Dior Minaudière for Holiday 2010 - Grey Golds

I said I wasn't going to buy Dior's Minaudière ($90) for Holiday 2010. I had seen photos of it. Some of my favorite beauty bloggers had shown sneak peeks or were talking about it. I couldn't warm up to it. My first reaction was a gimmick alert.

There are two versions of this "change purse" filled with eye shadows and lip glosses. I was uninspired by the Pink Golds version. I didn't think the Grey Golds (001) would excite me either, but when I saw the Grey Golds palette at Saks (the second time), I reached for my credit card. It sang to me.

Dior calls the Minaudière eye shadow and lip gloss palette "makeup must-haves for radiant eyes and lips." The heavy palette contains three eye shadows and two lip glosses; the lip glosses are covered by a little flip-up gold door. The palette comes with a dual-ended applicator with a lip brush on one end and a sponge-tipped applicator on the other end. I think using a sponge rather than a brush was a little "cheap," not what I would expect from Dior - particularly when they used a lip brush on the other end. They made up for "cheaping out" on the applicator with a huge mirror on the compact. You can see your whole face in it.

The first time I saw the Minaudière, I passed. It was a drive-by shopping trip, and my reaction was, "cute, but." The shadows looked like shades I already own, but the lip glosses were intriguing. The second time I saw it, I tested the shadows in the store and decided the palette was worthy of purchase. My current perspective? One of the three eye shadow shades is a must-have, and both of the lip glosses are desirable. The two additional eye shadow shades are very pretty, but may not be that different from colors you already own.

The shades on my arm above, top to bottom, are those shown in the palette left to right. They were all applied with a sponge-tipped applicator, something I don't use in "real life," and I took my photos in fleeting late-afternoon sun.

The medium grey shade in the middle is the one I adore - it's grey, but with just a hint of taupe in it. If you look closely, you'll see that the darker shade is a hybrid between charcoal and dark brown. I think your skin tone will determine how both of these shades look on your eyelids. The light, highlighting shade adds a glimmering neutral touch, a perfect foil for either of the other shades, or both. I love using the light shade on my lid below the crease and the medium grey on the outer "V" for emphasis.

The lip glosses are stunning. The berry shade has enough pigment that it can be worn alone, and the gold adds a sparkle to any lipstick. It's hard to see on my arm, but I assure you it's a gorgeous gloss. I'll be reaching for the glosses often. Since I spend so much time at the office, I should take the Minaudière to work with me to ensure I use up the glosses, but having the eye shadows at work would be a waste. I apply shadow before I go to work, and I don't reapply it during the day. It would be nice to saw the palette down the middle - just kidding.

For another set of Grey Gold swatches, check out Sabrina's post at The Beauty Look Book. To see the Pink Gold Minaudière, modeled by my beautiful friend Kari, visit Fab over Forty.

As far as I know, the Grey Golds are currently available only at Saks Fifth Avenue. I bought my Minaudière there during Friends & Family.

Photos at top courtesy of Chic Profile