Browsing Tag

Dior

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Chanel Le Vernis Color Comparisons For Morning Rose & Beige Pétale

April 15, 2011

I searched for possible dupes of Chanel Morning Rose and Beige Pétale but could not find anything in my stash that was identical to either shade. Those looking for cheaper alternatives, I do think with a bit more searching it might be possible to find similar colors from Zoya or OPI. However, I am usually of the opinion that Chanel does it best with nail colors.

I pulled colors in the same family for Morning Rose and Beige Pétale. There are quite a few similar shades, but no true dupes. I could not find any bright yellows to compare Mimosa to. But I suspect since this seems to be the “it” shade for summer, other blogs will be doing dupes soon.

L to R: Chanel Riviera, MAC Girls Will Be Girls, Chanel Mistral, Dior Flapper Pink, Chanel Ming, Chanel Morning Rose, Paul & Joe #12


A few shades swatched on the fingers (2 coats each):

L to R: Chanel Inattendu, D&G Nude, Chanel Allegoria, Chanel Beige Petale, Chanel Jade Rose, Dior Nude Chic, Chanel Lily Beige


Similar shades finger swatched, since they are sheerer, these have 3 coats each:

Hope this helps some 🙂
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Loving Right Now

April 11, 2011

Right now I’m loving …

Jo Malone Tea Fragrances – layering these together creates the most lovely uplifting scents. I find them simple, pure and refreshing! (each scent reviewed here)

Chanel Ombres Perleés de Chanel, perfect for a lovely glow and easy to apply with fingers (reviewed and swatched here)

NARS Kalahari Duo & Fez Single Eyeshadow – I’ve been using my depotted Kalahari and it was about time for a replacement so I bought a new one. It’s one of my holy-grail neutrals. Fez is a beautiful bronzey copper (swatched here).

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Ébène is a pure black and stays put all day and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Shadow Pencil Blending Brush is the perfect brush for blending smokey colors (not so great for blending lighter shades all over the lid, but for darker shades and detail areas or smudging it’s great)

Giorgio Armani Blush #2 – the original Armani products were the best in my opinion. Classic nude soft neutrals never go out of style. #2 is a soft luminous peachy pink.

Bobbi Brown Aruba Illuminating Bronzing Powder is a golden shimmer bronze (see it here too)

Chanel Joyeuse from the Le Blanc Asia Exclusive Collection is a beautiful bright pink (see it reviewed here as well)

More bright lips: Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer 02 Can-Can (here too), Dior Model Addict Lipstick (also here) and Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shine in Adventure (I used up the entire sample from the little card I received and went out to buy the full sized version)

What are you loving right now?
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Comparisons For Chanel Misia Rouge Coco Shine & Miami Peach Le Vernis

April 8, 2011


For Chanel Liberte v Misia: Liberte is more milky and less shimmery but more pigmented while Misia is brighter more vibrant and has a sheerer shimmery texture with more red.

For those wondering whether I prefer Chanel’s Miami Peach or Orange Fizz: right now the vote goes to Miami Peach. Do note that Miami Peach is less pigmented with a slight jelly-like finish. The gold shimmer is very fine and not very noticeable. Orange Fizz is clearly more orange and has that amazing rich smooth opaque coverage Chanel is well known for these days, it may be harder to pull off on all skintones.

Hope this helps some!

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Dior Addict Lipstick: Beige Casual 222 (New)

April 2, 2011

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)


On my lips:

Happy Friday to everyone 🙂
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Dior Addict Lipstick: Model 564

April 1, 2011


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:

In direct sunlight:

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Dior Addict Lipstick: Urban 178

March 31, 2011

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

All have that sheer shimmery glossy texture:

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New From Dior: Addict Lipsticks (Revamped)

March 30, 2011

Dior has released their new Addict Lipsticks ($28 each) in a wide array of shades in the US. The new lipstick formula is designed to provide high shine and high color while hydrating and plumping the lips. The entire Dior Addict lineup consists of over 40 shades (exact number is something I have not yet been able to determine). It can be a bit of a hunt to find all the available shades as some are exclusive to certain stores. Sephora has their own set of exclusive colors and so far 983 Insoumise is the known exclusive to Nordstrom. In addition, there are colors that are available online at Dior.com and Nordstrom that are are not available at Sephora. {Update: refer to the comments below, a sweet reader did the research to find out which shades are available at various retail locations! Thank you Shannen!}

Top are new tubes, blue tube is an older version of Addict, the next tube without the stripe is the first version of Addict High Shine

Long time Dior fans know that the Addict Lipstick has gone through several revamps over the years. The earliest revamp I can remember is when they changed their gold tubes into a sleek dark blue tube and gold cap to mimic the shape of their Addict Eau de Parfum. The next revamp changed all the gold to silver. Next was the release of Addict High Shines. This brings us to present time with the Addict formula of 2011: same shape of tube, but slightly taller and with a silver banded stripe near the top.


My thoughts & experience: I am one who has a slight feeling of panic when I hear the word “revamp” because I hate to think of something I love being discontinued. Dior has gone through a number of revamps to introduce new product innovations with more advanced formulas to deliver more pigmented colors with better wear while also improving the skin. At times I find it a bit overwhelming to sort through. I haven’t kept up on the new Addict Ultra Gloss or new revamped Rouge Dior lately – but after seeing these on Café Makeup, the beautiful Dior couture on British Beauty Blogger, The Blonde Salad’s Dior experience in Paris, and after browsing the adorable Dior Addict mini- site with the beautiful video featuring Kate Moss on Dior.com – I couldn’t help but run to Sephora to try these (since they had the first exclusive release in the US).


Once I arrived at the Dior unit, my mouth dropped at the sheer number of options I had to choose from. It was overwhelmingly fun but I quickly found myself a bit lost with all the colors swiped on my hand and couldn’t recall which was which. I had to swatch and re-swatch several times before deciding on a few shades.

Before going to the store, I highly recommend you browse through the Dior.com Addict interactive section which allows you to see each shade close up and pops up a mini description. Make a mini list of the numbers and colors that catch your eye and take it to your Dior counter for notes. There are a number of colors that fall close to each other (many of the beiges are similar, same with the hot pinks). The upside of the wide selection is that you’re bound to find at least one shade that fits your taste.

The testers were brand new so I felt comfortable trying them on the lips. The texture is like a lip balm without the slick. They are smooth but are hard enough to deliver natural sheer to medium pigment with shine. I came home with Rose Déshabillé 260 (sheer shimmering pink), Model 564 (sheer warm coral pink), Beige Casual 222 (neutral beige – Dior’s classic beige that seems to be reincarnated with each new release), Tokyo 422 (sheer peachy pink). Urban 178 (a pale frosty pink) was included in a package sent to me from Dior (along with post cards and stickers).

More detailed descriptions, swatches and close ups to come soon. Just as a quick FYI the new 222 Beige Casual is more peachy than past 222’s.