Dior’s nail polishes seem to keep getting better and better with each release. For spring they have released some killer shades for lips and nails this spring with their Sparking Shine collection. There are new shades of lipstick, a new revamped version of their addict gloss and new items for nails. The new nail items include Princess, Délice, Diablotine and Spring Ball ($24 each). In addition, Dior has released a new Gel Top Coat ($24). I didn’t plan on purchasing the Gel Top Coat, but my Dior rep insisted that it was the most amazing thing ever, so it came home with me from Nordstrom. I decided to try Dior Diablotine 643 first along with the Gel Top Coat.
Dior Diablotine 643 is a bright coral pink loaded with highly-shine shimmer. I love that the shimmer is visible. The sparkling quality reminds me of those super shimmery Celestial Lights glossimers Chanel released years ago (some are still available I think, you can see them here, my first post ever!). The pigment of Diablotine is incredible with full coverage with two coats. I swatched all briefly before applying Diablotine on all nails and found the finish wasn’t quite as shiny as most Dior nail polishes. It’s still covers the nail fully with smooth finish, but dries down to a satin like sheen (not high gloss). You definitely need to add a top coat for a good shiny finish. In terms of dupes, I would say there’s no exact dupe, I’d say it’s a cross between Dior Riviera & Lucky, but loaded with bright shimmers.
Dior’s Gel Top Coat is really amazing. I’ve never had a gel manicure so I can’t compare this to the real thing. I tried the Dior top coats that came with the Catwalk summer trios from 2011 and wasn’t a huge fan. I thought they were just ok so I was skeptical of the Gel version. After putting it to the test, I can say hands down, the Gel version is a million times better. This applied effortlessly, smoothly and gave a ultra-high shine with that cushy glossy finish. I applied this on my latest manicure using Deborah Lippmann’s Hydrating Base Coat, two coats of Diablotine (let this dry for 3 minutes) and then one coat of the Gel Top Coat. Drying time seemed to be faster than most, but since I tend to be on the careful side, let the nails dry for 15 minutes before touching anything. On Day 1, the finish was ultra glossy. On Day 2, there was still a high shine but not quite as glossy as the first day. By the end of Day 5, my manicure is still as fresh-looking as the first day without any tip wear, chipping or peeling. When it comes to top coats, I’m super picky about any type of shrinkage, I’m pleased to report there was no shrinkage with the Gel Top Coat although I haven’t tested it with other brands or Dior cream shades. I don’t think I’ve ever had a top coat extend the life of a manicure this long.
Some more photos of Diablotine:
Dior Diablotine (2 coats) with Gel Top Coat (1 coat):
A few comparisons to: Tom Ford Ginger Fire, Chanel Holiday, Chanel Dragon, Dior Psychadelic Orange, Dior Plaza and Chanel Fracas. (Note, I didn’t include Lucky or Riviera, they wouldn’t photograph accurately this time for some reason, Diablotine is like Lucky+Riviera mixed, but frosted with multidimensional shimmer.)
Dior’s Sparkling Shine collection is available now at Dior counters and boutiques. I purchased my items from Nordstrom. If you have a wishlist developing you might want to take advantage of Nordstrom’s Triple Points next week – many counters will be having gifts with purchases in store (I’m not sure what it is this time). I recommend calling your local counter to find out. Another good place to order is the Dior Boutique at the Palazzo in Vegas they have Iridescent Leather quint (yes it’s back!) along with some other new exclusive nail shades in Nymphea/Cristal and eye singles.
Did you pick up Dior Diablotine? Or the new Gel Top Coat?
Many have asked me to share my skincare routine. I had plans to write about it earlier in the summer, however just when I was ready to publish the post, my skin decided to act up (about 3 months ago) and certain problem areas would not clear up. I thought it could be attributed to stress or weather changes. I tried a number of different things: I drank more water, changed my eating habits, washed my brushes and pillow cases more frequently etc. After several months of no improvements, I decided it was time for a skincare change. My prior routine consisted of: Clé de Peau Beauté’s Gentle Cleansing Foam or Clinique’s Rinse Off Foaming Cleanser, La Mer’s The Tonic, Clé de Peau Beauté Eye Cream, Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Day Cream, and Koh Gen Do’s Cleansing Water (plus the occasional mask treatment). I suppose my skin became so used to holy-grails that the items became less effective (if that makes sense).
Thanks to the help of my trusted sales associates from various brands, I was given some recommendations and mini sample packets to try. In just a short time, my skin has cleared up and is almost back to it’s normal blemish-free state. I also changed my foundation routine. My holy grail loves started to seem a bit heavy (but still amazing).
My current skincare routine is split up into two categories, The Basics and The Extras. I’m not a skincare expert and unfortunately can’t elaborate on the benefits of each product, nor do I have the ingredients listing on the items. This is a list of what works for me. I’m hoping others who have tried the same can chime in the comments below. Also check out Makeupalley Product Reviews – this is an excellent resource.
The Basics:
Morning Cleanser – Clé de Peau Beauté Gentle Cleansing Foam ($63) is one of my holy grail cleansers, it’s a gentle foaming cleanser, a little goes a long way leaving the skin feeling clean but not dry. I’ve repurchased this numerous times.
Night Cleanser – Dior Purifying Foaming Cleanser ($33) was recommended to me by my local Dior artist. The Cle de Peau became less effective for me, so she recommended that I try this one from Dior. I found it to be amazing in terms of really purifying and cleansing the skin. Given the weather changes, I found it to be a bit too stripping for both morning and night, I like to use this one in the afternoon/night because it removes the makeup better.
Toner – Giorgio Armani ‘Regenessence 3.R’ Pre-Regenerative & Retexturizing Lotion ($48) is a gentle toner that works to refresh the skin and noticeably improved my skin texture. I have not purchased this item yet, I received a generously sized sample in one of the Neimans Armani Gift With Purchase sets (they have generously sized skincare samples). So far it’s lasted me 3 weeks and counting. I intend on purchasing once it’s used up.
Moisturizer/Serum – Giorgio Armani ‘Luminessence’ Bright Regenerator Concentrate ($150) is a brightening concentrated serum. I actually really liked some of the creams by Armani but my Armani artist felt that they would be too heavy for my skin and age (31). He personally said he loved the Luminessence Concentrate and used it under makeup alone (no other moisturizer or creams, other than eye cream). He made a small sample for me which I’ve been testing. So far I love it. I’m waiting for a gift with purchase event before I buy since it’s pricey.
Eye Cream – Clé de Peau Beauté Intensive Eye Contour Cream ($250) was gifted to me by Cle de Peau and Neiman Marcus a year ago. I had my doubts about it’s effectiveness, but it’s everything it says it is. I’ve tried a number of eye creams (Clinique, NARS, Shiseido, Chanel, Lancome, Dior) but am still at the stage in my life where eye cream isn’t a necessity yet. I don’t have under-eye wrinkles or creasing (yet). All women told me to start using eye cream in my early 20’s so I did occasionally. I never saw any changes, nor did I feel anything different. The Cle de Peau is the first that I’ve actually seen and felt results. It fully hydrates the eye area and gives a smoothing finish with the moisture. It doesn’t dry out and it isn’t too greasy. It’s the perfect prep for a bit of concealer under the eye because it primes the skin for a more natural look (sometimes concealer can look a bit cakey under the eyes, the CdP helps prevent that). My husband uses this too.
Essential Cotton – Shiseido Facial Cotton ($9.50 for 165 squares) is by far the best facial cotton out there. I’ve tried many other brands and nothing compares for me. The Shiseido is perfectly sized, very soft and gentle and sold at a decent price. They are more expensive than drugstore cotton but well worth every penny.
The Extras:
Cleansing Water – Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water ($39) reviewed here is my go-to for removing makeup from the face in the afternoon (before cleansing), it’s also perfect for cleaning up eyeshadow-fallout around the eyes.
Mask – Koh Gen Do Brightening Moisture Mask ($75) is pricey but lasts a long time. I did a brief feature here before. To recap, this is a great purifying yet moisturizing mask. The Macro Vintage Face Masks are equally amazing, but the Brightening one helps purify while the Macro Vintage moisturizes and hydrates more.
Eye Makeup Remover – Chanel Gentle Bi-Phase Eye Makeup Remover ($32) is one of the few eyemakeup removers that really removes all traces of mascara without burning my eyes, Neutrogena’s is also awesome but has a slightly more emollient feel.
I hope this helps give you ideas on what works for me. Everyone’s skin is different so I can’t say these will work for everyone. My skin is normal but sensitive. I try to keep skincare items I use minimal. Most of the testing has to be done over long period to see if it really works. I also usually test only one new thing at a time while keeping the rest of the routine the same to test the effectiveness of that one product (even though sometimes it’s a combination of products that may make something work better). Also due to the pricey nature of skincare, I try to spread out my purchases. Most of the items are long-lasting with a little product going a long way.
I’ve been loving the nude-makeup theme this year from Dior. I haven’t had a chance to look at the new lipsticks or trios yet, but I immediately ordered the four new nail polishes in Charnelle #115, Grège #413, Trench #223 and Dune #715 as soon as I could ($23 each). I love the formula on these nail colors – they are smooth in coverage and very easy to apply. Charnelle is a pale nude cream with slight pink tones. It’s very sheer and required three coats for me to get even coverage. Grège is my perfect nude in the sense that it matches my skintone almost perfectly to give mannequin hands. There is some warmth to it so it’s not a dead-looking beige. Trench is my favorite. It’s a warm brownish tan shade. On my fingers it turns slightly cooler-toned than what you see in the bottle. Dune is a darker bark brown. It’s cool-toned.
Here are the four shades swatched on my fingers. All with two coats, except Charnelle which required three. Note that I’m probably around a Chanel B30-40 right now, NARS Alaska, Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation in Tan.
Grège
Trench
Dune
Nudes definitely aren’t new and there are only so many ways one can reinvent nude makeup. I can’t say any of these are absolutely must-haves, especially if you already have nude nail polishes in your collection. Still, these colors/formulas from Dior are quite nice. Since I collect nail polishes from Chanel and Dior, I found it easy to justify adding to my collection.
For dupes, I believe there are probably many other colors that will give a similar look. There are a number of other blogs that have done excellent comparisons to a wider variety of brands. I don’t own a lot of OPI, Essie or drugstore brands for nail polishes, but I recommend you check out Kais Obsessions, the make-up blogette, Fruity Lashes to name a few for more extensive comparisons.
Here are my comparisons:
Did you check out the new nudes from Dior? Any must-haves for lips, eyes or nails?
I have an obsession with neutral pink nudes for nails. I love the clean polished natural look of colors that have a mix of pink with nude/beige/mauve/rose. My current favorites range from semi-sheer to full coverage shades, most are creams but there are a few that have subtle shimmer. The shades I’m loving this season are listed below. All photos are my own.
Row 1: YSL Beige Leger 22, Chanel Jade Rose 493, Deborah Lippmann Naked, Dolce & Gabbana Rose Petal 102
Row 3: Dolce and Gabbana Petal, Chanel Rose Cache 521, Deborah Lippmann Modern Love and Dior Sienna
On the nail wheel, with a few true beiges and pinks added to compare, two views:
I believe all these shades are still available for sale with the exception of Chanel Mistral which is no longer for sale (I think). Currently, Chanel Jade Rose is listed as limited-edition on Chanel.com. What neutral pinks are you loving?
Kindly note that all photos and content are my own and copyrighted. Please do not copy, reprint, edit, republish or hotlink images.
Dior’s Golden Jungle collection for fall has been out on counters in the US for about a month now with the exception of one nail color called Bengale #615 ($23 for 10 ml/0.33 fl oz). This shade is a medium brown cream and currently exclusive to Neiman Marcus and Dior.com in the US. It just arrived last week in stores at the Neimans counter near me. The coverage is smooth with a naturally glossy finish. If you look closely at the bottle under the light you will see tiny bits of silver shimmers suspended. Most of my non-shimmer Dior shades have the tiniest bit of micro shimmer infused in the colors. Unfortunately these aren’t visible on the nail but it does help give the colors a bit more depth. I had hoped Bengale would be a warm soft brown with pink tones like the promotional photos. In real life it’s a darker brown with the slightest hint of green undertones on my skin. It’s still lovely for fall, just not quite what I had expected.
Here you can see the sparkle:
Here it is with two coats (no base or top coat):
Many have been wondering how this compares to other browns such as Chanel Khaki Rose and Dior Underground. I’ve pulled out a few colors to swatch side by side: Chanel Particuliere, Chanel Khaki Rose, Chanel Khaki Brun and Dior Underground.
Although Dior Bengale wasn’t quite what I expected, I still find it very unique in the sense that it’s a true medium brown on me, something I was lacking in my collection. It gives a nicely polished look that can be easily incorporated into my work wardrobe for fall. It’s conservative, polished and neutral. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea but for me, I give it a thumbs up (although I can’t say I think it’s a must-have).
Did you check out anything from Dior Fall? Thoughts?
Earlier this year, Dior released a new trio collection of nail polishes called Les Violets Hypnotiques. Back in February, these plum-purple themed shades were exclusive to Europe, later rolled out to Asia, and finally have landed in the US. I believe they are currently exclusive to the Dior Boutique in Las Vegas Palazzo, however there are rumors these will be released at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale (I haven’t confirmed though). The three shades released are Orchid 981 a plum cream with tiny flecks sparkle, Shadow 783 a complex deep purple with red shimmersand Poison 996 a deep rich blackened-eggplant cream. Those who have been long-time Dior fans will see two of these shades as slightly revamped updated versions of prior limited-edition releases. (Comparisons and swatches below.) These all come with the chiseled brush in the new Dior Nail Lacquer formula. The colors are rich and beautiful, however I found ease of application to be slightly inconsistent.
Orchid is a gorgeous deep wine color. It applies as a cream but if you look closely in the bottle you will see tiny flecks of sparkle. These unfortunately are not visible on the nail. The formula goes on sheer/jelly-like making application slightly challenging. I found it difficult to achieve even coverage with 2 coats. Three thin coats gave full opaque coverage but I had to apply with a very slow and steady hand. Below, the first swatch on the left has 3 coats, all other fingers have 2 coats. I found this to be almost identical to Black Plum (released fall 2009).
Swatches below all have three coats:
Shadow is the stunner of the collection. It’s a deep plum infused with suspended red, wine, gold and purple shimmers. The formula on this color was slightly thick so I recommend applying with two thin coats. I found that using a base coat helped smooth out application. Those who remember Dior Licorice from Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale in 2008 will notice Shadow looks familiar. To me they are almost twins, the new Shadow is slightly more purple in the base while Licorice applies more reddish. Also, Shadow looks slightly more “dusty” in finish, I believe it’s because of the base. Below shows two coats.
Poison is my favorite in the entire collection. It applied the most flawlessly out of the three. It’s a blackened eggplant but has enough blue/purple to prevent it from looking black. It has a similar effect as some other shades such as Chanel Vendetta and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche. If you don’t have Poison and are wondering if it’s different enough to justify owning, I would say no. The effect is just too similar. However, I do love this one and have no regrets.
Overall gorgeous. If you missed out on prior releases, this will be the opportunity for you to pick up something similar. Even with the inconsistent formula of these three, I’m still very pleased. Other blogs I recommend checking out for more photos, swatches and comparisons include Joey’space and Fashion Polish. I also love the swatches by AudreyEleven, see them here on The Purse Forum.
These retail for $23 each. I ordered mine from the Palazzo Dior Boutique (702) 734-1102. I cannot rave enough about their excellent customer service (which stands out these days, especially given some recent less than satisfactory experiences I’ve had with a few big retailers). In addition there are a few more items available as part of this special release: a purple lipgloss, purple mascara in the Extase formula and a purple trio.
I’m always drawn to matched lip and nail collections. I loved the Chanel Extrait de Gloss Collection (from 2010, see summary on Karla Sugar) and the recent MAC Fashion Sets, in particular Angel and Please Me (see lineup on Temptalia here, here and here). Right now I’m loving something that’s a little more mixed lip/nail combination and something a little less matched, but still in the same color family. Here are a few mixed and matched combination sets I’m loving right now. Swatches below as well.
Glowing neutrals
Left to right: YSL Golden Sand #54 Gloss
YSL Golden Shell #51 Gloss
Chanel Island #597 Le Vernis
Chanel Pêche Nacrée #515 Le Vernis
Corals and golds
Left to right: Chanel Nakkar #149 Glossimer
Dior Brown Panama #432 Addict Ultra Gloss
Chanel Holiday #617 Le Vernis
Chanel Delight #607 Le Vernis
Snapshot of jewelry from J.Crew’s Published June Style Guide and online at J.Crew here(I need one of those bracelets!) (Online versions of the J.Crew catalog are published on their website, currently May’s Style Guide is available to browse, I suspect June’s will be uploaded soon)
Pink lavenders
Left to right: Laura Mercier Nude Lilac Lip Glace
Dolce and Gabbana Lilac Nail Polish
Dolce and Gabbana Raspberry Lip Gloss
NARS Ratin Jot Nail Polish
What are lip and nail combinations are you loving right now?
