Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes Swatches, Review & FOTD

You might have noticed that I am rather silent at social media and behind answering the comments. As the work is getting the best of me together with a nasty cold which I caught earlier this week, I am trying my best to show existence so please bare with me. I am hoping to make a return in a weeks time. I can't wait since I have so many beautiful new fragrances and make-up products to share with you. I am kicking myself not to be able to smell properly and my puffy eyes and nose are not that great for carrying makeup but luckily I had shot a few FOTDs before it all began. Today it is about a very special palette, Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes.

Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

YSL 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes is special for me not only because of its very unique color and texture combination but also because I purchased it during my visit to Strasbourg for my birthday. Three of the palettes from the regular line up (see the swatches here) were not released in Germany yet and I was dying to try out #11 Ballets Russes. As I swatched it at Sephora, I knew it was coming home with me.

Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

From the abundance of photos, you see that I am very fond of how this beauty poses. Antique gold, pink, baby blue and purple, such an interesting combination. Designed as a homage to russian ballet costumes, the purple and gold combination certainly gives an eastern flair. The combination of cheerful pink and cool baby blue, like fire & ice, brings the palette to life and separates it from any other you know.

Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

I was expecting the shades to be less pigmented and more shimmery not to scare people off by the first swatch but I was positively surprised to see how pigmented they are. That said the textures, other than the antique gold base shade, have a certain transparency to it. This helps to blend such different colors together seamlessly, so that they work together. I was impressed by how nicely they blended despite of shades being so different from each other. You might heard me complaining about YSL Palettes tending to blend a bit too much, too easily. This property might be a little off putting if the shades are very close, because you can't differentiate the difference of each eye shadow. But once the shades are very bold or very different, it becomes a huge advantage.

Close-up: Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

The shades in the palette are as follows:

Top left: Mid-toned antique gold with satin to metallic finish, the most opaque shade of the palette.

Top right: Light gold with shimmery finish. This shade is the most transparent of all, can also be used to be layered on other shades.

Center: Mid-toned to deep purple with satin to shimmery finish. I love how this shade catches the light, it certainly can be applied all by itself for a purple smokey eye.

Bottom right: A light baby blue with satin to shimmery finish. I love this one on the inner corner to bright the light to the eye make-up.

Bottom left: A mid-toned reddish pink with satin finish. It is the most satiny, less shimmery shade of the palette and the color is very intense. A touch of this goes a long way so apply with caution.

Swatch: Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

For the eye look below, I used:

Inner corner: Baby blue (bottom right)

Crease: Purple (center)

Lids: Antique Gold (top left)

Outer Corner: Pink (bottom left)

Liner (below): Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof #911 Ambre Dore

Liner (above): Urban Decay 24/7 Twice Baked 

Mascara: Chanel Le Volume

From the eye look below, you can see why I am so crazy about this palette. The shades do blend but they can still be recognized. The resulting look reminded me of sun set (purple, pink, gold) on a clear sky(blue).

In-action: Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

To combine with this colorful eye, I went for something low-key on lips & cheeks. I lightly dusted applied Tom Ford Flush on the cheeks and applied Chanel Allure Gloss #16 Extase (reviewed here) on my lips.

FOTD: Yves Saint Laurent Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes

Final thoughts: YSL's new eye shadow formula sings a ballad with in this particular palette. With its beautiful textures and a very unique color combination, YSL Couture Palette 5 Couleurs #11 Ballets Russes is a winner. I recommend to try it out even if you are a little shy of colors. You will be surprised how wearable it turns out to be.

Availability: This spring, it was first released at a few countries such as USA and France. As of September, YSL #11 Ballet Russes is available at all YSL Counters.

What do you think of this color combination?