-Guerlain

As promised, here are my initial thoughts after I saw the actual items. (Please follow the links to see all the photos.)

Dior:

First I saw the Trotter Romantique palettes in Harvey Nichols. The larger one (with the mascara and the lip gloss) looks decent with wearable colors. It is smaller than the similar ones I saw. (The sales assistant seemed defensive when I compared it with the pink purse palette that I saw in Heathrow Airport, but I did mean it as a compliment. I would love to see more airport-exclusive Dior items sold in department stores.)

The two smaller square palettes are disappointing. There is no problem with the shades. It is the flimsy packaging. Very un-Dior-like. The lids are a bit wobbly and the shiny black PVC edge trimmings look brassy. The quality of the packaging is simply not as good as that of the Detective Chic or the Diorissime palette.

Then I saw the DiorLight pendant in Selfridges. The surprise is that it is bigger than what I imagined. I thought it would be slightly bigger than the size of a cherry, but it is only slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball. Quite a huge pendant. But it also highlights the fact that it is very light…almost too light, even though it sports many Swarovski crystals. (The Holiday 2006 Dior Pretty Charms is pleasantly weighty.) The two shades are the usual warm pink and light beige.

The sales assistant seemed bemused at the fact that I was carefully checking out the details of the “crystal ball”. Well, it costs 54 pounds (108 USD), and obviously it is the packaging that we are paying for, not the gloss.

I do like it and I will consider getting it, but I will think really hard about whether to spend that amount of money on a gloss pendant.

YSL:

I saw all the holiday 2007 items in Harvey Nichols. The heart-shape pendant, unlike DiorLight, has a good chunky feel. But I still think that, while the design idea is good, the actual finished product is not. I personally think that It needs more fluidity in the whole design.

As for the silver palette, I like the cute color of the blusher. There is actually a heart-shape spongy pad placed on top of the blusher pan. Cute, but not very useful. (But maybe it is precisely for printing a heart-shape blush on your face or body.) The other shades are very nondescript. After seeing in person the first silver holiday palette for YSL in years, I still prefer the gold packaging, like I said before.

Guerlain: (images from Makeup Bag)

The main buzz surrounds the Forever Gold Sublime Radiant Powder, which, along with the rest of the Guerlain Holiday 2007 collection, was launched in Selfridges. I spayed it on the back of my hand and saw a veil of delicate but very sparkly shimmer revealed itself. I was impressed with the gentle and even finish, and it should be great to add a touch of shimmer to the face and the body. The idea of the product works in theory and in reality, and I am sure this unique item will sell very well.

Givenchy: (image from Bjooti.Net, another image here)

The star item is Prisme Solitaire, which I saw in Harrods. Compared with Guerlain’s Forever Gold, this one gives a more intense and concentrated shimmer. (Guerlain’s Forever Gold is soft and airy, but still very sparkly.) It really is like diamond dust. Depending on how you use it, it can be an all-over shimmer or it can inject a dose of beaming sparkles to your eyes. Packaging-wise, I like the case very much, which looks like a real diamond ring case.

I personally don’t like too much shimmer, so Guerlain’s Forever Gold and Givenchy’s Prisme Solitaire will not make any appearance on my shopping list. But, if you like sparkles and shimmer, I highly recommend that you check out these two.