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2010

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Dior Summer Quints Part 2: Swatches + Comparisons

April 8, 2010
I was able to play around with my new Dior Summer Quints a bit more and find them amazing! Please note the swatches don’t do the actual product justice, these were swatched on a bare arm so the color on the lighter shades don’t show up as well with the flash washing it out a bit.
If I had to pick 1 quint for the summer, it would definitely be Ready-To-Glow, it just seems more unique to me. Although Crush Glow is equally gorgeous, I know I will get good use out of both! The pigment is medium-to-rich, texture easily blendable, finish is glowy and shimmery. The frost is definitely on the higher end, but I don’t find these overly frosty. That being said, I typically only use 3 shades at a time from a Dior Quint. Using all 5 just isn’t very practical for my eyeshape and skintone, although the concept is quite appealing. I simply cannot pull off that many shades at once on my small eyelid area.

Dior Ready-To-Glow 649 + Comparisons:





Dior Crush Glow 659 + Comparisons:




* Note for Lexi – I know you wanted a dupe for the center shade, I compared it to MAC at the counter today, it’s most similar to Paradisco, but the Dior is a lot more pigmented, and a bit lighter – I tried to save my hand swatch, but it didn’t last the car ride home



I won’t be swatching the comparisons. It took a great deal of effort to find dupes because the colors just seemed so unique to me. The Dior Summer Quints all have a multi-dimentional quality which creates a “glow” like the names imply. YMMV depending on your screen, but I couldn’t find exact dupes for any of the Summer Quints, so I pulled what I thought was the closest in color family to provide a comparison and help you gauge the colors depending on your computer screen.

While $58 USD is pricey for an eyeshadow palette, if you factor in the convenience , quality, pigment and price per eyeshadow, it comes to about $11.60 for 1.2 grams. My MAC Eyeshadows range from 1.3 to 1.5 grams for $11.00 (pro-palette form) or $14.50 so if you think about the price in those terms, Dior isn’t really too bad. Overpriced, yes, but RIDICULOUSLY overpriced, no. (Then again, this is only my opinion.)

I didn’t see much else featured in this collection – they are featuring 3 of the Lip Polishes 001, 002 and 003 (which were a Sephora exclusive before) along with some of the new Addict Glosses. There is also a liptint/lipgloss charm in a heavy silver compact with chain. The tester unit wasn’t set up fully, and it seemed to have random testers put in the empty slots. My SA at Nordstrom said she hadn’t received everything yet and wasn’t sure when the rest would be arriving, so I’m not sure if there are any nail polishes or blushes featured with this collection.

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Get Your Glow On with Dior Summer Quints: Ready-To-Glow 649 & Crush Glow 659

April 6, 2010
Dior Summer 2010 has arrived in-store with two stunning quints, Ready-To-Glow 649 and Crush Glow 659. This is only a preview, I don’t have swatches, comparisons, or a full review yet, but stay tuned for an update in the next day or so. Both come in the Iridescent Eyeshadow formula and retail for $58 each. Indeed the names are suitable for both palettes because they radiate pure lovely glowiness when you open the compacts.

Ready-To-Glow 649 is a neutral-cool palette. It seems like a more neutral variation of Smoky Crystal 089, which I’m completely in love with, but the new summer quint has less intense-contrasts in colors and softer more muted shades.

Crush Glow 659 is the warmer variation, which I am happy to report isn’t too warm as I had initially thought it would be based on preview pictures. Still, it’s on the warm side, but lovely and very wearable.

I haven’t had a chance to test these on my eyes, but the testers at Nordies were extremely soft and pigmented. It seems that the summer collections come out earlier every year. This collection seems suitable for spring, although their Spring Lace Collection was equally stunning and suitable for spring. I’m just happy they released a mini collection that seems to be well suited for year round – at least in Southern California.

Again, note that my work is copyrighted, please do not republish or hotlink my photos. Thanks!

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Lunasol Beige Beige Skin Modeling Eyes

April 5, 2010
One of my very first posts focused on 3 Lunasol Eyeshadow Quads I was lucky enough to get thanks to my wonderful sister while she was in Japan. I’ve received requests for more reviews on Japanese brands, which I would love to do, but I have a very small stash of items that come directly from Japan. I realized I never swatched these, so thought this might be a good time to give a more in-depth review.
I discovered this brand thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Haru at Rouge Deluxe. I’ve been a long-time fan of hers and her blog is one of my daily reads. I highly recommend you check out her blog (the Lunasol tag is linked above) for more pictures, swatches, reviews and lovely EOTDs.

Beige Beige 01 is reported to be the brand’s Number 1 seller in Japan and comes in the Skin Modeling Eyes formula. It has 3 variations of beige plus 1 glimmering chocolate color. I’d describe this as a true classic beige eyeshadow palette for light to medium to medium-dark skintones + a natural chocolate liner shade that softly defines the eye.

I love the fact that the Lunasol website has a “How To Use” diagram for each eyeshadow palette by formula which I find incredibly helpful, even though with beige colors, it’s hard to go wrong any way you apply the colors. This palette gives you a great fail-proof set of beiges that will give you an enhanced but naturally defined glowing eye look.

Swatches top to bottom are in same order as diagram above, A, B, C, D:

Look I did today with the Lunasol Beige Beige Quad using NARS St. Barts + South Beach Multiples blended on cheeks, NARS Serato dusted on top, MAC Teddy Eyeliner, MAC Spice Lipliner, D&G Sparkling Lipstick, MAC Moth to Flame Dazzleglass.


Are there dupes for this quad? Probably yes, but I haven’t found any other brand that can replicate the texture and pigment of these eyeshadows. The palest shade is the most sparkly, border line glittery, but the others have a sophisticated shimmer that is very flattering and natural looking. The pigment for this quad is very high in my opinion, it has the buttery soft texture of colors from MAC’s Starflash Eyeshadows but better pigment. The swatches on the skin don’t do this quad justice for how the colors look on the eyes! Unfortunately, the pigment did not translate onto my arm.
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Chanel Rouge Coco Mini from Saks

April 4, 2010
One benefit of being on a mailing list is that you get notifications of new products and sometimes cute promotions. The most recent one I received was for a sample of the Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle (good when you present the mailer at the counter). Also at the counter were cute little pink and white flowered perfume spray cards to sample their new Chance perfume. I really wanted to get it because who can resist a pretty pink bottle of perfume? But alas, the scent was just not for me. The card however was irresistibly cute and I happily smelled it all the way home trying to convince myself that I could possibly wear that scent.

Dear Chanel, If you read this, this is the cutest sample + packaging I have seen in a long time! Please do one for the new Hydramax Lip Care Treatment. I would definitely consider splurging on an expensive lip balm if I had the chance to try it beforehand. (I saw the tester at the counter, but who trusts lip testers of potted lip products where anyone can stick their finger in if not watched 24/7?)

I doubt Chanel would take the time to read this blog, but who knows. These days I find that it’s hard to come by good samples. Even store events typically have crummy samples of products I would never use. This may be rude of me to say, but getting bad samples for spending $100 is almost worse than no sample at all. For me, a mini or sample size product should be given of something a store or brand wants to sell + also be relevant to customer interests. It should let the customer try a certain color or product so they can get a feel for how it can work for him or her.

While it is hard for me to find good samples, there are a number of skincare items I’ve fallen in love with from samples. NARS, Shiseido, Clinique, Paul & Joe are a few brands that have good samples to name a few. Things like skincare require a few trial uses before I can truly make a decision on whether or not that product will work for my skintype. If it weren’t for the fabulous GWP Paul & Joe skincare samples I received from BG, I probably would have never tried their skincare line and would have totally missed out.

Also, since customers have so many options of where to buy, I think customers should be given more incentives in the form of loyalty programs as a token of appreciation for giving a certain brand or store their business.

I have been guilty of getting sucked into numerous beauty events with the gift being a cheapo tote + 6 stingy samples that I don’t know I’d ever use. Many times, I already know there is something I want to buy – my mind has already been made up that I do intend to purchase something (ie the Chanel Rouge Cocos). The decision for me is where to buy it? Stores or brands that typically have better customer service, friendly more sincere sales reps, and better incentive programs usually get my loyalty.

I’ve been trying to convert my mother to Chanel for sometime now. I already have the Mademoiselle Rouge Coco, so this will be passed along to her. Hopefully she will be as excited about the cute little bag and packaging as I am and will maybe branch out of her usual go-to’s. (She’s an loyal EL + Lancome fan, which are great each in their own way, I just want her to try new stuff!)

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

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Giorgio Armani Blushing Fabric

April 3, 2010
I checked out some new blushes on Friday. I was all set to get a few of the new MUFE HD Microfinish Blushes but Sephora was packed. I was testing out #14 Star Struck (a soft light peach) applying the tester on my face by one of the mirrors and this woman came up next to me and said “you’re in my way.” I swear if I didn’t move she probably would have pushed me. Why do some people lack manners? Couldn’t she find another empty mirror? Ugh! Reminder to self: avoid Sephora unless the store looks empty. The store was busier than usual and the line was pretty long so I didn’t even try to make a purchase.

So off I went to Saks to see if they had the new Blushing Fabrics and they did along with the new Face Fabric Radiance.

The Blushing Fabrics retail for $38 USD each for 20 ml/0.6 oz and come in three different shades labeled 1, 2 and 3 in a squeezable tube. They have a similar texture as the Face Fabric foundations which is nice for the brighter colors so it gives a soft tinted flush. The lightest shade #3 goes on pretty sheer. I will need to play around with it more to. I don’t use the Face Fabric foundation for 2 reasons:

1) I am in between shades 2 and 3 (those who have tested these know that there’s a large shade gap)
2) I didn’t really like the way it felt all over my face

Yet I was still willing to give the Blushing Fabrics a chance since I’ll only be applying these on my cheeks.


Note, these blend out a lot more sheer than the swatch looks just squeezed onto the skin. I couldn’t get it to photograph well though. Those who are dying to see better swatches, let’s all keep our fingers crossed that our beloved Karlasugar (swatch queen) will be swatching these in the near future!

Overall thoughts: #1 and #2 are practically identical when blended out. #1 is just more pink and #2 is slightly more coral. I tested out #3 a soft peach shade and I’m not sure if the one I got is different from the store, but it just completely disappears into my skin. The store tester had a dryer texture and showed up better. Maybe I just need to shake mine up. If you want a soft peach, I think the MUFE #14 has better pigment and will show up better. Although, I found the MUFE textures to be very dense and a bit thick. The Sephora artists recommended you use a skunk-type brush to blend, but it just seems like using a brush would waste a lot of product.

So there are your pros and cons: get the Armani #3 it might now show up, get the MUFE #14, it’s a thicker harder-to-work-with texture.

YMMV on these. I personally like the Armani Fluid Sheers a lot more. But curiosity got the best of me. Add that with an enthusiastic sales rep and I was easily sold even though I was a bit skeptical of how great these would be. Note to self: think more before you purchase. So rants about Sephora aside, I do love the fact that they don’t have typical sales associate there pressuring you to buy things.

Oh, I mentioned the Face Fabric Radiance – same size/concept as the Face Fabric but with a slight pearl finish. Shade 1 is probably the equivalent of a MAC NC10-15, Shade 2 is the equivalent of a MAC NC40+, Shade 3 is even darker. My opinion: why do they skip the shades that fit me? I didn’t look twice after swatching them.

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Dior Love Vernis Comparisons

April 3, 2010
Dior Love is most similar to OPI’s Lourve Me Lourve Me Not, but applies a lot better. The Dior only needed 2 coats where the OPI needed 3 to get a full application. The remaining colors aren’t necessarily dupes, but just colors in the same color family so you can gauge how purple/burgandy/fuschia/bright Dior Love is compared to other purples.

Same order, just closer shot:


I’m sure there may be other closer dupes out there for Dior Love, I just don’t have any others that compare to it.

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Love Dior Set by Tyen

April 2, 2010
I am so excited to tell you all I have found the Limited Edition Love Dior Set by Tyen! For this purchase, I have Marina from Makeup4All to thank for writing about the set back last October in her Tyen: 30 Years of Creation Love Dior Palette and also my fellow makeup guru Parsi who told me she spotted it at the Dior Boutique in Las Vegas and immediately sent me a rave review knowing this would be something I would be interested in learning more about. The Dior Boutique in the Forum Shops did have a few left in stock and I was ecstatic!

The set is called Love Dior which retails for $80 US. It comes with an Eyeshadow Palette that is called Love Dior, but can also be used on cheeks as a highlighter. There is also a gorgeous nail polish that has complex shimmers of burgandy-wine-purple-fuschia which I am absolutely in love with.



One more shot, natural light:

I haven’t had a chance to play with the palette yet. It’s too pretty, I don’t know that I want to touch it. The “i” in the Dior arrived crumbled, but no biggie. I will try to pull some similar nail polish shades to do a comparison post soon!
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