Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection, Eyeshadow Palette & Highlighter, Review, Swatch & FOTD

Wishing you a wonderful start in the week and the spooky month of November. What a buzz about Victoria Beckham's new make-up line in collaboration with Estée Lauder, right? I have been trying these out for a couple of weeks now and today I would like to share my thoughts about the Eyeshadow Palette and Highlighter.

If you are into make-up, you must have heard about Modern Mercury highlighter which is one of the discontinued classics of Estée Lauder line, created by no one else than Tom Pecheux, the Creative Make-Up Director of the company. The glorious come-back of this beauty in this very special packaging have certainly made many make-up lover's heart skip a beat. The Eyeshadow Palette is for the smoky eye lovers out there, including myself. Without further ado, here are some of my thoughts...

Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection, Eyeshadow Palette & Highlighter

One of the strongest selling points of the collection is definitely the packaging. The compacts are hefty and they feel very luxurious. The leather like finish on the surface doesn't pick up any finger prints nor dust and the golden parts look very well done. Although the compacts are heavy, I find them great to travel with since they are not too large. These also make great figure if you tae it out of your purse for any touch up. That said, I wished the closure would not only be mechanical but also magnetic because I would get nervous about these opening up in my purse.

Packaging: Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection

Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection Eyeshadow Palette is composed of six shades, five of which are middle to deep tones that make the palette most suitable for smoky eye looks. All of the shades have a satin/shimmery finish but the deeper shades don't show too much shimmer, thus these can be also used to define the eye look and bring dimension, such as darkening the outer corner and the crease. I love the fact that there is a vibrant blue and a nice first green in the mix for something more than just neutrals. All the eye shadows in the palette have great pigmentation and they layer very well.

Close-up Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection Eyeshadow Palette

The shades are from left to right as follows:

Fired Sapphire - metallic turquoise: This shade is the most unique shade of the palette hence it was also used for one of the latest fashion shows of Victoria. I love this shade along the lower lash line for a little bit of color on any neutral eye (see it in action below) or padded over other colors to ass something to the upper lid. 

Blonde Cumin - soft, gold-tinged beige: Since this is the only light shade in the bunch, it is like a life saver to me. I usually use it on the inner corner to open up the eyes and make them appear further away since deeper shades might bring them too close together. Perfect formula and does layer on other shades wonderfully.

Metal Saffron - warm, golden metallic honey: This is great for a one shade wonder whenever you are running out of time, swipe and go on my complexion. Otherwise not ground breaking but great for layering with blue and green as well, to make them appear less vibrant and more neutral.

Burnished Sage - metallic deep green: As a green eyed-girl who can't wear all shades of green because it blends with the rest, forest greens are something I always like and it is really hard to find a good forest green. This one definitely fits the bill. Not to mention that it also adds some oomph to the otherwise boring neutral eye look. See it in action below.

Grey Amber - nearly black, smoky charcoal grey: I like the fact that it is not too black so could be used all over in case you want it extra smoky or it is also great to define the eye look by layering on any of the other shades on the outer corner.

Black Nutmeg - shimmery copper: That was one shade that I was mostly excited about because coppers make green eyes pop but unfortunately when I apply it on my eyes, it looks more black than nutmeg and the coppery hues are mostly vanished. This shades swatches so well but on the eyes I found it to look not with that much dimension as the swatch suggests. Nevertheless buttery and pigmented, just a bit more blackened than I expected.

Here are two sets of swatches, with sun light and in shadow.

Swatch: Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection, Eyeshadow Palette

For the look below I used Blonde Cumin on inner corner and one third of the eyelid, Fired Sapphire along the lower lash line, Black Nutmeg on the outer corner and Burnished Sage on the mid-lid to add a bit of something.

All in all I find it great for autumn and winter time with all the smokey metallic hues which are very wearable during the day or night alike. If you are not so much into smoky eyes though, probably it is not the best investment for you.

Eye Look with Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection, Eyeshadow Palette

Modern Mercury Highlighter is a sight to see. It has one of the most anticipated formulas of the highlighter world, the so called gelée. The embossment stays for a long time since it is not very powdery but instead a hybrid formula, very much like MAC's extra dimension skin finish if you know these, but this one is even more pigmented and softer. If you have very large pores, it might accentuate those but applied with a fan brush and blended properly, I believe anyone can enjoy it. The shade is universally flattering. I played with the whole collection in Breuninger Stuttgart. If you are going to pick up just one thing from this collection, I think this highlighter is the one. 

Close-up: Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection Modern Mercury Highlighter

Here is the completed look with Victoria Beckham x Estée Laude Modern Mercury highlighter and Eye Shadow Palette. You can see the blue along the lower lash line brightening the eyes. On my lips I am wearing Estee Lauder Envy Sculpting Gloss in 430 Plum Jealousy (reviewed here). 

FOTD: Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder, Eyeshadow Palette & Highlighter

Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection, Eyeshadow Palette & Highlighter

Final thoughts: All in all a great start for Victoria Beckham. The packaging is to die for. For smoky eye fans, Eyeshadow palette is a must-have but I think the highlight of the collection (mind the pun!) is Modern Mercury Highlighter. I'd love to see some more lipstick shades added to the line as well as some blushes to go with the looks. Who knows maybe Victoria's line also breaks free like Tom Fords. 

Have you picked up anything from the collection? What are you impressions?

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided free of charge for my consideration. 
I am not paid for this review. All opinions are honest and my own.