Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette - Couture Golds

I'm still procrastinating on the Dior Spring palettes - too pretty, can't bring myself to use them yet. This week! I will do it this week, I swear.

In the meantime, I bring you Couture Golds, from the Dior Holiday collection. (It was rather delayed here in Canada, so I only picked it up toward the end of December.)

I enjoy Dior packaging. It always feels nicely hefty, classic and subtle, with that discreet "CD" logo.

Despite the name, this palette is not so gold-toned as to be unwearable by someone with a cooler complexion. The only shade that actually really stands out as warm is the one in the top-right corner, which is a peachy gold. The others are a basic but well done cream pearl, a shimmery beige, an expresso brown with gold micro-glitter, and a pale gold glitter.

Indirect natural light.
Swatched clockwise starting at top-left corner,
middle pan swatched at far right.

Indirect natural light, different angle.

Artificial light.

This palette is sort of a mixed bag, though overall I like it.

The cream, gold and beige shades all have a very similar finish, classic Dior - silky-smooth, creamy, fine-textured, and apply with good color pay-off.

The brown is an odd duck, though similar to the way a lot of mattes scattershot with glitter tend to apply. The texture is drier than I'm used to from Dior, slightly patchy and does take some layering to build up color. The micro-glitter actually doesn't fall out noticeably, though it does disappear when you apply and blend. To increase the intensity of the color, and to keep some of the sparkle, it really needs to be patted on over a tacky base. Not just a primer, but something with some creaminess, like the Lise Watier Eye Shine pencils.

The super glittery middle pan is kind of awesome. It's...creamy? Not gritty at all. It applies sheerly, but this is not something I would pack on. I believe it's meant to be dabbed lightly over whatever shadow you've applied in order to give this amazing sparkle that looks almost wet, and reflects like mad. It reminds me a bit of the Stila Jewel Eyeshadows. Not a look I would embrace for everyday purposes, but it's fantastic for adding some oomph to an evening look.

This palette holds up as well as Dior eyeshadows generally do on me, meaning they will last through a work day, over primer, with no problems.

Availability: Difficult to find now, since it was a Holiday LE item, but it is still available on the Nordstrom site. Price is 59$ USD, and was 60$ CAD.

Pros: Gold palette that is still wearable with cooler complexions, great texture for three of the shades, glitter shade can transform your look from day to night.

Cons: Brown shade has some pigmentation/application issues, the emphasis on shimmer and glitter means that this palette is not a stand-alone item, unless you prefer a glitzy eye look.