Coffret D'Or Mysterious Force Eyes

It's been two years since I last picked up a Coffret D'Or lippie, namely the Premium Stay Rouge shortly before they were discontinued, and even longer since I last picked up an eye shadow palette, partly because they'd gotten so repetitive and plain boring. 

It seems the power that be realized that also, because the brand has been releasing some pretty edgy stuff recently, many of which are perhaps too cool for boring ol' me ^.^ Last fall though, these hilariously-named sextet caught my eyes, the Mysterious Force Eyes in 01 Golden Modern and 02 Mauve Lady. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

I wouldn't call these edgy or cool. In fact, I think they're still kind of boring and repetitive. However, for some reason I was particularly drawn to one pan from each palette, the jewel-tone one at top right. Yep, they sold me on the whole sextet with just that one pan ^.^"

The compacts are pretty, about the same size as the others only slimmer and not as thick. The antique gold color is elegant, and the bow-shaped medallion in the middle is sophisticated. They still have that annoying clear plastic flap with instructions attached to the compacts though. I wish they'd cut it out with those flaps, but I do see that the flap catches any loose bit and prevent it from smearing the mirror.

The formula is very nice. With the exception of the top left pan in 01 that's a bit chalky and the bottom middle pan in 02 that's a bit gritty from all the shimmers, all the other pans are smooth and buttery soft. These are pretty pigmented too, unlike many other Coffret D'Or palettes I own that tend to be low-medium pigmentation.

For the most part, the color selections are still pretty "safe," which is why I think these palettes are still kind of boring and repetitive. Then again, I'm also the target market for these so-called "safe" colors, and were they any edgier and I wouldn't pick them up at all, so there. I do appreciate that each palette doesn't necessary follow the "standard" gradation scheme per se. Instead, the colors are arranged for a softer daytime look (top row) versus a deeper nighttime one (bottom row), and I don't have to think too hard before rushing out the door. Of course, all the colors are designed to work together, so I have the option to mix and match however I wanted too.

- 01 Golden Modern: I like both palettes a lot but if I had to pick just one, I'd probably go with this one. In fact, I would even whittle it down to a quad with just far right four pans. There's something really modern and sophisticated about that peacock green and the greige pair, and the rusty orange and burnt gold pair is glamorous and festive.

- Top left, highlighter: shimmer, very sheer. A pastel blue in the pan but goes on more a blue-tinted white. Possibly the most useless pan in both palettes. It's so chalky and dry, and I had to really dig just to get that sheer swatch you see here. Too bad the whole sextet is in the same pan, otherwise I would have remove just this one color and be rid of it. 
- Top middle, lid: shimmer, medium intensity. A modern greige that appears satiny but shows a lustrous sheen when angled. The color fairly unusual and not often seen in Japanese palettes. The tricky thing about greiges is that, well, they have gray in them, which means there's a chance it might turn muddy. Thankfully, there's a lot of yellow in my skin tone to warm it up, so it's wearable for me.
- Top right, deep/crease: shimmer, medium intensity. A gorgeous peacock green and the star of the palette, I think. The swatches had a red-wash that made it look more blue than it really is. While this color is dark enough to line with, its medium intensity keeps it softer and suitable for the daytime look.
- Bottom left, deep/liner: satin, high intensity. Again, the red-wash in the swatch photos made it look brownish but this is really a blackened spruce.
- Bottom middle, medium/crease: metallic, medium intensity. A metallic rusty orange.
- Bottom right, medium/crease: shimmer, high intensity. A pigmented caramel. Like the greige above, this color appears satiny but shoes a lustrous sheen when angled.

- 02 Mauve Lady: this palette is the easier, almost default choice for me. In fact, it's so brainless I can simply put myself on autopilot and would still look put-together. Again, I'm happy with just the four far right pans, so the other two are extras for me. This palette's overall look is feminine and pretty, not as fun as 01 above but is more office appropriate even with that sparkly pan.

- Top left, highlighter: shimmer, low intensity. A powder pink. I don't love it, but at least it's more useful than the pastel blue above.

- Top middle, lid: shimmer, medium intensity. A golden camel with the same satiny appearance and lustrous sheen as the griege and caramel above.

- Top right, deep/crease: shimmer, medium intensity. A lovely ruby and the star of this palette. Like the peacock green, it's dark enough to line with but is kept at medium intensity for a softer daytime look.

- Bottom left, deep/liner: satin, high intensity. A dark chocolate.

- Bottom middle, sparkling top wash: high shimmer, low intensity. A sparkling gold champagne. 

- Bottom right, medium/crease: shimmer, high intensity. A pigmented nudy pink-beige, again with the satiny appearance and lustrous sheen when angled.