Guerlain Beaugrenelle Fall 2015 Écrin 6 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette

You know I had to.

It's been a while since Guerlain added a new palette to their Écrin 6 Couleurs Eyeshadow line. Just to remind you, these are the super luxurious six color sets in the most beautiful packaging on the market. They were first released for Fall 2010 (see my old reviews of  2 Place Vendome and 93 Rue de Passy), and I still regard them as some of the jewels of my makeup collection. Five years later Guerlain has finally added another one, Beaugrenelle, in a somewhat surprising color combination that happens to be my absolute favorite: blue & taupe.

In a way, this is an upgraded version of 2 Place Vendome, though it's not identical. As a matter of fact, I've played with using colors from both as a companion palettes and it's a lot of fun to combine them and see what comes out. But Guerlain Beaugrenelle stands (and stand out) on its own. The eye shadows speak for themselves. They have a good texture (the typical newer Guerlain one) a good mix of satin, high satin, and matte, and excellent color payoff (the swatches above are one light swipe on non-prepped skin).

Beaugrenelle, Paris

Beaugrenelle is a new shopping center in Paris ( a mall, really), but when I saw the photos I understood that this is not the Garden State Plaza, and also understood the color scheme of the palette. Here's what we get: a classic buttery matte beige that evens out the lid, a silvered taupe (looks cooler in the pan, but gains warmth and dimension on olive skin), a matte medium gray that will look cooler or warmer according to your natural skin tone, a delicious silky blue that's somewhere between cadet and navy, and the middle shade: a proper cadet blue with the high shine of a super-fine micro shimmer.

The sixth color is the liner, which unlike the older palette is a dense cream. Those who hate sets that include cream and powder products next to each other will get annoyed with it (I've used the palette three times and already managed to get some powder into the cream). The cream liner has a very dense texture. Neither a thin liner brush (MAC 210 type) nor a delicate tightlining one (Hakuhodo K005, why oh why oh why oh why is it no longer available? Neither is the Kokutan SL and I need three more). In any case, it's not a coincidence that the tiny brush that comes with Beaugrenelle is the stiff straight push eyeliner. That's what you need to apply this texture. I use a classic Smashbox and Laura Mercier flat push eyeliner brushes (most brands have them), but I admit that I was surprised by the eyeliner's texture. It's a beautiful navy color, very smooth and good for tightlining as well as for creating various looks from a little flick to a full-on smoky eye, but I still think it's the weakest link in an otherwise spectacular palette.

Longevity is as good as it gets. I use a primer, obviously, and good brushes, so the whole experience is marvelous. If you like the color story, this is the one palette for the season.

Bottom Line: as a friend told me, this was created for me.

Guerlain Beaugrenelle Fall 2015 Écrin 6 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette ($93, made in France) is already at Saks and arriving at most counters as we speak.