As some of you might have noticed from my reviews, I generally haven’t been overly impressed by many of Coffret d’Or‘s recent eyeshadow palettes. All of my favorite palettes from the line were from the earliest seasonal collections…until I tried Beauty Face Shadow in 02 Cream Brown (from Coffret d’Or’s late summer/ early fall 2012 makeup collection).
The five shades in this palette are (clockwise from bottom left):
– off-white, very softly pigmented, velvety with subtle shimmer
– off-white yellow gold, softly pigmented, softly shimmery and sparkly
– ivory (cream-to-powder consistency), moderately pigmented, velvety glow with no shimmer
– medium-depth golden brown, moderately pigmented, with pearly shimmer
– dark brown, pigmented, with subtle shimmer
(Note that there are two separate shades on the left of the palette, the off-white yellow gold at the top and the off-white at the bottom.)
All the shades except the cream-to-powder base have multi-hued light-reflective particles. They all have a good staying power.
First of all, the idea of the Beauty Face Shadow range is that several base/highlighting shades are used for areas around the eyes to add freshness and clarity to the complexion (hence the name of the range). This is achieved with the ivory base shade and the two highlighting shades (the off-white and the off-white yellow gold).
According to the application instruction (attached to the palette itself), the ivory base shade is applied on the entire upper eyelids (all the way to the browbones) to brighten and even out the skin tone and to smooth out the skin texture. The off-white yellow gold is applied on the upper eyelids, and the off-white is applied underneath the eyes and on top of the cheekbones.
The ivory base appeals to me a lot. I like the fact that it brightens up the eye areas without looking pearly or shimmery. The eye areas look fresh and lit up, and they appear to carry a natural velvety glow from within the skin. (It is also as if there were a soft spotlight on the eyes.)
On the other hand, the highlighter for the lower-eye areas doesn’t seem to go on very well. This is mainly because the areas have already been powdered with a powder foundation and a loose powder before my eyeshadow application.
I also like the golden brown very much. It has the right amount of warmth for me without looking too peachy or bronzy for my complexion, and it has the right amount of depth to create a natural shadow. I also like its shimmery finish and the dimensional look it creates.
The dark brown goes on smoothly and the color depth is fairly easily buildable.
I have been using this palette quite a lot, and I really like it. It is now one of my favorite palettes from Coffret d’Or (others include 3D Lighting Eyes in 04 Purple Variation, 3D Lighting Eyes in 05 Gold Variation, and Trance Deep Eyes in 01 Rose Variation) and one of my favorite neutral-toned palettes (others include SUQQU Blend Color Eyeshadow in 01 Kakitsubata, Visée Glam Glow Eyes in BR-3, and Fasio Glass Reflection Eyes in BR-2). This palette also reinforces my preference towards gold-toned browns, which go well with my warm complexion.
After the positive experience with this palette, I decided to go for Total Designing Set in EX-2 from Coffret d’Or’s fall 2012 makeup collection. (It features Beauty Face Shadow in 05 Lavender Purple.) I will review this set later on.
Related posts:
Coffret d’Or Wide Gradation Eyes in 04 Deep Brown
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh this looks pretty! I haven’t been very impressed with Coffret D’or myself, and since they pulled out of here, even less
Hi Paris,
I like Coffret d’Or in general, but I do think some of the recent releases are not as impressive as the ones from 2008 and 2009. Plus I prefer the older packaging (silver/reflective cases with jewel details).
Thank you very much for stopping by again! :)
This palette looks so pretty! It makes neutral brown tones interesting. I really like the off-white and off-white gold, they look so creamy and perfect!
Browns and beiges are not colours I wear very often, as my neutral, light makeup has always involved soft pink eyeshadows, they always seemed fresher. I never realized I was so far from the norm until I started frequenting beauty blogs! In fact, I think I only considered them because of blogs.
It seems these cream to powder shades are becoming quite fashionable in Japanese eye palettes (and Western to an extent – Dior) lately. Just like Suqqu’s more recent palettes. Still not sure how I feel about that. It’s not nice having the two in one compact without a cover to separate them like Dior does in their limited edition palettes.
Hi Leila,
Indeed, for me, this palette looks pretty and the colors go on even prettier! :)
You are certainly right about the cream-to-powder eyeshadows in Japanese cosmetics. Quite a few brands have them in their recent eyeshadow palettes. I tend to prefer powder-based eyeshadows, as I personally find them easier to blend. However, I do like off-white cream-to-powder ones that are used as bases (as long as they are not too sparkly).
Thank you very much for posting your comment again! :)