Dior Garden Pastels Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:46 +0000

Dior Garden Pastels Eyeshadow Palette

Dior Spring 2012: Garden Pastels Eyeshadow Palette

Dior Garden Pastels Eyeshadow Palette ($59.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as “pale pink, buttercup yellow, and luminous greens.” It’s new and limited edition just in time for spring. It’s slightly lighter compared to the usual Dior eyeshadow palette, which has 0.21 oz., while this palette only has 0.16 oz. I suspect it is due to the consistency difference somehow, since it doesn’t seem less full or smaller compared to other Dior eyeshadow palettes.

The shade on the upper left of the palette is a yellowy green with a soft, frosted finish. The color payoff is good, and the texture is very smooth, though there’s a little dryness to it. If you’ve played with Estee Lauder’s Cyber Eyes eyeshadows, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It’s dry, but still very soft and smooth, and while dry, it’s not powdery. It’s a yellower and more subdued version of MAC LUcky Green, but it’s much darker than MAC Juxt. Inglot #412 is similar but more metallic, so it appears lighter.

On the upper right of the palette, the shade is a bright frosted white with good color payoff and a smooth, soft feel. There’s not a lot to the color–it’s a neutral white, not too cool- or warm-toned, so there are a fair amount of white eyeshadow dupes.

The center shade is a soft pastel pink with a silver shimmer. It has decent to good pigmentation, but there is some underlying sheerness. The texture is nice and smooth, though. It’s similar to Tarina Tarantino Diamond Dusk and is just barely darker than Tarina Tarantino Delightful. MAC Fresh Ice has more lilac in it. MAC Seedy Pearl is a bit darker and purpler.

On the bottom left, there is a pale yellow with a frosted finish that’s just slightly metallic. This shade had the best color payoff of the five shades; really dense and opaque. Tarina Tarantino Wonderful is less yellow, less frosted. theBalm Wild Child is more golden. MAC Nylon is a bit lighter and more golden.

The last shade on the bottom right of the palette is a green-tinted blue with a green-gold shimmer-sheen. It has decent color payoff, but like the center shade, it has underlying sheerness. It’s greener than Urban Decay Aquarius. Tarina Tarantino Violet Storm is similar but a touch darker and doesn’t have the same golden sheen. Make Up For Ever #302 is more teal.

The texture of this palette is definitely different compared to previous iterations of Dior’s five-pan palettes. I don’t think it’s a departure from their typical formula but something in particular for the spring collection. Part of it may have been necessary to incorporate the design, but it’s certainly not an unwelcome or bad different! The drier consistency feels off at first, but it works well on the lid.

I like it, though perhaps not am not in love with it, since there are some sheerer shades in the palette. Everything has a fairly shimmered finish, so you may want to mix and match with other finishes to create more dimension. When worn together, it can feel like frost overload, depending on which shades you use! I went for the most obvious combination for testing: yellow, green, and blue/teal.

The new palette for spring doesn’t have much in the way of a description, but based on Dior’s other five-pan palettes, their eyeshadows are supposed to have rich, versatile colors that are “designed for easy application and long wear.” The drier consistency definitely helps these wear longer without creasing (without the aid of a primer), though I did find there was some slight fading after eight hours.