FOTD Using Guerlain Parure Extreme #3!

Hey Everyone!

I thought I'd do a quick update how my Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation is working for me. (I apologize for all of my foundation posts and if you can't keep up with them all!) So, I purchased Guerlain Parure Extreme in #4 back in December (click here to view original review + fotd) and although I loved the foundation, it was a terrible color choice for me. To make it work, I would use a foundation in the lightest shade (Neutrogena Healthy Skin in Classic Ivory) to lighten it up and then I would a drop of Coastal Scents yellow corrector to give it a more yellow/golden tone. That was working great for me, but I really wanted to find my correct color match, so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of mixing foundations all of the time.

Earlier this month, I decided to place an order for Guerlain Parure Extreme in the shade #3. I had no idea until that point what Guerlain's numbering meant for the foundation, until Lisasz09 on youtube let me know that even numbers are actually pink toned, and odd numbers are yellow toned. So, I was please to know that it isn't the whole line that is pink toned. I'm happy to say that #3 matches me beautifully, and is a good NC30-35 match. It doesn't have a strong yellow tone, per say, but it matches me very good.

Swatched Top: Guerlain Parure Foundation #3, Bottom: Guerlain Parure Extreme #4

I've been wearing this foundation almost every day, with the exception of the days where I've tested out Chanel Vitalumiere, Laura Mercier Silk Creme & a couple days of Neutrogena Healthy Skin. I love that it looks so natural & with setting powder, lasts all day. It has climbed up my list of favorite foundations, and made it to my top 5.

I didn't set my foundation with powder, because I wanted to show the santiny finish. It was a bit cloudy today, so my skin looks a little beige? I assure you though, the color match is excellent, and this is just not the best lighting. I'll be wearing this in FOTD's to come. My FOTD today is nothing spectacular, because I was about to go grocery shopping for a BBQ and didn't want to go too heavy on my eyes in the day time.

Weird lighting & I look washed out because I switched the Auto I-Contrast setting on my camera

Face:

 Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer in Medium under my eyes, around the corners of my nose and under my brows

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in #20 under my eyes over the Hard Candy Concealer for a better color match

Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation #3 applied a sheer layer with my fingers, and built a thin second layer with my MAC 131 duo fibre brush

Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder in Brunette 02 applied to the hollows of my cheeks & extended up my cheekbones

MAC Cremeblend Blush in Obviously Orange applied to my cheekbones

Hard Candy Blush in Moneymoon applied over Obviously Orange for a soft, shimmery peach sheen

Brows:

MAKE UP FOREVER Eyebrow Corrector in #3

MAC Brow Set in Girl/Boy

Eyes: 

Dior 5-Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow in Crush Glow (golden shade all over my lid, brown in the outer V)

Bobbi Brown Long Wearing Gel Ink in Black Ink (lined my top and bottom lash line)

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara in Very Black

Revlon Fantasy Lengths Professional Self Adhesive Eyelashes #99500

Lips:

MAC Lip Erase in Light applied as a light base to my lips

MAC Lip Liner Pencil in Subculture

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in #26 Tender Peach (this shade looks much different.. lighter and more pink - with lip erase as a base.. I love it! But we all know RV lipsticks have the worst staying power and it was practically gone in these photos despite I had just applied it.)

Guerlain Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder in Brunette 02!

Product Description: Whether you're a fair blonde or a dark brunette, you'll love Guerlain's newest formulation of classic, sun-kissed powder. Ideal for all skin types, this ingenious mosaic of five shades of compact powder includes a complexion highlighter to create a natural-looking glow.

Brunette 02 is a bronzing powder with a mosaic of five warm shades. There are three matte colors, a medium milk chocolate brown, a deep brown & a bronzed brown (terracotta). The other two colors are highlighting shades that contain frost/shimmer. One is a frosted peach and the other has a bronze base with golden shimmer. When all of the shades are smoothed together, the result is a warm bronze terracotta with a slight sheen. The shimmer is very natural and isn't very prominent when on the cheeks. 

Below, is the bronzer swatched on my hand. I applied it lightly on the left & a little heavier on the right. Applied lightly, it is a light golden bronze - perfect to add a little warmth to the face. Applied heavily, the bronzer gives much more of a bronze terracotta tone.

Left: Brunette 02 Bronzing Powder applied lightly & Right: Applied heavily. Lighting: Indoors, sunlight (no flash)

Lighting: Indoors, flash

I received this bronzer in a swap earlier in the week and I've been using it for the past couple of days and I really like it! I'll be updating this post as I wear it to let you know what my thoughts are.

Have you tried any Guerlain bronzers? How did/do you like them?

Review: Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation (Beige Moyen 4) + Swatches & Photos!

Guerlain Parure Extreme Foundation

Product description:

A luminous, extreme-wear foundation with SPF 25 that is water resistant, non transferable and long lasting.

Guerlain Parure Extreme Luminous Extreme Wear Foundation leaves the complexion glowing with a naturally matte finish. This Tibetan Rhodiola plant formulation helps cells withstand temperature variations, intense heat, and stress—making this product last for at least eight hours. - Sephora.com

Guerlain Parure Extreme comes in 9 shades. 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 13, 23, 24 & 25.

Here are swatches of the foundation colors courtesy of Karla. These are for Guerlain Parure Aqua, but all of the shades are the same for Parure Extreme.

I was debating whether to pick shade #3 or #4 and I ended up going with #4 Beige Moyen.

Here's a swatch of the foundation on my hand (daylight, no flash)

Here it is blended into my hand. My initial thoughts when I first swatched this color was.. Oh my goodness.. what a disaster. The foundation appeared very pink toned (this was what I most feared and the main reason it took me over a year to finally decide to purchase it).

For color comparison, I grabbed a few of my other foundations. From left to right: Guerlain Parure Extreme #4, Nars Sheer Glow in Barcelona, Nars Sheer Glow in Stromboli, MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC40 and Estee Lauder Double Wear in Tawny.

Out of the bunch, Guerlain is the most pink toned, Nars Stromboli is the most yellow toned and Estee Lauder is the most Neutral. Nars Barcelona & MAC are practically identical and are warm. All shades are in the medium range.

My face with no foundation..

and with foundation! As you can tell, my face appears slightly pink beige.

with my makeup finished.

Application methods: I have tried a few different methods of applying this foundation and I found the best way was by using my fingers. I tried using a standard foundation brush (ELF Studio Angled Foundation Brush), A duo fiber stippling brush (ELF Studio Stipple Brush & MAC #131) and a blending sponge. The final result was alright with the brushes, but when I tried using my hands, the final result blew the others out of the water. I can't say word for word what the instructions said that came with the foundation, but I think it said something along the lines of "put a couple of drops in your hand with your moisturizer and apply to your face".. So that's what I did. I put a tiny amount of moisturizer on my hand and one pump of foundation and smoothed it over my face very well until it was blended. I applied it just as I would apply a moisturizer.. using circular motions.

Less is more. Believe me.. I don't usually apply foundation sparingly. I love building my foundation to a flawless coverage.. but when I built this foundation it didn't look good at all. (May be because of the shade.. but I looked very dark and very fake) One pump is prefect for my whole face and it looked much better and more natural.
The color: If you have read lots of reviews for this foundation, you probably already know the terrible color choices Parure Extreme has for yellow/golden skin tones. I thought #4 was a terrible color choice for me.. Although it works alright if applied very sparingly.. The color did oxidize slightly on me and make me look darker. Like I mentioned before, one day when I went to the mall, I was wearing this foundation and I had used my fingers to apply it, but I used a couple of pumps of the foundation to have a higher coverage.. and when I was walking past mirrors.. I was completely embarrassed and horrified. It looked like I was very noticeably wearing a foundation that didn't match my skin tone. I looked very dark and a little orange/pink. I washed it off my face and used 1/2 the amount I used before and it didn't look as dark and it looked much better. I would never purchase #4 again and I would be interested in purchasing #3. I have a MAC concealer in NW30 and I think this shade is very similar and much better for a NW rather than NC.

Final thoughts: I love the smell of Guerlain Parure Extreme. It has a fragrance to it that is similar to Chanel Bronze Universel. The consistency is very nice.. It is lightweight, very thin - but not watery at all. Many say this is full coverage.. but I don't see it. I would say this is on the lighter medium coverage. It makes my face flawless, but a little of the redness in my cheeks peeks through. I had a pimple scar and it didn't cover it. I needed to use concealer on a couple of my blemishes. I'm sure if you have freckles, it's not going to cover them.. but it will even out your face and make you look flawless and airbrushed. I always try to conceal any redness, but I actually like how this foundation allows some of my natural hues to peek through and doesn't give a mask effect. It makes me look much more natural. It claims to stay for 8 hours.. and I can't say for sure. Some days it will look great all day and some days it doesn't. I absolutely love the finish of this foundation. It has such a glowy, luminous finish - very similar to Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk. If it wasn't for the terrible color, this may be one of my top 3 favorite foundations. I may end up purchasing shade #3 to see if I have any better luck.. but the foundation costs $56.. which would be $62 with tax.. so I'm not sure if I will be purchasing another one any time soon. I'm thinking about ordering a color corrector from Coastal Scents (the white one) to lighten up the foundation and add a little of my yellow corrector to add some yellow to it. I'll let you know if I do that and how it works out. I'm currently using this all over my face and then I use my stipple brush and lightly stipple a lighter foundation (very, very little) all over to lighten up the foundation. It has been working very well.. but I prefer using only one foundation to get the truest finish. This is really an amazing foundation but I highly suggest you go to a dept store first and ask for a sample before you purchase it. Having the correct color makes all the difference!

Have you tried Guerlain Parure Extreme? What are your thoughts? Have you tried any other Guerlain foundations?

My next foundation review will be for Shu Uemura Face Architect Liquid Foundation. I just purchased it and should be receiving it in the mail soon!