Disclaimer: I have a very deep and personal fondness for these pretty powder pearls. So this is not going to be an unbiased article.
You see, my first Météorites were actually my first ever grown-up beauty product (as in, not Clearasil). My mum had snuggled a pot of them into the foot of my Christmas stocking some time back in the late 1980s. I remember thinking the jewel-like box would open to reveal a sparkling bracelet or beaded necklace. But it was something that became just as precious to me.
Not only did the gift signify some sort of coming of beauty age, but the pearly powders made my face look light the skin fairy had turned on a thousand teeny-tiny twinkling lights. (I didn’t realise at the time that each pastel shade played a specific role in the skintone-correcting process – I just liked the prettiness of it. Numerous years – and, ahem, skin splodges – later, I am much more appreciative of this fact).
The glamorous Météorites even have their own signature scent: a pretty powdery violet. And just as familiar fragrances transport you back in time, every time I open a pot of these pearls, I go right back to that moment my love affair with beauty – and luminous skin – began.
It wasn’t actually long before this that Météorites actually launched – they’ve been in business just over 25 years. Although they can trace their ancestry back to the 19th century, when Empresses Eugenie and Sissi, along with Queen Victoria used to perk up their pale and delicate complexion with powders by Guerlain, the most popular perfume house at the time.
These days, there’s still much olde-worlde charm about Guerlain’s star powder, the Météorites – for instance, each ball is lovingly shaped by hand, by one of the four craftmen who know the technique.
What is welcomingly new, however, is that the powder now comes in three options – for pale, medium and dark skin tones, so that particular skin issues are targeted. So, the green balls in the pale powder strike out redness, while peach pearls are added to the medium skin’s mix (pictured below) to counter sallowness, and chocolate and fuchsia pink powders ensure dark skin never looks dull.
Also new is the so-pretty brush, which is the perfect way to add heavenly highlights across your cheekbones, or all over if you so wish. As I do. Because the stuff is addictive. I own ten pots (which often come in limited-edition designs) and counting. You have been warned.