Dior Rouge Serum 640 - Soft Pink

I've had this Rouge Serum for a while (in fact, since the Rouge Serums were known as Serums de Rouge!) and whilst I don't wear it very often I thought I'd review it as I don't see the Serum de Rouge line getting a lot of love online and actually I think its a pretty good formula, especially containing as it does an SPF 20. It's a very soft formula and feels lovely to apply; once on the lips it feels quite moisturising. 

640 ('Soft pink') is a medium to light pink shade (on me it errs on the paler side).

I'm not sure this shade is the perfect match for me - when I'm pale it washes me out somewhat and I feel it clashes a bit with my yellow-toned skin. However I'm quite liking it at the moment having picked up a bit of colour (despite the factor 50!) on a recent holiday.

I also had this in a hot pink shade but I seem to have lost it, however I'm keen to try the peachier shades in the line as I think they'll work better with my skin and I do really like the formula. I'm not one for thicker feeling lipsticks that require care (or a lipbrush!) to apply; the fact that I can generously apply this without really needing a mirror really appeals. I'm not that fussed about the packaging - it's a bit fussy and dated, though the clicky pen is quite cool. 

Serum de Rouge costs £26.

Dior Vernis - Aztec Chocolate

Mmmmmm! Dior is starting to dominate my nail polish collection somewhat but when they come out with beauties such as this I'm kind of powerless to resist.

Aztec Chocolate is so stunning and oddly wintry. It's kind of a medium brown with beautiful cool shimmer, not too obvious until you catch it under the right light and then.. wow! As you can see from the photos it does appear slightly purple in some light but in natural daylight it just appears brown.

Excessive number of pics coming up...

Dior has changed it's polish brushes and I did find application a bit trickier than usual, but not for long. I may be imagining it but the consistency also seems slightly thicker.. perhaps not, but application is still good and no chips at the end of day one despite some nail unfriendly activities such as food shopping, washing up and buying a Christmas tree!

There are a few more Dior polishes I like the look of at the moment - next on my list is Czarina Gold, a brown/black with gold shimmer, which I hadn't been that interested in until I heard someone else lemming  it (thanks Vex in the City!) and now predictably I NEED it! I also love the look of Bond Street, a blue-grey I first saw on British Beauty Blogger and which is on sale exclusively at Selfridges.

I also purchased a hot pink Serum de Rouge, Diorskin Nude Concealer and Diorshow Mascara, which I hope to review shortly. Anything from Dior caught your eye of late?

Dior Addict lipstick - Beige Negligee and Coral Lace

I purchased these two lipsticks in the summer on a whim, when I was going through a peach phase. I already have one Addict lipstick, in Pinstripe plum, which was the first review on my blog a while back. I found that quite difficult to work with, basically as it is a very deep, dark colour, which requires more careful application of some of the lighter peaches and pinks. Overall though I adore these lipsticks.

Beige Negligee (l) and Coral Lace

Coral Lace (top) and Beige Negligee

The consistency of the Addict lipsticks is heavenly. They are soft, creamy, moisturising and have a really luxe feel. They gives a lovely soft and plump finish to the lips, as if you've applied a clear balm over the top. Lasting power is decent.

Coral Lace is definitely my favourite of the two. The colour I would describe as a dark peach, or a muted coral. It's kind of retro, yet something about this shade feels quite contemporary.

I like Beige Negligee too, but find myself reaching for it much less than Coral Lace. Beige Negligee has quite a lot of shimmer (it's verging into frost territory) and I'd say more pink in it than Coral Lace. This for me is a lovely summer lipstick, but doesn't feel quite right now we're heading into colder months.

J'adore!!

You can see great swatches of most of the Addict range over at Karla Sugar (there are 3 sets of swatches, the link is to the first set only).

Dior Addict High Impact Weightless Lip Colour - Pinstripe Plum (989)

I coveted this lipstick for quite a while, swatching it on my hand every time I was in Boots, until I eventually picked it up in duty free at Glasgow airport - a snip at £15 (not really but better than the full price of £17+).

Actually, I'm a bit disappointed in it, because the texture is very hard to work with. This range is called 'weightless', and unfortunately this translates a bit too literally to the application - it just doesn't 'stick' to the lips - being quite greasy it slides around all over the place whether applied with a brush, from the stick or with finger tips.

I've taken two photos - one with flash and one without - using the most successful application for me which was patting it on with my fingers. Using a lip brush was an exercise in frustration - my lip line isn't very defined anyway and it feathered as soon as I applied it. Using Guerlain Lip Lift underneath gave it slightly more staying power but did lighten the colour. I think it would take a lip base, a lip liner, a lip brush and lots of patience to make this work!

Ah yes, the colour. In the tube, the dark, juicy plum shade seduced me - on the lips it looks more like violet. It's still pretty, and leaves a nice stain when it wears off, but for the price, I'm sure there are much better quality and more delicious plums out there. Very on trend though, and I'm sure I'll get a bit of wear out of it this autumn, winter, probably paring it with a nude cheek and subtly defined eye. Not a repurchase though.

Any suggestions for fantastic plums anyone??

Dior Addict Plastic Gloss - Capricious Pink (002)

My first proper make-up review! I'm still very new to this beauty blogging business, and am so pleased that I've found an outlet for my make up obsession - for years I've been playing around with my ever expanding collection, colour swatching on pieces of paper and experimenting with different make up looks that no-one but myself would ever see... not any more!

For my first review I decided just to pick something at random out of my collection, and I plumped (very appropriate word!) for Christian Dior Addict lipgloss in Capricious Pink (002). This is something I picked up on eBay based on the great reviews on Makeupalley, and to be honest it had been languishing unused in my make up case as I was a bit scared by quite how pink it was - but after testing it out this morning for the purpose of this review, that will soon be changing - it's gorgeous!

The colour in the tube is a truly delicious shade of candy pink, and the colour stays true on the lips - it's quite opaque so your own lip colour shouldn't show up underneath with a good thick coat (and it is very thick and quite sticky, which gives it good staying power). It makes lips look plumper and is quite sex-kitteny - I think this would look fab with a matt pink blush and a soft, smoky grey eye.

If you don't like the more obvious gloss look, you can just use a much smaller amount onto your lips, which gives a much more subtle, sheer look but still with the gorgeous pink tint.

Even though I'm normally more of a lipstick kind of girl (though incidentally one of my few other glosses is also Dior - A Bite of Taffy - which I'll review separately), I think this gloss is really beautiful - unashamedly feminine, unashamedly pink! I can't wait to try this out in the upcoming party season. Oh, and it smells delicious too!

New purchases

I believe the American term is a 'beauty haul' but I'm British so I'm just going to sensibly call them purchases.

Had a bit of a spree in House of Fraser yesterday. First up I bought a new Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow in 63 Abricot. I saw this colour on a You Tube vid and my interest was piqued, and in the flesh it is even more stunning. I almost didn't buy it because of the price - surely the most expensive single eyeshadows in the market?? But I suspect I'll get a lot of wear out of it. The beauty is that its quite light so can be used for highlighting, blending etc but it also has enough depth to be used as on its own on the lid. I think it will look beautiful with greens and blues too though I'm less keen on the latter.

Next up I headed to the MAC counter with two things in mind - an eyebrow pencil and the 217 blending brush I've heard many raves about on You Tube and Make Up Alley. I'm usually faithful to my Laura Mercier eyebrown pencil in blonde (but nowhere in Croydon stocks Laura Mercier, yet) and had planned to get another pencil, however the MA suggested a powder would work better with my brows, and an eyeshadow at that! Sceptical at first, I tried the MAC charcoal brown eyeshadow with their 266 brush... and the results were spectacular! I had that soft, thick, natural look I've often admired but never been able to achieve with pencils - now I now why! Powder, it's the way forward people. Needless to say I walked away with the eyeshadow, 217 and the 266 brush. I do think MAC make up assistants are among the best - they really know their stuff and what will work, and are very efficient - that's if you can get near them as the counters are always so rammed. I don't actually have a lot of MAC products in my collection as I am a bit of a cosmetics magpie and tend to get distracted by nice shiny luxurious packaging a la Chanel. But maybe I'll explore further....

I also picked up across the road in Allders a Christian Dior Ultra Shine lipstick in Shiniest Meringue, on sale for £10.50. I love these lipsticks - I previously had one in Shiniest Papaya which was one of my favourite lipsticks ever - sadly discontinued. Shiniest Meringue is a subtle 60s pink - great for pairing with a smoky eye I suspect, though would probably work best with skin that has a bit of colour.

I haven't figured out how to upload pics etc but will hopefully have some images of the above in action in the not too distant....