The last few Chantecaille collections have centered around a four-pan palette, so let’s start with that. The limited edition Coral Reefs palette is $79, and includes three full-sized eyeshadows and a blush. When you finish a shade, there’s a pinhole in the back of the compact to help you push out the pan, so you can pop something else in there (which is nice, because empty palettes from Chantecaille are pretty expensive).

For the past several years the Chantecailles have donated a portion of the proceeds of these palettes to various environmental charities. When you buy a Coral Reefs palette, 5% ($3.95) will go to the Marine Conservation Institute. I guess 5% is better than nothing, but I think you buy a Chantecaille palette because their powders are exquisite and you love the colors, not because they’re making a donation.

The powders feature a gold overspray (which disappears quickly) and the embossed image of coral. The first shade (Pink Pearl) is a soft satin beige-pink with a very subtle, pearly tinge of gold shimmer. The second shade (Reef, also referred to as Sand on Chantecaille’s website) is a satin warm fawn-sand with very subtle, tiny gold shimmers. The third shade (Driftwood) is a satin, warm brown, redwood, mulch color with a few tiny bronze shimmers.

The blush is simply called Coral, and it’s a beautiful satin warm pink with tiny, subtle, glowy sparkles. Oh how I love a warm/coral blush.

There are three lip products in the collection, which I thought were all permanent additions to the line… though NeimanMarcus.com designates the Lip Chic and Gloss as limited edition.

Sunrise Lip Chic is a warm, tropical guava pink ($33). Lucky Brilliant Lip Gloss is a light, warm, sheer pink with gold shimmers ($32). Coral Lip Definer is a bright coral, a very orange pink ($24).

There’s one new Gel Liner Pencil, Espresso. But I was pretty sure I hadn’t yet swatched Hematite (which launched this past fall), so I did that one, too. These eyeliner pencils are $32 each. I believe Espresso is limited edition (but why?). It’s a dark cool brown, pretty much my perfect color for an eyeliner. Hematite is a sheeny, Batman-charcoal black-grey.

If you’re shopping online, this collection is available on NeimanMarcus.com (free shipping with code SPRINGFS), Nordstrom.com (free shipping), and Chantecaille.com (free shipping at $75).

There are two new, limited edition eyeshadow quints. They’re $59 each, embossed with a rose pattern.

441 Garden Pastels features a shimmery yellow lime, a shimmery barely-grey white, a shimmery pale pink, a shimmery pale yellow, and a shimmery pale sea golden-green-blue.

841 Garden Roses features a shimmery pale bubblegum/peony pink, a shimmery barely-pink white, a shimmery violet with blue reflect, a shimmery warm taupe-silver, and a shimmery lilac.

There are also two posh, limited edition, decorative palettes, the “Garden Clutches.” These are $75 each, with three eyeshadows and two lip balm/glosses. The closure is a two-rose snap.

001 Milly Garden is a Nordstrom (and Holt Renfrew) exclusive. It features a dark, shimmery indigo-denim shadow, a frosty ice-blue shadow, and a shimmery soft white with pink reflects. The glosses (or lip balms?) are milky white-pink and pale warm pink.

002 Granville Garden is available everywhere else. It includes a frosty golden brown, a pale frosty white that’s thinking about pink, and a pale, pale, shimmery, magical, sparkly, pale phosphorescent barely-green. The two lip balms (glosses?) are nearly identical: sheer pale warm pink and sheer coral pink.

There are two Rouge Dior lipsticks ($32): 363 Corolle Pink and 448 Tulip Pink. Corolle Pink is not available at Sephora. It’s a blue-pink with a slight shimmer/sheen. Tulip Pink is a warm rose pink.

There are also two Dior Addict Glosses ($28). 396 Party Lilac is a Pearl formula, a sheer/clear lilac with multicolored (blue, green, silver) pastel sparkles. 452 Pretty Rose is a Glow formula, a sheer, warm coral pink.

There are also two scented-when-dry nail polishes ($23). 694 Forget-Me-Not is an artificial-grape creme; 504 Waterlily is creme de menthe with tiny shimmers, for a satin-ribbon finish.

There’s also a Sephora-exclusive blush, the DiorSkin Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush in 001 Petal ($44). In the pan, this product is bright pink, but it’s not so vivid on the skin.

I swatched Petal both lightly and heavily, and was surprised by how demure it looked — the light swatch blended into my skin so much I wondered if it was more highlighter than blush. In the name of science, I borrowed a blush brush and tried it on my cheeks.

The Healthy Glow Awakening Blush is one of those products that “adjusts to the skin’s chemistry” to create a slightly different shade on everyone. I’m not sure exactly what it’s reacting to (moisture? Oil? pH?).  On my cheeks it was more pigmented than I would have thought… but you know me; I don’t like pink blushes.

Click here to see it on Xiao of Messy Wands. Click here to see her comparison with NARS Gaiety.

Between Nordstrom.com, NeimanMarcus.com, and Sephora.com, all these items are still in stock (Nordstrom and Neimans offer free shipping at any price; Sephora at $50. Use code SHIPNM on Neimans). And if you can wait ’til the 20th, NeimanMarcus.com starts their beauty event, when you’ll be able to pick up a cute tote full of samples with your $100 purchase.

Several brands (Lancome, Guerlain, Chanel, Laura Mercier) are making the statement that pink can be worn anywhere — lips, lids, and cheeks. (And nails, of course.)  Hanging around the counters, I often hear ladies express a reluctance to put on pink eyeshadow. Pale pinks are easy, of course, often acting as lid-brightening shades — but PINK-pink? This photo of Ginta Lapina makes me believe that anything is possible with enough eyeliner.

Anyway, Guerlain’s spring collection is full of eyeshadow palettes. Let’s start with the two new eyeshadow quads ($59).

12 Les Aqua is not as similar to the holiday palette (10 Les Ombres de Nuit) as I originally thought. The shades in Les Aqua are a matte, dark, muted, charcoal-greyed blue-green; a satin sky-blue/lagoon-aqua with a subtle gold duochrome; a shimmery Greek blue/justice-blue; and a shimmery white.

11 Les Roses includes a red-purple-brown/burgundy-brown shimmer; a frosty bunny-rabbit white-pink; a matte carnation pink/candy-strawberry pink; and a very similar shade in a satin finish (though it’s just a bit more red-violet than pink).

There’s also a new six-pan eyeshadow palette (Ecrin 6 Couleurs, $84). 66 Boulevard du Montparnasse includes a soft, matte/satin white; a matte/satin dusty pinked-lavender; a matte/satin bruisey purple-rose; a soft, matte/satin black violet; and a shimmery bubblegum pink. The liner shade is a satin black plum when swatched dry. Wet, it brightens into a royal plum.

There are four Rouge G de Guerlain lipsticks in the spring collection, and they’re all quite sheer. 72 Rose Innocent is a sheer, pale, cool-ish pink. 73 Rose Ensoleille is a ruddy peach (my favorite, of course). 74 Rose Piquant is a warm pink. 75 Rose Barbare is a deeper, more red-violet pink. The lipsticks are $46 each.

There are also four Kiss Kiss glosses. 869 Rose in Bloom is a warm, sheer baby pink with lots of gold sparkle. 870 Cherry Pink is a sheer flamingo fuchsia with fewer silver sparkles. 871 Frosted Pink is a frosty, shimmery, pearlescent white-pink. 872 Flush Pink is a warm candy pink with a medium number of gold sparkles. The glosses are $32 each.

And the coup d’grace: Cruel Gardenia, a flower-embossed, pressed Meteorites highlighting powder ($67, and one of this spring’s most sought-after makeup items). It provides a delicate veil of shimmering iridescence; you really don’t see the pale pink until you swatch it heavily.

This collection also includes the nationwide launch of Noir G mascara (Saks had the early exclusive). The mascara comes in the same packaging as the Rouge G lipstick (mirror included), and is refillable. The complete unit is $49; the refill is $26. I got my hands on a sample, and it is an impressive mascara. Every time I wore it, people were really noticing my lashes — Noir G made them full and extremely long, and that can be addicting. But if I’m nitpicking, I worried that it was too mascara-y a mascara. I’m all for implausible lashes, but I want to think “lashes” when I look in the mirror, not “mascara.” I had to remember not to go overboard with the number of coats, or I felt I could almost see the thickening fibers. I definitely recommend a metal lash comb. Noir G mascara is also rose-scented (which I think is nice).

The collection includes one of Laura’s classic eye-and-cheek palettes (six shadows, two blushes — no lip products mixed in with the powders). The palette is $60, limited edition.

Buff Pearl is a beige-champagne-white satin. Tawny Apricot is a dusty rose satin. Rich Cocoa is a dark wood-/earth-brown matte. Pale Pink is a very whitened, very pale, ballet pink matte. African Violet is a shimmery violet-gold duochrome. Black Plum is a delightfully pigmented, dark, cool, dusty, muted, blackened blue-purple matte. Though these shades all feel really familiar, African Violet and Black Plum are the only two listed among Laura’s regular single eyeshadows.

Rose Desire and Fresh Peach are both new shades. Rose Desire is a blue (cool) rose pink; Fresh Peach is pinked peach with a few tiny sparkles (which give it a slight sheen).

The collection also features two Creme Cheek Colour blushes ($22). Oleander is actually a repromote from the permanent line. It’s a pigmented cool pink. Innocent Peach is a little more sheer. It’s a light peach-pink, and it’s limited edition.

There are three Sheer Lip Color lipsticks ($20). Baby Lips (repromote from the permanent line) is a warm rose. Kissed Lips (new, limited edition) is coral pink. Nude Lips (repromote from the permanent line) is a warm rose-beige-nude.

Naked Apricot and Tempting Coral are both “Lip Shines,” and I’m not exactly sure how to describe them. Potted glosses? Potted gloss-balms? They’re $22 each, both limited edition. Naked Apricot is very, very sheer peach. Tempting Coral is more pigmented, a red-berry-rose with gold sparkles.

The two cake eyeliners and two Eye Basics cream eyeshadow bases are repromotes (follow the links to revisit their original swatch posts).

Cake eyeliner is a dry “puck” of pressed powder, activated by water or a product like Laura’s Tightline Activator. You wet your brush, then muddle it on the cake until you achieve a paste the consistency of shoe polish. Apply your eyeliner and the cake will dry back to its regular state, ready for the next application. As you probably already know, a new cake eyeliner can be used with either water or Activator, but once you’ve used it with Activator, it won’t work with water again.

Mahogany Brown is dark brown.  Charcoal Grey (neither charcoal nor grey, really) is more like an industrial/nautical blue-grey. Cake eyeliners are $22 (and Tightline Activator is $20).

Eye Basics are $24 each. They are water-resistant, crease-proof, semi-matte eyeshadow bases containing vitamins and something called “Eyebright,” all meant to reduce inflammation. Flax is a manila-folder yellow-beige. Wheat is peach.

The Ultra Nude Eye Palette felt perfectly within Bobbi’s comfort zone.  (And we already know I have an infinite tolerance for neutral eyeshadow palettes.)

The palette is $45 and includes six shadows (plus a double-ended brush). Chino eyeshadow is a matte, soft fawn-taupe, a light sandpiper brown. Praline shimmerwash eyeshadow is a softly shimmery golden caramel brown. Pink Chandelier metallic eyeshadow is a shimmery/sparkly peach-pink-gold. Stone eyeshadow is a matte wood-brown-taupe, the darker, warmer complement to Chino. Champagne Truffle shimmerwash eyeshadow is a shimmery peach-gold, slightly deeper than Pink Chandelier. And Cocoa Berry shimmerwash is a very dark black-brown satin.

If I had one (trivial) complaint of this palette, it would be that many of the shades are quite similar in tone. I guess Pink Chandelier and Champagne Truffle are my lid options; Chino, Praline, and Stone are my crease colors; Cocoa Berry is my liner.

There are also two eyeshadow singles ($21). Bluebell eyeshadow (0F) is a sheer periwinkle/hyacinth (dreamy purple) blue. Ultra Violet shimmerwash eyeshadow (49) is a sheer heliotrope pink-purple with a medium number of tiny purple sparkles.

Though bright lips or bold eyes shouldn’t compete with your blush, you don’t have to go without it. Bobbi has two new shades to tempt you: Nude Peach (28) and Nude Pink (29).

I loooooove Nude Peach. It’s a warm guava-ish rosy peach with tiny silver sparkles for an allover satin finish. Nude Pink is a matte cool pink. The blushes are $24 each.

There are three Lip Color lipsticks in this collection ($23). Atomic Orange (0T) is aptly named. It’s blinding. I tried it on, and I both loved it and was scared of it. It struck me as a very “New York” color choice. It was also a little bit drying, so you may want to pair it with a gloss. Neon Pink (0R) is a bright, cool, electric-flamingo pink. Uber Beige (52) is actually a limited edition repromote, a peachy, rosy warm nude.

The three lipglosses ($23) are extremely sheer.

This collection also includes a limited edition felt-tipped eyeliner pen, the Ink Liner ($24). It seems absolutely identical to MAC’s Penultimate liner.

And there’s a Neons & Nudes satin makeup bag (6″ x 4″ x 2.5″). It’s $30.

That’s the collection, but I also have a few shopping tips:

• NeimanMarcus.com is offering free shipping at any price with code SHOPNM, plus you’ll get a free sample tube of Bobbi’s Protective Face Lotion SPF 15 with any $50 purchase (no code required for the freebie)
• Nordstrom.com (always free shipping) is offering a free deluxe size Everything Mascara and Crystal lipgloss with any $75 purchase (online only, one per person, no code necessary).
• BobbiBrownCosmetics.com (free shipping at $65) is offering a free “Bobbi to Go” set (4-color mini lip palette plus mini Crystal lipgloss) with your order of $100 or more. The code is NEON12, and it’s valid through January 6th. Or use code PLUM11 to get a free Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15 in Plumberry with your order of $65. Or use code GLOSS12 for a free lipgloss in Nougat with your order of $65 or more. The Plum and Gloss codes are valid until April 13. All codes can be used once per customer.

The Professional palettes cost £4 each. For more Makeup Academy swatches, click here.

The eye quad features three shadows and a cream liner (fortunately, all the palettes zip shut, which should minimize dry-out). The eyeshadow shades are frosty, light, warm, blond-brown golden cocoa; frosty warm (slightly reddish) wood brown; and pearly, slightly iridescent, shimmery, sparkly golden white. The cream liner is dark, cool brown.

The lip quad includes a clear balm; a bright, cool fuchsia-rose (with super tiny, very subtle sparkles); a warm, happy (coral) pink with super tiny, subtle sparkles; and a sheerer peach-strawberry-pink with slightly more noticeable gold sparkle. Both quads are $46. Some sites refer to these as the “Backstage Expert” palettes. Sephora calls them “Celebration Collection” — they don’t really have official names.

The deluxe travel palette features a three-color powder, three shadows, a cream liner, a gloss (left), a lipstick (right), Creme de Rose lip balm (bottom left), little brushes, and DiorShow Iconic mascara.

I didn’t really know how to swatch the powder, having never used the full-size item (DiorSkin Nude Natural Glow Sculpting Powder Makeup SPF 10). I swatched each of the three shades separately with eyeshadow applicators. Then I thought maybe it was supposed to work like the Guerlain quad blushes, where you run your brush over the colors horizontally and apply to your cheek for instant contour.

I emailed my favorite Dior sales associate as soon as I got home. She said the shade in the palette is #020 (Beige Praline), and that in its full size, the stripes are wide enough to be used individually (“even out,” “sculpt,” “illuminate”) — plus the product comes with a thin, rectangular brush. In its mini travel edition, however, she said most people just blend the colors together and use it as powder foundation or bronzer (depending on your skintone).

The eyeshadows are gently shimmery pale pink, shimmery freesia grey-purple, and shimmery black violet. The cream liner is black-plum. The gloss is sheer pale pink, and the lipstick is a very pretty warm rose (red-pink). The travel palette is $77, and it’s up for sale in our BeautyBloggers.org charity auction.

The brush set is $62, and it’s also in the charity auction.

I NEED to tell you about the Ultimate Party Palette, though. The combination of shadows is one of Bobbi’s best: not a dud among them.

Navajo (Metallic) is a frosty silver-pink white. Chrome Patina (new shade, Shimmer Wash) is a shimmery warm gunmetal. Pewter (Chrome) is a repromote from The Chrome Collection, Holiday 2009. It’s a shimmery mix of silver and gold — one of makeup’s prettiest colors. This swatch does seem less golden than the 2009 edition.

Plum Steel (new shade, Metallic) is a shimmery blue-purple. Plum Navy (new shade, regular eyeshadow formula) is a matte, muted blue-purple plum — not as blue as Plum Steel, obviously. Crushed Granite (new shade, Sparkle) is a shimmery, sparkly pale, faded freesia with silver sparkles. Antique Gold (Metallic) is a shimmery dulled copper-gold. Black Topaz (new shade, Metallic) is a shimmery near-black with dense tiny orange, green, and gold shimmers.

Honestly, I could do without the potted glitter lipglosses in the slide-out drawer. (If only they were Pot Rouge lip-and-cheek cremes!) Rave is a sheer wine-red-plum with gold sparkles. Soiree Pink is a very sheer pale pink with pink and blue sparkles. Iced Lilac is a very sheer grey/silver-purple with really tiny silver sparkles. Tinsel (a new shade) is sheer pink with gold and silver sparkles.

There was a brief kerfuffle over the Ultimate Party Palette — some counters temporarily took it down. The root of the issue was the inclusion of “Navajo” eyeshadow. In the wake of the Urban Outfitters/Forever 21 scandal, it was unclear whether the eyeshadow was in violation of the trademarks held by the Navajo Nation. Once the brand’s legal team confirmed that it was not, the palette (and eyeshadow singles) were restored to their counters.

The Ultimate Party Palette is $65, and if you use code SUEDE9 at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com, you can get a free Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Suede, too. GLACIER9 gets you a free shimmer lipgloss in Glacier. (Both valid through January 3rd of next year.) Bobbi’s website offers free shipping at $65.

There’s a new, limited edition eyeshadow quint, 554 Couture Golds ($59). The palette includes a shimmery white; a shimmery muted pumpkin/peach; a sparkly very pale gold; a sheer, dark, grey-brown-black matte; and a shimmery golden cocoa. This photo was taken on a partly cloudy day and I think that washed out the palette just a bit.

There are also four Rouge Dior lipsticks (each $32). I LOVE 841 Belle de Nuit. It’s a warm, hot red-orange-pink (hot coral) with gold shimmer. Winter makes me feel washed out (something about the angle of the light), and I love a pop of color on my lips to make me look alive/awake. Belle de Nuit is really perfect.

961 Nocturne is a lovely magenta-violet-pink with gold shimmers. 527 Versailles is visually confusing. It’s a berry-pink that reflects orange-gold shimmer… so the resulting swatch is warm. 217 Or Etoile is a sheer, shimmering, sparkling pale yellow (a topper for other lipsticks).

Because Dior’s display unit is modular, each counter had to fill some empty slots — and each counter I visited used something different. The Dillards counter decided to display the Shimmering Face Powder in Amber Diamond, which seems like an excellent choice for holiday (who can resist a highlighter at this time of year?).

Knowing how popular Amber Diamond is (and since I haven’t swatched it before), I included it with the collection — even though it’s a regular, permanent item.

DiorSkin Poudre Shimmer (Ultra Shimmering All Over Face Powder) comes in two shades: 001 Rose Diamond and 002 Amber Diamond (each $44). Amber Diamond is a peach-bronze-gold shimmer — and this is a heavy swatch.

The holiday nail polishes are $22, all limited edition. 651 Merveille is a warm, juicy, cherry red with subtle gold shimmer (counterpart to Belle de Nuit). 221 Or Divin is a frosty pale gold that reminds me of NARS Versailles. 871 Apparat is burgundy with gold shimmer. And 611 Exquis is fascinating: grey-green-brown with gold shimmer.

The Warm eyeshadow palette (on the left) is a nice assortment of browns. Winterscape is a classic Lustre, a slightly chunky, somewhat fallout-prone pale silvery white. (I just don’t understand the Lustre formula.)  Magical Mist (Lustre) is a shimmery brown taupe, and a repromote from Tartan Tale. Patina (Frost) is a permanent shade, an intriguing golden, ashy brown that reflects copper.

Buckwheat (Velvet) is a warm brown with small gold sparkles, a repromote from Naked Honey and Tartan Tale, though it’s always been a Frost formula before. Gaelic Gold (Veluxe Pearl) is a dirty-gold frost — also a repromote from Tartan Tale. Midnight Flurry (Matte) is a relatively dark, reasonably cool earth-brown.

The Sultry eyeshadow palette is particularly full of shades that are sheer, chalky, unpigmented, or likely to produce fallout. Lightfully (Lustre) is a very sheer silvery white. Trax (Velvet) is a permanent shade, a sheer lilac with tiny pink sparkles. Fun! (Lustre) is a sheer, fallout-prone rose-copper. Festive Delight (Lustre) is a sheer red-plum with tiny pink sparkles. Black Tied (Velvet) is a permanent shade, a sheer black with silver sparkles. Shadowy Lady (Matte) is also permanent (and repromoted in Rose Romance, Cult of Cherry), a very dark, blackened red-purple.

The Cool eyeshadow palette is — no pun intended — the coolest. Snowball (Frost) is a sheer white with tiny sea green shimmers. Illegal Cargo (Frost) is a periwinkle sheeny satin with a lilac reflect. Idol Eyes (Lustre) is a permanent shade, a frost-blue-grey shimmer with a dirty-gold reflect. I did a double-take at Warm & Smoky (Veluxe Pearl). How does a blue eyeshadow get named “Warm & Smoky”? It’s a duochrome deep blue-purple shimmer. Howzat (Satin) is a slate/charcoal blue-grey satin. Set to Dance (Matte) is actually a repromote from one of last year’s Tartan Tale palettes, but this incarnation looks quite different. It’s much more black/less blue this year. I’d call it a matte navy black with so-so pigment.

If you like blue eyeshadow, the cool palette offers a pretty nice assortment.

Love ‘em? Leave ‘em? What do you think?