Review: CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow, Sparkling Satins

I'd never in a million years spend $56.00 on an eye shadow palette unless I was told that diamonds were hidden within the eyeshadow, one diamond or more guaranteed per palette. This is not the case when it comes to CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins. No diamonds included; yet the shadow still comes to $56.00 on Chanel's website! Youch!
 
I have a desire to be able to purchase eye shadows for $56.00 though. I love name brands. I feel special when I have them. It's an issue I know I need to work on. Tyra Banks Show said so!
 
I like name brands, but no way do I purchase them when their price is out of my league. I do however love it when I am given designer things....for free. Yep. Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow, in Sparkling Satins was given to me, along with a slew of other high end designer beauty products. Love that uncle of mine.

 
Packaging:
 
CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins comes in a black misshaped square plastic palette. On the outside of the click up casing, the official Chanel logo is etched in white. I guess this is for makeup status or something. You know, you want the world to see you applying your Chanel. Haha.
 
Inside resides 4 pods that are shaped exactly like the palette itself. It's really a pretty sight when you open it up. You have a small plastic cover that is added to protect the eye shadows (you can throw this out though).

In the palette there is a gorgeous matte pink at the upper left corner. Next to the pink eye shadow you have a silver colored shadow that has a very subtle hint of blue to it. On the bottom left there is a very pretty black colored shadow that has very small micro-fine flecks of silver shimmer, and next to that we have a really light shimmery gold shadow.

Below the eye shadows there is a small groove cut into the palette where 2 makeup sponge brushes sit. They are really small though, and I would recommend using your own makeup brushes, as these sponge ones suck when it comes to precise coloring.

Combined in the palette the colors all seemed to mesh together well. I figured I'd be able to use all 4 colors to create an awesome looking lid. I especially loved the pink and black.

My Use:
 
I have used CHANEL Eye Shadows before, and I already knew that there were two ways to wear the eye shadows. You could apply the eye shadow dry for lighter application, or you cold dampen the eye shadow and apply slightly wet for a more intense look.

I figured I'd give both means of application a try.

First I used the colors dry.

I must say that I was not impressed at all. Although the eye shadow had a very soft velvety texture, the colors didn't do much for me at all. In the palette they really look like intense colors, but on my eye all I really got was light powdery subtle color. The shadows blend well, but they are just not vibrant enough.

When I applied CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins wet the colors did pop a little bit more, but I have always found applying wet eye shadow makes my eyes feel icky.

CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins didn't leave my eyes feeling sticky, or gross...in fact the wear was quite light. The only issue I had while applying the eye shadow to my eyes while dampened, was that it was a bit harder to blend properly.

Overall:
 
CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins contains some gorgeous colors, unfortunately on my medium light skin tone, the colors just do not pop enough for me.

The pink color (which was my favorite when I first got a look at it in the container) applied in a very, very light powdery matte, making it almost invisible, and it also did not give off the same color on my eyelid as it did in the palette.

The silver color is also very wispy and light in color and does not match the other colors quite the way I imagined it would.

The gold shimmer nearly matched my real skin tone, so it did nothing for me but add some shimmer to my upper lids.

Last but not least was black; the black color was probably the only color that I liked. Black always is great for blending, and CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins shadows blend easily when dry.

All in all though, CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins is likely a palette of shadows that I will give away to my cousin. I'm not saying the eye shadow is horrible, because by no means is it. For me though, the colors are not bold enough. I would however recommend CHANEL Quadra Eye Shadow: Sparkling Satins to those with really light skin, where colors would be more noticeable.
The price though is a major, major set back.