Earlier this year, Dior released a new trio collection of nail polishes called Les Violets Hypnotiques. Back in February, these plum-purple themed shades were exclusive to Europe, later rolled out to Asia, and finally have landed in the US. I believe they are currently exclusive to the Dior Boutique in Las Vegas Palazzo, however there are rumors these will be released at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale (I haven’t confirmed though). The three shades released are Orchid 981 a plum cream with tiny flecks sparkle, Shadow 783 a complex deep purple with red shimmers and Poison 996 a deep rich blackened-eggplant cream. Those who have been long-time Dior fans will see two of these shades as slightly revamped updated versions of prior limited-edition releases. (Comparisons and swatches below.) These all come with the chiseled brush in the new Dior Nail Lacquer formula. The colors are rich and beautiful, however I found ease of application to be slightly inconsistent.
Orchid is a gorgeous deep wine color. It applies as a cream but if you look closely in the bottle you will see tiny flecks of sparkle. These unfortunately are not visible on the nail. The formula goes on sheer/jelly-like making application slightly challenging. I found it difficult to achieve even coverage with 2 coats. Three thin coats gave full opaque coverage but I had to apply with a very slow and steady hand. Below, the first swatch on the left has 3 coats, all other fingers have 2 coats. I found this to be almost identical to Black Plum (released fall 2009).
Swatches below all have three coats:
Shadow is the stunner of the collection. It’s a deep plum infused with suspended red, wine, gold and purple shimmers. The formula on this color was slightly thick so I recommend applying with two thin coats. I found that using a base coat helped smooth out application. Those who remember Dior Licorice from Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale in 2008 will notice Shadow looks familiar. To me they are almost twins, the new Shadow is slightly more purple in the base while Licorice applies more reddish. Also, Shadow looks slightly more “dusty” in finish, I believe it’s because of the base. Below shows two coats.
Poison is my favorite in the entire collection. It applied the most flawlessly out of the three. It’s a blackened eggplant but has enough blue/purple to prevent it from looking black. It has a similar effect as some other shades such as Chanel Vendetta and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche. If you don’t have Poison and are wondering if it’s different enough to justify owning, I would say no. The effect is just too similar. However, I do love this one and have no regrets.
Overall gorgeous. If you missed out on prior releases, this will be the opportunity for you to pick up something similar. Even with the inconsistent formula of these three, I’m still very pleased. Other blogs I recommend checking out for more photos, swatches and comparisons include Joey’space and Fashion Polish. I also love the swatches by AudreyEleven, see them here on The Purse Forum.
These retail for $23 each. I ordered mine from the Palazzo Dior Boutique (702) 734-1102. I cannot rave enough about their excellent customer service (which stands out these days, especially given some recent less than satisfactory experiences I’ve had with a few big retailers). In addition there are a few more items available as part of this special release: a purple lipgloss, purple mascara in the Extase formula and a purple trio.
