Dior Impression Cuir.

that is one marvellous palette, isn't it? i finally caved in and bought the Dior Impression Cuir eyeshadow palette which was part of Dior's fall collection in 2008.
that was before i started to obsess over makeup, so of course i missed out on it. but this collection and palette seemed to be so popular that even years after its launch lemmings and praises still popped up regularly around me on beauty blogs and created a lemming for my own. and when i went back and watched the All Time Favourites video by Lisa Eldridge few months ago i saw her mentioning the Impression Cuir palette again, it pushed the right triggers. luckily there were a few of these offered on ebay (they still are), so i still got a chance to enjoy it. i think i paid something around 45€ for this beauty.
it comes in the same packaging as a quint (also sizewise), unless the interior is more harmoniously arranged. the compact with the silver brand name embedded over the holographic initials holds a full sized mirror and the stunning eyeshadow pan which contains 10g (!) of product.

the crocodile leather pattern embossed deeply into the surface just looks amazing.
the pan houses 3 eyeshadow colours of shimmery warm browns fading from a darker chocolate brown to a bronze with golden sheen and iridescent overspray in the center and a fawn colour to the right.
the eyeshadows have a smooth silky texture with good colour-pay off, i'm positively surprised that the colours are not packed full of dioresque frostiness that blends together to an undefinable frosty mess. applied to the lids the colours blend very well but look distinctive, with a satin finish (esp. the fawn colour and chocolate brown shade) and soft shimmer. i didn't experience lots of fall out and since i used a decent primer underneath, there also was no creasing or fading over the whole day.
the colours are warm but very wearable for different skintones as they don't contain lots of orange, i think this is the ideal versatile everyday palette and for fans of soft smokey eyes, the Impression Cuir can easily serve as night time palette as well (for me, it still needs a super dark brown to combine with for a smokey eye). this palette surely is one of the better LE-launches by Dior and actually one that i -with no hesitation- feel is really worth the money.

Dior Impression Cuir palette swatched in natural light

with flash

tihilw

for the following look i applied the fawny shade on the inner 1/3 of the lid and the inner corners, the shimmery bronze to the center of the lid and along the lower lashline and the chocolate brown on the outer corner blended into the crease

comparison

Dior Impression Cuir - MAC Mulch - MAC Tempting - Benefit Fawn Over Me
 

Dior Impression Cuir - MAC Mulch - MAC Tempting - Benefit Fawn Over Me

as you can see, i've found quite good dupes for this palette, even though they're not spot on:

MAC Mulch is lighter, more reddish and more shimmery than the Dior shade, MAC Tempting is more bronze and less gold than Dior but even more shimmery and Benefit Fawn Over Me is more rosy than Dior.

if you have these 3 though, you wouldn't need the Impression Cuir palette.