Have you ever been backstage at a fashion show? I haven't, but I imagine it as a frantic place with lots of people working in a frenzy to make the show look effortless and elegant. When I think of backstage makeup, I think of the needs of makeup artists working behind the scenes: versatile, reliable basics that work on a variety of skin tones to create an array of different makeup looks. Is that what Dior has achieved with their new Backstage Eye Palettes? Keep reading to find out!

Dior's new Backstage collection just launched in the middle of June with a handful of products promising "professional performance makeup". It comprises a Face & Body Foundation that I've been testing for a few days (see my first impressions video on IGTV), a Lip Palette, a Glow Face Palette, a Contour Palette, two Brow Palettes, and two Eye Palettes that I both bought. All these products are supposed to be makeup essentials that can be used in many different ways to achieve a variety of looks.


The two Eye palettes are both selections of neutral colors to help sculpt and define the eye, in a warm and a cool harmony of tones. They contain the same cream primer, and 8 shades of different depth in shimmer and matte finishes so that you can create a lot of different looks using the palettes alone. Dior calls them "all-in-one" because they're supposed to be all you need to produce a look, from a subtle daytime eye makeup to a dramatic evening look.


Warm Neutrals contains a range of warm browns, beiges and oranges. I bought this one and took a few pictures, but I haven't touched it... because I purchased it for you! Go to the Dior Backstage Eye Palette giveaway post and enter for a chance to win it! The color selection is very on trend, if not particularly unique. If you like warm-toned eyeshadows, this would make a great basic palette to use on its own or pair with your other shadows: it's packed with great base shades, transition shades, highlighters and darker tones to deepen the outer corner. I think it's a great palette to define the eyes with warm colors!


Cool Neutral is the one I bought for myself because, hello, purple toned colors! From the top left the shades are (named by Dior on the back of the palette):



FIRST ROW

- Primer: it's a creamy beige primer that looks a little dark for my skintone in the pan, but turns out perfect to conceal the darkness on my lids. It's very soft and thin, and it blends out easily without making my crepe-y lids look any dryer. It creases a bit after a few hours, and while it intensifies the other shades applied on top, I don't think that it's very long wearing. If wear time is very important to you, I'd use another primer to make sure that your eye look won't fade before the end of the day (I'm using MAC Prep + Prime 24 Hour these days and I love it).

- Silver: I'd say it looks more like a champagne beige in the pan, but it actually translates quite rosy on the skin. Dior describes this shade as a highlighter. For me it's more of a sparkly shade with relatively loose micro-glitter. If feel like there isn't much binder in there to keep the sparkliness together, so I get a good amount of fallout from it and it looks a touch powdery on the eye. Applying it with a wet brush makes it look smoother and more evenly metallic.

- Ombré, which Dior describes as a "sculpting powder": this is a beautiful mid-tone muted mauve matte. It's soft, buttery and nicely pigmented. This is so my kind of shade! I think it makes my green eyes pop, without being too brightly colored itself. It makes a nice crease shade, and it also works beautifully all over the lid.

MIDDLE ROW

- Pink Shimmer, a beautiful very pale pink with a strong pink reflection. Dior also lists it as a shimmer, but its texture couldn't be more different from Silver's. This one is buttery and dense, and the glow it creates is soft, without visible shimmer particles. It's perfect as a soft highlight, either on the inner corner or under the brow bone.

- Lilac, a silvery mauve. This is a shimmer as well, and its dustier texture is similar to Silver. Again, it looks more even if applied wet, otherwise I get a veil of tiny sparkles on my lid an a lot of fallout.

- Purple is a plummy brown shimmer with a much denser consistency. It is smooth, buttery, and applies evenly with great pigmentation and a nice sheen. I kind of wish Silver and Lilac had the same texture, since they're all listed as shimmers! I feel like these two should have been categorized as "glitter" or "sparkling", it would have been more accurate. I've used Purple in the outer corner or on the lower lash line and it works beautifully both ways.

THIRD ROW

- Pink Matte, a light pink. Like all the mattes in the palette it feels very soft, it's nicely pigmented and applies with ease. I use it as a base all over the lid on top of my primer (from this palette or another primer). It appears very pink in the palette, but on my lids the rosy color works well to cancel out the darkness.

- Mauve is a matte medium mauve, a little cooler and lighter than Ombré. The two are close enough that you can use both to create a very smooth transition above the crease.

- Plum is a deep muted purple with a matte finish. It is intensely pigmented and dark enough to be used as a liner, although it also work well to deepen the outer corner. I've used it to tightline a few times too.

Swatches of Dior Backstage Eye Palette in Cool Neutrals

With the exception of Silver and Lilac, which are more glittery/sparkly shadows as I noted above, all the shades are extremely finely milled and have a luxurious soft texture. The mattes all blend effortlessly to define the eye and serve as a base for any eye look. I have used this palette to create very simple day looks, but also a smokey eye and a few quick but dramatic shimmery looks, and whatever idea I came up with translated beautifully on the eye as a flattering look. The thin consistency of these shadows does not emphasize the texture and dryness on my lids at all. As for wear time, I had some major fading after 5-6 hours using the included primer. However, using a separate eye base, I wore these shadows all day long without seeing any creasing or fading.

Closeup to show you what I call the "micro-glitter" in Silver

Wearing Dior Backstage Eye Palette in Cool Neutrals

Let's consider the price for a moment: the Backstage Eye Palettes are $49 for 8 shades plus a primer. They're not very big (a little larger than the palm of my hands) and the price tag may seem a little steep. But don't forget that Dior is a high-end brand, and that their 5 Couleurs eyeshadow quints retail for $62! With the 5 Couleurs you get a total of 7g of shadow, while the Backstage Eye Palettes contain 10g. They're actually a very good deal for Dior eyeshadows!





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