Lancome AUDACITY in LONDON Eyeshadow Palette!

I admit I am quite the Anglophile (a person who is fond of or greatly admires England or Britain). My first husband was British and in the 9 years we were married I learned a lot about the Brits, the UK and the Queen. I’ve been to London three times and never tire of going back. Oh and by the way, if you’re with a Brit, NEVER make fun of the Queen!

When I saw that Lancôme came out with the AUDACITY in LONDON eye shadow palette ($69) I had to have it. But, I hesitated. I have the AUDACITY in Paris eye shadow palette and don’t reach it for often. Since it’s usually raining in London, I expected the palette to be filled with nothing but black and gray and that didn’t sound appealing to me. Actually, the AUDACITY in London palette is filled with soft, pretty pastel-ish shades. Surprise! Couple that with the amazing review from Cosmetopia Digest and I was sold! Getting 20% off didn’t hurt either.

Like the AUDACITY in Paris palette, the AUDACITY in London palette is housed in a sleek black casing with  silhouettes of the London skyline:  The London Eye, Tower of London, Big Ben and the Tower Bridge are highlighted on the outside and again on the inside mirror (removable sticker). The palette holds 16 eye shadows: 12 shadow and 4 glitter toppers, arranged in four coordinating quads. Also included is a double ended brush with one end for shading and one end for blending.

All the shadows have a creamy texture and nice pigmentation with the exception of the glitter metallics (the four shades on the bottom), they are very firm and a bit dry. Lancôme suggests using them as a top coat, which is what I intend to do though Midnight Haze and Garden Rose are very pretty on their own.

The shades are:

• Queens Lace (matte cream)
• Trench Coat (matte fawn brown)
• Woody Bar (matte amber)
• Rich History (matte lilac)
• London is Callin’ (matte mauve)
• Purple Queen (shimmer violet)
• Fresh Garden (shimmer fern green)
• Misty Morning (sheen army green)
• Steel (steel shimmer)
• Rainy Afternoon (metallic pale gray)
• Purple Pageantry (matte graphite)
• Midnight Purple (matte charcoal)

Bottom Row:

• Midnight Haze (metallic copper)
• Garden Rose (Metallic Purple)
• Soho Lights (Metallic green)
• Tower Bridget (metallic silver)

I find the mix of colors more diverse than the Paris palette and the ratio of matte to shimmer is spot on. I think my favorites from the London palette are the purples and greens.

Quad #1 The Neutrals. These shades are not unique but they have a soft, buttery texture I love. Queens Lace is a matte cream, Trench Coat is a very pretty fawn brown, Woody Bar is a warm soft matte amber and Midnight Haze is a shimmery copper. Weird name for a copper color, in my opinion.

Quad #2 The Purples-these are some of the best shades in the palette. Rich History is a satin lilac, London is Callin’ is a satin dusty mauve, Purple Queen is a shimmery violet and Garden Rose is a stunning mauvey taupe.

Quad #3 The Greens. All these are so soft and pretty. Fresh Garden is a soft shimmer seafoam, Misty Morning is a matte army green, Steel is a gray-green sage shimmer and Soho Lights is a shimmery silvery mint green.

Quad #4 The Silvers – I like this set of silvers because they don’t have any blue tones to them which can be hard to find. Rainy Afternoon is a shimmery icy gray, Purple Pageantry is misnamed–it is a matte charcoal graphite,  Midnight Purple, also misnamed is a matte charcoal and Tower Bridget, a shimmery silver–this one has fallout.

Overall the Lancôme AUDACITY in London eye shadow palette is like a walk though Hyde Park in the spring. It’s perfect for soft romantic looks. This palette is mostly cool toned as opposed to the warmer Paris. I appreciate the well thought-out coordination of the “quads” which Paris didn’t have. For me the standouts are the purple and green shades, though I do like the silvers also.

There are a few misses in the palette: Midnight Purple is a bit dry and patchy and Tower Bridget is quite glittery with fallout. All in all that’s not bad for 16 shadows. I love these satiny, feminine shades. I find I look better with lighter eye shadow shades and the AUDACITY in London Eye Shadow Palette gives me a wealth of choices!

If you love Lancôme’s AUDACITY in London Eye Shadow Palette as much as I do, I would stalk the Lancôme website because it (as well as the Paris palette) was on sale over the holidays for as low as $39 which is a real steal! I think it will be on sale again.