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Dior Front Row #769 Vernis Gel Shine Lacquer

April 15, 2014

Dior Front Row #769 ($25 for 10 ml/0.33 fl oz, made in France) is a hot fuchsia pink shimmer. It’s a vibrant color that flashes hints of neon pink, violet and blue pearls. I found it almost identical to Chanel Tentation (reviewed here). Dior’s flashes more blue and violet while Chanel’s is warmer and more red. The difference from an arm’s length view is virtually non-existent. The color is so vibrant and bright it was hard to capture the real color with a camera. The neon quality makes it hard to capture accurately. I’ll add comparisons below to help show the real color.

Swatches with two coats, applied by myself along with Deborah Lippmann Rehydrating Base Coat and Dior’s Gel Top Coat. I found application to be flawless – these gel shine nail colors from Dior are super easy to apply.

Comparisons to Rescue Beauty Lounge Lotus Elise, Chanel Tentation, Tom Ford Indiscretion (review here) and Tom Ford Trophy Wife (discontinued, review here):

I’m really impressed with the formula of Front Row #769. Some of you may have fallen in love with the older Dior brush but these new ones are really easy to work with and apply on small fingers (my ring finger is a Size 4) but the brush is flexible and will fan out with pressure if you need a wider area covered with one-two swipes.

If you have Chanel Tentation I think you can skip Front Row. The difference is not really noticeable from arm’s length. The formula of the Dior has a more opaque pigmented finish while the Chanel is slightly more jelly-like. I had to look really close at my nail wheel to tell the difference which is really slight (Chanel is warmer, Dior flashes more violet).

Have you picked up any of the new Dior nail polishes? What’s your favorite so far?

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Dior Tra-La-La #155 Vernis Gel Shine and Long Wear Nail Lacquer

April 14, 2014

Dior Vernis Gel Shine and Long Wear Nail Lacquer ($25 each) is a new formula of nail polish that is a regular nail lacquer with a gel-effect. It has a high-shine formula that is designed to “provide you with glass-like shine and extended wear.” I’ve been playing with a few of the shades and am in love with the formula. I have never had a traditional gel manicure so I can’t compare the effect of these new Dior lacquers to the real thing. However the Dior Vernis Gel Shines do have rich intense pigment with a very smooth application. The brushes are slightly different than the last variation – the brushes are thinner and a bit more fanned out/rounded at the end to match the curve of the nail beds better. This makes it easier to apply with two to three swipes. The polishes have a lush cushy look to them even before you apply any top coat.

 

First up is Tra-La-La #155 a soft clean pink (see all shades swatched here). I tested this with my go-to Deborah Lipmann Rehydrating Base Coat and Dior Gel Top Coat. I tend to keep my nails on the short end so they don’t hit the computer or laptop keyboard. Lasting power was quite good at 5 days without tip wear. Tra-La-La is a soft semi-sheer pink. It’s not too sheer that you have to layer on 4-5 coats. I had it applied professionally below with two coats. I swatched comparisons below with two coats as well and it covered the nail well with a slight see-through quality.

The brushes are more rounded this time:

Dior Gel Top Coat and Tra-La-La #155 Gel Shine:

Swatched with two coats:

Featured in the NARS Contouring post:

I really like how Tra-La-La actually shows up on my skin and that it’s not too pale. It’s a good baby pink that isn’t too sheer. Comparisons to some other pinks below shows it has enough pink pigment in the color to prevent it from looking white against my olive skin. It has a soft clean polished look.

On the nails: OPI Heart Throb (with 4 coats), Dior Tra-La-La, Laura Mercier Oh La La (discontinued, with three coats), OPI Pink of Hearts (2009 version), Chanel Frisson:

More pinks on nail wheels, same set with two views: Tom Ford Sugar Dune, OPI You Callin’ Me a Lyre, OPI Heart Throb, Dior Tra-La-La, Laura Mercier Oh La La (discontinued), Chanel Morning Rose (discontinued), OPI Pink of Hearts (discontinued), Chanel Frisson, NARS Trouville

I’m overall really impressed with these new colors and formulas from Dior. I’ve been a huge fan of Dior’s formula and didn’t think it could get better. Somehow it has. They’ve kept some of the classic colors but introduced some new ones. I wish I had the older Tutu to compare but I don’t. Based on what I’ve seen on other blogs Tra-La-La seems sheerer and easier to work with.

Dior Gel Shine nail lacquers should be available at all Dior Beauty Counters and Boutiques now. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bloomingdales and Dior.com.

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First Look – Dior Vernis Gel Shine & Long Wear Nail Lacquer

April 11, 2014

Dior has launched a new formula of nail polish called Dior Vernis Gel Shine and Long Wear Nail Lacquer ($25 each) with some classic and new shades. I’ve been a huge fan of Dior nail polishes and loved the reformulation a few years ago. I didn’t think it was possible to get better but it has.

There are a variety of colors available but you may have to do some hunting to find a particular color. Not all counters or stores received the same shades. I purchased a few from Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and then ordered a couple shades not available at counters from the Dior Palazzo Boutique in Las Vegas.

I’ll have individual reviews of the colors I bought in the next few weeks (follow me on Instagram at @beautylookbook for a few sneak peeks of Tra-La-La, Aventure and Front Row). The brushes are slightly thinner and a bit more fanned out/rounded than the last version of the chiseled tip. Formula is amazing. I’ve been wearing one on my toes for 2 weeks without any chipping or tip wear. And another color on my hands lasted 5 days without tip wear or chipping.
I swatched all the new Gel Formula colors available at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus counters (many thanks to the kind associates who let me pull out my nail wheel). Many of the classic colors have been re-launched (colors are identical to older formula with same name/numbers). 

Swatched
155 Tra-La-La
257 Incognito
575 Wonderland
551 Aventure
758 Victoire (ordered from boutique, has gold shimmer)
661 Bonheur
754 Pandore
999 Rouge
769 Front Row
Mirage
853 Massai
494 Junon
403 Palais Royal
803 Metal Montaigne
618 Vibrato (ordered from boutique)
970 Nuit 1947

Not swatched
108 Muguet
237 Milly
268 Ruban
306 Trianon
428 Sienna
537 Riviera
659 Lucky
918 Hypnotic

I will have reviews up in the next week, I’m still putting the formula to the test with various base and top coats 🙂

The Dior Vernis Gel Formulas are available now at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Macys and Dior. Also available at Dior Beauty The Shoppes at Palazzo in Las Vegas, ask for Massiel and tell her I sent you! Their phone number is (702)-734-1102.

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Base Makeup

Primers and Smoothers

April 3, 2014

I’ve been testing out a few new primers and smoothing products and thought I’d share my favorite staple primers along with some new discoveries. I’m not typically a primer kind of person. I’ve found most that I’ve tried don’t really do much to extend the wear of makeup and end up adding an extra layer of product on my face that I don’t really need. I’ve tried dozens of primers at makeover events and from tiny sample packets. There are so may different options on the market these days it can be a bit overwhelming. Different products offer a multitude of effects. Some will smooth the overall look of your skin, add a glow, give a matte look and then there are some that are just basic primers to help the application of your foundation. I have normal and sensitive skin. For your reference I’ve broken down my primer picks into two main different categories:

  • Tom Ford Illuminating Primer ($72 for 1 fl oz) is one of the best glow primers I’ve ever tried. I tested this on numerous occasions each time I was able to visit a Tom Ford counter under both the foundation stick and liquid formula. The counters kindly made a few small samples for me to test before I caved and purchased the full size (I’m still in price shock). The Tom Ford primer is packaged with a clever twist pump dispenser. It has a soothing fresh scent with a slight herbal undertone. What I like about this one is that has a more yellow-like pearly glow which I found perfect for my needs (most I’ve seen have a pinkish glow). It helps extend the wear of makeup and adds a glow without making you greasy. It helps smooth the skin and adds an all over glow to prevent your makeup from looking flat. Be aware that this is on the dewy side, if you’re oily I wouldn’t recommend this one. I also found this one works best with the Tom Ford Foundations. See The Convenient Beauty’s review.
  • NARS Pro-Prime Radiance Enhancing Primer ($34 for 1.1 oz) is the next best alternative to Tom Ford’s primer at a more affordable price. It has a reflective pearl quality that is the perfect mix of opal, gold and champagne. It has SPF 15 and a little goes a long way. I find this one photographs well with a flash. It has a creamy but thin and easy to blend texture to give an all over glow without being too glowy. Lasting power is better than average for me but it won’t make your makeup last all day long (you will need a touch up in the afternoon). I really like this for the effect it gives and how it helps makeup look smoother.
  • MAC Strobe Liquid ($32 for 1.7 fl oz) isn’t really a traditional primer, but I like to use it as one over moisturizer and underneath liquid or powder makeup. It’s another great smoothing glow product with a super thin liquid texture. It dries well to help makeup stay in place and prevents it from sliding around – but note you only need a tiny bit on the face. It’s on the more glowy side so I would recommend topping with a regular powder or foundation. This one is also good for mixing in with foundations to add a glow without making you look white. It has a more opal/blueish sheen.
  • Chanel Base Lumiere Illuminating Makeup Base ($45 for 1 fl oz) is one of the most fluid primer/bases I’ve ever tried. (I’ve repurchased this multiple times.) It has a blueish violet sheen but it disppears into a clear finish on the skin. The key to using this is to make sure you use a thinner lightweight moisturizer underneath otherwise it will make the skin oily. If you’re a serum + moisturizer kind of person, I would recommend skipping one of the items before using this one. I like this best with Chanel foundations as it helps prime the skin with a subtle glow and also helps extend the wear of foundation. Make sure you use as little as possible – if you overdo it it will be too heavy and feel thick on the skin.

  • Lancome Visionnaire 1-Minute Blur ($55 for 1 fl oz) is currently available at Sephora locations in the US. I received a press sample of this (hence the white lab tube). It’s a skin smoother/finisher designed to smooth the skin, erase imperfections and pores. It has a creamy neutral colored texture that disappears on the skin. This video has a good visual of what this will do for the skin. I suggest testing at the store if you can, reviews indicate this is either a hit or miss. I saw a noticeable difference in my skin texture when using this and used it under a liquid foundation (tested with Chanel and NARS). I loved the results for the overall look and it truly erased any signs of pores on my face. It helped my makeup last all day long (quite impressive) well through the evening. There is a very light fragrance to this which I found on the subtle side. The only thing I didn’t like about this was that I could actually feel the layer of product on my face – not necessarily a bad thing, but I tend to prefer face makeup that is more weightless and thinner in texture.
  • Clinique Superprimer Color Correcting ($27 for 1 oz) I bought this at Sephora after reading rave reviews about the Superprimers. I was a bit overwhelmed with the color options and honestly have no idea if I picked the right one for me. I decided to go with the peach color corrector since traditional white ones are often too pale and white for my olive skin. I didn’t notice any color correcting quality with this one but the color matched my skin pretty well once blended. It has a thicker airy creamy texture that has a velvety feel on the skin. The result: long lasting makeup all day long from morning until late at night (around 11ish before I took it off). The peach color disappeared and gave the skin a smooth matte look. If you test any of the options at the store you will see a noticeable difference on the back of your hand. I like that the primer didn’t change the color of my foundation even though it has a peach tint. I’m not sure I picked the right option, if you’ve tried the any of the Clinique primers I’d love to hear your thoughts.
  • Dior Pore Minimizer Skin Refining Matte Primer ($42 for 1 oz) is a primer that wins for most innovative packaging. It’s a tube with a pump dispenser. I have not purchased this after testing a couple counter-made samples but wanted to share my thoughts. This offers the most matte finish that I’ve ever seen. It smooths the skin out similar to the Lancome but has a thicker feel on the skin (at least for me). I found this blended well on the skin and provided a lovely smooth look. There was a huge noticeable difference. I felt it was too dry for my normal/combination skin even though it didn’t look dry at all. I suspect if you have skin that is on the oily side, the Dior Matte Primer will work wonders for you.
Packaging and dispenser details:

My top three picks:
  1. For the best glow, I like Tom Ford’s Illuminating Primer
  2. For the price and performance I like Clinique’s Superprimer
  3. For the most visible smoothing result, Lancome Visionnaire 1-Minute Blur is a winner

Do you have any favorite primers, smoothing products or glowy bases? I’d love to hear about your thoughts and experiences for what has worked on your skin tone or skin type.
 

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Beauty Look Book | Favorite Nude Pink Nail Polishes

March 27, 2014

I’ve been on a natural nude-pink nail polish kick ever since Tom Ford Sugar Dune was released for spring. I’ve since been wearing a lot of light and neutral pinks on the nails. For me light pink is a bit difficult to find, most are either too pale, too sheer or apply unevenly. I’ve still managed to find quite a few variations of light and nude pink with great formulas, application and wear. The colors that made my top picks:



Rescue Beauty Lounge Thank You ($20) is a nude pink with light pearl particles. It flashes blue and pink for a cool-toned sheen but has a nude pink base to prevent it from looking too pale. This color looks good on everyone I’ve seen it on. It’s shown below with two coats.

Tom Ford Sugar Dune ($32) is my ultimate perfect nude pink. As discussed in my review a few months ago, application can be a bit time consuming, it is one of the higher maintenance nudes but once applied is a clean polished neutral light pink. It is limited-edition so if you’re interested I suggest you try to track one down sooner than later.

Burberry Nude Pink and Ash Rose ($21 each) both beautiful polished clean neutrals. Scroll down through the archives (last couple weeks) to see a more detailed review on each shade.

Nude Pink:

Ash Rose:

OPI My Very First Knockwurst can be found at a number of retailers. I either purchase my OPI from Drugstore.com or Ulta. I found this to be the most difficult to apply and it required three coats. However the price of OPI is much more affordable compared to high end brands. Most of the time OPI applies just as well (sometimes better) than other luxury nail polishes. In this case, this one was a bit of a nightmare to apply. It required three coats but I love the color of this shade.

Chanel Rose Cache ($27) is a classic sheer natural pink. It has that secret-shimmer in the bottle that disappears once applied on the nail. It looks different on everyone I’ve seen but is a universally flatting easy to wear/go with everything kind of nail polish.

Dior Incognito ($24) is my favorite classic nude pink. It’s not too dark and not too pale. Just the right in between. Do note this one is coming out in the gel formula (have not tried yet). You may want to wait for that color to be released in stores near you. But for now I’ve been a huge fan of all Dior’s nail polish formulas. The application is smooth and flawless with very good lasting power. Everything from the formula to brush design of Dior’s nail colors makes application very easy.

Zoya Rue ($9) is a classic nude pink with a hint of cool-mauve. I haven’t had much experience with Zoya but the brand has performed well for me on the occasions I have tried it. Rue was part of a recent nude collection. It’s a lovely natural pink cream. Below is Rue shown with three coats.

Comparisons to other lighter pinks: OPI Care to Danse?, OPI Don’t Bossa Me Around, Rescue Beauty Lounge Sheer Nude, Bobbi Brown Pink Pearl, Deborah Lippmann Naked, Deborah Lippmann Fashion, Deborah Lippmann Modern Love, OPI Butterfly Moment, Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire and Tom Ford Show Me the Pink

What’s your favorite nude pink nail polish? Do you have any staple go-to’s? If I were pressed to pick just three, I would narrow down my picks to Tom Ford Sugar Dune, Dior Incognito and Burberry Nude Pink as my favorites.

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Dior Yacht 210 and Captain 750 Nail Polish Comparisons

March 21, 2014

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).

Yacht is a grey-beige-nude blend. It’s more beige than Gris Trianon but not quite as grey as Chanel Frenzy. Below are also comparisons to Deborah Lippmann Fashion, Dior Nude Chic (discontinued), YSL Beige Gallery and YSL Beige Leger.

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).

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Dior Voyage Transatlantique Nail Polish and Couture Stickers Duo | Captain 750 and Yacht 210

March 20, 2014

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.

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