Sometimes I don’t think ahead. I was sitting here, taking a break from work-work, and I reached down into the box that lives at my feet, down to the right. This is the box that contains all the new stuff, stuff that needs to be to hand, but is to foot because I am trying to keep the top of my desk from being too cluttered.

I reached down, and my hand hit this, one of L’Oréal’s new eyeshadow palettes for autumn, in the Colour Riche Les Ombres line. Hmmm, I thought. Green. I always think that green will make my eyes bluer, but it makes me look like I am due to be carried out of my gaff feet first. Eh, whatever, I like the look of the plummy bit, and after squinting, even with my specs, at the wee diagramme on the back, I laid it on myself.

Well, they do look bluer! This photo does not do the drama justice, I swear, this shadow makes for some seriously smoky eyes. I unexpectedly had to go out into the world, and felt somewhat overly done, but ah, well, who knew?

Also: the enclosed applicator has an angled end that applied the under-eye charcoal colour in one go, with aplomb. I know we have been taught to disdain enclosed applicators, but this worked a treat: one dab in the dark stuff, and one dab under the eye, and I looked like I knew what I was doing. It is death to your style when the under thing goes horribly wrong, and as with many things in life, less is more. One dab’ll do it, and then go get one of your fancy make up brushes to blend it in, as the sponginess of the applicator doesn’t lend itself to the best of blends.

Now, one is counselled to use this gear wet, and I’ll try that next, but with one of the other colours. Maybe the Disco Smoking palette: check out that mad looking goldenrod segment for highlighting the brow bone. This one is more towards the purple end of the spectrum, and I think I’ll like it better.

I have to say, there’s nothing like new make up to make one wish to greet the season. Hello, autumn! Here’s lookin’ at ya.

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€11.99/£8.16