Dior Beige Casual 222 is one of those classic signature nudes that keeps getting re-released in a newer updated version with each new lipstick launch. 222 has always been a beigey nude with a slight shimmer. The very first Addict Lipstick I had from Dior was 222 Beige Casual and had tiny gold microglitters. The newest version has no glitter or frost and is very natural looking. I don’t know exactly how many variations there are – I know there have been at least three. I no longer have the blue casing with gold tube, but I do have the prior release in the Addict High Shine formula (which is more beige). The newer version is more peachy but on the skin they are very similar.
Close up of the new version:
Comparisons and swatches: Chanel Cashmere Rouge Coco (also here), Dior Beige Casual 222 Addict High Shine (d/c), Dior Beige Casual 222 (new version), MAC Bare Slimshine, Burberry Cameo (also here)
Dior Addict Lipstick in Model 564 is another Sephora exclusive. It’s described as a “sheer warm pink” infused with subtle pink shimmers. Sometimes it looks pink, sometimes it looks coral. It appears bright but the sheer texture gives a softer finish on the lips compared to what you see in the tube. The pigment is decent for a sheer lipstick. After testing it a few times, I found the best application is with one swipe on the upper and lower lip. Swiping more than three times applied too much product leaving lips a bit too moist feeling. These definitely have a lip-balm like texture and feel (but not quite as emollient). Lasting power is on the light side (as expected from a sheer glossy lipstick). I do find the brighter colors stain the lips slightly so as the lipstick wears off some remnants of color stay behind.
Compared to MAC Melt In Your Mouth, Chanel Gardenia, Dolce & Gabbana Love and MAC Made With Love
Lip swatched on me, I think this is a color that will look very different on others depending on skintone and natural lip color. It looks brighter and more vibrant in real life – I think the lighting and flash sheered out the color a bit:
Dior Addict in Urban 178 is a Sephora exclusive. It’s a pale frosted pink with a sheer glossy finish. The texture is very moisturizing. About 6 hours after it has faded, my lips feel soft and smooth (bonus!). Being a lighter shade, I found the pigment to be on the sheer side. Compared to the Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy, it has a similar natural finish but harder texture which I think helps the color show better. The new Dior Addicts apply better than the recently discontinued Addict High Shines which I found a bit tacky in texture. The new formula is smoother with a high shine finish. Being a lip-balm like lipstick, lasting power isn’t the best. I’ll have to test the brighter shades to see how they wear. So far thumbs up for an easy fool-proof type of lipstick if you don’t mind re-applying. As an added bonus for those sensitive to fragranced products – no detectable taste or scent with these lipsticks.
When trying Dior Urban 178 out at Sephora on my hand, I thought it would have been too pale for my skintone. I would have gone with a slightly brighter neutral pink like Basic 253. This particular shade was sent to me by Dior and surprisingly, it’s not too pale that it washes me out. The sheerness helps make this color more wearable. I suspect wearing a lipliner blended out on the lip first will help the color last longer. If I were just the slightest bit darker than I am right now (about a Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in 20 which equals a MAC NC30) I think this color would have been too pale by itself.
Compared to a few other pale pink shimmers: Dior Addict Urban, Chanel Rouge Coco Rose Comete, MAC Lipglass Oyster Girl, MAC Lustre Lipstick in Politely Pink
I spotted a preview of Dior’s Holiday Minaudiere from British Beauty Blogger back in July and have been dreaming about the holiday collection ever since then. The clutch-like compact they designed this year is beautiful! Kari from Fab Over Forty showed us the Saks grey version earlier last week and as soon as I saw it I ran to my Nordstrom to check out the pink version. I put it aside as a pre-sale item for an event but picked up a few other things from their holiday collection that they had in stock (hence the title “round one”).
What I picked up: Pink Stiletto #234 Addict Lip Gloss, Endless Shine #529 Quint, Timeless Gold #226 Nail Polish & Czarina Gold #916 Nail Polish
Endless Shine Quint – This one comes in the Iridescent formula and all shades have a high level of frost, much like Earth Reflection, Goldfever, Crush Glow, Ready to Glow etc. The colors are highly pigmented and smooth making them easy to blend. This quint seems better suited for spring or summer but is still neutral enough to pull off year round. It’s beautiful and much more wearable than the quints from the past few seasons (Misty Mauve, Crush Glow and Ready to Glow). I rarely wear all five shades at one time – there’s simply not enough space on my eyelids to fit all the colors. They do layer and blend together beautifully. Do I think it’s a must-have? Dior quints have beautiful pigmentation and complex colors that you can’t easily find elsewhere. However I think you can definitely find similar shades in other lines. I personally could not find any dupes – the closest quad I could find was Chanel’s Shimmering Dunes which is significantly less frosty and still different among all the colors.
In direct sunlight:
*Updated* better swatches than my original ones:
Chanel Shimmering Dunes versus Dior Endless Shine:
*Update* Comparisons to a few other quints so you can see how different Endless Shine is:
Pink Stiletto Lip Gloss – This is one of those colors that made my jaw drop. It’s a gorgeous light warm pink with gold flecks. Very sheer but just absolutely stunning in the tube. I couldn’t find anything similar – it’s like a pink version of Bobbi Brown’s Rose Gold Gloss but with gold flecks added. Simply stunning. From the photos you may think it resembles MAC’s Nymphette – but it’s very different. This is one you have to see in person to really see how beautiful it is. I haven’t noticed much of a difference between the original addict reflect gloss and the new formula except the packaging/tube size. These are still smooth with a high gloss finish. Lasting power is not the best.
Timeless Gold & Czarina Gold Nail Polishes – I was pleasantly surprised by both shades. There were no testers at the counter yet because they didn’t receive their display but I knew I had to have them both. Timeless Gold has a similar finish to Silver Pearl from last spring. High frost, rich pigment, almost foiled-like finish but has a non-streaky finish. Czarina Gold is a black-gold with a somewhat sheer formula. You will need 3 thin coats for a full finish but it’s also stunning. When I first pulled my other black-golds I thought “oh no, I’ve wasted another $20-something on a color I already have dupes of.” I will say from arm’s length it looks similar to D&G Stromboli and MAC Seriously Hip, but the Czarina Gold is the best in my opinion because the base has the slightest hint of plum-brown which prevents it from looking greenish as some black-golds can look.
Left: Timeless Gold
Right: Czarina Gold
Another interesting detail I noticed – Dior has changed the brush this season to have a wider/flatter tip that is slightly chiseled and tapered. See below how it compares to the old version and also Chanel’s brush tip. I can’t say I like one over the other, although this new chiseled tip is very unique and had me ooohing and aaahing as I was swatching the colors.
Comparison shades: I could not find a dupe for Dior Timeless Gold, although Chanel Kaleidoscope is strikingly similar. The differences are that the Dior is less streaky but it lacks that greenish/olive tinge that the Chanel has.
Czarina Gold comparisons: What you see in the bottles is slightly deceiving, scroll down for the swatches to see what I mean.
The collection is absolutely stunning. When I went to the counter they didn’t have the display unit up but my sales associate pulled everything for me to see. They didn’t have the Five Golds Quint for sale (although the tester is to die for) and the other gloss was way too glittery for my taste. I was surprised there wasn’t anything for the cheeks this season but was happy for my wallet. I passed on all their “sets” (minaudiere excluded) because I felt like the full sized individual items were better suited for my coloring.
Dior Fall 2010 has arrived in Nordstroms although the full tester unit wasn’t up yet, the counter did have the testers scattered in the regular tester unit. I picked up the Misty Mauve Quint $58 and Tailored Mauve Lipgloss $26.50 – both stunning colors for fall. I probably won’t be wearing this for a few months until fall arrives, they seem a bit too cool-toned for summer wear.
In direct sunlight:
The Misty Mauve quint has a good mix of mauve shades which will allow you to achieve a diverse range of looks from neutral to smokey. It does appear more mauve and a bit more subdued compared to the promotional photos released by Dior, but is still pretty in my opinion. While the colors in this palette might not be the most original, I love the texture and finish of these particular shades and they are well coordinated. As a lover of neutral shades, I think this is a good palette for those who want something smokey but not too dramatic. I call it a natural-smokey eye palette with a bit of attitude.
I’ve had a little debate with a fellow makeup fan of mine about this new quint. She thought it unoriginal and something Dior has done a million times before. It’s possibly similar to the purple palette Nordstrom released last year for their anniversary sale (which I do not have), but in terms of the quints I own, it seems quite different. I will say the lighter shades definitely seem familiar. Looking back on past quints, it appears that I have neglected them. I need to use these more often. In the past year I find myself using Chanel, Edward Bess, D&G and Paul & Joe more frequently.
Per reader request from the comments, you can see it’s very different from Chanel Kaska Beige. Here it is also compared to Chanel Enigma.
Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss in Tailored Mauve 692:
Tailored Mauve is a pretty purple-pink gloss. I was worried it would be too purple on the lips and I normally don’t try out tester glosses on my lips, but my SA pulled out a brand new tester so I felt safe trying it out. It was surprisingly wearable and I normally can’t pull off purpley shades. I need a smidge of pink or red in my purple-tones. This will look good with a classic smokey bronze eye (like NARS Cordura) or even a classic smokey eye (like Chanel Enigma or Mystic Eyes). I find that it goes extremely well with the Misty Mauve quint and isn’t overly purple when worn together. It’s semi-sheer to medium with a lovely glossy finish. No detectable scent. Lasting power isn’t the greatest, but I don’t mind reapplying lipgloss regularly throughout the day.
L to R: Chanel Imaginaire, MAC Cultured, Dior Tailored Mauve,
Laura Mercier Violet, Chanel Delight
I checked out the other items. There are a number of new gorgeous Serum de Rouge shades in bright pinks, plums and mauves. Nordstrom is doing a GWP for their Anniversary Sale, so I had my sales associate put aside a couple to qualify for the gift later in the month. I’m also testing out samples of their new Hydra Life skincare line. So far, so good and it’s surprisingly well priced. Will be writing a review once I feel I’ve tested it long enough to get a good feel for how it works on my skin.
Swatches of my Dior Fall Picks (Serum de Rouges not included b/c they are being held for the Anniversary Sale):
Dior has released a new lipgloss called Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss which comes in a larger tube than the regular Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect formula. Does this mean the original Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflects are going away? I’m not sure. There are quite a few of the same shade numbers in the new packaging/formula, just with different names, my SA did not know when I asked her.
The new formula retails at the same price as the old, even though the newer tubes have slightly more product. Both retail for $26.50, the new tubes have 6.3 ml/.21 fl oz versus the older tubes which have 6 ml/.19 fl oz.
Also, new and exclusive to Sephora for Spring 2010, there is a new Lip Polish called Petal Pink in #004 for $29.50. I wrote about the other 3 lip polishes last June, click here for the review/swatches.
L to R: Lace Beige, Pink Silk, Negligee Pink, Petal Pink
Close up:
Overall lovely with nice soft-medium pigment and smooth texture. The new Addict Ultra-Glosses range from cream non-shimmer to soft iridescent to super sparkle, so there’s a wide range to suit your sparkle needs. I picked the ones that were more subdued. (From Nordstrom.) If you own any Dior glosses, I suggest you go through your current stash and write down the numbers of the colors you own so you don’t experience the same “do I already have this shade” that I did while playing with all the colors.
(FYI those not familiar with Dior, most of their lipglosses are labeled by number at the bottom, the product name is typically only on the boxes, making it a challenge to remember what colors you have.)
The new Lip Polish in Petal Pink is fairly sheer. If I had tested it in-store, I probably would have passed. It is very dupable from other milky pinks, although it does give your lips that pretty youthful looking glow. These are pricey at $29.50, but this is due to the roller-wand and unique ingredients. I personally find the rolling wand a bit awkward to use since I’m not used to it. (From Sephora.)
Dior seems to be going through a trend of releasing new items with a twist on their regular products, such as their Designer Eyeshadow Palettes (cream-to-powder textures with gel liner) and their new Lip Glow (looks like clear lip balm, but turns your lips a bright cherry pink). Their newest release includes a extension of their addict line consisting of three smoothing glow glosses that have a roll-on/spinning type of applicator called Addict Lip Polish.
The description on the box is extremely detailed and states the following: “LIP POLISH: the first spin-on lip lacquer for perfectly smoothed and redefined lips.Immediate smoothing action: the high-tech formula, enriched with line-filling ingredients and superfine iridescent powders, instantly corrects the surface texture of your lips.Redefined lips after just 15 days of use: a firming and moisturizing agent helps smooth fine lines and redefine lips, with lasting results.Radiant shine: shades have been specifically developed to flatter different lip tones.A new and pleasurable application technique: the unique spin-on applicator gently massages your lips.“
The preview first came from Sephora’s Beauty Insider e-mail, and the website currently says they are exclusive and only at Sephora, but at this time I am not sure if it is just released early at Sephora or truely a Sephora-exclusive:
I just found these at the Sephora store today and being the gloss addict that I am, bought all three, they are pictured here left to right:
And some swatches on MAC NC30/Chanel Teint Innocence Shell 1.5 skin:
Overall thoughts – I’m a huge fan of Dior’s Addict Glosses, these are on the sheerer side, which is expected since they are meant to be smoothing with slight shimmers for a glow-effect. They are pretty expensive, retailing at $29.50. I just tried them on my lips and it did give me a glowing luscious lip look without being too wet. Textures are smooth and non-sticky with a slight cotton candy scent.
I usually don’t look for multi-purpose beauty products (meaning color and skincare in one), but it is an interesting concept. I personally think there is too much information on the box – I usually don’t have time to read through the entire product description unless it’s skincare. Three things I focus on with new products include smell, texture and color.
If $29.50 is too much for you for a sheer tinted gloss, other similar products I’d recommend include Becca Glossy Lip Tints $23, Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster SPF15 Lip Gloss $25, C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tints $5, Kiehl’s Lip Gloss $14, MAC’s Plushglass $17.50 or MAC’s Lip Lipgelée $14.
What are your thoughts? Have you tried these yet? Yay or nay?
* Promotional image from Sephora Beauty Insider E-mail Distribution
