Dior | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Mascara Monday: Dior Diorshow Mascara, a Cult Classic

I have already reviewed Dior’s Diorshow Iconic Mascara (read review), but have not formally written about the original.

Dior DiorShow Mascara is a cult classic favorite. Time and again you will see it listed as among the best mascaras out there, and I agree. This one does it all. It lengthens, it adds volume, it holds a curl well (note, use an eyelash curler first for best results), and it lasts all day without flaking or smudging. The brush is large and the formulation is medium—enough to work well, but not so thick as to get clumpy.

I love the look I get from Diorshow. I tend to think it is slightly less of a dramatic look than what you can get from Iconic, but frankly they are both so similar that I use them interchangeably.

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Mascara Monday Review: Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara

Dior has always made quality mascara as part of their Diorshow line . Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara is a particularly impressive one. It was created for fashion shows and red carpet events, and gives incredible length. It also defines the lashes well, and adds a bit a curl. I had no clumping issues with it.

For best results with this one (and with any mascara for that matter) curl your lashes, wipe the brush first and apply one light coat. Wait for the first coat to dry and apply a second coat.

Diorshow Iconic will last all day and is quite smudge and smear proof.

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Dior Holiday 2008 Limited Edition Eye Shadow Palette

My holiday splurge for myself this year was my purchase of a Christian Dior 2008 Holiday Palette. Dior’s leather case palettes are always worth the money in my mind. First off, the cases are always attractive. In this instance the case is black with metal adornments. The palette contains six shades of shadow in decent size for a palette, which provides a pretty good value.

As is customary for Dior, the shades are quite nice and are finely milled. My only complaint is that I seem to find that the shades included in the limited edition palettes are not quite as pigmented as they are in the Dior five colour palettes (read review). This isn’t to say that I am particularly disappointed in the shadow—to the contrary, it still is of good quality–it just seems like the shades are a bit more sheer. But they still have great color as you can see from the swatches.

Below are swatches from the palette taken in sunlight:

Overall, the Dior Palette is great either as a personal splurge or as a holiday gift.

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Dior Vernis Nail Polish: Black Sequins

Dior nail lacquer is expensive, but it tends to come in beautiful and interesting shades that are pretty darn chip proof. Despite my husband’s dislike of black nails, I decided to give the shade Black Sequins a try. The unique thing about this shade is that it includes little silver sparkles that, although very noticeable in the bottle, are quite subtle when worn. The effect is a bit of shimmer that doesn’t go overboard.

I found the Dior nail polish to be quite chip proof. Considering the amount of typing that I do, I usually chip nail polish within a day. I managed to keep the Dior lacquer looking good for 4-5 days—something that is quite a feat for me.

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Fall Trends: Dior Five Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Earth Tones.

My cosmetic splurge this fall was the Christian Dior Five Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Earth Tones, and boy am I glad that I bought it! It is also a lesson in why you should step outside of your normal range of colors once in awhile. You might just find something perfect for you!

Because I have blue eyes, I normally wear pink and brown shades, so two of the shades in the Dior palette were already up my alley, but I normally do not wear greens. I also tend to wear lighter shades over darker ones. Apparently I should wear greens and darker shades more often though, because the earthy greens in the Dior Earth Tones collection really lit up my skin tone. The shades in this palette also are right in line with this fall’s trendy clothing and accessory colors. Below are swatches taken indoors with a spotlight and no flash:

Try the pink/mauve shade as a base and then put the center green tone on the lid and use the darker green in the crease. It looks fabulous! For night or extra effect, line with the plum shade. Another good look with this palette is to do a smoky eye with the green shades and the brown, or for some real drama, use the light green on the lid and brow bone and the plum in the crease.

The Dior Palettes run around $55. That is a bit expensive, but the shadows are high quality with tons of pigment, especially in the darker shades. The value also isn’t all that bad if you buy the Dior Five Colour Eye Shadow Palettes. At that point it is only around $11 per shade. The palette includes a mirror and two sponge applicators.

I adore this one. It is probably the best cosmetic purchase that I have made all year!

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The Blue Nail Trend: Getting it Cheap with Wet-n-Wild!

When it comes to the trendy blue nail polish look, I’m a fence sitter. I have seen some women, particularly younger women, wear it well. In the darker shades, I tend to rather like the look. On myself, however, I think it looks rather silly–Something my husband very much agrees with.

Regardless, there is no need to break the bank buying sold out Chanel on Ebay or spending $20 on the Dior version in order to have the current hip look in nails. The cheaper brands are already stepping up and putting out blue shades. When chasing a trend, buying cheap makes sense. You are unlikely to use up the product before it goes out of style anyway

At the cheapest end of the scale, you can get a perfectly acceptable polish in Wet ‘n’ Wild for a couple dollars at your local drugstore. As one of those impulse grocery store purchases, I picked up Wet ‘n’ Wild Sapphire Blue for under $2 and gave it a try. The quality of the polish was surprisingly good. It covered well with only a single coat, dried quickly, and has been almost as chip proof as my more expensive polishes. Plus I kill nail polish so fast, that chip proof means little to me–I chip even the best within a day. Here is another view of it:

I think the blue looks odd on me, but that is not the fault of the brand. I plan to give Wet ‘n’ Wild another look for some shades that are better suited for me. Why spend $8 for Essie or O.P.I. when a $2 brand at the grocery store works just as well? The shade choices are more limited though and I have to admit that my favorite shades happen to be from Essie and MAC. So I doubt I will be entirely switiching brand loyalties.Here are a few other affordable options for blue nails (both currently on sale for under $6 through the links): OPI Nail Polish Yoga-ta Get this Blue! from the India Collection, and Essie Nail Polish – Aruba Blue. Other bargains can be found online, as can the more expensive Dior version. Also watch for all of the drugstore brands to play catch up and start releasing their own blue shades.

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Dior Eye Shadow Five Colour Compact

I finally got around to trying one of the Dior 5 Colour Eyeshadow Compacts. Why did it take me so long? Well, it is expensive and I have tons of eyeshadow already!

So, I have to admit though that I love the stuff! This is some nice shadow. Very silky and super high pigment, even in the very light shades. Often I find that some brands that do well with pigments in the deeper shades, fall a bit short on pigmentation in the lighter shades. One example is Smashbox, whom I really do adore, but my light pink eyeshadow from them barely shows up!

That is not the case with Dior. The light shades in my compact, along with the light pink in my recent Ebay purchase of the Diorissime Palette show up beautifully and keep showing for the full day. I was able to build intensity with the colors, and creasing was at a minimum. I was also impressed with the general quality and matching of the shades.

I’m glad I finally gave Dior a try. I have to admit though that I like my Diorissime palette better than the five color compact, mainly because the packaging is so much nicer and at basically the same price. I am hesitant to buy any shadow at over $50, no matter how nice it is, especially when brands like M.A.C. put out quality shadows at very reasonable prices. I will likely keep buying some of Dior’s limited edition stuff in the nice leather palettes though. I love the packaging (pst… check out their holiday palettes)!

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