Oct 21, 2012

FOTD - Guerlain Liu Calligraphy Palette

"Liu" (from "Turandot" by G. Puccini) would be one of the most sympathetic operatic characters.
She is certainly not a modern woman if you ask me.
Unrealistic? Most definitely.
(She gives her love, devotion and her own life because this man had smiled upon her once. I mean, Come on! )

However, every woman has a little bit of "Liu" in her heart, and that is why this character speaks to us so dearly.
I myself cannot help but shedding a tear or two whenever I see the opera although I would detest women like Liu in real life (if they ever exist, anyway).

Guerlain has captured this helplessly beautiful character into a makeup palette for the holiday 2012.
I was very excited (and nervous) to create a look using this palette.
Here is my first take on this. :)





There is no way for me to pull off this artistic look that was suggested by Guerlain especially with two beauty marks in the eye area. (I already have too many moles on my face!)
Being a realist, I tried to wing lines as much as realistically possible, but I did use all the eyeshadow colors in the palette. ;)

I really like the cake eyeliner. I used this liner dry and it still creates great definition.
I filled my folds with the eyeliner after I flicked the lines first, then blended it with the warm gold and greige shades finishing with highlighting in the shimmery ivory color.



I chose the warmer toned red lip color today pairing with matte brown pink blush.



The warm gold eyeshadow color is my favorite. 
It is surprising since I usually shy away from any warm toned colors, but it adds such a luxurious feminine touch to the whole look.

I will try a couple more looks, maybe soon I will come up with a perfect party look for this holiday season.


Makeup products used for this look




In case you are interested in the story of the opera "Turadot",



Liu's Aria "Signore, ascolta (Lord, listen)"


(Caballé  is not my favorite singer, but her rendition of this aria is simply great.)

In this aria, poor Liu pleads with the prince Calaf confessing her love for him.

"Sir, listen! Ah, sir, listen!
Liu can bear no more!
Her heart is breaking! My, how long I’ve walked
With your name in my soul
With your name on these lips!
But if your destiny
Tomorrow, will be decided,
We will die on the road of exile.
He’ll lose his son
I, the shadow of a smile. 
Liù can bear no more! Ah!"

Did the prince Calaf  listen to her?
No, of course not. He was no different from any other men.




What do you think of this look and the palette?

Thanks for looking. :)


Join the conversation!

  1. thank you, Kim! :)
    it is a real standout among all the holiday makeup collections.

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  2. Lena, you did an excellent job with that palette! Your look is exquisite :) Love the eye makeup and lippy.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  3. hi, Sarah! how are you doing?
    thanks for your compliment! :)

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  4. It's such a classic look, you're stunning :)

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  5. wow.. lena..
    i love absolutely look this look
    i want something brown and black..
    but still very wearable for all occasion

    thanks for sharing

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  6. thank you, Camilla :)
    i agree gold and red are not my comfort zone colors, but they work pretty well altogether.

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  7. lol. Jackie you're so cute and funny. ;D
    i guess i am pretty fair but i get sun allergies sometimes, which is terrible! ;-/

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  8. i love the warmer toned red on you, so gorgeous. i envy your milky skin tone (sorry if i sound a little creepy lol)

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  9. thank you, Mishelle. :)
    Liu is an amazing character. i am glad to see a collection like this from a power house like guerlain.

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  10. Wow I love the theme of this palette :D you look amazingly glamorous in this look!
    x

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  11. lol. i guess Pam is enabled now. my work is done. hmm hmmm ;p
    thank you for your compliments! :)

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  12. this makes me even more wanting to buy the palette! :$
    I dont think the red lips look too much on you, it looks gorgeous!!

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  13. thank you, Raimar! :)

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  14. awww thank you so much, Janet. ;)

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  15. absolutely loving the look! you look so classic and sexy~ loves ^_~

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  16. Really beautiful and cute makeup!

    Xoxo

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  17. you think so? coming from you, it is a real encouragement! thank you. ;)

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  18. beautiful makeup, you really suit red :)

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  19. my pleasures, Sunny :)
    and thank you for your kind compliment!
    i can't wait to hear what you think of this collection. i am sure the gold and the reds would look beautiful on you. ;)

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  20. Thanks for introducing the character to us, and man what a look! Really can't wait to see this palette in person! You should try more golds because this one works really well o you!

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  21. thank you, Jacky! :)
    i don't wanna be without the elf powder myself. i use it daily and it does such a great job softening flaws in the complexion. :)

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  22. I love the look they suggest and the more realistic look you came up with. I also love love love your lippy color! I just got the high definition powder from e.l.f and I really like it!

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  23. aww thank you, Teri! :)
    i still like the cooler red better on me, but this warmer gold works nicely as well, so i am really happy. ;)

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  24. Oh Lena, I adore your look, the lips make it even more amazing! You really did a great job on the whole look and you are just so stunning!

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  25. thank you, Larie!
    there is no role i can sing in Turandot (even Liu is too heavy for my voice), but i love the music of it and i always recommend this opera to see at the Met. it is all gold and bling-y and visually spectacular. :)

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  26. This is really beautiful, Lena, and I appreciate learning about the inspiration behind the palette! I don't know much about operas :P

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  27. thank you, Natalie! :)

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  28. The lip color is so pretty on you!
    I loooove the whole look <3
    Good job.

    ♥♥♥

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  29. gorgeouuuuus ^-^



    ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
    natalijayasmina-b.blogspot.com

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  30. thank you, Andrea!
    now i wanna explore more of the warmer colors. ;)

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  31. lol. you always make me blush!
    thanks, Alyssa. ;)

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  32. It looks great on you since you have pale skin and dark hair! It reminds me of snow white. :)

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  33. The gold colour is so pretty on you! You really look good in both warm and cool shades.. :P

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  34. Ooh...I am an uncultured fool! I didn't know about this opera, thank you for the link and story breakdown! Lol @ your dislike of Liu though...I find myself often feeling the same way with some of the kdramas I want (yes, I just compared Kdrama to opera, please don't shoot me).

    I think this look is very beautiful and classy on you. You can definitely wear more warm and/or gold eye shadows!

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  35. ah, come on! opera is worse than kdrama. lolz
    people think musicians are romantic but on the contrary we are quite realistic. haha
    i personally think turandot needs to visit a psychiatrist and the prince calaf is an opportunist, and guess what...liu is the real biatch. ;p
    but then, there is that music. it makes everything beautiful.
    we all secretly want cheesy stuff. that's why all these melodramas work for us. :D

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  36. LOL. Well...I guess opera has an older history, so rather old-fashioned. Hmm maybe they'll do a kdrama remake of Turandot someday? ahahaha Then I can watch it, lol.

    Aww music always makes everything beautiful! <3

    Lol @ cheesy stuff. Hmm I think I like sweet, but not too cheesy. Of course, I wouldn't mind living in a fantasy! XD But seeing the huge gap between fantasy and my "real" life is quite disheartening, keke.

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