The Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer Powder in 001 ($56 each for 6 g/0.21 oz) was my favorite highlighter discovery last year for the beautiful lightweight sheen it gives the skin. This spring Dior has added three more shades to the formula in 002, 003 and 004 and I could not be more thrilled. The Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer Powder is described as “light as a breeze” and it is indeed lightweight and melds into the skin perfectly for a really pretty natural luminous glow. The shade will look different on you depending on skin tone, the original 001 has a gorgeous medium champagne beige with a slight golden peachy undertone. It looks different in the pan depending on how the light reflects on the compact. The shimmer is complex with a mix of different colors but it’s not frosty on the skin. I love how the color adds just the right amount of glow to the skin.
001 is still the best color for me in my opinion, but 004 is also really stunning. For me these highlighters are life! Close ups and descriptions of each shade. Everything about these is beautiful – they come with an embossed surface. Since they are highly reflective if you google reviews and swatches they may look different in photos depending on what light is used to photograph these. However the color really only varies in the pan, on the face it’s more consistent – of course it will look different on different skin tones though.
- 001 is a classic champagne beige gold
- 002 is a pale light opal pink
- 003 is a yellow gold shimmer
- 004 is a tan shimmer
Each of the highlighters comes with a protective soft pouch and mini kabuki style brush for application. The brushes are well made and usable but they tend to be smaller than what I prefer to use for highlighting powder so I keep them for setting powder touch ups instead.
Swatches with different lighting to capture the shimmer:
Undertone shown more here:
Close up of 001:
Close up of 002:
Close up of 003, long-time readers know I’m usually anti yellow gold highlighter for my already yellow olive skin. The combination of yellow golds often just makes my skin look really sallow, this one from Dior is a lot more wearable for me compared to the Laura Mercier Face Illuminator in Addiction (scroll down for comparisons):
Close up of 004, in my opinion the world needs more tan or darker highlighters, this one isn’t really all that dark, but it’s the darkest option and I think it’s just stunning:
All four swatched on the cheeks. I’m still learning how to do full face shots – the lighting, flash etc is tricky to get accurate. On the face I’m wearing the following items. Note that I only have the highlighters on the cheeks applied with a heavy hand so you can see the color differences. On normal days I would also add bronzer or blush and I would usually blend or sheer out the highlighter.
- Foundation: NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in Groenland (review here)
- Concealer: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard and Macadamia mixed
- Powder: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
- Lips: Dior Lip Glow Pomade + Rouge Dior Lipstick in Rose Montaigne (reviewed here)
- Brows: Diorshow Brow Styler 001
Left to right: 001, 002, 003 and 004
001 is my favorite because it looks the most natural. 003 is the most glowy/metallic on my skin – although I did apply with a rather heavy hand. If you apply and blend it with normal application it won’t look as frosty.
Comparison swatches:
Laura Mercier Face Illuminators in Indiscretion (peach), Devotion (pink), Addiction (yellow), Seduction (bronze) have a slightly more chunky sparkle by comparison even though I would not really call the shimmer chunky, they are a bit more sparkly in finish. Review of these powders here.
Natasha Denona All Over Face Glow Face and Body Shimmer in 02 is one of the prettiest tan shimmers I’ve ever seen but has a really strong frost shimmer, Diorskin Nude Air 004 is similar but slightly cooler in tone. Review of the Natasha Denona here.
I have more comparisons of the original in the Dior Skyline Fall 2016 post here.
Bottom line love. I own a lot of highlighters and have collected quite a few limited-edition shades over the years so I do own shades similar to 002 and 003 with a pink or gold undertone so I wouldn’t call them a must. That being said I do think the shimmer and finish is really pretty and the powders are versatile enough to use on cheeks and eyes or anywhere you want to highlight. I like that they don’t emphasize pores or look dry on my skin – many highlighters sometimes either emphasize pores or make my skin look kinda dry when they emphasize texture. The powder melds beautifully with the skin and I love how they wear. 001 is still my favorite and 004 is my new favorite because I find the color unique. At $56 each they are on the pricey side but I love how they look and wear. The compact is fairly sturdy as well. If I had one thing I would say I wasn’t a huge fan of is the fact that the mirrored compact gets dirty easily with fingerprints, however one gets over it quickly and they are easy to clean so no worries on that aspect.
If you have fair skin I suspect 001 will look more peachy or bronzey on your skin and therefore will find 002 to be more of a true highlighter on your skin. If you’re medium to tan I think all four would look good on your skin tone. Medium to darker skin beauty lovers I think will love 004.
I personally think 001 and 004 are both a must.
You can find the Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer Powders at Dior.com and Sephora.
Diorskin Nude Air Luminizers provided courtesy of Dior for review.
