Archives for July 2010

I know it’s a little unusual to start a Dior review with a question about MAC, but here goes: do you do MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow? It’s a shimmery purplish taupe in MAC’s permanent line and a staple in a great many makeup bags (I it too).

If it’s also a favorite of yours, take a gander at the new Dior Misty Mauve 5-Colour Eye Palette.

This $58 princess is one of two new eye palettes Dior released with their fall collection (the other being Pink Design), and it shimmies onto lids with five cool-toned shades — a shimmery light pink, a shimmery white, a shimmery purplish taupe, a matte taupe and a shimmery mauve — that MAC Satin Taupe should get along with quite nicely.

Misty doesn’t need the help, though. She can also stand on her own, and when I slipped her on my lids this morning, I marveled at how well the included colors complement each other, blending sans muss or fuss.

Methinks it’s one of the more user-friendly palettes (especially if you like shimmer) to hail from the House of Dior in many moons.

When it comes to shimmer, Misty Mauve has it in spaces. Dior did add one matte shadow to keep fans on their toes…but the other four shimmer like sunlight through glass (borderline frosty even).

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How do you feel about purple eyeshadows? Or pinks? If you’re not a fan, I totally get it. I love ’em now, but I used to avoid both (CORRECTION: I just fixed a typo in this sentence. I DO like pinks and purple eyeshadows now, but at one time I didn’t) because I thought they made me look kinda trashy and tow up…like I just lost the kind of cat fight where girls remove their big hoop earrings and bust out the Vaseline before going toe to toe in the schoolyard (NOTE: violence is not the answer, kids).

But if you’re even a teeny, tiny bit curious about pink and purple eyeshadows, Dior’s $58 Pink Design 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palette might be an elegant (albeit expensive) way to get to know them better.

It’s one of two 5-Colour eye quints from Dior’s fall 2010 collection. With a sheer and creamy iridescent eyeshadow base, a dark purplish black liner and eyeshadows in shimmery purple, shimmery purplish-pink and glittery pink, it covers all the bases for some very chic cool-toned looks.

Working with purples and pinks can be trickier than working with easy-peasy neutrals. Bold lines can be tougher to blend away, but Pink Design’s shades and textures, like those of other Dior shadows I’ve tried, abide by my brushes and feel very beginner-friendly to me.

More to like…

• Dior sprinkled the pink shade with a healthy dose of fine glitter (aka “good glitter”), giving the palette a fun, flirty vibe.
• The creamy purple liner expertly draws opaque, solid lines without any skipping and adheres nicely to the lash line (but it struggles along my waterline)
• I didn’t think I’d like the iridescent base at first (thought it looked straight up white in the pan), but I do; it applies as a sheer, opalescent pinkish white that flatters lids even when used by itself

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