Dior 5 Couleurs in #734 Grège.

"this is my last Dior palette!" is what i say after each Dior palette, but it's never the last. it's no secret that i'm not a fan of their "5 Couleurs Iridescents" palettes, the eyeshadows contained are usually all too frosty and end up looking like a muddy mess of frost on the lids and not like a 55€ investment. but they always lure me in with their pretty looks.
this time, i'm glad that i still caved in and purchased another eyeshadow palette by Christian Dior. the 5 Couleurs in #734 Grège was launched in february with their New Look collection consisting 3 other Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palettes (Royal Khaki, Rose Porcelain and Bleu de Paris). and since it's a plain 5 Couleurs palette without the "Iridescents", it's one of the better.

there's not much to say about the packaging, it's sturdy and nice but looks a bit unmodern. it contains a total of 6g of eyeshadow and the obligatory sponge tip applicators (they're not too bad).

swatched in sunlight, clockwise from upper left corner, center shade as last.

the colours:

• a warm clay brown with satin finish, its texture is rather soft and powdery and tends to dust up but applies evenly with little fallout only. this is a good blending/transition colour but also suitable as crease contour shade for a natural look.
• a white with soft shimmer finish, appears uneven and slightly chalky at first but needs only little work to smooth out. me likey as inner corner highlight.
• in the center a pearly light grey with the slightest lavender tinge, very nice quality soft and subtle lid shade.
• a matte dark plum with grey tones - has the best texture in the palette. very refined and silky smooth, applies evenly and is easy to blend. good for a smokey look, as crease colour or also as a liner shade.
• a soft shimmery graphite grey. same slightly chalky texture as the white shade but easy to work on. versatile medium dark colour for the lids, crease or as soft eyeliner.

the shadows are not frosty so they stay distinct and i love the mix of different finishes in there which brings more variety and dimension into achievable looks. the medium shades make for a great everyday palette that can be amped up for the evening as well thanks to the deep plummy brown or graphite silver. you don't need additional shadows to create diverse eye makeups and have your basic neutral palette right there.
the texture quality of these shadows varies, they start out sheer but are buildable in intensity. staying power is no problem as i use an eyeshadow primer underneath.
all in all this is a good one. nothing exciting but a solid staple.

Sabrina has a detailed review and swatches of this palette on The Beauty Look Book, don't miss it!

tihilw

look #1

a soft daytime look. white in the inner corners, pearl grey on the lid, graphite silver on the outer V. clay brown on the lower lashline and as transition colour blended over the edges of the grey. plummy brown as a liner along the upper lashline and on the outer edge of the lower lashline.

look #2

a bit darker. white in the inner corners, plummy brown on the lids (somehow it doesn't look well blended on the photograph :I ) with clay brown as transition colour again. graphite silver on the lower lashline.

Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad #206.

i have already shown you the Eye Color Quad #201 Malachite and the Cheek Color Duo #4 but to round up the much belated reviews of my Clé de Peau Beauté order from summer 2011, today i bring to you their palette with the beautiful name "206".
in fact at a price of 55$ for the eyeshadow pans only (the compact case has to be bought separately and would set you back additional 25$), they could've given the ones from seasonal collections - for example this one came out in Spring 2011 - some fancy names also.
Clé de Peau Beauté can be bought at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom or Saks.

i keep my CdP stuff in a Magnum Palette by Artdeco, it fits nicely and is a cheap but quality solution.

this palette is soft and light, the colours are much lighter than what i expected from the product pics on various online shops. it comes with an opalescent overspray representing the brand logo, but which already fades after lightly touching it. the shadows contained are

• a pearlescent cream colour with silver glitter
• a pale silver with silver glitter
• a copper shade with lots of gold flecks
• a satin beige with more loosely distributed chunkier gold glitter

overall the eyeshadows still show the same very silky and soft texture that i have described with the other palette i own, but i was disappointed with this one because it's a bit of chunky-glitter-overkill which causes fall out that is hard to remove. i think the cream, silver and beige shades especially would all be so much more beautiful without the glitter, they are soft and complex colours.

normally, i wouldn't wear this palette all alone, the colours are too light and too glittery for my taste to combine. but as i was taking it out to re-do the eyeshadow photos, the final result totally reminded me of NARS Ramatuelle Eyeshadow Trio which came out with their Summer 2012 collection and caused a big lemming on my side since many bloggers showed how amazing the combo of pale cream, silver and orange/peach can look (read great reviews of NARS Ramatuelle trio over at Café Makeup, Cute and Mundane and Pink Sith).

i really like how the end result turned out - of course there is some glitter fall out to remove - but otherwise the shades are easy to build up and blend, they also last well and in every aspect fulfill my yearning for NARS Ramatuelle. for the eyeshadow look i paired the palette with Max Factor Metallic Lilac eyeliner, which makes for a gorgeous contrast.

tihilw

Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad #201.

 

since late summer last year i own my Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quads, but never came 'round to introduce them to you (mainly because i was displeased with how my eyeshadow pics turned out). but this time i'm determined and finally redid the eyeshadow looks to have presentable material.
somehow i was tempted to try this super-prestige-line by Shiseido. you might have heard of their popular concealer (which i also purchased in the mean time and will review soon - if i get the right photos ;)) or loose powder (which still is on my wish list), but the colour make up is not often talked about. the Clé de Peau Beauté Cheek Color Duo #4 however, i have already showcased last year.

you can find Clé de Peau Beauté products at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Neimann Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks. i had the help of my friend Maureen from the US who ordered these products for me.
since 55$ for the refill-version of the Eye Color Quads were already enough for me, i was too cheesy to spend another 25$ on the separately available compact. luckily my refills of two Eye Color Quads and the Cheek Color Duo fit (almost) perfectly into my old&cheap Artdeco Magnum Palette (saved me 130$ compact-costs!).


now on to the actual product:  Eye Color Quad in #201, also called Malachite.

the little refill contains 4 eyeshadow colours with different pan sizes, you'd get a total amount of 5g.
a lovely design with the brand logo is placed as shimmery mauve-purple overspray on the surface of the eyeshadows - it will certainly fade with the first usage, though, and doesn't add much to the colours.

• there is a palest pink with pink duochrome shimmer and sparse crystal flecks,
• a very shimmery cool toned golden taupe with lots of pale gold shimmer and crystal flecks,
• a dark teal green with forest green pearl and golden flecks
• and lastly a satin taupey grey with beautiful pink duochrome sheen.

these eyeshadows feel incredibly luxurious, i have never touched a texture as fine, silky and lightweight before. all shades are sheer but buildable.
many don't like japanese eyeshadow formulas since they contain lots of chunky glitter particles, and i have to admit that i also was uncertain whether i could like the Clé de Peau eyeshadows after initially swatching them. yes, they are silky and the colours beautiful, but they also seemed to be overly shimmery with large glitter bits (namely the first 3 shades).
but the more i used them and the closer i looked, i grew to like them more and more. i can assure you that what seems like chunky glitter is in fact much more beautiful reflecting crystal flecks that will adhere nicely to the lids and won't fall off after blending or over the course of the day. surely the shimmery effect is something for going out rather than the office.
these eyeshadows apply evenly and blend nicely, as beforementioned without glittery fall outs. over a primer or coloured base, they last vibrantly all day without fading or creasing. dipping a damp brush into the green shade to use it wet as a liner worked very well and didn't change the texture of the eyeshadow in the slightest.
my only complaint with this quad is its layout. especially the duochrome murky grey/pink colour on the right (but also the green shade) houses in a pan much too small to be reached with a normal eyeshadow brush. if it's a dark liner colour, i could understand the division, but this is such a lovely lid shade!

comparison

i find this quad to be very comparable to Chanel's Les 4 Ombres in #32 Lilium which was released as part of their summer collection 2011. the idea is the same, only the grey/pink duochrome is missing and exchanged for a pale lime green in the Chanel palette. both are beautiful, you don't need both. overall, i prefer the Clé de Peau palette for its drastically superior texture especially since i only have the non-US version of the Chanel palette with the baked shadows. the taupe in the Chanel quad is prettier, though ;)

compared to some similar MAC shadows: 

Vex is totally different from the white pink of the CdP quad, it's darker, more shimmery and translucent.

MAC Humid is more opaque and a bit lighter than the green in the CdP palette and it contains much more yellow.

Shale lacks the strong pink duochrome and is basically a different colour than the grey/pink duochrome in the Malachite palette, it's a taupey purple (which looks much too red-toned on my swatch).

Chanel Les 4 Ombres in #32 Lilium - Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad #201 - MAC Vex - MAC Humid - MAC Shale

pale pink, taupe and forest green from Chanel Lilium palette - CdP Eye Color Quad #201 - Vex - Humid - Shale

tihilw


daytime look

this is how i would wear this palette on a day-to-day basis. the duochrome grey/pink on the whole lid (sadly it doesn't work well with my NARS Pro Prime Eye Shadow Primer and won't show its gorgeous duochrome sheen here), the shimmery sand as a brightening eye-opener on the lower lashline, a bit of the pale pink in the inner corners (this looks very light but actually merges with my skin quite naturally) and as a twist of colour, the dark green used wet as a thick winged liner.

nighttime/holiday look

here i went full-on with this palette, even used a vibrant turquoise/green cream shadow as a base colour on the lid and lower lashline to play up the blue shimmer in the green eyeshadow of the CdP quad. i blended the shimmery sand shade over the edges of the green and added some whitish pink on the inner corners. MAC Undercurrent Pearlglide Liner on the outer half of the lower waterline, winged black liquid liner.
for a less summery, more sultry green eye, i'd go for a black cream shadow as base shade.

please also check The Non-Blonde for a different opinion on the same palette and Messy Wands, where Xiao reviews the Eye Color Quad in #202 Kyanite.