Lancome: La Maison Lancome Palette

Hello chickadees, some more duty free beauty for you today!

This was a real find, I don't know if any of you remember the stunning La Maison Lancome collection that came out late last year, but I fell in love with it, and didn't get round to purchasing anything before it was gone!

So when I was killing some time at the George Best Airport (Northern Ireland) I was very excited to discover this:

La Maison Lancome palette!

I'd never seen this before, either in duty free or as part of the collection that was released, so I did a bit of research when I got back home, and turns out this was released as part of the collection, but just in 'travel retail channels', i.e. duty free.

The picture on the back is what sealed the deal. Look at that blush, have you ever seen anything more beautiful??

Like the Dior palette I recently purchased in duty free, this came in a velvet pouch, which I think is really handy, especially considering the palette itself - it's super shiny, really pretty, and attracts fingerprints and smudges like nothing else.

I love the whole concept and design of this palette - vintage parisian chic really appeals to me, and this is so so pretty!

Lancome said of the blush:

With the charm of a vintage postcard, the very essence of Paris has been captured in this season’s blush palette. The silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, the typically Parisian Art Nouveau streetlamp lighting the cobbled pavement outside the historical House of Lancome at 29, rue du Faubourg Saint Honore makes this palette a true work of art.

Unfortunately, as soon as I opened it, I realised the mistake I had made...How am I ever going to bring myself to use this????

The image on the box, nor the pictures on here can possibly do justice to how stunning this make up is.

The blush was originally released as part of the main collection as a separate piece, and I remember being desperate to get my hands on it. I personally like the palette form even better - I can distract myself from the fact I can't bring myself to use this blush by playing with the eyeshadows!

I like these colours as violet's not something I'd usually wear, so it's nice to have something a bit different.

I hope you guys realise the sacrifices I make for you. It took me a good 15 minutes working myself up to swatch this for this post!

As I suspected, the pretty shimmer on the Eiffel Tower and lamp post wore off on first swatch :/

On a side note, I like this little sponge brush that came with it - I always lose/chuck out the brushes that come in palettes, but this is actually pretty useful, not for lining, but getting a strip of colour on the lid.

So, I'd use the pink and white on most of my lid, and then this allows me to use the purple, but in a way which isn't too over the top (IMO) - just a strip on the upper lash line or below :D

Without further ado, the swatches:

The eyeshadows are very good quality, very very pigmented and creamy. They're all highly pearlised though, which isn't a finish I'm massively fond of.

Gah, I knew I'd have this problem, the blush just wouldn't show up!!

Above are the three separate shades swatched. As you can see, it's only the darker shade that really shows at all.

Below are all the shades swirled together, and swatched heavily.

It's a very pretty delicate rose pink, with a hint of shimmer, that looks darker on my arm than it does on my cheek, mainly because I've got a bit of fake tan on (shh, don't tell anyone, I like to pretend it's real)