I hope you have a great start in the week. Today I am working at home and have lots of stuff to do but I thought since so many of you asked about Dior products I have picked up from Spring 2016 Collection, I start the day by my type of meditation, make-up, to get the missing FOTDs for this post. It was meant to be a good start in the week but now I am sitting here with my irritated eyes and wondering if I should set my priorities right. I hope my eyes stop itching and I can get back to work. I wanted to post as soon as possible to avoid any of you having the same problem.
As I have previously mentioned, I skipped both of the quints from Dior Spring without any trace of remorse since I don't do 5 shades of white. The shadow sticks on the other hand looked like something for the busy mornings. The swipe and go potential of these made me curious. After all I love my Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks and I am open for trying new formulas. In the past these curiosity didn't end up well as I tried Nars and Bobbi Brown sticks. I ended up hating Nars ones and I was indifferent to Bobbi's. I love Stylo Eyeshadows Chanel brought out but these also have something in them which from time to time irritate my eyes, especially if applied on the lower lash line. I picked up both of the highlighters after ordering one, ordered the other one too. Here are some thoughts and comparison swatches of Diorskin Nude Air Glowing Gardens Illuminating Powder #001 Glowing Pink, #002 Glowing Nude as well as Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow & Liner Duo #157 Iris, #557 Twig.
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| Dior #001 Glowing Pink #002 Glowing Nude Highlighters, Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner #157 Iris, #557 Twig |
I can't stay away from Dior's limited edition compacts, they are so pretty and the quality never disappointed until now. This year there are two highlighters called Diorskin Nude Air Glowing Gardens Illuminating Powder with the prettiest flower embossment on them. One of them is a cool pink highlighter with number #001 Glowing Pink. It was the first one I picked up since usually it is very hard to find a very light cool highlighter. Going through my stash, I didn't find anything close to this. The pink highlighters look like blush on me because the shades are usually not light enough and many highlighters turn out to be only shimmer as the base color is matchy matchy and doesn't show up. Some highlighters are light but very warm which appears unnaturally yellowish so picking up Glowing Pink was a no brainer. I recommend this shade especially for fair ladies. You can see it on Melanie here, it look beautiful.
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| Diorskin Nude Air #001 Glowing Pink #002 Glowing Nude Highlighters |
Here is the thing, my face eats up highlighter. The reason might be my dry skin or undertones or something, I still couldn't figure out how but even the disco ball highlighters barely show up on me. This is why I have to use double effect, the base shade should be light to start with to bring this area forward and there should be enough shimmer to illuminate the area further. My go-to highlighter at the moment is Chanel's Poudre Signée which was a limited edition like 4 years ago. The base color of this one is more opaque than some of the other highlighters so even without too much shimmer, it manages to highlight the top of my cheek bones nicely.
Mind you I am trying not to collect highlighters. Those are being applied to such a small part of the face. I rarely use them for overall glow. Most of the highlighters I purchased for the pretty design is either too dark or too subtle for me. This is why I tried to resist #002 Glowing Nude but after trying out the first one, I knew I needed them both.
The formula of these feel like gelée of Estée Lauder. They go so smoothly, they are very nicely pigmented but not slightest powdery. The embossment doesn't go away even after a finger swatch so loving that too. These have rather a transparent base shade so even lot of these don't look too much once applied. I can't comment on the fact that if they emphasize pores because with my dry complexion, I don't have many of those but they are so finely milled, I doubt if they would. The formula of these also feel like Tom Ford Moodlight (reviewed here). I think both of these are winners and must haves.
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| Close-up: Diorskin Nude Air #001 Glowing Pink #002 Glowing Nude Highlighters |
Here are some comparisons for the record. Becca Opal and Tom Ford Moodlight are deeper than 002 Glowing Nude. Becca Champagne Pop is the closest to #002 Glowing Nude from my stash. Armani Belladonna and Chanel Poudre Signée are both warmer than #001 Glowing Pink and lighter than #002 Glowing Nude. Tom Ford Moodlight lighter shade is less metallic and warmer than #001 Glowing Pink.
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| Comparison swatches: Diorskin Nude Air #001 Glowing Pink #002 Glowing Nude Highlighters |
Now the hard part, to write a review to these sticks while my eyes are watery and itching. The first thing to write down, they might irritate your eyes! Be careful if you have sensitive eyes. Mine are not all that sensitive but it seems they didn't like something in these. In case they don't irritate yours, here are further thoughts:
Diorshow Colour & Contour are very glittery and produce fall out during and after the application. I liked #157 Iris more than #557 Twig during application because it blended better. On the first thought, I liked the idea of liner and stick in one product but thinking afterwards about it, it is very restrictive. I wouldn't like that blue liner which brings out the yellow of my eyes but I would prefer something with more red in there to bring out the green. The liner of Twig is hardly showing up on my eyes and the shade is too warm for my liking. So the risk of a product not working on you is higher once you buy them in combination.
The application is easy, the sticks are smooth and they are nicely pigmented. These have to be blended very fast though because once they set, they flake. The flakes might be the reason why my eyes got irritated. The shimmer is very complex and beautiful, especially the one of Iris. Here are some swatches.
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| Swatch: Dior Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #157 Iris, #557 Twig |
I pulled out some similar stick products from my stash for a comparison. Diorshow Colour & Contour #557 Twig is a very dupable shade. If you have Laura Mercier Sugar Frost or Chanel Stylo #07 Moonriver, you really don't need this. Twig is also the one I am not loving all that much because this one produced flakes more than Iris did. Given the fact that how itchy my eyes are and how generic this shade is, I will try to take it back to the shop. wish me luck that they get it back because I don't see this being close to my eyes in the future.
Diorshow Colour & Contour Iris is more unique in terms of shade and how multi dimensional the shimmer is. I tried to find something close to that but Chanel Stylo Campanule (reviewed here, please excuse the typo in the photo below) was way too purple. Laura Mercier Twilight is the closest I have but it lacks the dimension. In case the formula doesn't irritate you, I would recommend you check out this shade. You can also see Linda wearing it in this post and it looks beautiful on her too. In that post she also has all the shades swatched.
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| Comparison swatches: Dior Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #157 Iris, #557 Twig |
Here is me wearing Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #557 Twig before I had to run to the bathroom to take it off. You can see that the liner is too subtle for my dark lashes and I need some more definition around the eyes. You can also see how it didn't blend at the corner and became muddy looking, not a fan.
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| In-action: Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #557 Twig |
Here is Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #157 Iris. It is really beautiful color wise, I wished the liner would be a tad less blue. Anyway this blended better than the other so no flakes in the eyes, yay. I think I will keep it because the shade is more unique too.
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| In-action: Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #157 Iris |
... and the look in context which signals a very FOTD heavy post with lots of lippies from Urban Decay. I am loving their Gwen Collection to bits. I tried to order a few more stuff today but they were sold out in minutes. I am hoping to get things done today and drop by a shop tomorrow to check them out in person. On the lips I am wearing Urban Decay Ex-Grilfriend and Gwen Blush Palette on the cheeks which knocked me off my socks.
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| FOTD: Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow Liner Duo #157 Iris |
Final thoughts: I am loving both of the Diorskin Nude Air Glowing Gardens Illuminating Powders. The formula, shades, design, packaging, embossment, presentation, I think they can't get better. That said I am a little disappointed with Diorshow Colour & Contour Eyeshadow & Liner Duos. These irritated my eyes, they produce fall out and they set too quick to be able to blend nicely. If you really want to try a shade, from both I tried I found Twig to be better. These are not love for me and I don't feel comfortable recommending them.
What are your picks from Dior Spring 2016? Does cream sticks irritate your eyes too?
Disclaimer: The products in this post were purchased by me.
I am not paid for this review. All opinions are honest and my own.
