Dior Holiday Eye Palette - Celebration Collection for Holiday 2011

Dior has introduced a lovely Holiday Eye Palette, the Celebration Collection for Holiday 2011 ($46). The palette's exterior case was inspired by the classic gray tweeds and iconic bow and charm detailing in Dior's couture collections from the past and present.

This palette features a smoky brown and beige harmony of eye shadows, cream eyeliner, and highlighter in a lovely, tailored, mirrored compact. The presentation is original and eye-catching.

The shades in the palette range from sublime to so-so. Isn't that often the case with palettes? There will be a shade that doesn't excite us all. More about that below.

• Base Eye Shadow (khaki tan shimmer)
• Colour Eye Shadow (bronze shimmer)
• Shine Eye Shadow (sparkling ivory)
• Eyeliner (chocolate brown)
• Mini double-ended brush - and the mirror in the lid

I ordered my Holiday Eye Palette during Sephora's Friends & Family (it's not too late, and the link I published on Twitter still works. With a 20% discount, this palette was a great buy. The taupe shadow shades and the brown cream eyeliner are extremely pretty (and "everyday useful"). The Shine Eye Shadow is the only shade that disappointed me.

Look at my swatch photos, and you're likely to see why. I swatched left to right in the palette, using a sponge-tipped applicator, and I took my photos in full sun. The shimmering taupe and brown shades are exquisite. The taupe at the top speaks to my heart. I wouldn't call it khaki, but someone saw green in it. Figure that out!

The brown eyeliner is a perfect color for coordinating with the other shades, and it applies smoothly and evenly. Love it!

The sparkling ivory Shine Eye Shadow is the one that left me wondering, "Where's the pigment?" My arm is pale, but I suspect you can still see the swatch of the aptly named Shine. That's about all it adds to my skin. The shade is mostly sparkle, without much color. Granted, it's supposed to be ivory, but I had to work hard to transfer enough color to my arm make Shine show up in my photos. I expect more from Dior.

Remember that you can click on the photos to enlarge them. If you do, you won't see much more ivory than is apparent in the embedded photos.

I've become a little alarmed as high-end companies introduce palettes with shimmering eye shadows that look lovely in the pan, but yield little more than tinted glitter. Shine is not a disappointment limited to Dior. There seems to be a trend.

When I have a chance to test a palette in the store before buying, I must decide whether total cost of the shades I do love makes the purchase price reasonable. In this case, even though I didn't test in advance of my purchase, the answer would have been yes. That's not always the case. I consider Dior's Holiday Eye Palette a great buy, particularly at a discount. The three stunning eye shades more than make up for the dud.

You can purchase this palette at Sephora. Oddly, I haven't seen it yet at Dior counters. Since it doesn't appear to be a Sephora exclusive, it should be available in the department stores.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora; other photos by Best Things in Beauty