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Gucci Beauty Review: Nostalgia Lipstick, Pink Camelia Blush & Crystal Copper Eyeshadow Quad

I was so excited when Gucci released their beauty line last year, I nabbed three of these essentials straight away. Gucci Beauty is currently only available online, which makes purchasing face products such as powder, foundation and concealer very difficult. So I only limited myself to getting one quad, one lipstick and one blush. Didn’t want to risk getting the wrong foundation shade even though I really wanted to try it!

After intensely experimenting with these for months, I have come to the conclusion that I am definitely willing to purchase more products from the line!

So, read on for my review, swatches and a full makeup look using these baes. (These are all “Made in Italy” by the way. OH. MY. GOSH.)

 

GUCCI “NOSTALGIA” AUDACIOUS COLOR INTENSE LIPSTICK REVIEW ($40)

AVAILABLE FROM: Bloomingdale’s

Gucci has two types of lipsticks – the Luxurious Moisture Rich Lipsticks and Audacious Color Intense Lipsticks. I chose one from the color intense line because I’m assuming the moisture rich lipsticks are much sheerer, and I feel like it’s pointless to spend so much money on a sheer lipstick.

These are infused with “Blue Chocolate” fragrance, heaven knows what that is. I initially thought it had a floral scent though. Kinda soapy too. But I like it! The scent is honestly one of the things that I really like about this lipstick, it’s not too overpowering or offensive but somehow it’s so pleasant that smelling it can kinda make me taste it?! LOL. But it’s a good thing!

 

COLOR & TEXTURE

The shade I got is Nostalgia, and it’s a medium pink with slight tinges of coral. These lipsticks have a satin finish.

Gucci Nostalgia Lipstick

L – R: Gucci Audacious Color Intense Lipstick “Nostalgia” & Gucci Sheer Blushing Powder “Pink Camelia” swatches

The color payoff and pigmentation is amazing. You’ll get over 90% opacity with one swipe. The bullet is also very sharp edged, making precise application a breeze.

The texture is waxy and thick, you can actually feel it tug a bit on application. I personally don’t mind though, because the results are still beautiful and precise and once applied, it actually feels a bit creamy and moisturizing, although it dries out to a dry satin finish.It dries out so well I can literally feel it “grip” my lips like it won’t let go!

The amazing thing is that the formula is so intense, but somehow gentle enough for my super sensitive lips. 90% of lipsticks would make my lips chap and flake like crazy by the second or third hour, especially matte finishes if I don’t put gloss on top. I experienced no chapping or flaking with this. Such a miracle!

 

LONGEVITY

Gucci claims that these Audacious Color Intense Lipsticks were formulated with waxes and resin to help grip the lips, and I gotta agree. This lipstick lasted over 8 hours on me! It started fading by the 5th or 6th hour, but by the end of the night my lips were still very much saturated. No touch ups.

Oh, and I sipped on a cup of coffee just moments after applying the lipstick. Here’s the only stain that transferred on to my favorite Jill Stuart mug:

Like, WHAT?! That was practically NOTHING.

And this is what my lips looked like upon first application and after 4+ hours (incl. lunch!):

It’s, of course, less intense and creamy-looking than when first applied, but it’s still very saturated. Most importantly, notice how my lips did not chap or flake? So. Impressed.

 

PACKAGING

Ooh, don’t get me started on the packaging.

 

The Gucci logo pattern throughout the gold lipstick holder is just out-of-this-world beautiful. I’ve never seen a lipstick holder so beautifully packaged before.

I like how the lipstick bullet twists down completely, burying the whole bullet in the holder. I don’t like lipsticks that are packaged to have the tip of the bullet peeking out of the holder – I’ve had a lot of bad incidents happen with those kinds of lipsticks.

FINAL VERDICT

PROS:

  • High quality, luxurious packaging (definitely get what you pay for here!)
  • Pleasant scent
  • Intense color payoff
  • Safe for sensitive lips
  • Long lasting (up to 8 hours)

CONS:

Tugs a bit upon application, but nothing major.

I highly recommend this lipstick – it is so amazing that even though it’s very saturated, it does not make my lips chap!

 

GUCCI “PINK CAMELIA” SHEER BLUSHING POWDER REVIEW ($49)

AVAILABLE FROM: Bloomingdale’s

Gucci has released a total of 7 blush shades, all in sheer finishes. They do not provide any detailed information or description about the shades, so I had trouble determining which one I’d like. And there were no reviews on the Internet about these yet – bummer! 🙁

But I’m relieved that I ended up with this blush although it’s honestly a touch too cool-toned.

 

COLOR & TEXTURE

The shade that I got is Pink Camelia, and it is a cool toned medium pink, or mauve I should say.

The powder is very finely milled and doesn’t fly around all over the place too severely when I swirl my brush around it, which is a major plus point for any powder product!

In the swatches above, the middle swatch is a heavy swatch, and the furthest right swatch is blended. The texture is very creamy and buttery soft, blending is effortless without traces of patchiness.

 

FINISH

The blush does contain tiny bits of micro shimmer to illuminate the skin, but it isn’t “rough” looking and actually blends into the skin really well. It gives the skin a natural glow. The shimmers are barely noticeable but they add dimension to the face.

As you can see in the pictures below, the blush illuminates or “glows” on areas where the sun directly hits it.

The finish actually reminds me of the Clinique Cheek Pop blushes, which I’ve reviewed here.

I love blushes that give the skin a luminescent glow as it sorta eliminates the need to use a highlighter!

 

LONGEVITY

This blush lasted about 8 hours before showing signs of fading. It never completely faded away until I removed it, but by the 10th hour I noticed more signs of fading. I’ve never worn it for more than 14 hours so I won’t know if it’ll last longer than about 12 hours.

I also found that it doesn’t transfer easily on to clothes or anything that touches my cheeks. I usually find specks of shimmer on my son’s face after I played around or carried him, but there were no transfers when I wore this blush!

 

PACKAGING

The packaging is exactly the same as the eyeshadow quads. They’re very elegantly designed and comes with a Gucci velvet pouch.

It comes in a black and gold magentic compact and is the perfect size for travelling. Beautiful, sturdy, not too unreasonably bulky, comes with a decent applicator… Zero complaints about the packaging!

 

FINAL VERDICT

PROS:

  • Flawless, elegant packaging
  • Beautiful natural-looking luminescent finish
  • Incredible wear-time! More than 10 hours for a powder blush is rare
  • Reasonable price for a high quality blush!

CONS:

This particular shade is a touch too cool-toned.

I love everything about the blush (especially the luminous finish!), but it’s a touch too cool-toned for my liking. It’s perfect for colder weather though!

I recommend this blush but I hope to find another one that’s slightly warmer toned for myself.

 

GUCCI “CRYSTAL COPPER” MAGNETIC COLOR SHADOW QUAD REVIEW ($66)

AVAILABLE FROM: Bloomingdale’s

My last, and most expensive, purchase is the eyeshadow quad. So I had incredibly high hopes for these.

I’m a neutral and nude kind of person when it comes to eye makeup. So, of course I had to go with this one because I know I’m going to make a good use out of it. It’s still within my “comfort zone”.

 

COLORS & TEXTURE

The quad comes with two light colors and two darker colors as follows:

  • Top Left: Ivory with gold iridescence and micro shimmers – reminds me of NARS Albatross!
  • Top Right: Satin reddish brown with slight reddish gold shimmer
  • Bottom Left: All-over-lid coppery gold with gold shimmer
  • Bottom Right: Satin matte dark reddish brown/eggplant with silver and reddish micro shimmers

The itty bitty tiny micro shimmers in the two darker shades in the quad aren’t that chunky and obvious, they just help give the shades a bit more dimension. They’re also not intensely pigmented, they end up looking only half as opaque as they look on the pan. Even after being built up layer upon layer, since the texture of these shadows are so soft and buttery smooth, they become much more transparent every time they’re blended.

Out of all our shades the coppery gold shade is the most intensely pigmented, with almost 100% opacity at first swipe. The iridescent ivory shade really reminds me of NARS Albatross and really helps make the eyes pop when applied in the inner corners. I love that its color changes depending on where the light hits and the intensity of light.

The texture of these shadows are very plush and “fluffy”, when applied with a finger they almost glide on like cream. They also have almost no fallout. I applied this after applying my face makeup and had no trouble with the fallouts at all.

One thing I’m not quite impressed about is probably the pigmentation of the darker colors, but then maybe they weren’t supposed to be intensely pigmented? Well, for the price, I honestly preferred having them intensely pigmented.

However, I can’t deny how much I love the satin reddish brown shade on the top right of the quad. It sort of has a multi-dimensional finish and is flattering even when worn on its own all over the lids.

Also, as I mentioned before, since these are very soft and creamy, they somehow lose a bit of opacity every time I stroke my brush to blend them out. I had to reapply the all-over-lid copper shade a couple of times to get it to the opacity above because every time I blend it with the crease color, it loses its opacity.

I personally would’ve loved a more intense look but I don’t mind this soft, muted look. Maybe they were meant to be this way – clean, subtle and soft.

 

LONGEVITY

I always use this on top of primer, and this lasted all day on me! I’ve never worn it for more than 12 hours, but when I did wear it for 12 hours, it only started showing signs of fading by the 10th or 11th hour.

 

FINAL VERDICT

PROS:

  • Creamy and buttery texture
  • Beautifully packaged
  • Applicators are actually useful!
  • Eyeshadows have beautiful finishes
  • Long wearing

CONS:

  • Less intense pigmentation (not sure if this is a con…)
  • Loss of opacity when blended

I’m honestly a bit on the fence about this one – I love that it’s somehow rather sheer and soft, but the hefty $65 price tag just doesn’t make sense to me. I somehow have this mindset that with more money, comes more pigmentation. LOL.

I’m definitely no going to repurchase this shade. The reddish brown shade is stunning, but it’s similar to the one in Charlotte Tilbury’s Dolce Vita quad (reviewed here), which is a bit more affordable. I’ve been eyeing the Rose Quartz and Tuscan Storm Gucci quads though, so I might get those because the texture of these shadows are incredibly soft and blendable!

Let me know what your thoughts are.

‘Til next time, dolls!


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