Chantecaille The Elephant Palette Review and Swatches

I've got it! The gorgeous new palette from Chantecaille is finally here. Isn't it just so cute? I love the little chunky elephants on the eyeshadows.

The colours included in this palette are:

• Ivory: a soft, pearlybeige inspired by the African Elephants tusks
• Grasslands: an on trend green inspired by the colour of the lush savanna grass after the rainy season
• Iron Ore: a glistening deep gray with flecks of gold, mirrors the way the mineral shimmers in the bright African sunlight
• Red Earth: a strong copper whose colour mimics the rich, red African cliffs

There is a shimmery overspray on the elephants, but the rest of the eyeshadows show the true colours. While I have not used the eyeshadows, I did manage to swatch them (not the overspray, but the actual shadows) and I have to say, I wasn't bowled over. I like Ivory and Red Earth, they are both very smooth and well pigmented, especially Red Earth. Grassland and Iron Ore were both quite hard to swatch, they weren't very well pigmented, especially Iron Ore. I must point out, I haven't actually worn these yet, sometimes eyeshadows apply better on the eyes than they swatch, so we'll see. I still love it because it's so beautiful, and one of my weaknesses are Chantecaille powders and palettes, so I'm happy with it anyway.

The quad costs a whopping £74 although I managed to buy mine from eBay for a lot less. You get 12 g for your money and a lovely refillable dark green compact with a full size mirror in the lid. Chantecaille donates a measly 5% of the proceeds to the The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an organization that rescues, fosters and release baby elephants orphaned by ivory poaching. I feel that when charging this much for an eyeshadow palette, they could at least donate a bigger chunk, say 15-20%, but in the end of the day I guess it's better than nothing.

There is also a blush with the same elephant motif that I have literally just bought, so I have not had the chance to photograph or swatch, but I will do it as soon as possible.

In the meantime, take a look at more pictures of the palette including swatches after the jump!

Taken with flash

Taken without flash in natural daylight