Estée Lauder Pure Color Blue Dahlia palette

this palette was initially released with the Blue Dahlia collection by Estée Lauder last summer/autumn. there were two different palettes, a purple one and this blue one and some other products of which i bought my all time favourite nail polish, Estée Lauder Surreal Violet. i haven't really been looking at the palettes back then, they were too bright and colourful for me to be purchased at the retail price (which was about 45-50€). but at 19.99$ it's a completely other story, isn't it? ;)
last time when i repeatedly went on the hunt for some Estée Lauder Double Wear Cream Shadows (which are not sold in germany -.-) i found these palettes being offered at this unbeatable price on allcosmeticswholesale.com and of course i couldn't say no to that bargain so i went for the Blue Dahlia palette (also because of this nice taupe shade hehe). shipping costs were reasonable and delivery was quick as always (within 1 week). i ordered one more product from Estée Lauder on there that i will show you another time.
the palettes are brand new no box, so the compact casing already had some scratches. but since the content was new and untouched, it doesn't bother me at all. it's a flat shiny gold and partly clear acrylic compact with elegantly engraved brand initials on the lid. only it's very nail-unfriendly to open.
inside it has a nice big mirror and two (useless) applicators next to the eyeshadows.

there are 5 eyeshadows, four larger pans arranged around a dark liner shade in the center, the design is reminiscent of the Guerlain Ecrin 6 Couleurs palettes but without the dark liner shade at the side.
the colours in this palette are:

1. a very sheer white with lots and lots of sparkling teal microglitter, it looks like a refined version of MAC's Reflects Glitters in a pressed form. this shade is great to use as a topper shade to add some sparklelicious to your looks since it's so sheer. nothing to highlight the tearduct area or the browbone, though.
2. a rich teal blue satin base colour with lots of blue and clear sparkle. it's a bit drier and not so smooth in texture, also requires slightly more work to blend out evenly because the base shade is almost matte and so intense but it's a fantastic "adult" bright shade. great to make dark blues even more blue and also beautiful used wet as a bright eyeliner.
3. a shimmery pearly medium taupe which leans more silvery on the lid than in the pan. smooth and soft texture, good pigmentation but sadly not as complex as i hoped it would be to hold against the other shades.
4. a shimmery dark midnight blue with lots of blue and clear sparkles. it feels silky smooth but has a similar finish as the lighter blue. i find it to be somewhat powdery or loose in texture, hard to describe. like it's really intense when swatched but is so powdery that you would blend it away when you go over the edges with a fluffy brush and then it's almost too sheer. 
5. in the center is a matte black to use as a eyeliner (wet or dry) or to really darken your eye make up. it has an intense pigmentation and a good texture. it's not as great as MAC's Matte² or the liner shades in the Guerlain palettes. 

the shades blend out and into each other nicely although i wished for more definition, especially with the two darkest shades. the colours lasted all day on me without any problems.

i must say that i'm not that impressed with Estée Lauder shadows, but this is a nice colourful palette for me. definitely great for parties. i'm glad that i haven't bought it full price, though.

here is a look i've done with it:

#3 on the inner half of upper&lower lid, #4 on the outer V, #2 layered over it to intensify and a tiny bit on the outer parts of lower lash line, #5 used dry as a liner.

what about you? do you have Estée Lauder palettes? do you like them? are they always "like this" (this is my first Lauder palette and i'm not so sure about the eyeshadow quality...)?