As promised here are some comparison swatches for two of the Dior Voyage Transatlantique Manicure Sets in Yacht 210 and Captain 750 (Saks exclusive, limited-edition).
Captain is a classic red. You will most likely find it very similar to other classic reds. It has a bit more warmth than other Diors without being orangey. Captain has no blue. It’s a bit brighter and warmer than Dior Trafalgar. Captain also has a jelly finish. Below compared to Dior Calypso (discontinued and more pink), Tom Ford Ginger Fire (more orangey), Chanel Coromandel (deeper and more red), Chanel Enthusiast (pretty close but slightly darker) and Dior Tie & Dye (darker).
Dior Beauty has released a Saks-exclusive collection called Voyage Transatlantique which consists of a new highlighter, 5-pan eyeshadow palette, two glosses, two lipsticks and three nail colors. I picked up two of the Manicure Duos in Captain 750 (a vibrant red) and Yacht 210 (a cool-toned nude), both of which come in a manicure set with a mini Dior nail file and nail stickers ($30 each). I spotted the items at Saks Beverly Hills a few weeks ago but they did not have a tester unit up yet and some of the product had not yet arrived in store for sale.
Both Dior Captain and Yacht nail polishes applied smoothly with two coats. I found the brushes to be a bit thinner with these than other Dior nail polishes but the brushes still have the tapered round tips. There was no difference in application for me though. Both were applied with Chanel Base Coat and Top Coat. The stickers look super cute but I found them to be a bit too big for my fingers – at this point I’m still not entirely sure how to use them. More photos and swatches below (comparisons to come in a separate post shortly, but so far no dupes.)
Captain 750 is a flawless vibrant red. It’s has a slightly warmer tone than most other Dior reds but it’s not orangey. This had a thin jelly like texture but the pigment is very impressive. The application was absolute perfection with one swipe. Below I have it applied with two coats.
Yacht 210 looked like your standard nude cream. However it is a bit cool-toned making it more clay-like but not quite grey. It’s a mix of beige and grey cream and doesn’t make me look like death. It applied perfectly with two coats.
Both colors are beautiful classics. The colors are fairly simple and seem standard but they apply flawlessly and give a nice clean polished look without extra work involved. Lasting power for me has been very good with Dior nail polishes so far with up to 6 days no tip wear or chipping. (Note there is a third shade called Sailor which is a bright deep blue if you like to collect Dior nail colors, however I passed on it.) Stay tuned for comparisons later this afternoon. Did you pick up anything from the Dior Voyage Transatlantique collection?
The Dior Voyage Transatlantique collection is currently exclusive to Saks locations and the Dior Palazzo Boutique in Las Vegas. Both Manicure Transat duos retail for $30 each for the set of stickers and nail file.
Nordstrom Triple Points for card holders starts today and there are a lot of gift with purchases online and in store. I have my eye on the Burberry set with has a lovely metallic case as a gift. Some other gifts that look interesting:
Do you have anything on your wishlist that you’ve been saving for?
I’ve been playing with a few Burberry nail polishes over the past few months. I fell in love with the color of Oxblood No. 303 even though the brush was a bit difficult for me to work with. I ordered both Nude Pink No. 101 and Ash Rose No. 103 ($21 each for 8 ml/.27 fl oz) sight unseen as they seemed like the perfect delicate nude pinks.
The formula of these two colors is similar to that of Oxblood in the sense that the first coat applies streaky and uneven. Adding a second slightly thicker coat (after the first coat dries completely) results in a flawless finish although application does require patience and an extra steady hand. This is a polish where the best application is to load the polish onto brush a bit thicker than you normally would and skim lightly over the nail in one quick steady sweep. In my experience I’ve found most pigmented nudes a bit more high maintenance to apply in general, I’m not sure why this is the case. Sheer nudes are easy to apply but require multiple coats to show up. The Burberry nail polishes fall somewhere in between for me. (For more detail on the formula, packaging and brushes, refer to my review on Oxblood.)
Nude Pink No. 101 just might be my perfect polished nude pink. It is a perfect blend of nude and pink. I find that it has enough color in it to prevent it from looking too nude. Here it is with two coats. I used this with Deborah Lippmann Rehydrating Base Coat and Rescue Beauty Lounge Top Coat. Lasting power was quite impressive at over 6 days without any tip wear or chipping.
Ash Rose No. 103 is a lovely mauve pink with a slight hint of grey. This one is pigmented but has a slightly transparent quality. It has enough nude to prevent it from being a cold mauve. The transparent finish makes it look a bit more natural than other mauves look. I applied it with two coats below.
I didn’t have time to photograph comparison swatches yet although I am working on a post I hope to have up by the end of the week. So far I couldn’t find any dupes. Burberry Nail Polishes retail for $21 each at Nordstrom, Burberry and Saks. What’s your perfect nude pink?
I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I have a lengthy to-do list for the weekend but I’ve decided to have a lazy Saturday and catch up on blog reads. Currently loving these reads:
Net-A-Porter just celebrated their One Year Beauty Anniversary (congrats!), check out this week’s issue of The Edit to see what’s in the makeup bags of Cate Blanchett, Miranda Kerr and Alexa Chung
NARS Matte Multiples are amazing, I bought four and the texture is very smooth yet very pigmented (I’m still testing them), check out the review and swatches on Café Makeup and this helpful video from NARS How To: Create Contour with the Matte Multiple
In a blog rut? FabulousK has five helpful tips to get your blogging mojo back
You’ve seen me sing praises of Caudalie’s Divine Oil, check out The Dolls Factory for more info and beautiful photos of their products
Dior is giving their nail polishes a makeover, I don’t have details on the US release dates but British Beauty Blogger has a lovely preview
Caudalie and Byrdie hosted an event to celebrate opening of the new Caudalie West Coast Boutique and Spa in Venice. I made every effort to clear my calendar to attend. I’ve been a die-hard fan of the Divine Oil and Cleansing Water and couldn’t wait to see the entire line in a boutique setting (most stores or counters I’ve seen only have a part of the line stocked). Caudalie founders Mathilde and Bertrand Thomas made a special appearance and greeted each customer and offered tips, advice and recommendations to each individual. Mathilde was so kind to personally demonstrate how to use their cult-status Beauty Elixir on me. The event was hosted with wine and food catered by Ginger in the Kitchen. Each attendee had the opportunity to sign up for a 10 minute facial or 5 minute hand massage treatment in their spa area. I opted for the hand treatment where they applied their Hand and Nail Cream on one hand and on the other they mixed one spritz of the Divine Oil with Body Butter. It was a beautiful event. I can’t wait to go back for a second visit. There is so much I wanted to try but in the excitement was not able to. I ended up purchasing the small Favorites Set which has the Lip Conditioner, Hand and Nail Cream, Vinosource, Beauty Elixir and Cleansing Water in small sizes. Here are some snapshots. I hope you enjoy!
Travel-sized beauty items perfect for on-the-go:
Each attendee left with a generous gift trio:
It was a beautiful in a cleverly designed space. If you are in the Los Angeles area add this to your list to visit. Skincare fans note that Aesop is down the street on Abbot Kinney. Also in the Los Angeles area (about 30 minutes away) includes some lovely boutiques such as Malin+Goetz, Diptyque, Le Labo, Woodley and Bunny. It’s definitely worth a weekend trip to visit. Thank you Caudalie and Byrdie for hosting such a lovely event!
You can follow Caudalie on Facebook, Twitter @CaudalieUSA , Instagram @Caudalie. They had a two-day grand opening for the Venice Boutique, use #CaudalieLA to search for more photos. PS online at US.Caudalie.com there is a promotion for a free full-sized Hand and Nail Cream with a $50 purchase with code InTheBag (while supplies last).
I’ve been saving up my Sephora Beauty Insider points for months (I had accumulated around 780 points to be exact). I received an email alert about this 500 Point Reward with five L’Occitane minis. I decided to redeem my points with a recent order of the NARS Matte Multiples and added the Beauty Insider 500 Point set to my basket at checkout. It arrived last week and the minis are adorable. I’ve never seen such cute hand creams (they are 0.3 oz versus the full sized 1 oz tubes). I haven’t seen this set in stores near me but it’s still online while supplies last (if you’ve spotted it in store please share in the comments). The set that is available online comes with:
Shea Butter Hand Cream 0.3 oz/10 ml
Amande Delicious Hand Cream 0.3 oz/10 ml
Amande Shower Oil 1.18 fl oz/35 ml
Amande Supple Skin Oil 0.5 fl oz/15 ml
Verbena Body Lotion 1 oz/30 ml
Small canvas pouch
I’ve tried all the items before except the face oil. All are classic staples and the sizes are perfect for your purse, to store in your work desk or small enough for travel. I get a bit nervous when it comes to trying face oils so if you’ve tried this one I’d love your input. Have you seen any good Sephora Beauty Insider minis lately? I find it’s hit or miss but I love that Sephora stores and tracks your points for you and allows you to save them. Any other deals you’ve spotted?
