La Prairie Eye Shadows: Les Cristals Palette & Quartz Single

La Prairie makeup is a pure indulgence. You can tell that from the second you open the box and look at the packaging, to the way it feels to dip your brushes in the colors and apply them gently, hoping to create the most elegant ladylike look. La Prairie color range has always been understated with plush textures that do their best to flatter the skin. With that said, one of my most beloved blue eye shadows was La Prairie Hematite. It's discontinued now, probably because the brand's typical customer is not likely to be a blue eye shadow kind of person. It's too bad.

The subtle neutral hues in the current range are still very satisfying to use. The satin smooth texture is easy to place and blend. It takes very little effort (or planning) to achieve a sophisticated and very polished look, and I've yet to meet a brush that doesn't work with this light yet rich formula. Swatching is probably not the most impressive introduction to La Prairie eye shadows. Like all of the others I've tried, these are gossamery and delicate, mostly buttery if you stick a finger them, and create a puffy cloud of powder if you're only trying to get the pigment to show. It's when they're actually on the lid that you see the subtlety of the light hitting the various colors.

The single shadow in Quartz is a baked peach kind of a color. It's like a very light cinnamon or a pinkish brown, and is rather unique.  It's also a warmer color than La Prairie's beautiful Agate. I find Quartz to be a great companion to the eye shadow quad in Les Cristals, especially if you want an extra warmth in the crease or to take it to a slightly different place. Les Cristals is a classic neutral palette: cream, pale taupe, silver, and an almost matte charcoal that's a bit more stiff (all the other shadows, including Quartz have a satin/sheen finish).

Two things are annoying about these La Prairie eye shadows. This is a super luxury product, near the top of the price/weight. They perform as such, but you will see fallout when you start working with them. The extremely fine texture makes cleanup a non-issue (kick it off with a fluffy brush), but I know enough people who will find it a drawback. Then there are the silly little applicators that come in the compacts. This is 2017, not 1971. We all have quality brushes, so please give us a little more actual product in the pans and acknowledge that we know how to use makeup tools.

Bottom line: there are far worse ways to indulge yourself.

La Prairie Les Cristals eye shadow quad ($70, made in USA) and & Quartz single  ($45, made in USA) are available at Neiman Marcus and other select locations.