Guerlain Ecrin 1 Couleur for the Eyes

I might have said this in the past… but Guerlain has a knack for releasing new products on the quiet without any fanfare. Last month, the luxury French brand launched a whole range of 12 eyeshadow singles titled Écrin 1 Couleur. These come in gleaming golden cases that snap open and shut and has a long mirror housed on the inside of the lid. They look very similar to the Écrin 2 Couleurs that were released in Fall 2013 [reviewed here], and in fact the colors are very reminiscent of the satin shades from that range, but the new textures…. Oh that’s a completely different story!

I chanced upon a brand new display at Sephora and couldn’t resist molesting them! There are 12 shades in total, with a thoughtful range of everyday wearable neutrals to bolder colors, and even a shimmery white and deep black to complete every eye makeup wardrobe. Every one of them have an ultra-smooth, silky texture… if I thought Guerlain made great eyeshadows in the past, the bar has just been made impossibly higher!

Each of the shadows come with the definitive scalloped honeycomb design embossed on the surface, and are made with a new “Lastever Technology” that coats each pigment with gel to allow the color to stay afloat on the skin without settling into creases all day. The new formula may also be used either dry or wet for maximum impact. I’ve not tried using them wet as I usually apply my eyeshadows dry, so I can’t attest to how well they perform wet.

The swatches from left to right are:

• 01 Taupe Secret – Light-medium, shimmery taupe. The shimmers give it a metallic flash, but the color is so skin-like, the overall effect is very subtle. Perfect as a soft overall wash to brighten, or for highlighting.
• 02 Brownie & Clyde – Medium-dark matte brown. This was so buttery soft it made me go ooohh aaahh when I was swatching it!
• 03 Blue’s Brothers – is a dark blue with a matte finish. It was not quite as smooth as Brownie & Clyde, but surely one of the silkiest and most pigmented blues I have ever laid a finger on!
• 04 Hey Nude – Light peachy beige with a matte finish. This is so creamy it practically melted into my skin! A lovely base shade if ever there is one!
• 05 Copperfield – is a medium shimmery copper. Just like Taupe Secret, the shimmers gave it a metallic touch, more pronounced in this case as the color is brighter.
• 06 Gold’n Eyes – Light shimmery gold… have I ever mentioned that Guerlain makes the best copper and gold shades?!!
• 07 Khaki Mono – This is an interesting khaki / green… it looks olive in the pan, but swatches out more of a blackened khaki with golden shimmers! It makes an interesting eye defining shade if you’re bored of your usual browns, and the gold shimmers do not get in the way at all.

• 08 Grey Charles – is a light-medium grey that feels a little cool-toned. It has a satin finish and due to the lightness of the color, comes across as being slightly translucent when in actual fact it is not.
• 09 Flash Back – deep black with a matte finish. The intensity of this black got me by surprise as such shades are rare.
• 10 White Ever – shimmery icy white with a slight translucency, making it perfect for inner corner highlight or dabbed to the center of lids.

• 11 Deep Purple – this shade of purple looks almost neon, with a satin finish. Similar to Blue’s Brothers, this one did not swatch as smoothly, although the color intensity is amazing.
• 12 Pink Pong – pale shimmery pink, again with a slight translucency.

I can never walk away from Guerlain without purchasing something, and this time I ended up with 01 Taupe Secret and 07 Khaki Mono. These 2 paired really well in my opinion to create a very lovely neutral day-look. If you are sick of browns and more browns for your everyday look, do consider these!

I wore Taupe Secret all over my lid and finished with Khaki Mono on the outer corner. The overall effect is quite illuminating without being overly blingy as Taupe Secret reflects light as it hits the lids but there are no defined glitter pieces that one can spot. Very subtle and day-appropriate!

If khaki isn’t your kind of thing, Sunny has also successfully paired Taupe Secret with Brownie & Clyde and Blue’s Brothers in her post here.

Overall, I’m very pleased by the quality of the new Guerlain Écrin 1 Couleur eyeshadows! I was initially apprehensive as the colors felt like they had simply broken up the old Écrin 2 Couleurs and sold them as separates, which would have been sad as that particular formula had lots of problem. Thankfully, these Écrin 1 Couleur are all perfectly soft, silky, and a dream to work with. I’ve been somewhat uninspired by the previous eyeshadow palettes that Guerlain released, but hopefully with these luxurious singles, we can simply curate our own looks without too much trouble!