I have previously used Gucci’s foundations, bronzers, blushes, and face powder. Today is the continuation of my exploration of the brand, having added their eyeshadows and powder highlighter to my collection. Prior to these new additions, the standout products for me have been the bronzers and blushes, so I was curious to see if the others could live up to their hype!

Gucci Limited Edition Multi-Use Quad Eye Palette in 04 Festive Glow

I was never attracted to the color stories, layout, pan shape, and packaging for Gucci’s eyeshadow quads in their permanent range, so I was shocked by how drawn I was to this holiday release. I like the red elements on the outer packaging and was enchanted by the Fiery Coral and Royal Bronze shades specifically. The retailer Douglas dropped the price for these by 20% within days of launching, so I was sold!

Pink Glow and Fiery Coral are both considered toppers, but only Pink Glow has a translucent base with iridescent pink shimmer. Fiery Coral has a subtle coral base color with gold shimmer. I can see this when I pack the eyeshadow onto my lid with my finger (4th eye look), but it’s especially visible when I apply it with a damp brush (2nd eye look). Pink Glow is absolutely not a unique color, but it’s useful to have as an inner corner highlighting shade and to pair with Soft Burgundy.

Soft Burgundy is a satin-matte, with a soft creamy texture that looks very smooth around the eyes and pairs well with the pinky-orange coral tones of Fiery Coral. Because Fiery Coral comprises heavily of gold shimmer, it can look very similar to Royal Bronze when Royal Bronze isn’t applied damp. However, I love the pairing the two together anyway, since Fiery Coral gives Royal Bronze a boost of extra sparkle.

These eyeshadows are all thin, but buildable to an extent. Pink Glow is a true topper, so I can’t get an opaque look out of it. Soft Burgundy is dark enough to provide contrast for the other colors, but I don’t consider it a depth creating shade on my complexion. These are some elements that prevent me from being fully in love with this quad, but I still like it a lot.

One of the aspects that can be challenging to use this quad is picking up color. The eyeshadows are firmly pressed into the compact and I get too impatient to build up color with a brush, so I often use my finger for everything, except the inner corner that requires more precision. I also prefer to increase the intensity and opacity by spraying my brush. Going in for second and third dips with the same brush has caused the surface to look a bit off-putting over time, as seen in the photo below.

This pricepoint puts it on par with Guerlain and YSL quads, but in my opinion those brands have a better eyeshadow quality than Gucci. What Gucci has going for it is this color story that is quite bold within the luxury beauty sphere. I applaud them for taking a risk with something so colorful and not leaning on neutrals. This is the most festive launch I’ve seen from a luxury brand this year, and I’m glad to have it, even if I don’t end up getting the most use out of it.

Gucci Glow Highlighter in 03 Warm Gold

It seemed like nearly everyone I watch on YouTube fell in love with this highlighter. I was fully planning to skip getting it because I’d already purchased two other high end highlighters, but Douglas’ 20% off got me again!

My friend and blogger Nikki shared photos with me of the Gucci highlighters, and those are what helped me initially decide not to get them. I even commented that on her page! The discount and all the hype made me forget my reservations about the visible particles, but I wish I remembered because that’s what is keeping me from liking this highlighter. YouTube influencers were hyping up the uncommon gel texture, but being different doesn’t make it automatically better (plus Natasha Denona’s Hy-Gen highlighter is even more unique feeling). It’s beautiful with a wet looking shine, but I don’t like that I can see the individual shimmers. When I watched TrillxLauren‘s video on YouTube, she mentioned with repeated use the highlighter texture looked more like how she tried it in store and had hoped it would perform more to her liking. I too had hope. I hated it the first time I used it, but once I wore off the top layer, I liked it a little more. From then on, I made sure to pick up product from the same spot every time I tried it. The result was it always looking pretty in photos, but I was so torn about how it looked in person.

I’ve tried different brushes and application techniques, but the bottom line is I just can’t get over seeing all the shimmer particles. Perhaps if I had a darker color it would blend more into my skin and then I would love it. This isn’t unheard of since I had a similar experience disliking Gucci’s Bronzer until I got the lighter shade. In this instance, I think Warm Bronze would be too dark and there isn’t anything else more suitable in-between (Opal Pink would look too icy for me). So, unfortunately this was a purchase I should have skipped.

As a further example of what I mean, below is a comparison between Gucci on the left and Gxve Beauty on the right. The one on the right still has a visible glow and I can see shimmer still, but they’re much smaller. As pretty as Gucci’s looks in the picture, the texture is amplified when I view it from my own mirror. Gxve Beauty doesn’t have a unique formula, but it’s beautiful and it works. The retail price is $30 and I bought it during a half off sale. So, compared to Gucci’s $59 retail price, I regret giving into my impulses.

At least the quad was a win!

In the photo on the left above, I’m wearing the Gucci bronzer, blush (Warm Berry), eyeshadows, and highlighter. I forgot to use the powder and left behind the foundations. I wanted the new blush in 11 Intense Ruby (it’s called Watermelon in Europe) because of the color and beautiful limited edition packaging, but it bothered me that for some reason Gucci’s blushes cost way more in Germany than in the US. The rest of the makeup is closer to being the same price. Another reason I was hesitant to buy it for a higher price is that it looks like a slightly lighter version of Intense Plum that I decluttered. There’s still a chance that I might like Intense Ruby better, so I ordered it during the Sephora sale from the US site and it’s with my family there. When I eventually go back and try it, if I like it enough, I’ll bring it home with me!

Lastly, I will note that using my r.e.m. beauty Highlighter Topper (which I have called my “fixer highlighter” in the past) does help improve the look of the Gucci highlighter, but I’m not interested anymore in trying to make this work when I have so many others I can use by themselves to achieve the kind of glow I want.

That’s everything! Thank you for checking out this week’s post!

-Lili ❤