Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Before I became an illustrator/designer, I worked at Dior. It was one of my part-time jobs in college and a rewarding experience that sparked my love for fashion, luxury, and well…Dior.
I’ll always have a soft spot for the brand. I feel like they do everything with an understated (or, an amazingly dramatic!) elegance.
Their Summer 2016 Milky Dots Collection has a playfully elegant edge that I find refreshing for the classic brand, and here’s a look at some of my favorite pieces from the launch.
As much as I love Dior, I can’t believe I never tried the Diorshow Mono Eyeshadows before now!
I mean, I haven’t been totally living under a rock, because I do have an eyeshadow palette or two, and I LOVE the sparkly Diorshow Fusion Mono Eyeshadows. And I’m also a fan of Dior foundations and brow products, and these nail polishes look amazing, so I really have no excuse for not trying them sooner.
This spring Dior released nine new shades of their $29.50 Diorshow eyeshadow, and here are four of my favorites from the line: Gallery, a soft champagne gold with a satin/shimmer finish; Minimalism, a grayish taupe with a satin finish; Atmosphere, a cool-toned purple with a satin finish; and Power, a rich plum with a satin finish.
Here are two sets of swatches in different lighting:
These eyeshadows look pretty standard in their pans, but get them on your skin in the sun? Wow! They’re more complex than they seem, and there’s a really pretty (but subtle) shimmer running throughout. I think they’re great if you like matte shadows but want ones that won’t look so flat. I’m really surprised by how beautiful these eyeshadows are. If you’ve wondered about them, definitely take a look in a store! I don’t think that pictures online can do them justice.
Right now, I seriously can’t help smiling every time I look down at my nails. 🙂
I’ve had negative time for my nails since starting night classes, but the new Dior Polka Dots Colour & Dots Manicure Kits ($31 each; three limited edition color combos available) remind me what a fun manicure can do to brighten my mood. Every time I’m driving or typing, I feel more put together!
I usually do my own nail painting, and I’ll stick to a few classic colors, rotating every two weeks or so, but I get bored of these same colors real fast. So, with these Polka Dots not only do I get two beautiful shades of the best polish formula (IMO), there are many ways to wear them together — or alone! If you can’t already tell, I’m completely smitten.
As part of the 2016 Dior Summer Milky Dots Collection, each manicure kit comes with two 0.23-oz. bottles and a sexy “Dior” branded dotting tool. The dotting tool has also been a pleasant surprise. Now I can easily draw with my other polishes too.
The color combos — in classic Dior fashion — are elegantly intriguing; my favorite being 002 Confettis. The light orange shade is really doing it for me…and I WILL be using it alone in the near future! I’ve had no issues with the lighter color showing up on the darker color either.
Dior nail polishes have an outstanding formula. They have a medium consistency and apply opaque with two coats using a wide brush. One of them, Junon, is one of the longest lasting polishes in my collection.
I always say that summer is without a doubt my favorite season.
But then spring comes around, and I’m not so sure anymore… I mean, I love the endless possibilities that come with long summer days, but the feeling of rebirth that spring brings is pretty hard to beat.
It’s so invigorating.
I love it when the freezing wintery air shifts into that warm spring breeze. You know, just taking a walk and soaking in the sun puts me in a better mood. The smell of freshly cut grass and new flowers is mildly intoxicating… In spring, I feel like I’m on a constant high.
I think that what makes me like spring so much is that it’s a big moment of change. As human beings, it’s usually the moments when (good) changes happen that give us that utter sense of joy. Later on, most of us tend to get used to what we have and lose that feeling of ecstatic excitement.
Besides the changes in the scenery and weather, spring also brings along changes in my beauty routine. There are a few products I always rediscover at this time of the year, and today I’m sharing them with you.
Aside from the occasional dusting of bronzer here and there, most of the time in winter I tend to embrace my corpse-like complexion, but once the sun comes out of the clouds and the leaves grow back on the trees, I’m all about that healthy, sunkissed look. Since my face and neck are usually a shade lighter than the rest of my body, in the spring and summer I like to use a self tanner to make sure everything matches.
The best one I’ve tried so far is the Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning lotion, a lightweight lotion that gives me a nice glow in two or three applications. The effect is pretty gradual and not too dramatic, so I think it’s well suited for fair/light complexions.
Being an oily-skinned gal, I can’t just grab any random SPF and slather it on my face… Some of them tend to feel pretty heavy and greasy, you know? But luckily, these days, there are quite a few options for us shiny girls in the sunscreen department! My current favorite is La Roche-Posay Anthelios Dry Touch Gel-Cream SPF 30, because besides looking perfectly matte upon application, it doesn’t make me oilier over time.
I’m always trying new products, but I thought it would be fun to share what have been my most-used makeup products lately. For me, these are the products that “just work,” and they’re the things I reach for when I want to throw something on my face without having to give it any thought. The colors are just right, and they help me achieve my signature look — glowy skin and pinky/nude lips. 🙂
I am a sucker for glowy, lightweight bases, and I’ve been constantly reaching for PUR Minerals HydraFluid Water Serum Foundation in Tan and NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Annapurna, which may be a tad too light for me, but it’s sheer enough that it still works.
The PUR Minerals foundation is amazing, by the way. Here are swatches and a full review. It’s available now at PUR Minerals for $39.
No brand matches my skin as well as NARS, and I love that NARS Pure Radiant has SPF 30. This was one of my first high-end foundations, and I’ve repurchased it time and again and will probably continue to do so because it’s a great everyday foundation. It’s available now at NARS Cosmetics for $44.
And, just to make sure my face is seriously glowy, I also like to use Pixi by Petra Glow Mist. It adds glow and helps my makeup last a bit longer. It’s definitely one of my favorite facial mists, and it’s available now at Target for $15.
