Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 956 Violet Garden

Happy Monday everyone!  Today should have been a really nice day, I had lots planned to get done, but in the end I spent the entire day battling the worst case of the runs I’ve ever suffered! My body is so exhausted, whenever I’m not hurling I’m knocked out in bed.  But countless Imodium later, I’m finally feeling human enough to do something.  And today, I really want to show you this gorgeous palette from Dior’s Backstage Exclusive series, the Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 956 Violet Garden!

It has been a really long time since I’ve felt inspired by any eyeshadow palettes really.  I mean, there are those gorgeously sculpted limited edition ones that will always draw me like a magnet, and those that workhorses that I know I will get lots of use out of.  But the one that has really attracted me like a bee to pollen by its color composition, is this very exclusive Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 956 Violet Garden.  Dior has a handful of Backstage Boutiques all around the world, and every season there will be something that is inspired by Dior’s runway shows that is made available exclusively at these Backstage Boutiques.  This Spring 2016, we have a beautiful purple-themed palette appropriately named Violet Garden (956).

Violet Garden is a mainly cool- to neutral-toned palette that has a punchy magenta that is fun without going overly red like fuchsia.  At the same time, there is a very  wearable taupe which pairs beautifully with a couple of lighter pink and lilac for an understated day look.  Dior has even thrown in a shimmery white to brighten up those inner corners.  Overall, this is a very well balanced palette that can be quite adaptable to your lifestyle.

Here are the swatches, from left to right:

• Top right of palette – Shimmery white that has good opacity to be dabbed on the inner corners to brighten up the eyes.  Does not apply chalky at all.
• Middle of palette – Light cool-toned pink that is less opaque than the rests, but a nice layering shade.  It has a satin finish with a slight sheen.
• Top left of palette – Medium-dark magenta with sparse baby pink shimmers.  This one has good pigmentation and is very easy to work with.  It has a satin finish without any sheen.
• Bottom left of palette – Light muted violet with a strong sheen.  This sorts of shades often disappear into my lids and I often face difficulty getting their colour to show through without turning grey.  I was happy to find that this violet shows up nicely on me!
• Bottom right of palette – Soft darkened taupe with micro-shimmers.  This one applies much better than it swatches, I have absolutely no problem getting it to show up on my lids using a brush, and it is the perfect smokey shade for Spring without going too harsh.

For the eye look above, I applied the violet over the inner three-thirds of my lid, followed by a pop of magenta on the outer half, stopping just before the outer wing as I didn’t want it to look too much for the office.  Thereafter, I blended the darkened taupe on the outer wing, following through into the crease for some definition.  Blended out the harsh edges with the pink, and added a pop of white on the inner corner.

And here is the final look:

This is a very pretty eye look, I love it!  For those purple lovers out there, this one is unmissable.  As you all know, I am not a strong advocate of Dior’s eyeshadow formula, and I skipped all their Spring palettes because none of them ever show up on me.  This Violet Garden, on the other hand, surprised me by its easy to use level of pigmentation, and smooth blendability.  You can tell from the swatches this is not the most ultra pigmented palette on earth, but that is not always a bad thing as it turns out a beautiful look without going overboard.  I never apply my shadows wet, and most days now I can’t be bothered with a primer.  And in case you’re wondering, I was also wearing Tom Ford Patent Finish Lip Color in Infamy, and Diorsnow Cherry Bloom Face & Cheek Powder as blush on cheeks and highlighter.

I hope everyone had a better Easter than I did!  To my wonderful Instagram friends who left me get well messages, thank you so much for all your love!  I’m going to crawl back under my sheets now, leave me a comment below to tell me what you think of this Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 956 Violet Garden!