What better way to wind down December, than with Dior’s ‘Couture Golds’ eyeshadow palette from the Holiday 2011 collection? Not being one to resist its siren song, I fell instantly in love with the stunning allure of these colours. This limited edition compact of five lustrous hues in varying golden tones, has another unique detail, found in the perfectly executed quilted “cannage stitching”, similar to that of luxury Dior handbags and accessories. The ‘Couture Golds’ palette is all you really need to give your eyes some extra zing, as you bring in the new year in sophisticated beauty style!
The simple, yet elegant outer box, in Dior’s signature blue with embossed silver lettering.
As I’ve stated before, I really love it when the product name is clearly marked on the top, as I like keeping my compacts in their original boxes, stored upright.
The buttery soft velveteen sleeve that houses the compact, adds that extra layer of protection.
The compact case in Dior’s highly lacquered deep blue, reveals the brand’s initials only when light hits it at certain angles.
The Dior ‘Couture Golds’ palette, is without doubt, the crowing glory of this holiday collection – and with good reason; the five colours presented here are not only highly luxurious looking, but surprisingly easy to wear and in a variety of combinations as well. With the exception of one hue, the formula and application was superb, easy to blend and quite long-lasting, especially so with primer layered underneath. The colour payoff of each hue is rather on the soft side, but easily layered for more depth of colour if desired.
The top left shade, a pearly ivory with an inner golden sheen, applied surprisingly pigmented for such a pale shade. Silken smooth with neither fallout or powdery residue, this will make an excellent highlighter, especially for the inner eye corner or under the brow bone, and can also be worn layered over any of the other shades to give a soft wash effect.
The top right shade, a peach leaning pale gold, also applied extremely well with a similar texture to the first shade. I can see this worn alone for a relaxed daytime neutral look, albeit jazzed up a touch due to its golden nature, or blended with the other shades of this palette for some extra depth.
The center shade which bears the Christian Dior initials, is not only the sparkliest of the five, but the least pigmented, with some fallout due to its larger shimmer particles. Best left for adding a high-gleam touch to your completed look (usually to the middle of the lid), its glitz factor can be significantly amped up by applying it wet.
I was expecting the bottom right shade to apply much deeper than it did, as it required a few more passes with my brush to build it to the swatch levels shown (below), however its formula was buttery soft as well, with the taupe base lending it a stunning warmth, making this not only a fabulous all-over lid hue, but perfect for the eye crease as well.
I was positive that the bottom left shade of espresso brown/black, would require a light hand due to its intensely dark-looking colour, but once more, it was a welcome surprise to see a shade this deep actually apply so delicately, almost soot-like, filled with incredibly fine multi-coloured shimmer. Easily layered for a more opaque look, this is the perfect shade for adding a sexy smudged look to your eyes, whether as a liner or detail work on the outer corner.
The following swatches are all on foundation primed skin, using Guerlain’s Lingerie de Peau Foundation in #03 Beige Naturel (not yet reviewed), with the colours swatched clockwise from the top left shade of the palette, and the center shade in the middle here as well.
Sunlight definitely adds warmth and serves to bring out more of the golden undertones running throughout this palette.
With indirect light, you can clearly see the distinctions between each shade, as well as casting a slight silvery sheen to the paler hues.
A final view taken with flash, brings out the deeply glowing shimmer in each shade.
When Dior released their Holiday 2010 Collection last year, the only item I had picked up was the limited edition ‘Five Golds’ eyeshadow palette (shown on the right), so naturally, I had to compare it to this year’s contender to see how the two stacked up to each other. Right off the start, you can see that while they both have the word “gold” in common, all similarities end there. Last year’s palette not only has a silver center shade that adds a whole new twist to the theme, but the shades themselves are deeper-toned, with slightly larger shimmer particles. Interestingly enough, it is the palest hue of the ‘Five Golds’ palette, that had the most fallout and applied the sheerest, although the finely milled powder of the rest of the colours more than made up for that. Once more, all swatches are on foundation primed skin (see above), and shown clockwise from the top left shade (pale ivory), with the center palette hue in the middle here as well.
Sunlight once more serves to add such depth and emphasizes the intense shimmer of each hue.
Indirect lighting brings out any silvery tones found in most of these colours, and significantly tones down its bling.
A final view taken with flash picks out the glimmering hints of each shade, and clearly shows the translucency of the last hue.
Both palettes swatched in sunlight; the left side bears the five shades of the ‘Five Golds’ quint, and the right side ‘Couture Golds’.
Both palettes in indirect light, same order as above.
A final view taken with flash of both palettes, same order as above.
Final thoughts: I am so incredibly glad I picked this palette up … and that it wasn’t a near duplicate of last year’s version! I found that even though the shades all have some shimmer to them, it didn’t translate as anything excessive when applied, but instead served to add some intricate depth to each hue. Excepting the middle shade, which in my opinion is more of a highlighter than a true eyeshadow, the rest were of a superb quality, finely milled and so easy to work with – I have a feeling that this will become one of my “gold standards” among my palettes (sorry…I couldn’t resist!). PS: I’m already looking forward to what next year’s holiday palette will be!
9 Responses to Dior ‘Couture Golds’ Eyeshadow Palette Holiday 2011 (swatches & review)