MORE DIOR! The Dior Holiday 2016 collection brings back one of my fave lipstick package designs, what I call the golden lightbulb.

This year, there are four matte (velvet mat) shades and one shimmer. The packaging is identical to last year’s release but the shades are different.

First up is 065 Golden, a creamy semi-satin with a gold shimmer finish.

Stunning, right? Although this reminds me a lot of MAC’s Rococo Gold lipstick, this has a smoother finish.  This leaves more of a metallic sheen and not a shimmer glitter effect. It’s also quite hydrating!

The gold shimmer is fairly multi-faceted with some warmer tones mixed with lighter almost white gold reflects. You can wear this on its own, although I suggest using it as a topper.

The other shade I received was 560 Ravissement, a neutral rose pink with a Velvet Mat finish.

Although this is said to be a Velvet Mat, the finish is a bit creamier than the other Velvet Mats I have from last year’s run. I’ll have to try the other shades to see if this one is an anomaly.

This pink is not too bright, not too light, just a very well-balanced pink that almost leans towards the cool side. The formula is creamy and has an almost gel-like feel to me. This dries down semi-matte.

Shown above with a swipe of 065 Golden, it really just warms it up and adds a touch of metallic.

Swatches above are 2x density. These are both very impressive as far as pigmentation, wear time and comfort!

Wearing both shades mixed, paired with the Dior Precious Embroidery Eyeshadow palette (review here).

The Dior Holiday 2016 lipsticks are available now at The Bay (Canada), Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s and pretty much all Dior counters!

GOLD LIPSTICK, WOULD YOU WEAR IT?

*Press samples/affiliate

Much like the Dior Holiday 2016 lipsticks, the Diorific Vernis nail polish have the same packaging as last year (with new updated shades). I figure if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

What I love about the packaging the most is the top. This makes application so damn easy and, of course, it looks like a shiny Christmas bauble.

There were a few shades released this season and I was lucky enough to receive two to try. The first, 850 Splendor, is deep garnet/burgundy shade with very subtle gold shimmer.

This shade is a touch darker than a classic red but a touch lighter than a vampy burgundy. The formula is opaque in one coat and really levels off nicely. It doesn’t stain the nails either (although you should totally use a base coat).

And of course like last year, they have added a gorgeous sparkly top coat to the mix. 001 Nova is a broken mirror top coat that reflects both silver and gold and even a little bit of light blue.

This has a clear base and glitter that doesn’t sink! The shapes of the glitter are like shards of glass, so the best way to apply is by dabbing on and strategically placing. You may end up with a rogue edge here and there, so just move back into place and wait until dry.

Here is Splendor (1 coat) with Nova on top (2 coats). Wear time with this combo was at least four days with no chips or cracks. I love these together!

The Dior Holiday 2016 collection is available now at The Bay (Canada).

*Press sample/affiliate

Whether you know their signature scent or you want to grab something special for someone special, I’ve curated a list of my fave fragrances from the past year to help you out.

MY BURBERRY BLACK
This one is a dark floral with a hint of sexy, syrupy fruit. Notes include: Sun-drenched Jasmine, Peach Nectar, Candied Rose, Amber Patchouli. It’s a bit spicy and mysterious. And it can be very bold, stong and can sometimes turn a bit smokey depending on body chemistry.
The lovely peeps at Burberry sent this over to me already engraved, so I don’t know if that’s something retail stores are doing (but OMG it looks so cool!)

MISS DIOR SILKY BODY MIST
This is a little different than a regular EDP or body mist. This combines a non-oily body care mist with the iconic scent of Miss Dior. Think luxurious, feminine and floral. Notes include: Italian Mandarin Essence, Egyptian Jasmin Essence, Indonesian Patchouli Essence.

ATELIER COLOGNE NECESSAIRE (Founder’s Collection)
If you want a little bit of everything, this collection of Atelier Cologne is curated by founder’s Sylvie Ganter and Christophe Cervasel, and it is a great introduction to the brand. Scents include: Atelier Cologne Travel Sprays in Sud Magnolia, Pomélo Paradis, Orange Sanguine, Vanille Intensée, Bois Blonds, Cédre Atlas.

MARC JACOBS DIVINE DECADENCE
The latest edition in the woodsy Decadence line, Divine Decadence adds a hint of champagne effervescence to the mix. And look at that amazing bottle. What a showpiece! Notes include: Champagne Extract, Orange Blossom, Creamy Bergamot, Gardenia, Hydrangea, Honeysuckle, Saffron, Vanilla, Liquid Amber.

MARC JACOBS SPLASH in CUCUMBER, COTTON, PEAR, RAIN
The Marc Jacobs line of Splash fragrances are simple, natural perfumes that were released to capture the essence of summer.
Cucumber is green and fresh, featuring notes of cucumber, freesia and musk.
Cotton is a floral woody musk fragrance featuring notes of bergamot, jasmine, cotton accords and musk.
Pear is a fruity and delectable woody scent featuring notes of pear, gin accord and wood.
Rain is a watery floral fragrance with lush and pure notes of wet cut grass, tropical rain accord and musk.

DEMETER FRAGRANCE
If you really want to give something personalized, grab a few scents from Demeter and create your own combos! Here are my two go-to combos:
Tea Time = Condensed Milk + Coriander Tea
Ron Burgundy = Mahogany + Paperback + This Is Not a Pipe (get it?)

Still to come: my gold-themed round-up and Bite Beauty kits and sets!

*Press samples included

For the Dior Spring 2017 collection, Color Gradation, there are three new Nude Air Luminzers coming your way. I’m excited!

“A light and airy highlighting powder with a highly-concentrated formula and illuminating pigments.”

I received two of the powders to try (the third is a medium gold shade). 002 shown above is a metallic pinky silver highlight. Compared to Becca’s formula, this is a bit more metallic and shimmery, similar to MAC’s Extra Dimension line.

For me, this is a perfect highlight giving me a pale pink shimmer that just “lifts” my cheekbones.

004 is a deep bronze shade that adds both shimmer and warmth to the skin.

Although a bit too dark to wear as a highlight, I was able to add a ton of bronzey glow to my sheeks with this highlight.

These light 1x swatches show how pigment packed, shimmery and luscious these highlight powders are. 002 is perfect for pink-toned pale skin (like my NW15) and the 004 could be used for deeper skintones or even as a pop of bronze on the lid.

I love the finish on these, plus, these come with included kabuki brush. The Dior Diorskin Nude Air Luminizer Powders are available now at Sephora!

*Press sample/affiliate

When Dior releases new lipstick formulas, my heart skips a beat. These two new Rouge Dior product innovations, a liquid lip and a metal matte, landed on my desk a couple months ago so I’ve had plenty of time to test wear time and application. Some good, some not great… read on for my thoughts!

First up, this super freakin’ cool Double Rouge Matte Metal lipstick. Matte on the outside, shimmery on the inside (kind of like me?), this lipstick creates a subtle gradient, making lips look fuller and more plump. And like all Dior lipsticks, these are pigmented and hydrating and all that good stuff.

“Double Rouge combines two makeup trends: matte and metal. In a single application, it produces an ombré effect with a highly pigmented matte contour and a light-catching metal heart.”

The two shades I received were at the opposite ends of the shade spectrum:
239 Vibrant Nude is a warm peachy nude with a white gold metallic centre.
590 Dressed to Kill is a deep burgundy with a pink copper centre.

The peach shade I didn’t fall in love with for a few reasons. It was definitely a bit too pale of a nude shade for me and it was difficult to even out, often picking up colour as I swiped more on.

But this burgundy shade is glorious. You can see the subtle shimmer in the centre of my lips, giving the illusion of fullness. This isn’t transfer proof but did wear well for the whole work day and left a nice berry stain behind.

Next are the new Rouge Dior Liquid lipsticks. These come in a variety of shades and finishes! This formula blends pigment powders, oils and waxes to give you a creamy and highly pigmented liquid lipstick. For the matte finish, it dries down semi-matte (but is not transfer proof). For the satin and metallic, it dries down to have a nice sheen.

“The idea was to create a Rouge Dior liquid lipstick in astonishing matte, satin, and metal finishes, and to develop a range of shades to suit any skin tone.”—Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup

265 Fury Matte is a fresh rosewood.
362 Impulsive Matte is a coral pink.
515 Scandalous Metal is a copper brown.
565 Versatile Satin is a strawberry red.

265 Fury Matte is a beautiful pink “my lips but better shade” that looked great from far away, but I didn’t love the matte finish. It was a bit too gummy and tended to stick together and clump on my lips. This wore well for about 3 hours before it kind of just separated and wore off the centre.


362 Impulsive Matte is such a happy and bright coral shade and, again, I really wanted to love this matte finish. It felt so creamy and soft on my lips but I just couldn’t get it to look right. Maybe user error? Anyone have any tips on application here?


Now we’re getting into the good stuff.  515 Scandalous Metal is what dreams are made of. Creamy, highly pigmented metallic that isn’t patchy and doesn’t dry your lips out. This shade is glorious and I will probably buy the other 5 metallic finishes during the next round of the VIB Rouge sale.


And the satin finish is a winner too! 565 Versatile Satin is probably my favourite red right now. It’s so creamy and has a bit of a shine to it making my lips look healthy and smooth. There is no feathering or sinking into my lip line either, which often happens with liquid lipsticks on me.

So a few hits and a couple misses for this round of Rouge Dior. Have you tried these new products yet?

It’s hard to find multi-use products that live up to their claims, but the Dior Matte Fluid Lip & Cheek Velvets from the Precious Rocks holiday 2017 collection definitely live up to the hype.

The cream-to-powder formula is easy to blend and build. I dabbed a few dots on my cheeks and blended out with my Beautyblender (blush mini), and to wear as a matte lip cream, you just swipe once and you’re good to go. The applicator is a typical doefoot, making application fairly easy.

I received two shades: 005 Charm is a warm taupe nude and 007 Desire is a bright coral red.

I wore the coral red on my lips and the finish felt great! It did pick up a bit of the dry patches on my lips, but if you exfoliate first this won’t be a problem. It was really easy to get a sharp lip line with the applicator too, and this was fairly transfer proof and longwearing.

What really impressed me was the wear time of the blush, shown above is the nude shade on my cheeks. This lasted longer than the rest of my makeup. Essentially I had an 18 hour day and my blush was still as evident as it is above. This was easy to blend out and didn’t pick up the foundation below.

There are four shades of Dior Matte Fluid in this year’s holiday collection, the others are a deep burgundy and a vibrant aubergine.

Want more from the Dior holiday collection? Check my other review of the Diorific nail polish.

I haven’t done my nails in ages, but when two beautiful Dior Diorific Nail Polish shades from the Precious Rocks holiday 2017 collection showed up on my desk, it was time to get out those cuticle trimmers and get to swatching.

The entire collection is inspired by precious stones and gems, like the glimmer of 673 Ruby nail polish. This dark pink has a hint of gold shimmer mixed in.

Shown above is 2 coats, and it was opaque (almost) in one. This definitely needs a topcoat though because after 2 days it chipped a bit.

998 Amethyst is the most beautiful, rich aubergine shade. No shimmer in this one, just creamy deep purple.

I found I needed 2 coats (and maybe even 3) to get this one fully opaque. It did, however, outlast my weekend of cleaning and wrapping presents. Only some minor wear and tear.

If you’re looking for some luxe packaging and beautiful gem-toned shades, this year’s Diorific Vernis nail polish will definitely be up your alley. There’s also a gorgeous shimmering emerald and bold red I may have to pick up to complete my collection!

Looking for more Dior? Check out my review of the Matte Fluids from the holiday collection.

When Dior releases new lipstick formulas, my heart skips a beat. These two new Rouge Dior product innovations, a liquid lip and a metal matte, landed on my desk a couple months ago so I’ve had plenty of time to test wear time and application. Some good, some not great… read on for my thoughts!

First up, this super freakin’ cool Double Rouge Matte Metal lipstick. Matte on the outside, shimmery on the inside (kind of like me?), this lipstick creates a subtle gradient, making lips look fuller and more plump. And like all Dior lipsticks, these are pigmented and hydrating and all that good stuff.

“Double Rouge combines two makeup trends: matte and metal. In a single application, it produces an ombré effect with a highly pigmented matte contour and a light-catching metal heart.”

The two shades I received were at the opposite ends of the shade spectrum:
239 Vibrant Nude is a warm peachy nude with a white gold metallic centre.
590 Dressed to Kill is a deep burgundy with a pink copper centre.

The peach shade I didn’t fall in love with for a few reasons. It was definitely a bit too pale of a nude shade for me and it was difficult to even out, often picking up colour as I swiped more on.

But this burgundy shade is glorious. You can see the subtle shimmer in the centre of my lips, giving the illusion of fullness. This isn’t transfer proof but did wear well for the whole work day and left a nice berry stain behind.

Next are the new Rouge Dior Liquid lipsticks. These come in a variety of shades and finishes! This formula blends pigment powders, oils and waxes to give you a creamy and highly pigmented liquid lipstick. For the matte finish, it dries down semi-matte (but is not transfer proof). For the satin and metallic, it dries down to have a nice sheen.

“The idea was to create a Rouge Dior liquid lipstick in astonishing matte, satin, and metal finishes, and to develop a range of shades to suit any skin tone.”—Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup

265 Fury Matte is a fresh rosewood.
362 Impulsive Matte is a coral pink.
515 Scandalous Metal is a copper brown.
565 Versatile Satin is a strawberry red.

265 Fury Matte is a beautiful pink “my lips but better shade” that looked great from far away, but I didn’t love the matte finish. It was a bit too gummy and tended to stick together and clump on my lips. This wore well for about 3 hours before it kind of just separated and wore off the centre.


362 Impulsive Matte is such a happy and bright coral shade and, again, I really wanted to love this matte finish. It felt so creamy and soft on my lips but I just couldn’t get it to look right. Maybe user error? Anyone have any tips on application here?


Now we’re getting into the good stuff.  515 Scandalous Metal is what dreams are made of. Creamy, highly pigmented metallic that isn’t patchy and doesn’t dry your lips out. This shade is glorious and I will probably buy the other 5 metallic finishes during the next round of the VIB Rouge sale.


And the satin finish is a winner too! 565 Versatile Satin is probably my favourite red right now. It’s so creamy and has a bit of a shine to it making my lips look healthy and smooth. There is no feathering or sinking into my lip line either, which often happens with liquid lipsticks on me.

So a few hits and a couple misses for this round of Rouge Dior. Have you tried these new products yet?

It’s hard to find multi-use products that live up to their claims, but the Dior Matte Fluid Lip & Cheek Velvets from the Precious Rocks holiday 2017 collection definitely live up to the hype.

The cream-to-powder formula is easy to blend and build. I dabbed a few dots on my cheeks and blended out with my Beautyblender (blush mini), and to wear as a matte lip cream, you just swipe once and you’re good to go. The applicator is a typical doefoot, making application fairly easy.

I received two shades: 005 Charm is a warm taupe nude and 007 Desire is a bright coral red.

I wore the coral red on my lips and the finish felt great! It did pick up a bit of the dry patches on my lips, but if you exfoliate first this won’t be a problem. It was really easy to get a sharp lip line with the applicator too, and this was fairly transfer proof and longwearing.

What really impressed me was the wear time of the blush, shown above is the nude shade on my cheeks. This lasted longer than the rest of my makeup. Essentially I had an 18 hour day and my blush was still as evident as it is above. This was easy to blend out and didn’t pick up the foundation below.

There are four shades of Dior Matte Fluid in this year’s holiday collection, the others are a deep burgundy and a vibrant aubergine.

Want more from the Dior holiday collection? Check my other review of the Diorific nail polish.

I haven’t done my nails in ages, but when two beautiful Dior Diorific Nail Polish shades from the Precious Rocks holiday 2017 collection showed up on my desk, it was time to get out those cuticle trimmers and get to swatching.

The entire collection is inspired by precious stones and gems, like the glimmer of 673 Ruby nail polish. This dark pink has a hint of gold shimmer mixed in.

Shown above is 2 coats, and it was opaque (almost) in one. This definitely needs a topcoat though because after 2 days it chipped a bit.

998 Amethyst is the most beautiful, rich aubergine shade. No shimmer in this one, just creamy deep purple.

I found I needed 2 coats (and maybe even 3) to get this one fully opaque. It did, however, outlast my weekend of cleaning and wrapping presents. Only some minor wear and tear.

If you’re looking for some luxe packaging and beautiful gem-toned shades, this year’s Diorific Vernis nail polish will definitely be up your alley. There’s also a gorgeous shimmering emerald and bold red I may have to pick up to complete my collection!

Looking for more Dior? Check out my review of the Matte Fluids from the holiday collection.

You can see the inspiration for Dior’s Glow Addict Spring 2018* release in the tulle dress details and gorgeous, feminine pink shades. These details are a nod to Maria Grazia Chiuri’s first collection with the house, and damn is it gorgeous!

*PR sample, affiliate link yadda yadda yadda.

The 5 Couleurs Glow Addict eyeshadow palette in 667 Flirt is simply breathtaking. From the intricate design elements to the soft, complementary shades, this palette is a must-have. (And honestly, you know I don’t usually wax poetic about a lot of things).

These swatched beautiful, with a slight shimmer and sheen to each shade. The dark grey is quite sheer, almost a wash of colour, which is perfect for how I used it.

Now I don’t typically wear light pink shadow, and honestly, a lot of shadow palettes with pressed details tend to underperform for me, but these shadows are lovely.

I was able to create a beautiful soft pink and mauve gradient look with this palette. The lightest shade used from lid to browbone, the pink in the crease, mauve to deepen that crease and, of course, the dark grey to define the outer V.

See what I mean? Perfect, feminine, soft and magical.

Like, you’ve either caught me on a really good day or… this palette is the bomb.

So if you’re looking for a high-end pastel palette for Spring, this Dior 5 Couleurs palette is it. The price is a wee bit steep, $73 CAD, but why not treat yo’self?