Lancome’s holiday collection, L’Absolu Rouge Soiree, is lovely and quite extensive — and on account of the length of my arms, I had to break it into two posts. (If I were taller, I could have fit two palettes to an arm.) It’ll be worth the wait, though: there’s going to be a completely awesome giveaway starting tomorrow.
Part one is the Eye and Cheek Palettes. These feature six shadows and one blush in a hinged compact… and they’re $39.50, which seems pretty fantastic (especially since MAC’s holiday palettes — six shadows, no blush — were $36).
I definitely think Plum Irresistible is the best of the four; it’s just fabulously pigmented. I’m not sure which shade is which, but its shadows are Rapturous, Seductive Gaze, Magnificent, Captivating, Diva Shimmer, and Entrancing. The blush is Violet Sunrise.
I mentioned four eye and cheek palettes, but I think Alluringly Bronze is actually a Nordstrom exclusive. Though Lancome’s website lists the details for Alluringly Bronze, you can’t buy it there. The holiday display units in stores also only accommodate three palettes; as a result, Nordstrom is missing La Nuit Seduction.
Alluringly Bronze contains shadows Fabric, Alluring Presence, The New Black (that’s probably the first shade, right?), Enticing, Get It Now, and Daylight. The blush is Mocha Havana. 
The only other thing I need to tell you about these palettes is that the matte shades can be a little more difficult to work with than the shimmery ones… but there also seems to be some variation from palette to palette. The final eyeshadow shade in Nordstrom’s Evening Splendor was a little hard to work with, but that same shade in the display in my freestanding Lancome store was fine.
Evening Splendor contains (in no particular order): Honeymoon, Tempted, Impress, Mannequin, Model, and Lezard. The blush is Bronze Escapade.
La Nuit Seduction is listed online as Nude Seduction, but the display unit says “La Nuit,” so I’ll go with that. The eyeshadow shades are Pink Zinc, Wear It Well, Erotique, Amorous, Kittenish, and Feline Strut; the blush is Aplum (the only matte blush in any of these palettes).
So what do you think? Which is your favorite?
>Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you — Lancome's website is offering free shipping on all holiday sets through Dec. 1!
>Karla, I think you have created my first-ever Lancome lemming! I can't decide which one, though.
I want to combine the blush from La Nuit, 1st 2 shades of Evening Splendor, the last 2 shades from Alluringly Bronze, and the 4th&5th shades from Plum Irresistible…
>Hi Karla, I got the Nude Seduction palette last week and LOVE it! First major Lancome purchase. Right now ebates has 12% for Lancome.com and you can find codes for 6 piece GWP with purchase.
>Oof. I wonder if the colors in Plum Irresistible would look okay on me… I want it!!
>Lemming for the plum irrestible palette but I have so many purple shadows….
>OMG! I want that plum!!!!! Gorgeous swatches!
>omg i love all these colors which to choose from…
>I just bought & love Evening Splendor — I think Lancome offers great holiday palettes, and I'm so glad you swatched these, Karla!
The only thing I wish is that Lancome had added LE shades to this particular palette — Evening Splendor has just one LE shade, while all the rest are shades I seem to have scattered around in their various GWP quads.
I REALLY wanted the Nude palette (which is really dusty pink, with a light shade that pulls VERY purple on me, sadly), especially because, IIRC, most, if not all, of the shades are LE. Makes it more special to me, anyhow
Nonetheless, these are definitely a great value, especially because they included blushes.
>Hi Karla!
I really love the Plum Irresistible and La Nuit Seduction, but I don't know if I'll get them, I have too many eyeshadows and palettes already and I'm not a huge fan of Lancome shadows. I mean they're alright, just nothing special.
Hope you're enjoying your new Dior powder!
Anita xxx
>Plum Irresistible is definitely the bets among the lost judging from you swatches. I wonder if we get these palettes as we often get entirely different things from the US. I gotta check these out. I am liking palettes more than anything these days. Lancome has excellent eye shadows and blushes.
>The plum palette is beautiful!
>Wow, I'm also torn between the Plum and La Nuit palettes… (running to the store to check out in person!)
P.S. Karla, love your blog – color swatches on websites almost always disappoint, you're doing us a huge service!
>I too am torn between Plum and La Nuit. If I got one it would probably be Plum since I have green eyes.
>No favorite at all! They're all for warm undertones! I cannot certainly wear any of those colours without looking a walking corpse!!! What's happened to Lancome lately?
V (quite irritated!)
>I really like Plum Irresistible, Evening Splendor and La Nuit Seduction but I do wonder if they're dupable. So tempted …
>These are stunning! Thanks so much, Karla! I love Evening Splendor (is the blush available on its own?), but then again, Alluringly Bronze is beautiful too…and those plum shades, sigh…
>PBI, for Marce: The blush in Evening Splendor (Bronze Escapade) is awesome, and I do know that it *was* available separately one time (I have it LOL) … what I *can't* remember is if it was part of a LE collection.
Worth checking out though!
>I love the Le nuit seduction. All the colors are so my favorites!
>When I saw that Plum Irresistible palette I knew I had to have it. Aside from PLUM (my new favorite color that taupe is ah-maze-ing. Plus I can see me working with all of those colors which is a rare feat with palettes for me! Thanks for the great swatches…as always! -Elvira
>I love the Alluringly Bronze eye and cheek palette. It might look best on a natural red head, but I'm curious…