Dior Addict Lipstick Fall Relaunch Review and 4 "It" Shade Swatches

Dior is relaunching its Dior Addict Lipstick range this year, and besides a new "Hydra-Gel" Topcoat to help seal in color for longer, and a Triple Oil Complex at the core (where the "CD" logo runs down through the entire lipstick) to smooth and plump lips, they've also updated the colors to fit current fashion trends, and also increase shine.

These are translucent balm-like hybrid lipsticks with a variation in cream, shimmer, and pearl finishes. While they certainly do last longer than old-school tinted balms from 5-10 years ago, these are still creamy sheer lipsticks that will come off on cups, tissue, and someone's cheek quite easily. Balms will be balms, so let's not harbor any unrealistic expectations. 

On the other hand they are very comfortable to wear. Some of the sparkly shimmer formulas may feel just a touch more gritty on the lips than the creme and pearl formulas but they are in no way rough or uncomfortable on the lips. I actually did not find these as glossy as I had expected given the description of the Triple Oil Complex and the promise of shine. They do take on a bit of sheen as the soft hydrating formula warms up on your lips, but these are not ultra-glossy by any stretch.

Color-wise, as with many sheer balmy shades, many of the soft colors will look pretty similar to one another so you would have to go with some of the brighter or deeper shades if you want color impact. There is almost no point owning more than 1 or 2 of the soft pinky/nude shades at a time. Also, if you have pigmented or dark lips, some of the paler shades can look ashy and patchy, so I would again go with the deeper options.

By now you might be thinking I actually dislike the product. Not so!

I do love a good balmy tinted product that I can throw in my purse and whip out without a mirror for a touch of color without having to worry about making a mess. And these do feel really nice on the lips. Not patchy, sticky or oily. 

Dior is featuring 4 shimmery, pearlescent "It" shades this season, and the one that immediately caught my eye was Be Dior, the raspberry fuchsia. It  might look dark and scary in the tube for some of you, but remember these are sheer. You will see in the swatches below that it will just look like a nice berry stain on the lips.

553 Smile - nude pink creme; brightens and evens out the lips slightly

451 Tribale - soft coral pearl; nice and flattering with slightly buildable color

561 Wonderful - petal pink shimmer; the most sparkly of the 4 "It" shades

976 Be Dior - raspberry shimmer; flattering rosy berry with subtle sparkle

My favorite shades from the 4 are probably 451 Tribale and 976 Be Dior (UPDATE: yes, this is the shade Jennifer Lawrence wears in the Shine, Don't Be Shy ad; it's a beautiful color, although the actual shade is not quite as violet as it sometimes appears on screen), although 553 Smile is a versatile "throw in your bag" nude-pink that you can just throw on as a balm anytime. 561 Wonderful is pretty if you like a sparkly baby pink, but I personally don't go for this type of shade too often as they make my lips look a little grey. If you have a lot of natural pink/red in your lips (as opposed to no pigments or brown pigments), this would be pretty for softening the color and adding a spun sugar effect.

All in all, it's still a great range of casual, fashionable colors to throw on for those who want soft color but don't like the stickiness of gloss or the feel of heavier lipsticks. I would compare these to the YSL Rouge Volupté Shine range in terms of the payoff and finish although the YSLs are a bit more glossy in finish, and these come in a lot more shimmery pearlescent shades. I'm still a die-hard Diorific Lipstick fan (I just love the intensity and drama), but I do always keep an "easygoing" product in my purse for occasions when my lips are feeling ragged and I can't deal with the maintenance of a strong lip.

Dior Addict lipsticks retail at SGD$48 at all Dior beauty counters from 1 Sep 2015.

NARSissist 2015 Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette

The original NARSissist palette was an instant classic.

The 2015 edition is a sort of "NARSissist-lite" if you compare it to the previous, but the shades are still beautiful and pigmentation is actually more consistently smooth and easy-to-use across all the shades, compared to the original. I was especially impressed by the 4 matte shades, Nassau, Maya Bay, Ithaca, and Dogon. These were incredibly velvety and blendable.

The shimmery shades, oddly enough, felt a touch more chalky in comparison to the mattes, but the colors kinda make up for that. Mandchourie and Bonifacio are gorgeous, and the two dark, sparkly shades, Zagreb and Heraklion, surprised me by not having a ton of fallout. Unlike many of the old-school dark sparkly shadow formulas from several brands, the pretty sparkly glitter doesn't just "disappear" when the shadow is applied onto the skin.

The cherry on top of the cake is the sleek mirrored case. I've really liked the recent limited edition release cases. The signature rubbery matte NARS packaging is beautiful, but they don't always stay beautiful because the polymers start to react with air and break down after awhile, and everyone who's owned any number of NARS products is familiar with how they eventually become sticky and start to hang on to every particle of dirt and grime.

This case will not give you any of those problems. (The mirrored top is a fingerprint magnet in its own right, but at least you can wipe this down!)

If you're not really into all-neutral palettes, or just want something a tiny bit different, this one has a single muted khaki which is gorgeous. I actually consider this a palette for matte lovers, because with the exception of Bonifacio, the rest of the "shimmery" shades aren't really that shimmery at all.

Mandchourie has a very muted low sheen, and Zagreb and Heraklion are pretty much matte shades with sparkles. None of these are anywhere near metallic by any means, so I would treat those 2 as mattes. 

The NARSissist Matte/Shimmer Palette is available now at Sephora ION in Singapore. 

Make Up For Ever Fall 2015 9 Artist Shadow Palette - 1

Look at this ridiculous gorgeousness!

The Fall 2015 makeup releases have barely started coming out and I already can say without a doubt that one of my top recommendations this season will be the Make Up For Ever 9 Artist Shadow Palettes.

There are 2 which will be available in Singapore at SGD$69 each (exact release date in July is yet to be confirmed at this point); a neutral palette which is permanent (No 1), and a pop color palette which is limited edition (No 2). I'm a neutral fanatic - and I have a few of the shades in the No 2 palette, so of course this was the one I picked to review. 

First of all, this is just ABSOLUTELY great value. Come on - you don't often find 9 x 1.8g shadows in Singapore (the typical MAC and UD shadows are about 1.5g each) - at this quality - for that price. If you have not tried any of the Make Up For Ever Artist shadows, you really need to. They are all buttery smooth and densely pigmented, and they're pretty much my benchmark for high-impact colors because they are much creamier and luxurious-feeling than typical highly-pigmented brands like Urban Decay and Inglot. 

But it can be a huge investment because MUFE Artist shadows don't come cheap. And to own  a good range of shades would usually cost you quite a bit more than $69. (You can usually only get 2 full-size Artist shadows for that price.)

The palette itself comes in the standard black and white box along with a booklet.

Unlike most cardboard packages, this one is hefty and heavy. You don't get the feeling when you pry open the lid that the paper is going to come apart or unglue itself at the joints after awhile. And the magnet is sturdy enough that you can probably travel with this and it wouldn't open up in your bag.

Ultimately, if you're looking for great products and you'd rather not be paying a ton of money for fancy packaging, this is it.

The shadows themselves come grouped in 3 trios. Each column is one "look", and the booklet shows you exactly which shades go together. 

There are also step by step guides for each of the 3 looks; Chic, Natural, and Smoky. So if you're new to all this and need ideas, they've got you covered.

But I'll say these are useful references. You can by all means mix and match any of the shades. They are neutral, and it's almost impossible to go wrong no matter which ones you group together. If you want a soft look, match 2-3 shades in the top 2 rows. If you want a dark, sexy, smoky look, wear colors in the bottom row.

Ultimately, no matter how many of these extra fancy stuff they include, it comes down to the quality of the shadows for me. And these rock.

The Chic trio is the only one that contains 2 matte shades. And they are super smooth. I don't get much fallout, amazingly enough. These aren't as powdery as a lot of other mattes around.

The Natural Look is more of a highly pearlescent neutral trio. If you want gleaming, dewy-looking lids in the most luscious metallic bronze and taupe tones, you will love this center column.

The Smoky column is more of a warm/gold trio to me. You get 3 metallics with a golden undertone; perfect for a beachy Gisele-esque effect.

And I swatched all these dry, without primer. That's how intense and rich they are. I can't say enough about what great value this palette is. If you were to pick up all 9 shades separately at full size, it would cost you easily close to $300 without a Pro discount. And that's too much of an investment for non makeup artists anyway. (Each full size Artist palette has 2.5g of product so you have to REALLY love a shade and use it to death to want to invest in the full-size vs getting an entire palette of 9 x 1.8g shades for a little over the price of 2 singles.)

I've yet to check out the 9 Artist Palette - 2 up-close, but I do have 2 or 3 of the shades (the neon pink, purple and one of the pale beiges) in a custom palette of my own, so I know the quality is just as outstanding. If you love the idea of having a mix of ultra-bright tones and having a few neutrals thrown in for good measure, then No 2 might be a better and more versatile investment for you.

FOTD wearing the Make Up For Ever 9 Artust Palette - 1 using the "Natural" trio.

The only criticism I MIGHT have if I really had to nit-pick, would be the fact that there are only 2 matte shades in the neutral palette (and what looks like none in the pop one). If they could include just 1 more matte in a pale color for blending, this would probably appeal to a lot more people. 

Still, this is just nit-picking. We can easily buy mattes and many of us probably already own some. The Artist matte shadows are great, but their stars are really the metallic and iridescent shades so I'm really not complaining about getting more of them in the palette.