconic Red, Rose Dragee, Purpurite and Seduction |
There was also a selection of nail polishes at the counter. I have fallen in love with Iconic Gold and ended up purchasing it. I am also eyeing the Iconic Ottanio, but first I would like to try one shade to make sure I can work with the brush and it has the right staying power. I will post a review once I am finished testing it.
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| Gucci Bold High Gloss Nail Lacquer |
Final thoughts: After having the opportunity to play with the products, I feel closer to Gucci's newly released make-up line. I like quiet a few of the items from blushes to lipsticks and especially monos for the eyes. The bronzers were also lovely, with cool and warm undertones. I hope they extend their availability in 2015.
Have you tried something from Gucci Beauty? Did you like it, would you recommend it?
