Dior Lady Dior Limited-Edition Palette Fards à Paupières

Two guys overheard in a bar near Wall Street...

"My wife is crazy."
"What has she done now?"
"She's buying makeup she claims is collectible."
"Is it expensive?"
"Not really, but she doesn't use it - she just gazes at it. She says it's a masterpiece of color."
"Hey, at least she's not hanging around at Christie's with my wife, who's threatening to buy a Richard Diebenkorn painting."

So it goes. We buy makeup we don't need because we have a passion for color. We collect Dior (or Chanel or whatever, pick your poison). That's how I came to own Dior's numbered, limited-edition Lady Dior Palette Fards à Paupières eye shadow palette ($90), exclusive to Saks Fifth Avenue. It's somewhere between dear and darling.

In 1947, Christian Dior invented the New Look, a revolution that he instigated by designing a distinctive type of fashion with accessories and makeup for a truly new look from head to toe.

Created in the same tradition in 1995, the Lady Dior handbag became the iconic statement piece that embodies the very essence of the Dior spirit and the perfect emblem of the know-how of the house... It instantly became a cult object. Featured in every trend-setting press photo, it created a real frenzy in boutiques all over the world. This object of desire also inspired prestigious contemporary artists and filmmakers, who took it from Paris to Shanghai, with stopovers in New York and London, all the way to the Red Square in Moscow.

Today, Dior pays tribute to this handbag and creates the Lady Dior numbered, limited-edition palette. The inside reveals elegant eyeshadows in the vibrant colors of the latest Lady Dior from Spring/Summer 2011, replicating the shade and canework of this legendary handbag. These delicate eyeshadows, assembled and adorned by hand in an artisanal style, prove the incomparable know-how of the color craftsmen who perpetuate the exceptional art of Dior makeup.

I now own Number 1551. It's a curiosity as an eye shadow palette. The red in it won't work on my eyes, but used lightly, it's a pretty blush. The trick to using it as a blush lies in the brush and application.

I took photos to show you the grey shade, applied moderately and heavily, the red shade, applied moderately and heavily, and all of the shades swiped top to bottom evenly. The Dior representative at the store told me that the blended shade would be purple (there was no tester). She was right.

My photos were taken in full sun. I applied the shades with a sponge-tipped applicator. At the top of my arm, the grey shade is applied with different intensities: moderate and heavy. The heavy swatch (second down) shows how pretty the shade will be when used as an eyeliner. The red is a curiosity. Also applied moderately and heavily, it's a gorgeous blush. I can't wear this shade on my eyes. I would look like a fashion victim. On my cheeks, though, when applied with a small brush (extra work to cover the cheek area), it's gorgeous. When blended, as you can see in my photos, the colors yield a strong purple.

This palette deserves much more experimentation than I've had time to give it. I wanted to show it to you while it's available at Saks. Rather than put it unused in my makeup museum, I decided to use it. I'll have fun playing, like a kid with a new paint box.

The Lady Dior Palette Fards à Paupières, elaborately boxed with an insert as shown above, is available only at Saks Fifth Avenue, where I purchased mine.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty