Estée Lauder Pure Color Five Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette from Bronze Goddess Capri Summer 2012 Collection

Estée Lauder's new limited-edition Pure Color Five Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette in Bronze Sands ($45) offers a fresh palette of five seductive summer shadows in "effervescent" metallic sand shades complemented by a sizzling pop of aquamarine in a hot, cyber-metallic finish.

The newest limited-edition Estée Lauder color collection, inspired by the Isle of Capri, captures the warm and welcoming feeling of summer in an exotic locale. The Pure Color Five Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette offers a natural look emblazoned by the sun.

Turn up the heat with a sexy, hyper-natural eye look for summer. This versatile palette offers ease and flexibility to highlight, define and dramatize your eyes from a shimmering, natural look by day to a truly vivid, sultry look by night. A true innovation with new Prisma-Shine technology, the formula is a tribrid of a liquid, powder, and gel all in one, allowing for high-definition color impact that won’t crease, fade, or flake. Apply the shades dry, or wet if you want to intensify your look.

Pure Color Cyber Eyes Gelée Powder EyeShadows offer richly pigmented shades with a shiny, metallic finish. The collection puts the eyes squarely at center stage in shades that flatter and rope in the eyes. These texturally graphic shadows drench the lids in drama with shades that are theatrical, yet wearable.

This palette is a stunner - much prettier in person than it is in the photos! When I saw it first in the press photos, I was curious. I had had a slightly unfavorable first impression of two of the shades (red and blue?). I was so wrong! When I saw it in person at Neiman Marcus and got a chance to test the shades, I knew I needed it. I'm glad I made that decision. I've grown to love it - not just like it - over the last week.

My photo, directly above, shows the glimmering blue color much better than the Estée Lauder photo at the top of this feature. Blue isn't blue, and some blues are much better than others. You'll be looking for occasions to wear this ocean-inspired shade.

Estée Lauder's Pure Color Five Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow Palette succeeded in its intention to evoke the sea and sand - shimmering under the glare of warm, tropical sunshine. The metallic shades are "proper" - no messy glitter with this one, just shimmer and sheen.

I took my swatch photos in sunshine that was on the wane. There was enough light, but clouds were moving in. I used a sponge-tipped applicator to swatch all five shades, starting at the top left in the palette, moving clockwise, and ending with the divine aquamarine in the middle. Just a little more sunshine would have made my photos look just like the colors of Capri.

The copper shade has recently become one of my favorite eye shadow shades. It's amazingly flattering, no matter what your eye color. Gold? I'm a gold addict, and this palette gave me two golden shades: bright gold and pastel gold. Two golds in one palette made me as happy as Charlie when he's eating Pounce treats. Fortunately, we don't have to purr and chew at the same time.

The lively, slightly shimmering brown (not burgundy or red) is extremely flattering and coordinates beautifully with the other shades in the palette. The aquamarine? No photo can capture its elegance on the skin. Whether you like blue tones or usually skip them, as I do, you have to try this one! It reminds me of Cyber Teal, but it's not exactly that color. Wear it with the gold or copper, and you can become that seaside bronze goddess. It shimmers; it has a complexity in tone; it's eye-catching.

The Bronze Goddess Capri Summer 2012 Collection has arrived at most Estée Lauder counters. It's also available at Estée Lauder's Web site. There are two new fragrances in the collection, and they are nice, tropical fragrances that combine the alluring notes of cassis, mandarin, lemon leaves, jasmine, lily of the valley, peony, and base notes, such as vanilla and amber. I'm seriously considering a purchase of one.

This is a fabulous collection - summer at its best. Tom Pecheux has revolutionized Estée Lauder, making it a must-have line in my list of favorites.

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