I'm a huge highlighter junkie and over the years have added many different types of illuminating creams and powders to my ever expanding make-up collection. While my skin is in relatively good condition at the moment, years of struggling with acne took their toll on both texture and tone, and I use a matt finish, medium to full coverage foundation on a daily basis to conceal and even things out. However, one of the issues I find with heavier bases is that they can sometimes make skin appear slightly flat and unnatural, so I find using a light reflecting powder or cream on certain areas of my face help to adds a glow, takes away the 'flat' look and gives the illusion of even, flawless skin. Over the last couple of years, I've also started using similar products on my body during the Summer months, as I've found they have similar benefits to the products designed to be used on the face, and also work really well at enhancing a tan. One of the products I currently have in my body illuminating stash is, Guerlain's Terracotta Body Illuminating Gel.

About the product

Guerlain Sun Gold Body Illuminating Gel is from the brand's Terracotta range of products, and is described as a 'high glamour body make-up to enhance your tan with glistening gold'. It's described as having a smooth texture and according to Guerlain, imparts a sun-kissed shimmer.

Price/availability

My tube of Sun Gold Body gel was actually purchased at least a year ago at my local Guerlain counter, so I'm struggling to remember exactly how much I paid for it. I believe it was around £20.00 for a 100ml tube, though. Also, after hunting around online, I've found that official Guerlain stockists no longer sell the product, and it looks as though the gel has been replaced with a similar, illuminating spray instead (Terracotta Jambes De Gazelle Bronzing Mist). The body gel is still available from fragrancex.com where it's priced at around £24.00, but is currently out of stock, and the product is also available on ebay where it costs £17.99 for a 100ml tube.

Packaging

The gel is packaged in a 100ml, dark brown, fairly plain looking tube, which has the Guerlain logo and product name printed in gold lettering on the front. A brief description of what the product does and how it works is printed on the back, as well as usage instructions and a brand address. The tube has a screw on lid/cap printed with Guerlain's intertwined G's.

There's not really much to be said about the packaging, as the tube is rather simply designed. Other products from the Terracotta range are all housed in similar, brown compacts and tubes, all of which look slightly prettier and more luxurious than the gel's.

The product/application

The product itself is, as the name suggests, a gel and has the same sort of consistency as a gel like body lotion or cream. It's metallic gold in colour and looks almost opaque when squirted straight on to skin. It does have a subtle scent, but I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it smells of. I'd describe it as quite fresh, pleasant and similar to sunscreen fragrance.

The usage instructions on the back of the tube are fairly vague, so I decided to apply the product in the same way I use similar products. I apply a small amount of the gel to my hands then gently rub into the areas (legs, arms, shoulders etc) where I want to add a subtle sheen. The almost opaque, gold gel sheers out a lot as it's rubbed into skin, feels quite cooling, and sinks in quickly without leaving any sort of greasy or oily residue behind. Application is simple, but slightly messy as the tiny gold particles stick to hands. I suppose one way of avoiding this is to apply the product with a self tan mitt, but I've found the gel washes off easily enough with soap and water anyway, and doesn't stain like fake tan, so it's not a major problem.

Results

Hmmm, very shimmery! I personally like illuminators and highlighters to leave my skin with a natural looking, delicate sheen. Sun Gold Illuminating gel's gold particles leave it looking very glittery, which is neither natural looking, or particularly flattering in my opinion. When I initially tried the product, I was hoping the pretty, gold gel would leave me with a healthy glow, but the bits of shimmer are just too large and chunky and fail to work in the same way as similar body illuminators I've tried. As for the tan enhancing claim, I can't say I really notice a difference here either. The gold shimmer neither intensifies nor enhances colour, whether it's real or a fake tan.

On a more positive note, when I have used the gel, I've found that I haven't any problems with the shimmer transferring onto clothes and it does stay put for a reasonably amount of time. I was also pleased to see that the product is easily removed with a regular body wash, and no scrubbing is required to remove the micro glitter.

Recommended?

I'm a big fan of Guerlain's Terracotta range and use a few different products from the line on a regular basis which I'd highly recommend, but I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend this one. Apart from the shimmer issues I mentioned above, I was also disappointed with the fact that the gel offers no hydrating benefits and I feel more effort could have been put into the fragrance, which as I said, is pleasant, but certainly nothing special.

As mentioned above, it looks like this is now discontinued, so I assume it wasn't a particularly popular product with Guerlain fans. The gel can still be found on various different sites online (listed above), but I wouldn't recommend trying unless you're a big fan of shimmery products.