Guerlain Parure de Lumiere Light Diffusing Foundation (Cream) - #02 Beige Clair

Sometimes you really, desperately, want a beauty product to work. Not only because it was expensive, and not only because it looked so fabulous on the SA who sold it to you, but because you think the product is good - just not good for you.

That's my feeling about the Guerlain Parure de Lumiere Light Diffusing Foundation. It's taken me a few months to write this review because I've gone back to it several times, trying different application techniques and powder/primer combinations.

Guerlain Parure de Lumiere in Beige Clair

The packaging, as with all things Guerlain, is pure elegant swank. The jar is heavy enough to cause a concussion, should you ever feel compelled to throw it at anyone, and looks like it should be gracing some 40s era starlet's boudoir. You can rarely fault Guerlain's presentation, and their products at the very least look like they're worth the price tag.

Guerlain Parure de Lumiere in Beige Clair

Let me go back to my opening paragraph a bit by affirming that in many ways this is a good foundation. It has medium coverage, a beautiful semi-matte finish that still manages to be a wee bit luminous - what I would call a velvet finish - and a decadently rich cream texture that doesn't sit heavily on the skin.

It looks amazing skin-like when freshly applied, and photographs very well. Like many cream foundations, actually.

Blended in on the left, swatched on the right.

(I posted a picture of me wearing it in my Dior Birds of Paradise Palette review.)

Unfortunately it doesn't hold up on my skin. As the packaging indicates, this is a foundation that offers "moisture and comfort" despite the velvet finish. I found that this was evident over my oilier areas as the day wore on. The foundation started sinking into my pores or else beading up over them, and the skin over my cheeks started looking textured as it picked up sheen throughout the day.

I had better results if I prepped my skin with a pore-smoothing primer and spot moisturized only those areas that really needed it, and if I sealed it off with a silica-based powder - like the MUFE HD, Mac Prep + Prime or the new Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder - using a very light and focused hand. Even at that, it was really easy to over-powder and turn it dry-looking.

I found it was finicky to apply as well, with a tendency to turn cake-y and flaky if I used my usual brushes. Even the duo-fiber brush I love to use with my Graftobian Creme foundation didn't quite cut it, though it did better than the others. I had the best results using a combination of damp beauty-blender and my hands to press and pat it into my skin.

If you have oilier skin or skin with oily areas, this will be a really high-maintenance foundation. If you have normal to somewhat dry skin with less obvious pores and if you prefer a semi-matte finish, this guy might be absolutely perfect for you.

Availability:  At The Bay and select Pharmaprix/SDM stores, as well as Murale. Price is 67$ CAD. I'm not sure if it's available in the US, as I have yet to find it on any of the major department store sites.

Pros: Beautifully skin-like, yet offers medium coverage and a semi-matte finish that is still luminous and hydrating. Great option for drier skin types who want this kind of finish without sacrificing comfortable wear.

Cons: A little work needed to apply and blend out. Breaks down and emphasizes pores on oilier skin. But then again, it's not really made for that skin type.

(I purchased this item from Pharmaprix.)

The week in samples - UD foundation, Guerlain and Dermalogica skin stuff, Biotherm BB cream, Bare Minerals (pressed!) foundation

I've wanted to do one of these posts for a while now, but while I hoard samples like a manic squirrel, I can never seem to use them up. This last week was a perfect opportunity, however, as I had to fly out to Toronto for work. Since I prefer not to check my luggage, I stuffed that little plastic baggie from airline security full of little tubes and packets.

My skin tends to act up when I travel, so I grabbed these two acne-fighting packets from Dermalogica.

Dermalogica Clear Start Wash Off - This has nice mix of pimple-busting ingredients, including Tea Tree oil and salicylic acid, plus a variety of extracts. For a foaming wash aimed at acne-prone skin I found it surprisingly non-drying. It was refreshing, left my skin feeling smooth and soft, not tight. It has an herbal scent, which is pleasant. I'm not sure if it did anything extraordinary though, since the various extracts and other beneficial ingredients didn't stay on my skin for very long. At the very least it did nothing catastrophic. Won't be purchasing a full size.

Dermalogica Clear Start Hit The Spot - This one is chock-full of stuff. Extracts galore, plus zinc sulfate, sulfur and that Tea Tree again. The smell is FAR more pungent - the sulfur adds a certain egg-y odor that does NOT dissipate as the day wears on. It's unfortunate because this is actually an incredibly effective spot treatment. It reduces redness and swelling, somehow getting the spots to simmer down to less volcanic levels immediately, and renders them irrelevant within a couple of days.

Really awesome, and I will definitely be purchasing a full size - to use at night, when only my beloved can be tortured by my egg-salad-smelling face.

I also wanted to bring a cleanser option from Fresh that I knew would be gentle, in case the one above turned out to be too harsh. Since I wouldn't be packing by regular Hydraluron tube and Cerave lotion, I figured a serum/lotion from Guerlain would be fine.

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser - This was ok. I can't say anything more dramatic than that. It cleaned my skin, it was gentle, it smelled vaguely like cucumbers. It's good, not mind-blowing, and the full size is pricy. I'm sure I could find something comparable from the drugstore.

Guerlain Super Aqua-Serum Intense Hydration Wrinkle Plumper - Even though this is a serum, it has a milky-lotion texture and provides more hydration that a serum typically does. It also has hyaluronic acid, which is my jam these days. It did a fine job of moisturizing and keeping the fine lines around my eyes under control. Plump, even. :P

It also smells AMAZING. I know - fragrance in skincare isn't a selling point, but I'm not generally reactive to scent and this has that classic rose/violet/awesome smell that most Guerlain products do. But....I'm not ready to spend upwards of 100$ on one skincare item. Not yet anyway. I will treasure you always, Sample Guerlain Tube, but we are not meant to be.

I didn't want to pack a foundation bottle, so I tried to make do with a BB cream from Biotherm and the new pressed foundation from Bare Minerals.

Biotherm Aquasource BB Cream - This is really nice, though definitely heavier on the moisturizer than the coverage. I rubbed it in all over, and sort of tapped more on areas that were more red (thankfully my cheek area, which is the driest portion of my face). The coverage is about what I would expect for a tinted moisturizer, and the overall effect is natural, healthy and luminous. With a touch of concealer and powder, it would work beautifully for low-maintenance days. And it smells awesome too! Super fresh and yummy. I want a body cream that smells like that.

Bare Minerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation - Urgh. I wanted to like this. I love pretty much everything I've tried from their Ready line, but this was just powdery and weird, and sat on top of the skin in a cake-y mess. I don't know if maybe I just got a bum sample, but I'm definitely not enticed into trying a full-sized version.

Motivated by this successful sampling program, I tested another foundation when I got home.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup - (Why with the endlessly long product names??) I mixed two shades because the 3.5 is a touch too pink and the 2.0 is a bit too light. The result still skewed a little too rosy on me, but wearable. I remember trying this foundation when it first came out, and being unimpressed. The coverage seemed poor and it got all caught up in the dry parts of my face. I was using a brush to apply it then, and I think that was part of the problem.

This time I used my hands, but not in a rubbing motion. For lack of a better term, I pretty much "slapped" this foundation on. Smeared a bit between my fingers and slapped it around my face, dabbing more precisely around my nose and over areas that needed extra coverage. I got medium coverage out of it that way, and it looked incredibly natural, neutralized the appearance of pores, and felt incredibly lightweight. The finish is satin, veering towards dewy on the nose about middway through the day, so I need some powder to set it and/or maybe a primer - but the finish is so nice, I'm considering a bottle purchase.

So I think that was a successful sample spree, no? Now I'm itching to make my way through more of my stash!

Cheapies and Freebies - A Roundup Haul

Since I blew most of my seasonal budget on The Makeup Show, I've been trying to stay thrifty with my makeup spending in the last month. I did manage a small haul by taking advantage of GWP offers, Optimum points and some drugstore deals.

This is just a quick pull from my Instagram featuring some of these finds, more in-depth reviews (or at least swatches) forthcoming.

From my local Jean Coutu drugstore, I picked up these Jumbo Glossy Balms from Marcelle. They were discounted 50% off from 12.49$, so 6.25$ each. A little bit less than comparable stick glosses from Cover Girl and Revlon at full price, and I'd been eyeballing that display for weeks.

Also from that same Jean Coutu, I noticed a limited edition nail polish display from Maybelline. Half of the polishes were this polka dot type texture, and the other half were holos. (HOLOS, people. Though  they looked almost like a cross between duo chromes and holos.)

These weren't on sale, but at 3.49$, it was a nice option to temporarily curb my lemming for the Illamasqua speckled polishes. Because I desperately want nails that look like bird eggshells.

And from my local Pharmaprix drugstore, I hauled these goodies - for free, y'all. God bless their Optimum Points program, especially the Beauty Bonus Splurge days. I turned in my points for some lemmings  and impulse try-outs. I saw Caroline from beautymouth.com ardently recommending the Hydraluron Moisture Booster (which is like a super shot of hyaluronic acid to put under moisturizer), so when I spotted it I almost squealed. And I had to try some Shiseido after watching Dick Page's inspiring seminar.  So 90 000 points later, I had me some hooch!

The other day I received an email from Sephora, informing me that as a VIB I could get a free, full-size Bare Minerals duo (The Perfect Storm) with a 35$ purchase. Faster than you can "lunch break" I dashed across the street. I've been wanting to try the Bare Minerals concealer (especially since I'm on a concealer kick with the non-sleep I've been getting), and this gorgeous hot pink (what else??) lipstick also sucked me in.

The duo itself is very nice, with a satin-finish white and a grey-taupe matte, both pigmented like crazy, so it was 30 minutes and 50 bucks well spent. If you can't get to a store, use code VIBREADY to add the duo to your cart.

And also at Sephora, I raided the Charlotte Ronson end cap over the past month to get ALL THE PALETTES, as the whole line is now discounted. (These went from 26$ to 18$, though a few of them were 10-15$. Those the SA actually had to look for in the back, since they weren't even on display any more.)

So all in all, not a bad month for me in terms of getting the most out of my beauty dollar!

What about you guys? Did you come across any great savings or deals? Or conversely, did you haul big?

Flower Beauty - Kiss Stick Lip Color and Shine On Lip Gloss

Out of all the things I hauled from Flower Beauty a couple of months ago, I've liked the lip products the most, particularly the lipsticks. I also inadvertently picked out matching pairs in both lipstick and gloss - bright raspberry pinks and warm terracotta corals. It was a little hard to gauge the colour of the lipsticks, since there were no testers, and I just went by the shades shown in the bottom of the cap. (That's one thing I hope they do resolve in the future. On the other hand, I did like that the products were very well sealed and it was evident if an item had been tampered with, which is the major downside of shopping for drugstore items.)

The lipsticks come in two versions: the Kiss Stick High Shine, which has a very creamy, emollient, richly pigmented formula, and the Kiss Stick Velvet, which has a modern matte finish and not as much pigment punch. I purchased the former formula in the shade Ginger Lily (the terracotta coral) and the latter in Flamingo Flower (the hot pink).

The packaging probably inspires strong feelings either way, and for my part, I think it's just lovely. It has a lot of style and panache, and I like the practicality of being able to see the shade on the bottom.

Top: Kiss Stick High Shine Lip Color in Ginger Lily
Bottom: Kiss Stick Velvet Lip Color in Flamingo Flower

Top: Kiss Stick Velvet Lip Color in Flamingo Flower
Bottom: Kiss Stick High Shine Lip Color in Ginger Lily

Top: Kiss Stick Velvet Lip Color in Flamingo Flower
Bottom: Kiss Stick High Shine Lip Color in Ginger Lily

I really liked the formula of both of these, though the High Shine feels a lot more opulent on the lips. The Velvet formula has more silicone-slip, which can feel a bit dry to some people, though I didn't personally have an issue with that. With one pass it deposits a good amount of pigment, but is not completely opaque, whereas the High Shine formula has full coverage immediately. Both last about 6 hours with some light staining left behind, though I found the High Shine faded more evenly.

The Shine On Lip Glosses only come in one variety, and I don't know if this is the case with all of them, but I find they have really nice coverage for a gloss. I purchased Iris I Could Fly (the bright, raspberry pink) and Pretty in Petunia (the warm coral). By the way, can we have a moment to just enjoy the super-cute names?

Top: Shine On Lip Gloss in Pretty in Petunia
Bottom: Shine on Lip Gloss in Iris I Could Fly

Top: Shine on Lip Gloss in Iris I Could Fly
Bottom: Shine On Lip Gloss in Pretty in Petunia

These are smooth-feeling, non-sticky glosses with no discernible scent, and while they are not particularly hydrating, they are very comfortable to wear and last for about 4 hours, though they don't stay as shiny. I really quite like these, especially Iris, which has a lot of colour punch for a gloss.

This is a quick little picture of Iris I Could Fly over a blotted layer of Flamingo Flower:

Face: Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in Shell and Powder in Light, 

Flower Beauty Glow Baby Glow Blush/Bronzer Duo in Shimmering Goddess

Eyes: Guerlain Mascara Noir G, Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Liner in Black,
Flower Shadow Play Quad in Smoke and Mirrors

Availability: Exclusive to Walmart. Price is 6.98$ USD for both the lipsticks and the lip glosses.

Pros: Great pigmentation overall, especially so for the High Shine lipstick and the Iris shade of the gloss. Good wear length and comfortable feeling, with the High Shine feeling especially creamy and smooth on the lips. Lip glosses are smooth and don't feel tacky. The brand is also cruelty-free and made in the USA, if those are concerns.

Cons: The silicone in the Velvet lipsticks may feel drying, and it does require two passes to achieve the coverage and depth of one pass from the High Shine lipstick.

(These items were purchased by me from a Walmart in the US.)

Collection: Vintage Guerlain Météorites

I've been inspired by Eugenia from Ommorphia Beauty Bar and Toya from Beauty Obsessed to start a series on my makeup collection. It didn't take a lot of convincing, as I love collection posts more than kittens. There's something about seeing all the makeup pretties laid out neatly (and swatched!) that makes both my Pisces and Virgo sides dance around in glee.

I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of how to organize this series (by category? brand? category within brand? colour within category within brand?), but I thought I should start with something that occupies a special place in my collection.

This is the only real vintage piece of makeup I own, and it has a profoundly personal meaning for me.

Guerlain Météorites in the original cardboard packaging.

Label from the underside of the packaging, copyright 1982.

This is one of the first items of luxury makeup my mother owned.

We moved from Poland to France in 1982, during the Communist regime. At the time, Poland was under martial law and my mother could not abide the thought that she would stand in line for hours to try to buy food, only to find out that there was nothing but vinegar left on the shelf. She wanted a better life for her family. My father left the country first to establish himself in the US, and we followed after a year. We were not able to join him in New York right away, and instead made our way to an intermediary stop in France - a stop that lasted two years. When we arrived, my mom had instructions that she had written down in phonetic French, and we each had a bag. At the time, I was a cranky and sick 4-year-old, and acting every bit of it. I'm amazed she didn't pitch me head-first into the Seine.

In retrospect, I know what an extremely brave and selfless thing it was for her to do, uprooting us and taking an incredible chance on a better life. We had some extraordinary friends waiting for us in France, including the matriarch to end all matriarchs, who I came to know as Grandmaman. We also had Anne, who was just...Anne. One of the kindest, sweetest, most elegant women ever, a great friend and soul sister to my mother, and the ultimate image of "chic" that was forever etched in my mind. I don't remember much from that time, but I remember the scent of certain flowers, the feel of lace and fine cotton - and those ladies. (My mother also says I ate butter by the fistfuls, astonished and made greedy by its abundance. But that's a story for a different time.)

Anne was a beautician, and took my mom under her wing. I'm not sure if she bought the Guerlain Métérorites for her, of it's something my mom eventually got for herself in later years. In my memories, they always seemed to be present on her vanity. I was so fascinated by them, by the violet smell and the colours and the shimmer of the powder. Eventually she passed them on to me, presumably so I could play with them the way kids do. Instead they took on an almost magical property, became a little totem of sorts. The beauty junkie in me can be traced back to these little beads, and a French ideal of feminine grace and beauty that, to me, is synonymous with love and generosity.

One of the questions I was asked - repeatedly - after I posted my makeup collection video online was "aren't you worried about your makeup going bad?". To answer that question technically: powder products can last a lot longer than the suggested best-by date, especially if you take care of them. With these, I gently spill them out over a paper napkin and spray them with an alcohol mist, and then clean out the jar with more alcohol. I let everything dry and then decant the beads back in. The process removes any surface bacteria that may be lingering. 

I don't actually use these anymore though - I keep them because because of what they evoke. Makeup may be transient in nature, but its value cannot be dictated by a best-before date.

And yes, it still smells of violets.

Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs - Turandot

I lusted after the Turandot palette like few others this Holiday season. I had already blown my budget for the season by more than I care to put down on record, and I was determined to not get sucked in by this one. Difficult for many reasons, including the fact that I tend to freakin' love Guerlain.

And then I saw it in person at the Bay, toward the end of December. And the SA said the magic words: "It's the last one."

My response was to hunch over it like Gollum. Possibly hiss at the other lady browsing the counter next to me.

I'm not embarrassed though, because despite rumours that this will be a permanent addition to the line-up this year, it is absolutely impossible to find at the moment. AND I HAVE ONE.

The packaging is no fancier than the usual Guerlain Écrin 4 Couleurs, but that's not damning it with faint praise. Like Burberry, Guerlain delivers on all fronts. You've got your weight, your bling factor, your luxury right here.

This palette is stunning. Strangely autumnal for a Holiday palette, perhaps, but the palette creates a burnished, smoky look that seems like exactly the kind of warm counterpoint one would need in midwinter.

The shades vary in texture and finish to some degree, which makes for a dynamic palette.

The soft gold on the left is almost metallic, with a soft, dense and rich texture that delivers wonderful payoff.

The redwood shade in the top middle has a matte finish with a soft sheen, and has a super smooth, silky-dry feel, and good pigmentation that applies even better on the eye.

The grey-brown shade on the right is in the same colour family as Moth Brown from MAC - a deep taupe that almost seems to have an undertone of plum, or at least enough warmth to play well with these other shades without being explicitly warm-toned. It has lovely shimmer, a buttery texture and excellent payoff.

The reddened-plum in the bottom middle is matte, with the same texture as the redwood shade and medium, buildable pigmentation that again works very well on the eye.

Mix of natural and artificial light.

Mix of artificial light sources.

Availaibility: None at the moment, unless you hit upon an errant one at a counter. The word is that it will be permanent, however. Price was 60$ CAD.

Pros: Glam packaging, and a well-executed palette that offers enough variety while still being tonally tight. The two matte shades are a smidge less pigmented, but not in a way that translates on application

Cons: Fairly dupable colours that may make the price tag attached cringe-worthy.

(I purchased this item from the Guerlain counter at The Bay.)

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci Terra Azzura Bronzing Powder and Blush

Most beauty products you buy for what they will do for you - that they are in and of themselves attractive is usually a nice bit of synergy.

Then there are those beauty items that you have to get, simply because they are little miniature works of art. The Emilio Pucci Terra Azzura Bronzing Powder and Blush from Guerlain is one those. The price is absolutely astonishing, as is true for everything from Guerlain. However, in a market where increasing prices for diminishing quality has become the norm, Guerlain is a brand that makes consistently sublime products.

Every single aesthetic detail on this bronzer hits the mark.

The chances of me owning an actual Pucci dress are pretty slim. Pulling the little Pucci-print bag out of the Pucci-lined box, however, gives me an idea of what it would feel like. Every element here says "luxury", in a sophisticated and refined voice. Even the packaging of the actual bronzer evokes a lifestyle that I have only read about, patterned after the wood-paneled Riva yachts that carried the Jet Set around the Mediterranean.

The choice of a wood compact exterior is unusual, as is the three-point magnetic closure mechanism. Points for creating something functional, chic and original.

How freakin' gorgeous is that??? I almost couldn't bear to use it. When I finally did though, I was a little nonplussed. The application was not at all what I expected.

From the reviews I'd seen online, it seemed like this guy was very pigmented, but when I first swatched it on my arm, the bronzer did not show up. Like, AT ALL. I might have been rubbing paper, for all that came off the compact. The blush part had no problems, but the bronzer....I was convinced I'd somehow gotten a defective item.

I tried swatching it and applying it to my face with several different methods - cotton swabs, sponge, goat-hair contour brush, synthetic contour brush, fluffy powder brush, dense bronzer kabuki. The best pay off came with the dense synthetic brush, but even that resulted in more of a fine golden shimmer than anything resembling bronzer.

I regretfully went to the store to return it. The SA asked if she could try applying it, and lo and behold, she was able to apply it to my skin with no problems. THE HELL?? She explained that it was possible the top layer (which had a bit more shimmer) was hardened for some reason. She used a brush with denser, almost rough bristles to "break through". I was a little bemused by this explanation, but took it home (disinfecting it promptly - blergh!) and wiped off the top layer with a paper towel. And yes, I was able to apply it normally after that.

Very bizarre, but if you've gotten a Terra Azzura that seems underwhelming, try that out before returning it.

So. My actual review. This powder is extremely fine. If it was any finer, it would be microscopic on the skin. It applies very smoothly, with a dry, silky texture that melds into the skin. It reminds me a bit of the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes, actually. The whitish shade looks a little powdery in the swatches below, but as part of the blended swatch, that is completely imperceptible. There is a fine shimmer throughout, more evident in the coral shade of the blush part. On the skin, it reads as a super-subtle glow.

You can use the bronzer separately, and the blush trio together with a smaller brush, for the classic contour/blush application. I do fine the bronzer a little warm-toned for me to use in this manner however, though not nearly as orange as I had feared.

The powder works best when blended together though - the effect is an absolutely gorgeous, sunny blush that mimics the natural glow you would get from a bit of sunbathing.

Indirect natural light.

Artificial light.

Direct sunlight.

Bronzer side on the left, blush side on the right. Natural light.

Blended swatch, natural light.

Availability: Sephora, Nordstrom, The Bay, Murale and certain Pharmaprix/SDM locations. price is 75-76$ CAD. (I know.)

Pros: Superfine, silky, weightless texture that blend right into the skin. Tiny shimmer that imparts a light glow, and a beautiful summery shade. Can be layered up without adding extra texture. packaging is just incredible - one of the best looking makeup products out there.

Cons: The weirdness I experienced initially with the non-existant pay-off. I don't know if that's just a one-off with me, but it certainly dampened my initial enthusiasm. Not a shade for deeper skin tones. As a luxury item, the price is outrageous.

(I purchased this at Pharmaprix.)

All-Season Bronzers - Physician's Formula vs Guerlain

I've wanted to try Guerlain's Terracotta 4 Seasons Tailor-Made Bronzing Powder for a while.

Picture courtesy of www.beautylish.com

And now apparently Physicians Formula has duped the concept, if probably not the actual product, with Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Season-to-Season Bronzer.*

Picture courtesy of www.physiciansformula.com

Hmmm. High-end or drugstore - which way to go? (I usually tend to go with the original innovator, but I actually like the design of PF version, and the shades themselves look more up my alley, at least for potential contouring.)

*I can't be the only one getting tired of the absurdly long product names, right?

Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder and Blush

Yeah, ok, Christine from Temptalia is to blame for this one. I have a huge soft spot for Guerlain and their incredibly luxurious, highly collectable products, but even I was balking a bit at the price tag for Parure de Nuit.

And then I became convinced after reading her initial review that I really had to at least try it before refusing outright.

And that was all she wrote. I came home with this beauty:

Guerlain, like Dior, swanks it up from start to finish. There's something epically satisfying about opening up a box with pretty detail on the inside, and feeling the heft of a significant item.

The design is just stunning as well.

This is called a pressed powder and blush, but I think it's really more of a highlighter, or a luminizing finishing powder. You can be selective in how you pick up the powder from different areas in the pan and get more of a pinkish tone - but it's not really going to read as a blush unless you are very pale or very heavy-handed.

On the left, I've swatched the light portion and the pink portion of the pan separately. The lighter portion shows up as a very soft sheen on my skin tone. It will show up visibly lighter on medium and deeper skin tones.

On the right, I've swirled a brush in the whole of the pan, which is the way I would wear this normally. The sheen takes on a faint rosiness, which is incredibly flattering, sophisticated and natural when worn as a highlight. It instantly brightens the face and enhances the skin without being over-the-top shiny. This is probably one of my favorite highlighters for the sneaky way it makes you look fresh and vibrant.

Availability: Still available at The Bay, Murale and Pharmparix stores. Price is 76$ CAD. (Compared to 67$ or so in the US, I believe.)

Pros: Subtle, skin-vivifying glow, with no danger of blinding anyone with vampire sparkles. Elegant, satisfyingly hefty packaging.

Cons: The price sure isn't in everyone's budget.

(I purchased this from Murale.)