| Review | Dior Summer 2021 Dune & Mirage 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette

| Review | Dior Summer 2021 Dune & Mirage 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette

Listen, I don't need another warm eyeshadow palette but I think Dior always has one of the best summer makeup collections. I have palettes from previous summer collections and they are still some of my favorite palettes! I couldn't resist the pretty tie-dye design and warm summery colorways. As you can tell, I have high hopes for these palettes and I'm hoping they don't disappoint. If you want to read about how these performed, keep reading. 

The Dior Summer 2021 Dune & Mirage 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette retails for $63.00 USD and is available at Nordstrom and other retailers. These eyeshadows are housed in the classic Dior navy blue plastic compacts, which have a slim and sleek design. These palettes are great for traveling and the packaging is pretty durable. They also come with sponge tip applicators, which I don't find very useful but in a pinch, they can get the job done.

SHADES

There are two palettes, both with a combination of warm shades for summer. I do wish that the two palettes were a little more different from each other but the shades are really similar. It's almost like they should have released one big palette with all these shades. The eyeshadows are designed after the changing colors of sand dunes and so they each have a mixture of shades, giving them an almost-tie-dye effect. 

Mirage - This quad has a mixture of golden, sandy, and copper shades that all have a pink duochrome reflect. Every shade has a pink reflect, which makes the shades very unique and allows them to pair together perfectly. My issue with this quad is that many of the shades are very similar and I would have liked to see more contrasts between the shades. I didn't think I would like this palette very much because the shades are all so similar but there's this sense of ease when it comes to using this palette. You can just effortlessly and creatively wash these shades over the eyes without much thought to the placement that feels very freeing. Plus, it gives your eyes this beautiful wash of sandy sunset shades. This is a palette that looks much better in person than in photos because when you're in person, you can see all the subtle nuances. 

Dior Mirage Swatched

Dune - This quad contains richer and warmer shades than Mirage. The palette contains shades that remind me of a sunset. All the shades seem to have a white gold reflects running through them, which makes all the shades appear lighter than they appear in the pan. This also ties all the shades together very well but also, makes them all a bit too similar. Again, Like the other palette, there isn't much contrast between the shades and textures. There is more contrast between the shades in this palette than the Mirage palette. I find that I get more definition and dimension with this palette even with all the shades having the same texture and finish. 

Dior Dune Swatched

COMPARISON SWATCHES

These look very similar to the 2019 Wild Earth Collection palettes (full review here). Not all the shades in the Wild Earth Collection are duo-chromes and the formula is vastly different. The shades from these two collections are quite different. 

Clockwise: Dior Sienna, Dior Mirage, Dior Terra, Dior Dune

Swatches from left to right: Dior Sienna, Dior Dune

Swatches from left to right: Dior Sienna, Dior Mirage

Swatches from left to right: Dior Terra, Dior Mirage

Swatches from left to right: Dior Terra, Dior Dune

FORMULA 

This formula is very sheer and while the pigment does build-up, it doesn't build up to be very strong. Even when using a flat brush, loading the brush heavily, and packaging the color on the lid; it doesn't build to a strong color. If you want more intensity and color payoff you need to use these wet! These eyeshadows can be used wet or dry because of the gel-powder texture of these eyeshadows. When used wet, you can tell there is a stronger color payoff but it isn't a significant difference. These just aren't designed to be pigmented. These eyeshadows swatch really beautifully so, another option to get more pigment would be to apply these eyeshadows with your fingers. I'm not a huge fan of doing that with powder eyeshadows but I know it is a worthwhile technique to explore. 

This sheer formula reminds me a lot of Asian-style or Asian-inspired eyeshadows, which tend to have a very sheer and translucent formula with very fine shimmer. All the shades are shimmery with very fine shimmer, which is beautiful but doesn't offer much contrast between the shades. Especially, because the shades are actually very similar in tone. I would have like to see more variety in texture, finishes, and colors. 

The texture of the eyeshadows is very smooth and silky. It applies very evenly and smoothly on the eyes wet or dry. These eyeshadows are more about displaying unique and nuanced reflects throughout the eyeshadows. If you're looking for a colorful eye look, this formula will not be for you! Since the texture of all the eyeshadows is the same, you don't get a lot of depth or complexity from contrasting shades. These palettes would work really well with other palettes, using these palettes as lid shades only. For the price, it's unreasonable to buy them just to use them as lid shades. 

Since I have these palettes, I find the best way to deal with really sheer eyeshadows is to apply a colored base underneath. A cream eyeshadows or even scribbling some eyeliner on the lid and blending it out will make a nice opaque base for these duo-chrome eyeshadows to pop. Colored bases really bring out the reflective shimmer in duo-chrome eyeshadows, making them stronger. 

These powder eyeshadows wear very well and I don't notice any fading or creasing, even after 8 hours of wear. Keep in mind that eyeshadows that are this sheer also won't really show any creasing or fading, even if you have greasy eyelids. This formula is great for the way it adheres to the skin and doesn't crease without a primer. 

THE LOOKS 

For this first look, I used the Mirage palette and I applied all the shadows dry. I used a fluffy blending brush to wash the shades over my lids and into the crease. It is incredibly subtle in the photos because these sheer duo-chrome eyeshadows don't pick up at all. This looks is actually quite pretty and nuanced in person but I couldn't get my camera to pick up the shades. 

For this look using the Dunes palette, I used the Deep Bronze shade wet but you can see in the photos that it doesn't look very intense. The other shades were applied dry and you can still see that these shades are a little more pigmented than the Mirage palette. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

This formula isn't for everyone and if you enjoy pigmented eyeshadows, you're going to hate these. I don't hate this formula but I definitely don't love it either. If there was a variety of textures and finishes among the palette, I wouldn't be as disappointed because I could build a look around that but because of the lack of variety, the look is very tonal. It is more of just a variety of shimmery washes on the eyes, which if that is something you love, these palettes are for you. I think these eyeshadows look so beautiful and nuanced in person but because they are so subtle, they don't show up well on most cameras and in most lighting. 

I think these eyeshadow palettes are high quality for what they are intended to be, which are sheer eyeshadows. While the shades are pretty unique, I don't feel these are worth the luxury price tag. These are quite expensive for being so sheer and this sheer formula doesn't feel particularly unique. I have enjoyed using and working with these palettes but I'm not incredibly impressed with this formula. I prefer more pigment to my eyeshadows and these are just too subtle for me to enjoy using regularly. I normally love the Dior summer collection but these eyeshadows aren't too impressive. These are palettes I would skip on unless you really love a sheer sparkling eyeshadow. 

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