Lancôme Heat Wave Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow Quad from the Bronze Azure Summer 2011 Collection

The moment I heard Lancôme's new palette was named Heat Wave, Martha and the Vandellas' old song started running through my mind.

Whenever I'm with you
Something inside starts burning
and my heart's filled with fire...

Whenever he calls my name
Sounds so soft sweet and plain
Right then, right there
I feel this burning pain
This high blood pressure's got a hold on me
I said this ain't the way love's supposed to be

It's like a heatwave burning in my heart...

Can you hear the music with me? Ooh yeah, ooh yeah, heat wave! Just like the song from the 1963 Motown hit was my kind of song, Lancôme's Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow Quad Smooth Hold in Heat Wave ($42) from the Bronze Azure Summer 2011 Collection is my kind of eye shadow! With some of my favorite shades - gold and bronze - it was irresistible. I purchased it early this week and have worn it since.

I've provided two photos of the palette: Lancôme's at the top of this feature, which has larger-than-life color representations, and mine. The photo at right was taken outdoors in full sunlight, unfortunately after I had used the quad. Sometimes a gal just has to try the colors! The truth lies somewhere in between my photos and Lancôme's, so I took a couple of swatch photos to show you the gorgeous, shimmering shades of Heat Wave on my skin, as opposed to in the pan.

This limited-edition eye shadow quad, is part of the Bronze Azure Summer 2011 Color Collection. It's at counters now. Heat Wave seems to be the most popular of the two quads. The other, Molten Shore, is described as "green." To my eye, it has blue, plum, and neutrals.

Let's get to the swatches, which were taken in cloudy, but bright outdoor light. I swatched clockwise, starting with the upper left base shade and finishing at lower left. I applied the shadows with a sponge-tipped applicator - rather heavily to get enough pigment to show the colors well.

The first shade photo at the upper left of the compact is a shimmering ivory. Love it! The top right shade in the compact is a golden peach. The lower right shade is a shimmering brown - a lovely accent color for the other shadows or a liner shade. The antique gold/bronze gold shade at the lower left of the compact is full-on gorgeous. I love all four shades. This is a winner quad!

Did I "need" more golds and shimmering neutrals? Nope! Could I resist? Nope! Heat Wave is a beautiful palette.

I purchased a lot more from the Bronze Azure and summer bronzer collections - both of which arrived at Neiman Marcus at the same time. I will be showing you all of my lovely new items over the coming days. Lancôme is "re-promoting" Heatstroke, one of my all-time favorite Color Fever Gloss shades. It's a must-have. That's the same way I feel about Heatstroke. Heat Wave is warm and shimmering, evoking the colors of sun and sand - and music.

You can purchase Heat Wave at Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, other Lancôme counters, and Lancôme-usa.com. Whatever you do, go look at all the new makeup! Don't forget Camp Gorgeous at Neiman Marcus. Friends & Family starts today at Lord & Taylor. They are offering a 10% discount in the beauty department. If you didn't get the card, ask for the discount anyhow.

Photo at top courtesy of Lancôme; other photos by Best Things in Beauty