Estée Lauder The Metallics New Pure Color Collection with a Focus on the Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios for Fall 2013

"When it comes to color, there are no limits. I like to have freedom. Metallic makeup does that," said Tom Pecheux, Creative Makeup Director at Estée Lauder. The Metallics New Pure Color is a brilliant new expression of color, featuring the cool sheen of metal and the liquid light of lacquer. The slightly edited "press" on this collection follows in the next few paragraphs.

This fall, imagine an incredible combination of the highest reflective shine and intensely desirable color to make eyes, lips, and nails smolder. The The Metallics, a new Pure Color Collection from Estée Lauder, fill that bill. This surprisingly versatile collection of metallic finishes breaks boundaries and transforms like never before, with liquid-like shadows that saturate eyes, vinyl finishes that lacquer lips, and hyper-chromatics that accessorize nails. Whether soft and pretty or bold and sexy, The Metallics uses a variety of unique reflective finishes to bring a new level of sophistication to multi-dimensional color.

The new Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios ($36) are said to be like molten metal. Play in a new dimension of amplified color with the liquid-like texture melting onto the eyelids for a high-definition chromatic color impact. A creamy, silk-like formula glides on effortlessly releasing pure, brilliant color that stays true for 10 hours without creasing or fading.

The dazzling eye shadows instantly transform from a soft powder to a silky liquid-like texture using slurry technology to give the powder a unique silk-satin feel. True Vision technology - a crystalline (polymer) laminate - magnifies and amplifies color for intense clarity and vibrancy, while a unique blend of optics captures light for a reflective flash of shine.

Designed to be applied dry for a refined look or wet for a highly metallic finish, the new Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios infuse metallic into any look for an added dimension of sophistication. Featuring three brilliant shades, each trio is a total eye look in one: base, contour, and highlight for mistake-proof application. Extremely blendable and color-true, the expertly coordinated shades look stunning on all skin tones and range from soft chrome shimmers to dramatic metallic finishes.

What's cool about these eye shadow trios is that they are not at all dramatic when applied dry. I'm not fond of colors that are "amplified" and intense, and metallics can be suspect. That's why I was thrilled to find beautiful everyday neutrals I love in this new collection of eye shadows, lip colors, and nail lacquers.

Amber Alloy (#06) is a beautiful trio of beige and brown shades. It is one of two trios that instantly captured my attention. I first saw it at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie. Not having time to get to Mazza this week, I dashed over to Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria, where there was no sign the collection had arrived - and no help at the Estée Lauder counter. So I walked down the mall to Saks Fifth Avenue and purchased my new trios there.

It was really late in the day by the time I was able to get photos of Amber Alloy. The product shot above is dark, even though it was taken in sunshine. Even so, the colors in my photo are more true than those in the Estée Lauder photo above, which looks way too warm.

I swatched with a dry sponge-tipped applicator. I had to walk up my road to find a decent patch of sunshine for the swatch photos below.

The ivory shade at the top of my arm is the base shade at the left of the palette. Meant to be used as a highlighter all over the lid, particularly up to the brow, it gives the eyes a pretty gleam. The amber-toned shade is the one in the middle. A pretty warm toffee shade, it should work for all complexions just about any way you want to use it. The combination of these two shades is perfect for an office look.

The gorgeous cool-toned brown is intended to be used as a liner, but I can use it as an accent or contour shade because it's not too dark. How do I know how it's intended to be used? Each trio comes with a plastic overlay that gives paint-by-numbers instructions for those who can't figure out how to apply eye shadow. None of us, right?

The trio compacts are gold in color, emblazoned with the Estée Lauder logo, and come with a double-ended sponge-tipped applicator. I suppose I should have swatched with a damp brush to show you how the colors look when applied "wet." I didn't because I won't be wearing the trio that way. I love it just the way it's pictured here. I purchased another trio that I'll show you as soon as I get swatch photos.

These eye shadows are available at the Estée Lauder Web site and some stores. If you don't see them at the counter now, you will soon. The display has all the lip and nail colors, so prepare to be dazzled.

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