Givenchy Fall-Winter 2014: Palette Extravagancia (Review, Photos, FOTD)

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Opulence meets Avant-garde, a befitting description for Givenchy Palette Extravagancia, a Fall-Winter 2014 limited edition palette featuring four eyeshadows and lip/cheek color housed in leather and black lacquer case. But at $66, will it be a great addition to your designer-brand stash? Scroll down for review, photos, swatches, and FOTD.

If there's one brand I frequently stalk at Sephora, it's Givenchy. The limited edition lipsticks quelled me countless times (another review coming up soon) so when I saw this combo palette, I caved blindly. 

Let's start with the packaging. If it were a tad bigger, it can pass for a clutch. The gold embossed logo and trimmings remind me of Versace, unorthodox yet fashion-forward. It opens up by clicking the square button. It has a great-size mirror and two brushes which I don't really care for. The eyeshadows' combined net weight is .14 oz while the lip/cheek color is 0.6 oz.

No names but that's okay, you can readily tell from the photos what they are unless you're color-blind, haha! My favorite among the four is Dark Brown, it's sheen with specks of silver upclose. It's easy to apply and blend (dry for soft daytime look and wet for intense smoky eyes). Purple is also on the sheen side with moderate pigmentation. I prefer applying it wet because it looks holographic. Gray-silver is metallic with silver specks, the beauty of which is more appreciated when applied wet and over a creamy eyeshadow base. Finally the dud, Gold, no thanks to fallout! The only way to make it work and eliminate the whole cursing game is to apply it wet, pat on carefully, and build as you please; or better yet, apply your foundation and concealer last because you're up for some serious sweeping my ladies! All four shades have a gritty-feel to them, which is kind of a bummer because I expected creamier and/or butter-soft formulation. Worn over an eye primer, these eyeshadows are crease and and budge-free.

The lip/cheek color is surprisingly sheer but hydrating. I think it is the perfect color choice to go with the bold eyeshadows. You can tell from the photos below that it's close to wearing a pinky-nude lip balm. I used it for my cheeks but I can't get it to show up on my medium skin tone.

I showed you the nitty, here's the gritty. It's a so-so palette. Meaning, it's nice to have (especially if you're a Givenchy collector) but not a must-have. I can make the eyeshadows work, for all its worth I better should! If true-blue makeup-loving consumers are given a hand on product development, I vote to have more eyeshadows and eliminate the lip/cheek color. It's no use to say the least. 

For my eye makeup, I applied gold on inner 1/3 of my eyelid, blended out with purple on the center, lined the outer corner and lower lash line with metallic silver (over gold), and used dark brown on crease.

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