Yves Saint Laurent Pure Chromatics Eye Shadow #11 (Autumn 2012 look) review & swatches

YSL have just launched two new Pure Chromatics palettes for their Autumn Look 2012, one of them, #10 in sparkly/pearly greens and khakis and the other one, #11 which is the subject of this review. I ordered this palette online, without seeing it, only having read a small number of reviews cause #11 seems to be far less popular than its green sister which seems to better fit in within the safari theme so hot this season. 

 I can't really describe clearly my relationship with this palette. The closest term would be difficult love, I guess. Or snakes and ladders. A series of negative and pleasant surprises.
To the point.
After reading the reviews and product description I gathered it was a set of 4 matte shadows, which suited me well and I also thought it quite unique. Imagine my surprise when upon opening the palette I saw micro glitter! Thumbs down.

To my surprise, however, I discovered that the glitter is kind of superficial and the shadows swatch mostly matte and the shimmer, although barely visible, prevents them from looking flat. Thumbs up!

swatched on bare skin

Yet another snake awaits round the corner. The eyeshadows swatched as if they lacked pigmentation whatsoever. Look above! They performed better over a primer (look below) but still not great. What's more the shades look like the dullest shades ever. I must say I find it hard to describe them. The one in top left corner is something dark and sheer, something inbetween blackened gray and navy. In the top right corner we can find nude beige, in the bottom left corner there's a medium brownish eyeshadow (this one is the most sparkly of them all) and bottom right is a very very dark navy, almost black yet not asphalt black. All of the shades may be described as earthy.

over MAC paint pot in Painterly

And now comes a surprise: these dull, sheer and hard to swatch eye shadows come to play when applied. Both dry and wet. They blend beautifully without producing any fall out, cling to the lids magically and last there all day even in hot humid weather. All shades match one another so you may combine them as you wish. They are matte but not one-dimensional, which is great! 

Using them wet obviously intensifies the colour, you are supposed to turn them into a paste with water using the special applicator you can see in the picture below.  It's entirely made of silicone or rubber. I  tried to apply the shadows both with this applicator and a synthetic brush and I must say that both worked fine.

What's more, adding quite a lot of water to turn it into a paste did not ruin the eyeshadow. Once it dried out it didn't turn to stone like many of my wet/dry shadows did. Thumbs up!

The shades however, are not the most unique and irreplaceable of all. They are quite unimaginative as well but if you're looking for something within back to school/work theme they might be an excellent choice for you. I am school related but fortunately no one tells me what I should look like so I take the liberty of  applying some bolder and brighter shades. 

beiges and browns applied dry, over MAC Paint Pot in Painterly

All in all I surprised myself with how much I like the palette and how often I reach for it these days. If I'd swatched the palette in Sephora, I would never have bought it cause it swatches sooo badly. So I'm glad I ordered it like a pig in a poke cause it turned out to be such a nice product!

blackened navys applied wet 

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.