Guerlain Les Fumes Quad versus Rue de Passy

I think there are probably more pictures in this post than are strictly necessary. I won't apologies for this as I'm a neutrals palette perv I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm also fairly certain that I'm not on my own! This Guerlain Les Fumes Quad was generously gifted to me by a very kind blogger friend and it definitely softened the blow of my eyeshadow no-buy. I mentioned this palette in my recent holiday makeup bag post and I thought it might be useful share it in a bit more detail.

The colours that I use most of all in this palette are the metallic silvered taupe (shocker) and the satin pinky tan shade. So, it came as a surprise when I swatched the other two eyeshadows that they looked so similar when applied. In the pan they look quite different: the eyeshadow on the far left looks lighter than the eyeshadow bottom centre, but when swatched, I can detect no real difference in the depth of colour. The eyeshadow on the far left has a khaki green undertone and subtle shimmer whereas the eyeshadow on the bottom left is more ashy brown. Both of these eyeshadows are a little drier in texture compared to the two lighter colours. All of the Guerlain palettes that I have tried seem to suffer to a certain extend with this variation in eyeshadows quality.

L-R: The colours were swatched from the top centre pan moving round clockwise.

Despite the variable texture, I do use Les Fumes quite a lot as I like the colours and I find it easy to put together a look with this quad when I'm in a rush. It reminded me a lot of Rue de Passy palette so I thought it would be interesting to compare the two side by side.

Left - Les Fumes, Right - Rue de Passy

Putting them side by side like this, the similarities and differences are more clear. Obviously the Rue de Passy palette has more colours than Les Fumes. From the swatches, I can see that there isn't one single identical eyeshadow (I thought from the pans that the pinky tan might be the same colour). You can achieve similar looks using these palettes and for most people, owning both would be unnecessary.

Unhelpfully of course, I can't decide which I prefer. In terms of colour and versatility, I'd probably recommend Rue de Passy. However, Les Fumes is probably better in terms of the consistency of eyeshadow texture. The packaging of the Rue de Passy is stunning but I find the packaging of Les Fumes more practical to use (the Ecrin 6 colour is a bit of a nail breaker). There is also the small matter of the cost to consider. The Rue de Passy Ecrin 6 couleurs palette costs £53.50 and Les Fumes Ombre Eclat 4 couleurs costs £37. Obviously you get more colours for £53.50 but the net weight is the same.

Both palettes are part of the permanent collection and are available from Guerlain counters as well as online from Debenhams and Escentuals. Which do you prefer? If you own both, can you pick out a favourite of the two palettes?