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Dior Golden Snow #644 and Golden Flower #634 Eyeshadow Palettes | Holiday 2013

November 14, 2013

Dior has released two new quints for the Golden Winter Holiday collection in Golden Snow #644 and Golden Flower #634 ($60 each for 6g/0.21 oz, limited-edition, Nordstrom.com). Both contain a mix of shimmers and sparkly metallics. The colors in each palette are soft, smooth and easy to blend. Pigment level with the shimmery colors is medium but easily layerable. The sparkly shades in gold and silver are sheerer with a slight transparent-like base but they give a healthy dose of sparkle that applies evenly over the lids. I prefer to skip the sparkly shades for every-day wear, but when I tested them I found they worked best layered and pressed over the other colors to add glitz and shine. Pressing lightly helps minimize fallout.

Swatched side by side:

Golden Snow #644 is a cool-toned palette. It has a shimmery cool opal pink, a glitzy gold sparkle, a white sparkle, a light shimmery purple and a dark blackened-navy shimmer. It goes on very cool on my olive skin, but is still wearable by itself without having to mix in other shades. I do prefer something that is a bit warmer with less contrast but the colors are quite lovely on. It has a similar feel to last year’s Fairy Golds but Golden Snow is much cooler-toned (comparisons below).

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Golden Flower #634 is my favorite of the two palettes. It has a warm golden peach-pink shimmer, a soft champagne sparkle, a bronze metallic and a warm coppery brown along with a glitzy gold sparkle shade in the middle. This applies very natural on my eyes. It has a similar feel to many other warm neutrals but most other palettes do not have the same combination of colors in one compact. You can get the same effect combining Dior’s old Couture Golds (from a few holidays ago) with Chanel Spices. I do find the bronzey colors in Golden Flower unique and very pretty. This was enough for me to justify this palette.

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Two comparisons below to last year’s Dior Fairy Golds (more nude/mauve) and Chanel Spices (sheerer and less sparkly).

At first glance I thought Golden Snow might be similar to Le Metier’s Saint-Domingue (Saks Exclusive, reviewed here) but swatching side by side shows they are quite different.

Overall Golden Snow and Golden Flower are beautiful holiday palettes. You may want to try recreating the palettes with singles or mixing palettes you already own. I personally prefer the Golden Flower even though it has a similar vibe to past holiday Armani and Dior palettes. The colors are stunning for the holiday with the added sparkle shades which are beautiful to layer.
Both palettes retail for $60 each and are limited-edition. I bought mine from Nordstrom. You can find them now at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks and all Dior beauty counters.

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Diorific Nail Lacquer Frimas #318 | Holiday 2013

November 11, 2013

Diorific Nail Lacquer Frimas #318 ($26 for 12 ml/0.40 fl oz, limited-edition) is a new shade for the holiday. It’s a cocoa-mauve nude-pink infused with gold and silver shimmers making it somewhat complex and a bit difficult to photograph. In the bottle it appears to be a light mauve pink. On my olive skin it turns more cocoa and darkens. From what I’ve seen, it looks different on everyone making it unique.

The complex shimmers glow in the sun:

Dior Frimas is a pigmented shade. The shimmers/tiny glitters apply smoothly and evenly although they are on the large side making the contrast with the gold and the mauve visible. I applied it with two coats:

More swatches show how it looks mauve in some photos but brown in others:

I couldn’t find anything quite like it. I envisioned it being similar to Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge, but it turned out to be very different. Here it is compared to RBL Grunge, Chanel Rose Cache, Deborah Lippmann Modern Love and Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire:

Overall Dior Frimas is a lovely unique mauve-cocoa. I think it would flatter a number of skintones for those looking for a neutral but different nude-mauve kind of shade. The color is limited-edition. For holidays Dior seems to be releasing certain shades at select counters. I couldn’t find Frimas at many counters so I’m not sure if it’s exclusive to some stores. I bought mine from Nordstrom. You can find it online now at Nordstrom, Neimans and Saks.
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Diorific Vernis Minuit #995 | Holiday 2013

November 4, 2013
Dior’s holiday 2013 collection brings new nail lacquers in the special round packaging. Diorific Vernis Minuit #995 ($26 for 12 ml/0.40 fl oz, limited-edition) is a stunning vamp-plum mixed with red and gold shimmers. I thought this would be just another standard shimmery plum but Minuit really stands out with a beautiful rich glossy finish. The red and gold flecks are visible but the color is still dark enough to be vampy. In the sunlight this color glows.

Close up of the shimmers:

Swatched with two colors results in a slightly jelly finish. It has smooth coverage but is slightly transparent making the color look more red than plum. I prefer this with three coats for full coverage. The application was smooth and easy to apply.

In indirect sunlight the color is less red and more plum:
I pulled Dior Shadow #783 (discontinued, swatched here), Dior Liquorice #972 (discontinued), Dior Galaxie #992 (reviewed here), Chanel Taboo #583 (swatched here) to compare. Dior Minuit for holiday is closest to Liquorice but Minuit is darker and more dramatic. Compared to the others below you can see how the gold flecks in Minuit make it stand out compared to other shimmers.

One last swatch of Dior Minuit:

LOVE. If you’re thinking about this shade I suggest you buy soon. I’m 100% in love with it and think it’s worth every penny. Dior Holiday should be out at your counters now. You can find Minuit #995 online now at Nordstrom and Sephora.
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Pinks: Diorshow Fusion Mono Chimère #821 and Armani Eyes to Kill Rose Popillia #30

October 2, 2013

I’m loving shimmery pinks for eyes right now. Two new discoveries include these interesting hybrid gel-creams, in particular Diorshow Fusion Mono in Chimère #821 ($30 for 6.5g) and Armani Eyes to Kill in Rose Popillia #30 ($33 for 4g). There are pinks that can be impossible for me to pull off on my olive skintone, but these two have an interesting mix of sparkle and shimmer that they don’t look like traditional pinks on the eyes.

Diorshow Fusion Mono Chimère #821 is an iridescent multidimensional mousse-gel type of shadow. It mimics a similar feel to Chanel Illusion d’Ombres with the slight bounce it has when you press the product with your fingers. In general I found the Diorshow Fusion Mono shadows extremely shimmery (almost glittery) with a sheer finish. Chimère #821 was one of the few shades I felt was the least metallic making it the easiest to wear for someone conservative like myself. The texture blends easily on the lids without a base. It’s a lovely swipe-and-go kind of no-fuss shade. Lasting power was excellent on me.

Armani Eyes to Kill Rose Popillia #30 was released with the Fall 2013 Collection. I blinked and it sold out. It has sold out online multiple times and been on backorder. Luckily I was able to test it instore to know it was a must-have (and I immediately ordered it online). Rose Popillia #30 is a complex mauve-pink-taupe-lavender kind of shade. It has a similar complexity and multi-chrome finish to MAC Vex (but easier to wear). I’ve been a longtime Eyes to Kill fan and this one is no exception. Lasting power is amazing on me. It’s one that is impossible to describe properly. The mix of colors makes this one truly unique.

More photos and swatches, you can see the pigment is easy to control by layering. The shimmers are visible but not over the top:

Swatched in sunlight with flash:

Without flash in sunlight, you can see how the color flashes different due to the complexity:

Comparisons to other pinks including Armani Eyes to Kill #29 (swatched here), Chanel Abstraction, Tom Ford Pink Haze (reviewed here), MAC Vintage Selection Paint Pot.

Both = love. Dior Chimère is definitely easier to find right now (not sure if it’s limited). I ordered mine online at Nordstrom.com. Armani Rose Popillia on the other hand sold out near me at mutiple counters. I waited for a week while it was on backorder but it shipped quickly. You may have better luck than I did tracking it down at your local counters.
Have you checked out the new Diorshow Fusion Mono cream shadows or the Armani fall collection?
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Dior Vernis Nuit 1947 #970

September 19, 2013

I spotted Dior Nuit 1947 ($24 for 10 ml/0.33 fl oz) on This That Beauty’s Instagram here and here and fell in love. I ordered it as soon as it popped up online. Dior Nuit 1947 #970 is a dark vamp with a jelly finish. The texture makes it on the sheer side. It applies with a see-through finish that can be a bit streaky with two coats. Applying a third coat seemed to be a must for me to achieve a rich dark even finish.

If you look closely at the bottle you will see very subtle shimmers. It’s not really visible on the nail except at certain angles.

Here it is swatched with two coats:

Here it is with three coats:

More with three coats:

I’m out of nail wheels so I wasn’t able to do a lot of comparisons. Among the vamps I pulled I did find Dior Nuit 1947 to be the deepest richest vamp with three coats. The look is very similar to many other vamps though. Unless you have direct sunlight shining on your nails, most of the vamps look identical in natural light. Here are a few comparisons I pulled to Chanel Diabolic (d/c), Chanel Western Light (limited), Chanel Rouge Noir (d/c) and Chanel Strong (d/c).

With flash:

No flash, under artificial light:

I really like Dior Nuit 1947. It is a bit high maintenance since it definitely needs three coats. The finish is rich and glossy though. If you have a lot of vamps I don’t think the new Dior is a must-have. It’s very similar to other classic vampy nail colors.
You can find Dior Nuit 1947 now on Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Sephora along with all Dior retailers.

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Diorshow Mono Mordoré 653 and Gris Montaige 047

August 9, 2013
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Dior released four single shadows as a Nordstrom Exclusive with the fall collection. These are new in the US, although available in other countries (see swatches on Front Row Beauty). I picked up two of the shades Mordoré 653 and Gris Montaigne 047 ($29 each for 2.2g/0.07 oz, Nordstrom.com). Both are in the Diorshow Mono formula which has allows either a wet or dry application. This was my first time trying these shadows even though the formula was released months ago with other shades.

Mordoré 653 is a beautiful warm bronze metallic. It has a lovely shimmery finish to it. On me it pulls very warm but not red. Swatched on the arms it looks identical to Armani Eyes to Kill #5, but Dior Mordoré is easier to wear with less yellow/orange and slightly more bronze. The pigment is very rich but smooth and easy to layer. Blending with this color is easy – some coppers and warm bronzes blend out to look reddish or yellowy on the skin, this one stays true to color.

Gris Montaigne 047 is a classic metallic grey silver. There is a blend of different kinds of silvery shades which prevent it from looking too metallic or foiled on the skin. Silvers can be hard for me to pull off – this one has enough grey to not turn blue on the eyes. I could not find a dupe for this one.

More photos and swatches:

Comparisons below to Urban Decay Half Baked, NARS Fex, Chanel Le Bronze, Armani Eyes to Kill #5, Burberry Pearl Grey, Chanel Furtif, Chanel Infini, Armani Eyes to Kill #21 and Armani Eyes to Kill #17.

In the US you can find both Dior Mordoré and Gris Montaigne at Nordstrom and Nordstrom.com. I’m new to the Diorshow Mono formula but so far am pleased with the two shades I tried. Are there any other colors you’ve fallen in love with that I need to try?

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Dior Mystic Metallics: Constellation 864 Couture Color Eyeshadow Palette (Nordstrom)

July 16, 2013
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Dior Constellation 864 Couture Color Eyeshadow Palette ($61, limited-edition, Nordstrom exclusive) is the second quint release for Dior Fall this year. It’s a stunner in the compact and the colors translate onto the skin true to pan. If you can pull off cool-toned colors and brighter plums or purples on the eyes you will love this. For me, some purples appear too blue against my olive skin leaving me with a punched-eye or pink-eye look. This is one of those purple palettes – it requires a bit of layering with a warm terracotta or sheer bronze (Le Metier makes some nice ones from their limited kaleidoscope kits, NARS Fez works well as does Urban Decay Lost). The lighter shades pull very cool on my skin, if you’re very warm or tan you may find this one pulls very cool-toned on you, more so than when you swatch on the arm.

The colors include a pale mauve, a frosted silvery-platinum, a cool pink opal, a plum with silver flecks and a purple satin. Most of the colors pull very shimmery. Each color is very pigmented. I liked that the colors applied very well on the eyes and stayed put well throughout the morning and afternoon.

Overall, not my favorite … at least for now. Part of me thinks it’s the warm summer weather that is making me crave warmer colors for eyes (versus cool purples). Once autumn arrives I think I’ll like this more as is. For now, it will be reserved for days I have extra time to get ready in the morning or evening. It’s going to be a higher-maintenance palette that requires some warm color layering to make it work for me.
Constellation is available now at Nordstrom and Nordstrom.com as an Early Access item to Nordstrom Cardholders. It will be available to all this Friday when their Anniversary sales starts. Do note it’s a limited-edition product. You may want to call your local Dior counters to pre-sell if you don’t have a Nordstrom card. They can reserve one and set it aside for you.

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