Estee Lauder Blacker than Black Collection

Estee Lauder's Blacker than Black is a collection of six mascaras, most with new "blacker than black" shades, an eye pencil, and the eye shadow quad shown here. The focus? A smoldering smoky eye.

The Estee Lauder Signature Eyeshadow Quad in Black Smoke ($35) will appeal to those who want to build a dramatic eye. The charcoal color (lower right) is a nice liner or accent color. The silvery white (upper left) is a pretty highlighting shade, and it's a nice color to mix with the other shades. One of the two grey shades (darker one, upper right) has a shimmering blue cast to it and would be the hardest for me to use because it's bright. It will look fabulous on someone with dark skin or toned down with another shade. The grey on the lower left is a great everyday color that you can use when you're not painting a smoldering look.

Estee Lauder eye shadows are made with a silky, fine powder that glides on easily and blends very nicely. Some of you have told me in comments you think the line is too conservative, but this collection is anything but conservative. There are more and more interesting products being released under Aerin Lauder's reign. It's worth a revisit. You have to see the Michael Kors Very Hollywood Collection!

The mascaras line up in every Estee Lauder type, including the new TurboLash. Four of the shades are limited editions. You can check them out online at this link.

The Double Wear Eye Pencil in Onyx ($19) is actually a charcoal-black to my eye and coordinates nicely with the shadows.

You can see the Blacker than Black look and how to create it at this Estee Lauder link.

I was a little late to this party and still had to hunt for the collection. I found it at Bloomingdale's. It was not available at "my" Nordstrom, but I'm sure other department stores must have it. Naturally, it's available at Estee Lauder's Web site.

Photos courtesy of Estee Lauder