dior

Dior Blue Tie Palette: New for Fall 2011

July 19th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

Pictures and swatches of the new Dior Blue Tie Palette ($70! — WOW!) for fall 2011, coming soon to Dior.com and available now at Nordstrom stores.

Quick first impressions…

The pigments — The blue shadows apply sheer; the shimmery gray and black ones apply with medium pigmentation.
Texture — The four shadows feel harder and less buttery to me than the Dior shadows I’ve tried in the past. I’ll be able to tell more after I’ve some time with them.
The gloss — A creamy pink, unflavored and unscented. It leans toward the cool side of the spectrum.

What do ya think of the colors? The price isn’t exactly great…

Dior Harmonie de Blush in Coral Riviera Is Ringing My Belle

June 7th, 2011 by Karen 51 Comments

“May I be excused?” Karen asked, trying to hide the fact that her coral blush fetish was spiraling out of control. Gingerly, she set her silverware and cotton napkin down and coyly tilted her head. “I won’t be but a minute.”

“Why, sure, dear,” said a woman in a tall chair at the head of the table. The words dripped from her tongue like honey, and the other girls grew silent as she spoke. She was older than the others but, like the younger girls, impeccably dressed. She wore a creamy, satin two-piece gown and a bolero jacket with 3/4 sleeves (rhinestone accents, of course) over an A-line skirt. Not a single hair fell out of place on her almost sculpted, dark strawberry blonde crown. She sat bolt upright with darn near perfect posture, much as someone accustomed to formal gatherings of this kind regularly would.

“You take your time,” the woman said, seeming to understand Karen’s reasons. It was as if the woman had read her blush-crazed mind.

Karen fluttered (as best she could) out into the hallway and pulled Dior’s Harmonie de Blush in Coral Riviera 002 from her clutch. At $44 it was pricey, but damn if it didn’t make her feel like her cheeks had been kissed by the sun.

Under the dim lights in the hall, Karen marveled, as she had many times before, at the different shades in the pan. “So pretty…” she whispered to the pan as much as to herself. Dior designed the colors to be worn separately to highlight different parts of the face, or swirled together and worn as a blush or bronzer.

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Red Alert! Dior Rouge Dior Lipcolor in Rouge Favori 752 Is the Business

June 4th, 2011 by Karen 28 Comments

MAC Russian Red has been my favorite red lipstick for years, but Dior’s Rouge Dior Lipcolor in Rouge Favori 752 ($30) is nipping at its heels. Part of Dior’s permanent line, it’s a rich, full-coverage matte red with a hint of magenta, which gives it a little extra oomph.

And the oomph lasts. The non-drying formula feels light and comfy on my lips, and the color lasts all day long.

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J’Adore Dior

May 26th, 2011 by Karen 11 Comments

Dior Harmonie de Blush in Coral Riviera ($44), available now at Dior counters and also online.

LOVE.

Red, She Said

May 25th, 2011 by Karen 6 Comments

Dior Rouge Dior Lipcolor in Rouge Favori 752 ($30), available now at Dior counters and also online.

WARNING: High Voltage Dior Electric Tropics Swatches Follow

May 14th, 2011 by Karen 39 Comments

From one of our first looks at Dior Electric back in March

Do you remember checking out the limited edition Nude Healthy Glow Powder in Sunset #002 ($46) from the Dior Electric collection with me earlier this year? The entire collection is out on counters now, and I did a little swatching on a recent excursion to the mall.

Makeup worn in the picture at the top…

Nude Healthy Glow Powder in Sunset #002 from the Dior Electric Collection for Summer 2011
Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Golds 569
MAC Eye Kohl in Powersurge
LORAC Front of the Line Pro Liner
NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer
Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener
Becca Ultimate Mascara
Benefit Brows A-Go-Go on my eyes
MAC Lipglass in Lychee Luxe on my lips

Sweet basket weave pattern on those bronzer pans. Yum, I like that a lot.

dior electric tropics swatches

dior electric tropics swatches
Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Rosy Tan #754 ($58)

dior electric tropics swatches
Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Rosy Nude #534 (not carried at Sephora, $58)
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Might As Well Face It, I’m Addicted to Dior: New Dior Addict Lipstick

March 29th, 2011 by Karen 49 Comments

Alright, did someone sneak in a second Monday today? Yeesh! I had a tough Tuesday, ladies. Couldn’t focus worth squat. I felt like a cat in a thunder storm — perpetually on edge and ready to freak out. The only headway I made all day was with these newly reformulated Dior Addict lipsticks ($28 each). I say headway because I actually tried them on my lips.

Dior refers to these as iconic, a gutsy claim if we were talking about a different company, but Dior gets a pass from me for marketing speak like that. That’s how much I like the brand. Their corny tagline, on the other hand, I think I’ll gently tease: “A declaration of love between beauty and style, color and couture, and Dior and its addicts.” Come on, guys. You can do better than that. 🙂

I counted 44 shades on their website and tried three of them today. The new formula seems slightly thicker and more pigmented to me than the old one did. I could wax philosophic about how hydrating and extraordinarily shiny these heavenly bobbins are, but wax is one thing these lipsticks don’t do. Well, they do, but they do it less than usual, which is to say that they’re made with 25% less wax than classic lipsticks are.

Interesting, but I’m actually not sure if that’s good or bad. The formula, Dior says, contains an intensely hydrating, plumping gel. I do find them quite hydrating, but I didn’t notice much of a plumping effect…on my lips.

My eyes, however, must have doubled in size when I saw their chic packaging.

Their pretty tubes next to an iPhone for scale…