Dior Exquis #611 ($22) is one of four nail colors in the Dior Vernis d’Or Collection this year for the holiday season. The theme this year for Dior is gold and each of the nail lacquers are infused with gold powder. Exquis has the complexity of colors like Chanel Peridot and Dior Bronze Libertine but I find that Exquis is softer & slightly less edgy making it easier to pull off for everyday. It is an intriguing color of taupe and brown mixed with gold shimmers. Depending on how the light hits your hands sometimes it looks taupe, sometimes it looks dark brown, other times a golden fawn. The finish is smooth and glossy. It requires two coats for full coverage. I’ve grown to love the chiseled tapered brush – it makes application so much easier.
Pretty gold veins:
I could not find a dupe in my stash. I have seen dupe attempts pop up online though some look quite close. The closest I have is Dior’s Bronze Libertine (Neiman Marcus exclusive from last year), but it’s not quite the same.
Some more comparisons on the nail wheel, L to R: Chanel Khaki Rose, Dior Aztec Chocolate, Exquis, Underground, Czarina Gold, OPI Melody in Mocha, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Sephora by OPI Already Famous, Dior Bronze Libertine.
Coming eventually, each shade from Dior’s Holiday 2011 collection but for now, here are the four lined up (all are limited edition so I recommend you act fast if these are on your wishlist):
On the West Coast in Southern California, Dior spotted at Nordstrom & Neimans (just not the quint yet) and Chanel Holiday spotted at Neimans but without testers. First a sneak peek at the nails for holiday. Left to right: Dior Or Divin 221, Exquis 611, Apparat 871, Merveille 651 & Chanel Rouge Carat 587.
Although Dior’s Mitzah Quint is quite basic and very neutral, I had a hard time finding another palette similar. I pulled a few with similar tones but none are dupes. Above shows Dior Endless Shine, Chanel Kaska Beige and Dolce & Gabbana Nude. Unfortunately I did not get swatches of all the palettes today before the sun went down and my camera battery died. I do have Endless Shine swatched to compare for you in decent lighting so you can see the difference in shimmer/finish. Most Dior Quints have at least one high frost color, Iridescent Quints have the majority of the shades frosted. As you can see below Mitzah is satiny and almost matte.
Here is Mitzah at night swatched next to a few other palettes, Chanel Kaska Beige, Dolce & Gabbana Nude and Chanel Variations.
Some might say Mitzah is too basic and lacks luster. It doesn’t make the eyes pop or have that intense wow-factor, but it has a kick that gives a beautiful subtle defined eye that can be intensified for a soft-smoky look. I personally love it for everyday. For a bit of an extra shimmer or kick, I’d recommend layering over a more sparkly cream base to add a bit of luster.
Dior Camel and Ebony are compared below to Dior City of Gold, Dior Sienna, Chanel Khaki Rose, Chanel Particuliere, Dior Underground, Dolce & Gabbana Chocolate and MAC Dim the Lights.
To see how Camel compares to neutral nudes, like Dior Nude Chic and Dolce & Gabbana Nude, scroll down two posts (linked here).
I found Dior Camel truly unique. There wasn’t a shade I owned similar to it at all. Granted I don’t typically gravitate towards yellow-based shades unless it’s a gold shimmer. Dior Ebony wasn’t exactly unique as I found it very similar to Underground. The two are practically identical except when you scroll down to the bottom photo, you might be able to see that Underground has a slightly purplish base while Ebony is more neutral black/brown. In real life you can only see the difference if you look very closely. In the photos I doubt you will be able to tell the two apart unless you tilt your head, squint and try to look for the difference.
I hope these comparisons help. I’m not sure I would classify these new Dior shades as must-haves as they are fairly neutral and not exactly knock out colors. Still they provide a polished subtle elegant look to the fingers which I really like. Quint/quad comparisons to come soon. I didn’t get good swatch comparisons from this weekend so I will have to redo them.
I’ve been eagerly waiting for the release of the Mitzah Collection to Sephora in the US. The collection was designed to commemorate Mitzah Bricard, Christian Dior’s legendary muse who was known for her love of leopard. The Mitzah Collection features pieces for eyes, face and nails in shades of camel, chocolate brown and beige in a jungle-print theme. While traveling in Paris last March, Café Makeup was lucky to find the collection early and shared beautiful photos of the palette and nail polishes. The collection has finally arrived in the US exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com.
My picks included the new eyeshadow quint Mitzah #753, Camel Nail Polish #622, Ebony Nail Polish #912 and the new Golden Brown DiorShow Mascara #598 (not featured). All are currently exclusive to Sephora and are limited edition.
The Mitzah 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette ($60 for 6 g / 0.21 oz) palette is a collection of neutrals with a slight kick. The four outer shades have an embossed animal print in the powder and have a very subtle finely milled shimmer. The shimmer is so slight the colors glow with a slight sheen. The colors in the palette include a dark aubergine-brown, a medium caramel brown, a soft camel with a light orangey tinge, a warm beige and a soft greyed-brown.
After seeing this swatched and reviewed on Beauty Moogle Zone, Café Makeup, Iron Spy I was worried it would be too warm for my olive skin. Still I could not resist the lovely descriptions of the satiny finish and when I tested the palette at Sephora I fell in love. The colors are very soft and refined. I find them a bit different from the traditional Dior palettes which typically have at least 1 high frost shade. This palette has a very subtle sheen in all shades and a very natural finish. If you’re looking for high impact or high shimmer, you might be disappointed with this one but I love it.
It’s usually difficult for me to use all 5 shades in Dior quints, however the Mitzah Quint has a wonderful layering quality and today I put all 5 shades on my eyes. I apologize I do not have photos to share, but for my application method, I started with MAC’s Cream Color Base in Seaside, applied the pale cream all over the lid, then followed with the bronzey top right about 1/2 way up the lid brushing the color back and forth into a soft gradient from the lashline upwards. I then took the bottom right greyish brown and smudged it right along the upper lashlines heavily. Next I took the upper left aubergine and applied it from outer corners about 1/4 way into the eye. Last step was to take the middle orange shade and lightly dip a soft fluffy brush and blend the two dark shades just to soften the edges.
Camel and Ebony Nail Polishes ($22 each for 10 ml / 0.33 fl oz) are both opaque creams. I love this photo from Dior’s International Website. They apply beautifully with 2 coats and have a gorgeous glossy sheen on the nails.
Camel is a yellowed beige and Ebony is a deep cool brown. Both are pure love. I thought Camel might be too yellow but oddly once applied on the skin it just works. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea. This is one you have to see and test in person to really tell. I don’t think it photographs well on the fingers but in person I find it more flattering.
Ebony is a dark beautiful brown cream. It’s very similar to Underground which was released earlier this year. If you have Underground (slightly more purple undertone), you can safely skip Ebony (comparisons to come soon). These shades apply beautifully with 2 coats. The tapered brush makes application easier for those of use who have unsteady hands.
I highly recommend you check out additional swatches and reviews at Joey’space, Fashion Polish, and Café Makeup if you haven’t already. They have lovely comparisons and swatches.
Overall love. Bravo Dior! They did an excellent job creating a beautiful collections of neutrals with a kick. If you’re at all interested I recommend purchasing soon since all pieces are limited edition and exclusive to Sephora in the US. If you’re unsure about the quint because your coloring doesn’t do so well with warm shades, just use the middle shade with a very light hand. The other colors are very easy to wear and even on my warm skin worked just fine. At this time I won’t be reviewing the mascara I purchased. I have several tubes of other brands I have to use up. By the time I get around to opening up this one to test I’m afraid it will be sold out. At Sephora, the mascara tester looked like a dark brassy brown shimmer which I found intriguing.
I’ll be posting comparisons very soon in a separate post. Did you check out the Mitzah Collection at Sephora or elsewhere? What were your thoughts?
Here are a few blue comparisons of the new Les Jeans de Chanel shades to other Chanel & Dior blues. Included are Chanel Blue Satin (featured here), Dior Bond Street (here), Chanel Blue Rebel, Chanel Blue Boy, Chanel Coco Blue, Chanel Riva (here) and Chanel Nouvelle Vague (here).
The three Les Jeans de Chanel colors:
Other blues all lined up and swatched on tape (two coats each):
Arm swatches two different views:
Here you can see they have a high gloss finish:
After playing with the blues all day long, I still have the same mixed feelings. While I think there is very little that beats the feeling of having perfect fitting jeans (my favs are Paige and Joe’s Jeans) I don’t associate denim with the words “luxury” or “luxe” or “runway” like I do when I think of the brand Chanel. I thought this was an odd choice of theme for Chanel for Fashion’s Night Out (last year’s Les Khakis, Steel and Strong were much better being both edgy and unique). In addition, the high price tag of $29 per bottle this year is very hard to swallow for colors that aren’t unique or special, even for a limited-edition Chanel piece. Still, I caved and I can rest assured that I won’t have any Chanel regret nor will I have to pay uber high eBay prices to get one when they’ve sold out. To clarify, I do think these are very good high quality blues, but for FNO and for the price, I expected more. Perhaps it is just the recent releases of amazing colors like Black Pearl, Morning Rose, Quartz and Graphite that have overshadowed these basic blues.
Bottom line, nice but not must-haves. Dior Bond Street is more navy and slightly darker than the Les Jeans colors but it still has my heart for blues.
This season seems to be the season of new innovations in eyeshadows. Chanel released their Sophisticated Eye Collection with new quads, singles and eyelash curler and Guerlain came out with nine new quads. Dior has also released a beautiful collection of Smoky Eyeshadow palettes with six new trios that have just started to trickle in stores (I spotted these at Nordstrom). Fab Over Forty has details on the full lineup and Cafe Makeup has a lovely feature on Smoky Pink #051. The trio that captured my attention the most was Smoky Khaki #481 ($48 each).
These trios come with a new type of packaging with a sliding top and a mirror that flips open once the top slides back. According to the National Artists at the store, the mirrors are designed at the perfect angle so you can apply your eyeshadow while looking down. The compacts are on the smaller side with a small mirror. It’s great for a detail touch-up but too small to be ideal for normal application (in my opinion). Each trio has three colors with different finishes/textures designed to create the perfect smokey eye by layering. The colors in Smoky Khaki are:
Base: golden beige shimmer (soft and buttery smooth)
Soft smoky: dusty khaki-brown (subtle shimmer but very fine)
Couture smoky: high sparkle khaki gold
Don’t let the sparkle in these palettes scare you. They apply beautifully on the eye without having an overly glitter or frosty appearance. Yes, the sparkle is extremely intense, but the colors look amazing once you apply. The base comes in a soft smooth texture while the other two shades have a slightly harder finish giving them a more sheer finish. The colors are easily buildable though so I found the pigment payoff excellent with a bit of layering.
The trios all come with a small instruction booklet and diagrams. The application recommendations:
I tried this today using my regular eyeshadow brushes from MAC and Trish McEvoy and the result was a pretty polished neutral smokey golden khaki eye. Swatches over NARS Primer:
In outdoor natural light, no flash:
I played with only 3 of the palettes and all seemed to have the same quality and texture and color payoff. I love Dior’s interpretation of the smoky eye this season and am thrilled with the variety and uniqueness of each palette. For me, the traditional smokey eye palette of cream, grey and black doesn’t always work for my skin making me look dead and washed out. The new trios from Dior offer a diverse range of options to give a modern smokey eye. I highly recommend you check these out.
