Dior Holiday 2011: Couture Golds palette.

the 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in #554 Couture Golds from the holiday collection by Dior seemed so beautiful in the promotion pictures that i needed to have it - i mean, golds mixed with a deep brown and shimmer? i'm all in!
and because Dior didn't release this part of their holiday look in germany, i had to order it from the US (from Maureen).
the palette contains 6g of product in total and costs 59$. it comes in the usual velvet pouch and the compact is the usually boring and unmodern holographic CD one.

swatches & thoughts:

the colours are just wonderful to look at, different and unusual hues of gold and exciting finishes. but again, i'm completely underwhelmed by how this palette swatches and appears on my lids.
the colours are:

• a frosty, shimmery cream white. with the usual soft and buttery finish by Dior. high colour pay off and shine, perfect for the tear duct area but not as a brow bone highlighter at all.

• a shimmery peachy gold. again, the creamy soft texture. i'm glad that this colour is not too warm toned on me but i'm disappointed at how light and frosty with only minimal colour it comes out on my lids.

• a shimmery cool toned gold. also with a soft and fine texture. i expected this stunningly complex looking colour to be my personal star of the palette, but unfortunately it applies as a silvery, very frosty sand colour on me. no hint of complexity between taupe and gold transferred from the pan onto my eyelid. very disappointing.

• a dark matte brown with tons of pink and gold microglitter in the pan, seemed like a very promising colour and if it was in that soft creamy texture Dior is known for, it would be a fantastic colour. but it isn't. it's a much too sheer, dirty looking matte colour with a much too dry texture. the glitters feel gritty by touch, but since they don't really transfer onto the lids anyways (but to your cheeks and nose and everywhere), there is no gritty feeling eventually. it's just a sheer black on me, not even well buildable and the warmth of the brown hue is not visible anymore when i blend this colour. it lacks a lot of impact so it's not capable of contrasting the light shimmery shades in this quint.

• in the center you can find a pale, gold-beige shade that purely consists of chunky shimmer flakes. it's a very sheer colour, so it's suited as a top coat on other shadows to add even more glimmer and sparkle or used concentrated as a highlight in the inner corners or the center of the lid. the texture of this is very gritty and dry, so it's fall out city extreme. in the end, i find this shade to be unexpectedly lovely for it's effect, i will try to make it work and do my eye make up before the foundation.

with flash

a factor that turns me off is how muddy and undefined the colours look when they are blended. i find that this is a huge problem with Dior eyeshadows, they lack brilliance because the colours are covered in too much frost and pearl. makes Dior more and more unappealing to me, i should seriously stop to buy their palettes.
wholistically, this palette doesn't work for me. the colours are too frosty, too common. i will need to combine it with other shades.
if you craved for this palette but can't get it, i say you didn't miss out on anything special.

tihilw

#1

taupey gold on the lid and lower lashline, creamy white in the inner corner and blackish brown in the outer corner & crease.

with flash:

#2

peachy gold on the inner half and lower lashline, blackish brown on the outer parts and chunky shimmer shade on the center of the lid.

with flash:

comparison

dupe shades:
                       1 - Dior Earth Reflection palette (review) - cream white shade
                       2 - Giorgio Armani Mediterranean palette (review) - peachy gold shade
                       3 - NARS Rajasthan duo (swatches) - golden taupe
                       4 - L'Oreal HIP Gilded (review) - brownish black
                       5 - Chantecaille Sel (review)
                       6 - NARS Mekong (review)

i don't have a dupe shade for the flaky shimmery cream.