Estée Lauder's Pure Color Five Color EyeShadow Palette in Batik Sun from the Bronze Goddess Collection for Summer 2013

I got my hands on Estée Lauder's Pure Color Five Color Eyeshadow Palette in Batik Sun ($48) from the Bronze Goddess Collection last week, and every day since, it has been cloudy outside for most of the day - the way it is today. It's cloudy now, but during the last hour, the sun peeked through the clouds long enough for me to run inside and out trying to get swatch photos of Batik Sun. That was a very frustrating process, but...finally I can show it to you, with a bit of sun.

As an aside, we have not had a winter this cloudy and rainy for years. Last winter, didn't go for a week at a time without the sun I needed for photos. This winter has been a bear. Fortunately, not much in the way of snow has fallen, but the weather guys are predicting a mid-week storm that could give us between zero inches and 12. I'll be praying for zero. Rain would be nice.

The Batik Sun EyeShadow Palette was created by Tom Pecheux for the ultimate eye expression. A high-style mix of textures and shades to inspire creative blending, highlighting, and color accenting. Release your inner artist. This versatile five-color palette allows you to play with intensities, mix and blend shades, and express different attitudes - from soft to bold. Holds five varying color intensities and finishes: matte, satin, shimmer, or metallic. Use the shades for a touch of trend or to make an all-out color statement. The highlighter is the magic touch. Use it to brighten the look and widen eyes instantly. The deepest shade structures and defines the eyes.

With this eye shadow palette, what you see is what you get. See orange? It's orange. See gold? It's gold. See turquoise? It's turquoise. Turquoise green. That's refreshing. My photo (directy above) of the palette is dark, and Estée Lauder's is too bright. Rely on the swatches.

I've already explained the sun situation. I swatched quickly with a sponge-tipped applicator. I swatched in clockwise order, starting with the orange at the top left and moving around to end with the pretty brown with the "EL" logo.

I can wear the orange shade when it's applied lightly with a brush - as a wash of color paired with one of the neutrals. There's no way I could wear an artsy look of orange and turquoise, unless I expected stares.

Hilary Rhoda has the coloring and looks to pull that off. You can see that she is wearing the bronzing products, and she has the turquoise on her eyelid and the orange under her brows.

All of the shades have shimmer in them - some more than others. I believe they used a Five Color EyeShadow Palette description that was available. Not one of these shades is matte, and satin is a stretch when I can see finishes ranging from a sheen to shimmer.

 The gold is a very pretty gold that applies beautifully and adheres nicely for a semi-metallic shade. The turquoise will be very pretty when applied as a wash of color - like the orange. I think this shade looks pretty for casual events in the heat of summer.  The ivory is a fabulous highlighter or base shade. The brown is a cool brown that excites me.

This is definitely a summer palette. I will tuck it away and bring it out in a few months - definitely on a day when we aren't considering a mid-week snowfall.

I purchased mine at Neiman Marcus. The collection is available at the Estée Lauder Web site, and I suspect it has made its way to all or most counters by now. I have a few more pieces from the collection that I'll feature once the sun comes out and stays out.

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