Dior 5 Couleurs Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Night Golds from the Grand Bal Collection for Holiday 2012

Dior introduced the Grand Bal Collection for Holiday 2012 with a fairy tale. “Now that Cinderella’s fairy godmother no longer exists, the couturier must be the magician,” said Christian Dior. From Monsieur Dior’s extravagant parties in Granville, his childhood home (and the name of one of his Collection Privée fragrances, to the Parisian balls of the Roaring Twenties, the couturier was fascinated by the transformative qualities of ball gowns and the fantasy of a fabulous fête.

Now, Dior has introduced a makeup collection inspired by Dior’s love for entertaining, including the limited-edition Grand Bal Carnet de Maquillage Makeup Palette for Glowing Eyes and Lips, four intense new shades of Diorific (Dior’s haute couture lipstick), two shades of Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss, and four new shades of Dior Vernis. There are also two new, limited-edition 5 Couleurs Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palettes ($59).

Today, I'll show you one of the two, Night Golds (the other is Fairy Golds, and I'll get to that soon). I think my photo directly above is more true to the appearance of the shadow colors in the compact than Dior's photo at the top of this feature.

I used a sponge-tipped applicator to apply the Night Golds shades to my arm, working clockwise from the top left and ending with the center shade embossed with CD. I took my photos in bright sunlight.

Can I gush? There's a lot to love in Night Golds. It's rare when I love every shade in an eyeshadow palette. Giorgio Armani has accomplished it with the new Eyes to Kill Palettes, but I've also purchased eye shadow palettes that left me with shades that aren't suited to my coloring. I can wear all of these colors - keeping in mind that the shade in the center is an eyeliner.

The shimmering white is a brilliant silvery white. Unlike some other whites in Dior palettes during the last year or so, it applies easily and evenly. It provides the platinum for your beautiful gems - your eyes. It's a little more difficult to achieve an even application with the metallic copper shade, but it's so pretty it's worth the effort.

The shimmering taupe and gold shades? What can I say? How pretty does it get? These colors are perfect - for me and probably for you too. The liner shade? It offers a black contrast to the snazzy "neutrals," and it's the right shade to wear with your nighttime look.

Night Golds will take you to any holiday event. Want a cooler look? Stay tuned for Fairy Golds.

Dior's Grand Bal Collection has arrived at most of the counters in my area. I purchased mine at Neiman Marcus. If your Dior counters don't have the collection, they should soon. Nordstrom online also has the collection. Check out this link for the eye shadow palettes.

Top photo courtesy of Nordstrom; other photos by Best Things in Beauty