Wednesday 7 January 2009

Review: Dior & Chanel Spring

The Dior spring collection display is out at Takashimaya department store today! According to the SA, the collection will go on sale on 15 January.




I had been looking forward to trying out the Lady Dior Palette (S$90) as it looked cute yet chic in the promotional pictures. When I saw it in person though, it was less than impressive. It was larger than I had expected, almost the size of my palm, and the quilted material did not feel that soft or luxurious. The Dior letter charms on the handle were a nice touch though. The palette includes a highlighter and a cream color that can be used on both the cheek and lips. The highlighter shades give a smooth pearlescent glimmer that is not too over-the-top.



The cream colors feel a bit too sticky to be used on the cheeks, especially if you have oily skin. One palette has a sheer clear pink while the other has a sheer clear orangey coral. Neither of them are particularly unique or outstanding, certainly not enough to warrant the price tag. Overall, I think most ladies would buy this mainly for the novelty factor of its packaging, rather than the makeup within. One positive factor is that at least the price in Singapore is much cheaper than the US where it costs US$95 (about S$139).

The star product of this collection for me is the 5-Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow in Parisian Light (S$87), swatched in the bottom row of these pics. True to its name, it contains a gorgeous array of shimmery shades in white, pale taupe, pink, light beige and pinkish white. The combination looks very appealing under the counter lights, and show up very well when swatched on my hand, even without a primer underneath. This is perfect if you want a palette for creating a romantic elegant look. The shades complement one another very well and are almost idiot-proof as they are so soft and glowy. I much prefer the texture of the Iridescent palettes to the normal 5-Colour Eyeshadow palettes, as the eyeshadows are incredibly silky with a fine shimmer and no chunky glitter bits.



The 5-Color Eyeshadow in Elegante (S$87) (swatched in the middle row) did not appeal to me much as four of the shades (except for the chocolate brown) are either too nude or pale and hence, they are somewhat indistinguishable from one another when applied. This would suit ladies who want a natural, no-makeup look but that's not really my cup of tea. The texture is quite smooth and velvety, not chalky at all.



I also liked the Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect lipglosses in this collection, all of which are very wearable, elegant shades. My favourite is the rosy pink shade on the extreme left.


I also swatched the new Chanel quad, #14 Mystic Eyes (swatched in the row below the 4 Dior lipglosses). I don't like the promo visual for this Bohemian Fantasy collection. The model looks anything but bohemian to me! I liked the dark chocolate shade and the light brown shades in this quad for their rich, smooth texture but I found the silver shade to be less silky but with more intense shimmer. The light pearl pink shade is the standard base/highlight shade, nothing fancy. For me, Mystic Eyes is not a must-have but it is nevertheless a good option if you want a classic, elegant look that works well for both day and night.



The new blush in Fandango (on the extreme right in the bottom row of these pics) is a medium tan pinky brown. On very light skin tones, I think this may look muddy but it may work for those who just want to add some definition and natural color to their cheeks without any obvious pink or reddish tones.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i have tried this collection few days ago. i was disappointed in the LE lip palettes... The IR quint is fine but i don't like the regular quint. Nice dispay there! :)

Anonymous said...

Is that Diorshow mascara some new shade?! :)

Many thanks for this post!!