The Dior Grand Bal Collection for Holiday 2012 includes the Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow Palette ($59 USD / $60 CAD) in Night Golds, a beautiful palette with five gilded shades in a variety of textures.  The entire collection is based around a luxe color scheme inspired by Dior’s love of entertaining, and you can see the rest of the collection here. This limited-edition collection is now available and is available online and at Dior counters.

This palette is a spectacular combination of warm, golden neutrals in satin, shimmer and glitter textures. This is my first introduction to the Dior 5-Color palettes, and I think the colors and textures were fairly well-chosen for the theme.

Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow Palette in Velvet Pouch (included)

Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow Palette in Night Golds

The shades include…

• A pale, frosty white gold
• A glittery, warm gold
• A light, shimmery taupe
• A light, shimmery warm gold
• A deep satin brown with flecks of gold

While the palette is spectacular, classic and elegant- I do wish the eyeshadows had names (if only really to better describe the palette- it’s not that necessary to have named eyeshadows for daily use). The compact features a fairly large interior mirror and comes with two double-ended sponge-tip applicators (really Dior? Sponge-tips?) which I definitely wish were mini brushes instead.

The eyeshadows are extraodinary though- the pigmentation and effortless glide of each shade is amazing. I definitely agree that “you get what you pay for” has its limitations- but this certainly meets the criteria. If you love the shades, you won’t regret the splurge.

All of the shades are beautifully pigmented and rich in color. I was a little scared of the glittery, warm gold shade (see- it would be so nice if it actually had a name!) because it looked quite chunky, but it actually applied really nicely and left a gorgeous sparkle on my lids that didn’t fall off and settle under my eyes.

Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow Palette in Night Golds

Note the size

My only real complain would be that I wish there was one true matte in the palette, and perhaps a mid-tone shade. All of the colors are very light and shimmery, while there’s one deep brown shade. This lack in variety of texture and tone makes it a little less universal and multi-functional, but you can still make a few good looks out of it.

These eyeshadows wore beautifully all day on my lids, even without an eye primer (although I always recommend using one… seriously, why not use one!?) and didn’t crease at all. I know it’s a bit hard to stomach the price because it’s a relatively small palette, but the quality of it really blew my socks off and I cannot wait to try more like it!

Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow Palette in Night Golds

Swatches (Clockwise from top left, with middle shade as last swatch)

Summary

• Price: $50 USD / $60 CAD
• Availability: Nordstrom online and other Dior counters
• Overall: A beautiful, golden neutral palette. The shadows are richly pigmented and buttery smooth, yet they last all day on the eyelids and blend easily together. I wish the palette would have had one mid-tone shade and perhaps a true matte for a little more variety, but it’s still gorgeous as is.
• Rating: A-