I’m sure there may be other closer dupes out there for Dior Love, I just don’t have any others that compare to it.
Urban Decay’s Afterglow Blush in X is among my oldest blushes. I used this on a regular basis when I was an undergrad and it’s one of the few blushes that I hit pan on and used up. It never failed to give me a natural pretty glow (a less frosty version of NARS Orgasm) and generated endless compliments whenever I wore it. Unfortunately, it’s since been discontinued, but luckily I repurchased it before they pulled the plug on the color.
I recently ventured to my local Sephora to check out the other shades. Score is a peachy shimmer and Quickie is a bright cool pink shimmer. Here are the colors compared to X. Each retail for $17.
Overall thoughts: I think these are highly underrated, but I believe this is due to the price and size. $17 for 3.8 g is a bit pricey (compared to MAC $18.50 but for 6g/.21oz). I’m not usually one to nit-pick on price-per-gram, but when I saw the actual product, my first instinct was “eek, tiny!”
That being said, the pigment is excellent/easily blendable and formula seems to be of high quality. The texture makes it easy to layer. Being that they do seem to have high pigment, I would recommend applying with a lighter hand and then proceed by layering/blending so you don’t get a dark spot on one part of your cheek. I do believe they formulas justify the higher price, but unfortunately, I know I’ve passed by these numerous times just because of the price-to-size ratio.
I personally like a lot of Urban Decay products, particularly their shimmer eyeshadows. I’ve tested a number of their other products and have found a lot of great items but they’ve discontinued almost all my favorites, including their Lip Gunk (original wand lipgloss), Nail Polishes, Original Surreal Skin Powder Foundation, and a number of their Lip Liners that were fabulous.
I would expand my UD collection in a heartbeat if it weren’t for their bizarre packaging and neverending glitter supply. Then again, I don’t think I am exactly their target market. I do like that they are unique, edgy and very rocker-chic. There are some staples I have from the collection including Toasted, Blaze, Stray Dog, YDK, and Sellout Eyeshadows. Their eyeshadows have amazing pigments/texture. Zero Deluxe Eyeshadow is the one of the prettiest black shimmers ever.
I am still keeping my fingers crossed that they will release the exclusive colors in their Book of Shadow Series into individual shadows, in particular Mushroom, Nylon, Sidecar, Gridlock.
I brought my OPI Hollywood Blonde & Urban Decay Gunmetal to the salon for a mani/pedi color change. I had forgotten how sheer the UD Gunmetal was – with one swipe we saw how transparent it was. I asked for 3 coats and she was skeptical it would show even with 3 coats, so she suggested to use another color as a base with the UD on top for the shimmer. She picked OPI’s You Don’t Know Jacques which is a darker version of the new Chanel Particuliere click the link for more pics/comparisons. It was pure genius!
Those who have UD Gunmetal and are worried about what happens when the product runs out of that tiny bottle, I definitely recommend using a darker taupe grey cream color first in 1-2 coats, then applying the UD on top. You’ll definitely be able to stretch out the lifespan of that uber-tiny bottle by doing so since it’s so sheer you’d need at least 3 coats to get what you see in the bottle anyways.
Today’s looks are centered around pink eyeshadow. For me it’s hard to find a pink shadow that doesn’t make me look like I have pink-eye. These work for me because they aren’t too pink.
Look Day 5: neutral/warm pink eyeshadow with soft rose cheeks and rosey lips
Cheeks:
Chanel Tweed Rose Blush
Becca Angel Loose Shimmer Powder to highlight
Eyes:
Laura Mercier Pink Chiffon Satinee Cream Eye Color
Chanel Demure Quad
Urban Decay Bourbon 24-7 Eyeliner
Lips:
Trish McEvoy Bare Lipliner
Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Lipstick
Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Lipgloss (Nordstrom Exclusive, try LM Blush Lip Glace for a dupe)
Swatches, left to right: LM Pink Chiffon, Chanel Demure Quad, UD Bourbon, Chanel Tweed Rose, Becca Angel, Trish McEvoy Bare, Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Lipstick, Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Gloss
Alternate 1: Cool pink with purple eyes
Cheeks:
MAC Stark Naked Blush
Eyes:
Dior Petal Shine Iridescent Quint
MAC Deep Purple Pigment (Pro)
Lips:
Laura Mercier Chestnut Lipliner
Chanel Naive #25 Rouge Allure
Chanel Imaginaire #84 Glossimer
Alternate 2: Neutral light pink-gold sparkle with taupe and black
Cheeks:
Shu Uemura P Pink 30 Blush
Eyes:
Bobbi Brown Ballet Pink Cream Eyeshadow
MAC Naked Pigment
Urban Decay Stray Dog Eyeshadow
Shu Uemura ME Black 990 Eyeshadow
Lips:
Chanel Waikiki Aqualumiere
Bobbi Brown Brightening Pink Lipgloss
When it comes to fashion and beauty trends I am not always brave enough to be a true follower. There are always styles that are cute and chic on others that I could never pull off (for example teal eyeshadow, black lipstick/gloss or leggings with boots). If you like dark nails but feel the new releases are a bit too vampy or deep, here are four softer alternatives I really like:
L to R: OPI Melody in Mocha, Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan, Urban Decay Gunmetal, Dior Lemon Balm, Chanel Noir Ceramic
* I believe the OPI and Chanel are both discontinued, but you can still find quite a few online through swap boards, ebay or discount nail e-tailers
* OPI Melody in Mocha is a complex fawn grey with slight mauve tones and gold shimmer, I was lucky to get one in a swap and love it – I think there are quite a few dupes, there’s one from China Glaze that might be similar (the flash makes it look lighter and emphasizes the silver – in real life it’s not quite as pale for the swatch at least)
* Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan is a sparkley medium-light gunmetal shimmer, it is on the sheerer side so I had to use four coats but the finished result has a lot of depth – it’s hard to explain but it looks different depending on the way the light hits the color
* Urban Decay Gunmetal is currently only available in the Apocalyptic Nail Kit, I really hope it comes out in full size, it’s a deeper gunmetal shimmer with slight brownish tones in it so it doesn’t turn blue on me like most gunmetal shades
* Dior Lemon Balm was a Nordstrom Exclusive for their last Anniversary Sale, I believe you might still be able to find it online at nordstrom.com, it’s an oddly-named color, in the container it looks more greyish, but on the nails and compared to the other greys, it definitely pulls more purple with brown shimmers
* Chanel Noir Ceramic was photographed mainly for comparison purposes, but it’s a nice black with silver shimmers which make it softer and less harsh than most blacks, a close dupe is Chanel’s Black Satin which is darker
One more view:
I’d really LOVE to hear your favorite shimmer nail polishes that are medium-to-dark. I’m always looking for more colors by recommendations to check out. I tend to feel overwhelmed when I shop at Ulta or Sephora for nail products – too many colors to choose from and I usually end up with too many reds that look almost identical.
I occasionally stop by Sephora and a couple days ago went to check out the new fall collections and saw they had the new Urban Decay/Dior fall items and picked up Ruthless Eyeshadow and Naked Lipstick and Red Dahlia Nail Polish.
The haul along with some other items I have picked up over the past few months:
Close ups of the items, Lorac Baked Matte Satin Blushes in Velvet Rope & Exposed:
Benefit Coralista & Rich Beach Eyeshadow (also featured HERE):
Benefit Lipsticks in Swoonderful, Lady’s Choice & Good to Go – all great neutrals:
Benefit/Urban Decay Lipsticks (no flash, L to R Jailbait, Naked, Swoonderful, Lady’s Choice & Good to Go):
Urban Decay Lipsticks in Jailbait & Naked:
Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Ruthless (deluxe), Shakedown & Naked (mattes):
Make Up For Ever Super Lipgloss + swatches in 20, 21, 30:
Dior Nail Polish in Red Dahlia (Sephora Exclusive) compared with some other fushia-pink-red shades – this is pulling more red in all the photos I’ve taken. It’s most similar to OPI Miami Beet, so you might want to try googling/searching for pics and swatches of that shade to get a better idea:
1. Dior Red Dahlia (bottle shown)
2. OPI Miami Beet (bottle shown)
3. Essie Private Bash
4. Essie Very Cranberry
5. Chanel Shangahi Red
Will be updated soon with comparisons to some true/classic reds so you can see the fuschia tones.
