Get the limousine, a red carpet, and champagne ready, because here comes Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy Palette! I have been wearing toned-down eyeshadows, crazy eyeliner, and bold lipsticks a lot recently, but how about turning up the volume by doing something smokier instead? With two bold lipsticks, three eyeshadows, and an eyeshadow/liner, Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy Palette will certainly bring out your inner diva!
Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy Palette comes with a black velvet pouch with red trimming. In fact, the boxes of the entire Guerlain Liu holiday collection is red inside, probably both to fit the Chinese theme and make it more festive. The compact is a glossy black (fingerprint galore! Consider yourself warned) with the name of the palette in gold and Guerlain engraved. The closure is magnetic, which makes it ultra safe should you choose to take it anywhere.The compact opens to a big mirror, two lipsticks, three eyeshadows and a powder eyeliner (you can use it wet or dry). I am slightly disappointed with the lack of a cover over the lipsticks. However, since the eyeshadows aren’t powdery, even after playing with it several times, I haven’t detected powder mixed in with the lipsticks.
Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy Palette compact includes two brushes. One of them has two sponge ends for applying eyeshadows and eyeliner. The other has natural bristles. I have tried to use this with the lipsticks and eyeshadows. While it works OK for both, the hair is a bit too long and soft to be a precise lip brush. Therefore, I prefer to use it with the eyeshadows.
The first lipstick is a bright raspberry red. It looks almost like a pink, but on my lips it is most definitely red with a raspberry tinge. It is matte with a sheen. The second one is a bright blue-based red on me. I am very surprised, as I know it could be a warm-toned red on some. With my warm undertone, usually whatever can look warm-toned looks warm-toned on me, but not this one. I have been hunting high and low for a blue-based red that wouldn’t pull warm on me (even ordered another one in the meantime, but that’s another story), and I’m so glad to have found this one in Liu!
Both lipsticks are matte with a sheen, so they don’t look dull. They are creamy and comfortable on my lips, and unlike most mattes they are not drying at all. They wear about 6-7 hours on me, and both of them leave a good stain (that is really easy to remove. Bonus point). Guerlain is a brand that knows how to do lipsticks, and these two for sure do not disappoint!
Let’s move on to the eyeshadows. The first one is a metallic pale gold. Compared with the other two eyeshadows, it is a bit powdery and not as creamy. Still, the color payoff is great, and if I pat it on with a flat eyeshadow brush, I don’t experience fallout.
The second eyeshadow is a metallic orange-y copper. Every time when I put this on my lids, I am a little worried about it working for me. However, combined with the other shades, I can get away pretty easily with it. The texture is very finely-milled, creamy, and smooth with excellent pigmentation!
The third eyeshadow is a silvery taupe. It is definitely on the grayer side of taupe, and it has a softer sheen. I didn’t expect to be able to use it with so much ease, but it works surprisingly well for my skin tone. The texture and pigmentation are again fantastic!
Last but not least, we have a grayish black. This is an eyeshadow/liner that can be used both wet and dry. While it does feel a bit drier swatched, it performs well both as an eyeshadow and an eyeliner. I have used it wet (with MAC 231) as a liner several times, and I am amazed by the lasting power. When it comes in contact with water, the texture becomes a bit rubbery, almost like a gel. I wet 213 with a spritz of my Evian spray (tap water will do. It’s just that I apply makeup in my bedroom where there is no sink), cover the brush well with the powder, and start lining.
It dries fast (I haven’t had it transfer to my lids), doesn’t take a lot of building up to be intense enough (though the color isn’t a true black, so it is a bit softer than a regular black gel liner), and it lasts! I have worn it for 10 hours, and except for the slight smudging on the outer corners of my lower lash lines (which happens to practically all eyeliners on me) after 8 hours, it holds up perfectly! That light smudging isn’t too problematic either. Once I wipe it off, it’s good for another couple of hours (I usually remove my makeup before it smudges again). It even stays really well on my waterline (better on my upper waterline than lower waterline), and my eyes don’t get irritated either.
Here is the swatch of the eyeshadows:
For my first look, I tried to recreate one of the eye looks on the instructions that came with the palette (it is also what Natalia Vodianova sports in the campaign image). I used the pale gold all over my lids (up to my socket line), the coppery orange slightly lower than the pale gold, and the silvery taupe in my outer corners. I also highlighter my inner corners with the pale gold.
Eyeliner is an important feature of this look. I tried to follow the instructions of keeping the inner half really thin (essentially restricting it to my lash line). and gradually thickening it before winging it out. I was aiming at doing a different angle (like the campaign image), but my hand kind of decided it preferred the regular wing. Here’s the fun part. On the instructions, there is a dot at the same angle of the eyeliner wing. I sprayed the smaller sponge tip wet, dip it in the liner shadow, and dotted it on my face. I chose to do only one side because I wanted it to look like a real beauty mark, and I must say it’s pretty believable!
You have seen this look here as well:
(The fake beauty mark is so much fun that I’m tempted to do it all the time!)
Here you see the first lipstick:
This is how big Liu is compared to my hand:
For the second look, I did what I normally do with an eyeshadow quad. I used the orangey-copper on the inner half, silvery taupe on the outer half, and the grayish black on my outer v. I lined my eyes with a gel liner (rather thickly) and smudged the lower lash line with the grayish black. I am wearing the red lipstick in these photos:
Bottom line: Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy Palette is Christmas (and the Chinese New Year, as my top has probably demonstrated) in a compact. It packs a lot of great-quality product, and the shades are flattering on many. If you’re ready to sport bolder looks this season, Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy Palette is one you shouldn’t miss!
Have you seen this beauty in person? Is Guerlain Liu something you would wear? What makeup do you usually go for on Christmas Eve?
Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx
