review: avon dream in color eye palette

Colourful eyeshadow palettes have become increasingly popular. For a long time, nudes and neutrals were consistently lining store shelves but these days, there has been a surge in brighter, more dynamic offerings. This is true at high end stores as well as at the drugstore. Even Avon is embracing all things colour. Though I do not order from Avon myself...my mom has been a loyal customer for a very long time. Every now and then, she orders me various products she thinks I might like. Most recently, it was the Dream In Colour Eye Palette. This sixteen shade palette was certainly different from other Avon palettes I'd seen, in terms of the packaging and concept. Did it perform well? Has it become a new favourite? Read my full review, see swatches, and check out some of the eyeshadow shades in action.

Review: Dream In Colour Eye Palette (Packaging)

The packaging here is certainly a little bit different. The box that holds the eyeshadow is long and thin rather than that traditional square palette shape. This certainly makes it stand out from many other palettes in my collection! However, it's long shape means it isn't the most compact or practical item to take with you during travel or to throw into your purse. While I don't personally mind the shape (because not everything needs to be travel friendly) it will really depend on your own personal preferences. As for the actual design elements on the packaging...this is fun. I like the simple white background with the multicoloured letters on top. Then inside, it looks like an explosion of glitter. This is pretty standard in the sense that the packaging is cardboard and has a magnetic closure...but there are certain design details that make it fun. One aspect of the packaging that is a letdown? None of the eyeshadow shades have names and there is no mirror inside. Those little missed opportunities really take down the overall experience.

Shade Selection and Swatches

The first time I opened up the Avon Dream In Colour Eye Palette, I was both excited and underwhelmed. For something with the word colour in the name, I expected a more vibrant collection of colours. Shades that were bolder and more dramatic. While there are colours in here, most of them seem somewhat muted. That being said, there were several eyeshadow shades that caught my eye. Particularly those warmer shimmer shades. (I have a very real obsession with warm metallic eyeshadows.) Even though the shade selection wasn't exactly what I envisioned, I still hoped to find shadows that would take my breath away. Ready to see how the products swatched? Take a look....

Some of the shadows swatched well and others, not so well. As an avid makeup lover....I know there is more to makeup than the swatch. Sometimes things swatch beautifully but perform terribly and vice versa. So even though there were some inconsistencies with the swatches, I still had high hopes for the actual performance of the Dream In Colour Eye Palette. 

Overall Quality and Makeup Look

Okay. Now for the most important part of this review. How did those eyeshadow shades perform? In a word? Meh. Some of the shades were patchy when applied. Others had pigmentation when applied on the eyelid but blended away to nothing. Many of the shimmer shadows would not apply well with brushes. To get any sort of pigmentation level or intensity with the shimmer shades, it required either wetting the brush or applying the colours with a clean finger. (Not my preferred way to apply beauty products!) This was time consuming and somewhat frustrating. Even then, the pigmentation wasn't overly impressive. This was actually pretty surprising. There have been some other Avon palettes I've tried in the past and they have been really good. This one? Not so much. You can certainly create some decent makeup looks using the palette but it will take a lot more time, effort, and energy to do so.

The makeup look that I created with the Dream In Colour palette made use of the matte brown, shimmery champagne shade, shimmery brown, and shimmery burgundy shade on the eyelid. Along the lower lash line was a mixture of the dark and light green eyeshadow shades. The finished look was shimmery and decent looking but certainly not colourful.

Rating: 2 / 5

All in all, this Avon palette was only okay. It worked passably but didn't have a significant amount of colour payoff. For something that is meant to be a colour palette....it just did not deliver.