Chantecaille The Evening Duo for Holiday 2011

Capture the glamour of the holiday season with The Evening Duo ($84). Festively decorated with glistening Swarovski crystals, this limited-edition palette is the perfect accessory for all your holiday parties. The long-wearing, crease-free shades will keep your eyes sparkling into the night.

The palette is a stunner. The crystals make it so special it would be a crime to hide it away in a pile of makeup in the bathroom. It almost demands to be shown off. I'm sure that's why it includes two small custom-designed brushes for on-the-go application or touch-up. Who wouldn't want to pull this out of her evening bag for others to admire? It's Chantecaille's first-ever, limited-edition Swarovski crystal palette.

The Evening Duo's palette offers two shades that everyone can wear. Charmeuse is an incredibly silky and lightweight powder eye shadow that, when applied, imparts a perfect hint of soft color and luminosity. Carbon, the matte charcoal black shade, features long-wearing and nourishing pigments while it defines your eyes.

Mine arrived here from Chantecaille (I purchased online) just as the palettes have started to filter into the stores. I haven't taken the time to figure out why my palette, shown above left, is a deep, dark gunmetal, but the palette in Chantecaille's photo, above right, makes it appear a lighter gunmetal grey (maybe the lighting?). I could ask, but it's not something that matters to me. I love the looks - dark or light gunmetal - no matter how it looks to your eye, it's still gorgeous.

The shades are perfect for a festive look - no matter what time of year. While the Carbon translates from palette to skin as I anticipated (matte, buildable charcoal), the Charmeuse shade blew me away - all over again. I had tested it in the store in August when it made an appearance with Chantecaille's trainer for a few hours. My swatch photo in this August feature was taken inside the store.

Yesterday, I was able to get swatch photos outdoors in late-afternoon sun. These photos will show you the shades as they appear on my pale skin. You might notice that Charmeuse is a chameleon. It's a blend of pink, rose gold, and Rosé Champagne. The lighting and your own skin tone will determine how Charmeuse appears on you. It's definitely a more complex shade than it appears in the compact.

I applied both shadows with a sponge-tipped applicator - not extremely heavily because they latched onto my skin and stayed there. I was pleased with the creamy texture of the powders.

I hope you can see that Carbon isn't "scary black." It's a shade you can apply in many ways. Look at the way it was applied to Olivia Chantecaille's eyes in the photo at the top of this feature. It was clearly used over her liner and blended up onto the lid to give her a dramatic, evening eye. I'll have fun playing with Carbon.

Using Charmeuse to light up your eyes and Carbon as a liner and/or accent will make you an elegant holiday dreamboat. Yes, The Evening Duo is pricey. Let's get that out of the way and enjoy the exquisite presentation of these gorgeous colors for the holidays.

You can purchase The Evening Duo at Chantecaille's Web site or at Chantecaille counters (such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and select Nordstrom, Barneys, and Bloomingdale's). There is a global store locator here.

Photos courtesy of Chantecaille and by Best Things in Beauty