An eye for fine art

L-R: Du Wop, Clarins, Chanel, Lancome and Yves Saint Laurent.

Eyeshadow compacts are so aesthetically pleasing these days that you could just about have them framed to display with the rest of your art. British renegade artist Tracey Emin has probably already done that. Oh well, maybe just wear this season's beauties.

Take advantage of the four or more colours in these compacts and experiment with the different textures and shades you wouldn't normally use. The safety net is that these colours work together. You shouldn't be buying a compact to get at a single colour. That's wasteful.

Chanel Coromandels De Chanel
$102 for 14g

One hundred years from now, Antiques Roadshow could be putting a fine price on one of these limited-edition stunners. Inside a black lacquered box comes an exquisite eyeshadow combo of black, gold and ochre colours, complete with fancy relief work. The inspiration comes from Chinese carved lacquer screens. I'm sure the colours are beautiful on the eyes but I can't guarantee it - I can't actually bear to use them.

From selected department stores and pharmacies.

Lancome Une Femme Coquette Color Focus
$70 for 4.8g

Makeup artist Gucci Westman created the French Riviera colour story, of which this lengthily named Exceptional Wear Smooth Eye Colour Quad is part. The matt white, iridescent light pink, gold sable and water-green colours are kept apart so you won't get any unwelcome colours on your brush. Lovely, pretty colours. The most eyecatching part of the compact is the lid's graphic coloured circles.

From selected department stores and pharmacies. 

Yves Saint Laurent Bayadere Style Eye Shadow
$110 for 10g

The colours in this fetching striped combo are all about summer at the seaside. Use these on your eyes and you'll end up looking like a fabulous Mediterranean resort landscape. The stripes mean you have to be precise getting just the one colour on a brush.

From selected department stores and pharmacies.

DuWop Violet Eyes
$60 for 6.25g

An ingenuous eye colour kit. Within three circles are all you need for a violet job. You get a base colour, a lighter and darker colour, a metallic shade and a cream liner. No worries here about using colours that don't work. And the metallic violet compact is just the best.

From Glamorpuss.

Clarins Blue Shimmers Colour Quartet for Eyes
$80 for 8g

The colours are ocean-blue, sky-blue, tender pink and fuchsia. As part of the In the Mood for Love colour story, the colours are all about a carefree, playful mood done with bold, candy shades. Hard not to be cheerful once you've had a go with these. Lose the doll-size applicator though, it's far too small to be of much use.

From selected department stores, pharmacies and beauty therapists.