Estée Lauder Pure Color Cyber Eyes Gelée Powder EyeShadow

It seems fitting that we'll showcase an Estée Lauder launch today. Recently, the new Pure Color Cyber Eyes Collection lept off my screen and captured my attention. With the limited-edition Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow and Pure Color Intense Kajal EyeLiner, along with new shades of Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara, the collection looked luscious. The Cyber Eyes Gelée Powder EyeShadows ($24) looked "more than interesting," so that's where I started. I saw the term "gelée" and thought about Estée Lauder's Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée from the Modern Mercury Collection for Fall 2011 - the unique, exquisite superstar, and knew I had to try the shadows.

A lot of drama on the eyes creates sensuality, a sexiness. Smokey eyes are sexy and playful and I wanted to give women different ways to wear the look, anytime. - Tom Pecheux, Creative Makeup Director, Estée Lauder

Pure Color Cyber Eyes Gelée Powder EyeShadows in richly pigmented shades offer a futuristic, "hyper-metallic" finish. The collection puts the eyes squarely at center stage in shades of electric blue and teal, stimulating copper and silver, and fiery purple and green with accents of blackened black and brown to create the opportunity to play with color for endless eye looks.

These texturally graphic shadows drench the lids in drama. The new hyper-metallic shades are both mysterious and intensely theatrical. The six new, limited-edition Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadows include a first-to-market “tribrid” system that changes the way makeup can be worn, wet or dry, for an application and wear that revolutionizes the current eyeshadow category. The “tribrid” Prisma Shine technology is an all-in-one liquid, powder, and gel that creates a texture that is futuristically bouncy and malleable for an eyeshadow that smooths on like molten metal for an extreme sheen. The shadow retains its unique structure and texture after coming into contact with a wet or dry brush and is long-lasting, non-fading, non-flaking, and non-creasing for an optimal wear.

The exclusive formula can be worn in two finish options: apply wet for a hyper-metallic charged flash of color or dry for a more subtle shine finish. The six vibrant shades, Cyber Copper, Cyber Pink, Cyber Lilac, Cyber Silver, Cyber Green, and Cyber Teal, allow for complete versatility in creating a range of eye looks, while the accompanying specially designed, high-performing sponge-mitt applicator is recommended for exceptional application - either wet or dry.

Ooh, but which shades to order? I couldn't draw the line, so I purchased four: Cyber Copper, Cyber Silver, Cyber Green, and Cyber Teal. I was delighted as I unpacked these treasures. I adore the wave pattern and the colors. These eye shadows are a color lover's dream, and in addition to offering bold color, they have a creamy consistency that's addictive. On my skin, they gleam. They aren't really metallic, with glimmering particles. The word "sheen" fits the finish perfectly.

These eye shadows gleamed no matter where I took their photos. I swatched in this order, top to bottom, and I took my photos in full sun: Cyber Teal, Cyber Copper, Cyber Silver, and Cyber Green. I used a dry sponge-tipped applicator, as recommended. Believe me when I tell you that it takes very little effort to achieve a bold look with these shadows applied dry. I can't imagine wearing them with even more oomph.

The Cyber Teal was a shade that scared me online. I was afraid it would be too outré - just too much color for me. Now that I have it, my opinion has changed. This teal color, applied close to the last line and smudged upward, is a stunner. Cyber Copper is aptly named. it's a gorgeous copper brown shade. Cyber Silver may become my new favorite shimmering silver. It's a blue-leaning silver that makes my eyes pop. The only "surprise" among the shades is Cyber Green. It looked like a blackened olive in the photo, but what I see on my skin has lots of charcoal black and very little green. I can't see the green in indoor or outdoor lighting (see compact below).

Pecheux was asked why such bold shades. His answer, "Around the holiday season people want to feel beautiful, sophisticated, and confident, and this collection creates these emotions. The colors are bold and perfect for a night out and for me, as they wear and smudge together, they create a gorgeous and vibrant smokey eye."

Asked if he had any special tips for the wet application of the Cyber Eyes Gelée Powder EyeShadows, he responded, "When applying the formula wet, make sure your brush is not soaking wet. It is more about being humid and just a little wet. Dip your finger into running water and let a few drops fall onto the mirror of the compact. Then, dip your brush lightly into the water and then into the product and apply. This is a technique that is very easy to learn once you start experimenting."

Does he have a favorite color for holiday? "Is it wrong to say that I don’t have any! I like to leave the door open and play with color, depending on my mood. That being said, I am drawn to the intense black of the Kajal EyeLiner in Blackened Black mixed with the Cyber Green and Cyber Lilac EyeShadows. Framing the eyes with a black eye pencil creates a sultry, sexy look that I love."

Will I purchase any of the Pure Color Intense Kajal EyeLiners ($20) that I'm coveting? I'd really like to have Electric Teal and Blackened Sapphire. I'm trying to resist, due to a recent poverty panic. I'm sure if I pull out my eyeliner collection, I can come close - except for, possibly, texture. What's a makeup addict to do?

I purchased my Pure Color Cyber Eyes EyeShadows at the Estée Lauder Web site. I am still waiting for them to send me my gift with purchase, which did not arrive in my box. Had they not offered me such a pretty Bordeaux tote, I would have purchased the shadows at Neiman Marcus. The odd thing is that when I called they said they had run short of the popular totes. If that was the case, why did they continue to offer them in e-mails for days after I placed my order? I'd guess they had a right hand/left hand issue. I'm waiting to see if my coveted tote arrives this week. The online representative told me that she would try to get one, and she would call me if she failed. I didn't get a call.

Photos at top courtesy of Estée Lauder; other photos by Best Things in Beauty