Guerlain's Les Ors collection for the 2010 holiday season is an elegant ode to their signature bee motif. In 1853 Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain created a citrus scent for Napoleon III's wife, the Empress Eugénie. Eau de Cologne Impériale was housed in a bottle decorated with 69 gilded bees, the emblem of the family's coat of arms and the Napoleonic empire. The bee then became the symbol for the Guerlain brand and is still used on their perfume bottles today.
(image from neimanmarcus.com)
This collection was a vast hive of golden bees – they appeared on every single piece, even the mascara.
Midnight Star and Or Impérial Sublime Radiant Powder Face & Body:
Météorites Perles d'Or:
(image from dbeautyjunkie.com)
My favorite piece, the Météorites Voyage Poudre d'Or. This gorgeous bee-patterned powder is encased in a silver compact featuring a gold bee hovering amidst black Swarovski crystals.
(image from nordstrom.com)
I could only afford one item at the time (and not the beautiful compact above, which is what I really wanted but it retailed for $170), so I settled for the eye shadow quad.
With flash:
The honeycomb pattern on the shadows can be seen a little better on these exquisite, hand-painted bottles from Bergdorf Goodman:
(image from blog.bergdorfgoodman.com)
Overall I thought this was a pretty amazing collection – an expression of the brand's history (the bee symbol) combined with the gold theme, which pays homage to and updates the use of gold on the original perfume bottle, makes for museum-worthy pieces.