Dior recently released their Eye Reviver Eyeshadow Palette ($62 for 9.4 g/0.33 oz, made in France). This is a new 6-pan palette featuring a mix of soft neutrals and one gel-cream eyeliner. It’s described as an illuminating eye palette that contains what Dior calls “Glow-Mimetics technology” which brighten the eyes with a radiance-boosting effect. I briefly featured this in my Trending Now: Spring Neutrals post earlier in the month. I’ve been playing with this for a weeks now, experimenting with different application techniques and layering methods.
The Eye Reviver Palette contains a mix of very soft neutrals. Although some of the colors look very shimmery in the pan, on the lids, the shimmer becomes diffused and very soft. Many have commented on my eyeshadow palette posts that the market has no options for the beauty lover looking for something in between pure mattes and high-frost shimmers. I personally like a good shimmer (as long as it’s not overly glitzy or glittery), but I know several do not like shimmer at all. This is a good in-between option.
The colors left to right include a soft light beige-peach cream, a light-to-medium beige, medium soft fawn satin, shimmery taupe-mauve, shimmery brown plum and a soft black gel liner. The gel liner is a good one, it’s a soft black that you can build easily and on my eyes it doesn’t smudge or bleed once you let it sit. It helps to go back over the gel liner with the darkest shadow to intensify the color and help it set on the eyes.
The first time I put this on my eyes, I was a bit disappointed with the sheerness of the colors but this is mainly because the first three colors are close to my natural skintone. After playing with this I found that it requires a bit of layering and a good creamy base (I am obsessed with Edward Bess Eye Illuminating Base). For me if palettes contain satiny light colors that are close to my skin tone, I usually need to start with the medium/middle shades first, then blend and layer the lighter ones on top. Sometimes layering light to dark works, but in this case, for me, I needed to mix things up. The result is a very soft neutral eye. You can layer the shimmery mauve and brown colors for more intensity to build up color. If you use a good base the colors layer nicely with medium but buildable pigment. The result is a soft and glowy eye look that you can intensify by applying the darker shimmery colors with a damp brush.
If you’re new to applying eyeshadow or need one that is difficult to overdo, this is it.
Here’s a quick comparison to the Urban Decay Naked2 Basics (one of the very few all-matte palettes I like and use, I liked it enough to get a backup even though I don’t think it’s limited-edition):
Bottom line: it’s a good basic palette that will define and illuminate the eyes in a natural way. Given the fact that the colors are neutrals, you may find it too similar to other colors, especially if you have the MAC x15 Cool Neutral Palette, Urban Decay Naked 2 (1, 2 or 3 swatched here) or a multitude of neutral single colors. That being said, there is a nice simplicity to this palette. Having an edited selection of shades makes it where you don’t have to worry about how to coordinate colors. Each color layered together will work to give you a soft gradient of an eye look with little to no effort.
After testing this for a few weeks, I personally don’t find this to be a must-have for me mainly because I already own a lot of eyeshadow palettes and also because I like a bit more contrast in my shadows. I think the MAC x15 palettes and Urban Decay Naked series will give you more bang for your buck in the sense that you will be able to create a wider range of eye looks. That being said this is a beautiful no-fuss set of neutrals that is soft enough for a conservative office environment.
You can find the Dior Reviver Eyeshadow palette at counters now. Also online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Dior.com.
Have you checked out this palette yet? What’s your current favorite neutral eyeshadow palette?
