Dior Aurora Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:35 +0000

Dior Aurora Eyeshadow Palette

Dior Aurora Eyeshadow Palette

Dior Aurora Eyeshadow Palette ($60.00 for 0.24 oz.) is a limited edition five-shade palette for summer. The shades were inspired by the emblems of the French Riviera. It’s really rich, deep, and filled with warm tones.

The shade in the upper left corner is a rich, molten orange-gold with a soft frosted finish and excellt color payoff. Bare Escentuals Remix is yellower, not as dark. Chanel Blazing Gold is lighter, paler. MAC Goldmine is a bit more golden. Inglot #430 is yellower. Urban Decay Honey is yellower and not at all orange. MAC Juiced was the closest I could find, though it’s more orange.

The shade in the upper right corner is a medium-dark brown with subtle red undertones. It has good pigmentation. It is actually similar to quite a few shades! MAC Havana is just slightly deeper and has a stronger red undertone. Buxom Golden Retriever is just a smidgen warmer. Benefit Dandy Brandy seems nearly the same. MAC Roasted Chestnut has a stronger red undertone. MAC Buckwheat is less golden. MAC Make Your Mark is darker.

The center shade is a pale, icy pink with a subtle blue undertone. It looked almost yellow-toned in the pan, but it looked rather cool against my skin tone. The color payoff is decent to good, though slightly sheer. MAC Joy & Laughter is similar, slightly more lilac. Dior Garden Roses is slightly darker. Dior Garden Pastels is very, very similar. Tarina Tarantino Diamond Dusk is also incredibly similar.

The shade in the bottom left corner is a beige-peach with a slight iridescent sheen. It had decent pigmentation but was a bit sheer when swatched. It was slightly better when applied to the lid/eye. Inglot #330 is similar but peachier and matte. Giorgio Armani #1 Madreperla had a simialr shade but it was lighter, less yellow. MAC Dazzlelight is a bit lighter. MAC Vanilla is lighter, less yellowed. Urban Decay Skimp is similar but doesn’t have the same sheen.

The shade in the bottom right corner is a medium-dark orange with a subtle dusting of gold micro-shimmer and a satiny sheen. It had pretty good color payoff. MAC Rule is similar but has a matte finish. Dolce & Gabbana Cocoa is slightly lighter. MAC Fresh Daily is very similar. Milani Primary has a similar orange shade as well.

This kind of palette is very effortless to use on warmer complexions–the colors complement not only each other but warm skin tone in a very obvious way. There has certainly been a fair number of gold/copper/bronze eyeshadow palettes on the market, so while this one is lovely in its own right, it’s not exactly a unique color combination. It’s practical, wearable, and something that would work well for summer-themed looks. Cooler complexions may find there are too many orange-based shades here to be as instantly flattering, but like anything, it’s workable if you want it to make it work–usually by pairing it with the right cheek/lip. For instance, I wear cool-toned products but have to pay attention more closely to coordinating shades.

The pink is kind of a weird addition; it doesn’t really go with the palette, and I think its overall paleness makes it less functional. If it were a shade that perhaps contrasted more, it could add a complex dimension to the look. You could certainly do a combination where the pink is the lightest shade and then graduated from orange-gold to copper/brown. I think a coral would have been a nice shade to have mixed in.

The texture of these is soft, finely-milled, and very smooth. They’re dense and buttery, and they aren’t too powdery, which is something that Dior’s eyeshadows can sometimes suffer from. Because of their soft, finely-milled texture, they blend easily on the lid and with each other. Without a primer, these shades wore for eight hours with very faint fading around the edges. With a primer, these shades wore for ten hours with very faint fading around the edges. Overall, the color payoff was good to great.