Catch the warmth of the summer sun distilled in the Dior Aurora eyeshadow palette

The Dior Aurora (654) eyeshadow palette is one of the most eye catching in the Dior Croisette summer collection… if you may forgive the pun 😛 Featuring a 5 colour palette in rich sunset shades of gold and orange touched with a tint of pink, Dior has forgone the cannage quilt embossing for the radiating rays of the sun. At least that’s how I view it.

It does look very sunny doesn’t it? You may be happy to know, that the etching is quite deep so it doesn’t disappear all that quickly, which is a good thing. Beautiful as this palette is, I have to say that it is one made for the warm skinned girls. If you have warm skin tones, you will LOVE this palette! The texture of the shadows seem better than those in the normal range and the staying power is amazing. I’ve got a picture below which I took after 12 hours. It stunned even me.

The palette is a lovely one. The swatches you see here are done with just 1 or 2 layers and I was very impressed with the intensity of the colours and the delicate shimmer.

Dior Aurora 654 eyeshadow palette swatches : Warm gold (shimmer), Warm medium brown (shimmer), Warm orange (shimmer), Creamy beige (shimmer), Light pink (shimmer)

You may notice that every single shade is a shimmer shade but it isn’t glittery. Nope, not even up close. The creamy beige and pink actually help to tone down the orange and brown and you could come up with some pretty combinations. They both add a dimension of light which might seem like nonsense, until you do some layering, then you will notice how pretty they can be.

Is this very warm toned? Yes it is. I find the brown shade a little light although you could pile it on for better intensity. It doesn’t quite give me the depth I want though so I’d pair something a little darker. The orange and gold are actually gorgeous colours. They are sunny and bright and are very eye catching.

I however, am not very good at wearing warm colours like this, so here is an example of how I did it.

I wore gold on the inner corner blended into the orange and there is brown on the lower lid as well as shaded on the outer corner but it isn’t very obvious. What the brown did do was help tone down the orange so it isn’t as bright as it could be. If you prefer something brighter, by all means amp it up 🙂 There is also pink and the beige layered over, to blend and pull the colours together.

I’m not sure I managed to quite pull it off to be honest. I would likely do a deeper brown/black and use the orange mostly for accent. I do like the gold shade very much and you can mix and match the colours at will, of course.

Got to admit it looks damned pretty in the pan though! Dior 5 colour palettes, if you haven’t noticed, have their colours laid out so you can pair them diagonally for interesting results e.g. beige, pink and brown for a toned down light coloured eye or orange, gold and pink for a punchy look. A little tip to share with you applicable with all Dior 5 colour eyeshadow palettes 🙂

In a nutshell

Dior Aurora eyeshadow palette is limited edition and the warm toned palette of the 2 available in the Summer 2012 Croisette collection. The texture of the eyeshadows in this palette are beautiful. They are finely milled and the shimmer is fine yet lends a delicate shimmer to the eye area that helps these colours pop against your skin. By contrast the texture of the cool toned pastel Swimming Pool palette was less inspiring. I do think that those who are warm toned will carry off this palette with great aplomb. If you have cooler tones as I do, its harder to get it to work as well, but not impossible if you love the colours.

Pros: Beautiful texture of eyeshadows, Fine shimmer, Pigmented, Longlasting, Vibrant colours

Cons: Pricey, Not suitable for all skin tones

Who will like this : Ladies with warm skin tones or medium tanned skintones, Ladies who like to play with colour on the eyes

Here is how I wore this in a full face shot. The overall tone of the photo is a bit warm but this was roughly how it looked.

I wore it with pink-peach cheeks and a coral lipstick in keeping with the warm tones. Not one of my favourite sort of looks but it wasn’t as bad as I thought once I’d brightened up the cheeks and lips 🙂

And after 12 hours on my lids, here’s how the shadow looked on my eyes.

My eyes have clearly suffered after the ravages of battling a work day, but I was quite shocked to realise when I got home, that my eyeshadow was still near perfect. I don’t have a problem with shadow staying on, but this was really something else. I was so dead impressed I had to take a picture 😀

Interesting Fact: Aurora is the goddess of the dawn in Roman mythology… but don’t you think that this palette looks decidedly like a sunset palette?

Have you checked out the Dior Summer 2012 collection? Did you manage to try the Aurora palette? Do you like warm shades like this or how would you wear it? I don’t think it a must have, but for ladies with a warm or deeper skintone, I will urge that you take a look. It is quite beautiful.

Paris B

Dior Aurora (654) 5 Couleur Eyeshadow Palette Price: RM210 Availability: Dior counters Limited Edition: Yes, Summer 2012