Consecration of colour

Just in time for warmer weather, and yes it is coming, Dior is throwing open the gates to its kingdom. The new Dior Kingdom of Colors Collection Spring 2015 Collection is a colourful collection of refreshing and exhilarating or glimmering pastels and contrasting colour blocks. These cheerful combinations take you from dusk to dawn in vibrant lilac, sparkling poppy, invigorating green, with a pop of petal white. (see more on Instagram here), 

Dior Kingdom of Colors Eye, Lip & Face Palette is a covetable palette for both the face, eyes and lips. It comes in a slightly larger palette than the traditional Dior 5 Couleurs and is dressed in black, instead of the usual navy packaging. It contains 10 custom colour makeup essentials, along with 4 professional applicators, to make the application process a breeze, all neatly tucked inside this embossed with the Christian Dior crest packaging. It features an illuminating aqua green, holographic silver and deep purple eyeshadows, alongside an extremely deep black eyeliner to help define the eyes. The complexion is velvety smooth with a healthy glow on the cheekbones, temples and brow bone thanks to its mattifying skin-perfecting powder and pearly highlighter. Cheekbones come to life with a hint of coral blush to enhance the complexion. And lips are kissable with a powdery pinky coral lipstick and an iridescent pearly and coral lip gloss.

Dior Kingdom of Colors Eye, Lip & Face Palette from left to right, top to bottom: eye shine, mattifying skin perfecter, iridescent lip gloss, black eyeliner, purple eyeshadow, coral blush, coral lipstick, shimmery silver eyeshadow, skin highlighter and coral lip gloss.

I’m not really a fan of palettes that contain both cream and powder products in the same pan, as I find it tends to get a little messy. Dior Kingdom of Colors Eye, Lip & Face Palette powder products are fairly shimmery with a lot of fallout and the lip glosses go on pretty much clear. The pigmentation of the eye shine and silver eyeshadow could be improved, but the aqua and purple are fairly opaque. The black eyeliner takes several layers to achieve true colour payoff, but once applied, stays put for the entire day without fading or cracking. The three stand out products to me, are the coral lipstick, surprisingly, the blush and the purple eyeshadow. It retails for $80.

Like all Dior 5 Couleurs, these 2 new Dior 5 Couleurs Kingdom of Colors palettes are based around the centre shade in refreshing spring greens, petal pinks and iridescent beige. Achieve multiple subtle, airy looks depending on what trio you use. Combine the two upper, lighter shades with the centre shade for a natural daytime look or the two bottom, deeper shades along with the centre shade for a richer nighttime look. These new palettes, although may look like the traditional Dior packaging, but come with a new slimmer, sleeker compact. Of course, you get the same creamy, buttery, velvety texture in an array of satin, matter and shimmery finishes. They apply effortlessly and are fairy buildable for stronger colour payoff. Since these are pastel shades, they are a tad less opaque than other palettes, but you can still achieve a soft, romantic look. When used with a primer, they will last throughout the day without fading or creasing. It comes in both House of Greens (466) and House of Pinks (856) and retail for $64.

Dior Kingdom of Colors House of Greens (466) includes a sheer petal pink with a slight shimmer, a light greyish taupe, a spring green, a medium deep teal green with a slight shimmer and a deep and rich sage green with a matte finish.

Dior Kingdom of Colors House of Pinks (856) includes a very light and sheer, neutral, almost white pink with a shimmery finish, a very light pink with an iridescent sheen with a matte finish, a bright, cool-toned pink with a slight shimmer and a satin finish, a neutral mauve, taupe with a slight shimmer and a satin finish and a very deep plum with a satin finish.

Dior Diorshow Khol liners are a permanent addition to the Dior lineup and are a backstage secret in creating tailor-made makeup results. It comes in 5 new shades, Pearly Silver, Smoky Grey, Smoky Black, Smoky Blue and Smoky Brown that help accentuate the eyelid, underlines and lower lashes with precise and intense colour. The retractable liner can help create fine or broad lines and can be used all over the eyelid and an eyeshadow base to help intensify the colour of an eyeshadow. It can also be used to help create the perfect smoky eye in a single swipe. It’s soft and smooth and glides across the eye without dragging or pulling it, yet firm enough that it delivers precise lines. It has excellent pigmentation and intense colour in a single swipe. Although it doesn’t claim to be waterproof, it provides long-lasting wear time and stays put the entire day. It retails for $32.

Dior Diorshow Khol Pearly Silver (039) is a metallic silver and the star shade for the Spring.

Dior Diorshow Khol Smoky Grey (099) is a greyish black.

Diorblush Kingdom of Colors Peach Splendor (536) has sheer powder formula that adds a subtle touch of nude coral to the cheeks and helps to emphasize a healthy glow. This universal flattering shade comes in the classic navy, slim case with super soft, angled brush for ideal application. It helps to perfectly sculpt the cheeks with its incredibly silky texture, highly pigmented formula. It extremely soft to the touch, has a slightly drier, powdery texture, but applied smoothly and flawlessly. Even though it’s quite sheer, it provides great colour payoff and blends into the skin beautifully. It creates a satiny finish that lasts the entire day without fading. It retails for $46.

Dior Cheek & Lip Glow Instant Blushing Rosy Tint 001 is a new permanent addition to the already amazing Dior core lineup and it will help to create a natural rosy tint on the cheeks or a sheer wash of colour on the lips. It comes in the same packaging as the Dior polish, flip off mirrored cap with the twist off cap underneath. It has a unique slippery, gel like texture with a glazy consistency that when first applied to the skin, it’s very subtle and sheer, but as it dries, it seems to become a little brighter and bolder. It sets in about 30 seconds, without being sticky or tacky on the skin, and stays put until you remove it. It’s easy to build up for a more intense colour and sets to a beautiful stain. It does have a candy mint scent that lingers for a few minutes, extremely yummy smelling and gives a slightly cooling sensation.

I’m always worried about applying a tint to my face, in the fear I will mess up, and won’t be able to remove it without ruining my entire look. Although Dior Cheek & Lip Glow Instant Blushing Rosy Tint 001 may look extremely bold and electric in the bottle, it surprisingly applies effortlessly (with a light hand) and has very little room for failure. Just gently pat it onto the skin and tap in with your fingers, avoid rubbing as it will only sheer the colour out. It doesn’t actually apply as intensely as it looks in the bottle, yet gives a fresh rosy glow to the cheeks with a sheer tint. It retails for $39.

Dior Rouge Dior Baume is the perfect partner for hot sunny days as it keeps lips extremely hydrated and nourished with a dewy fresh, easy to wear formula. It has the exact same packaging as the Dior Rouge Dior, only a bit smaller and slimmer. It has an extremely lightweight, emollient, balm-like texture that provides a translucent pop of colour to the lips. It’s not super sheer, but not semi-opaque either. It’s the perfect middle ground, in between a lip balm and lipstick. It glides on smoothly, lasts a solid 3 hours before slowing starting to fade. It has a light, sweet rosy scent, that to me, is a lot better than your typical lipstick smell. It comes in 2 limited edition shades, Palais (628) and Cotillon (668) and retails for $37.

Dior Rouge Dior Baume Palais (628) is a gleaming nude beige with a slight shine to it.

Dior Addict Gloss are my favourite lipglosses of all time, as I’m sure you all know by now. Short brush tip, lightweight, extremely comfortable texture with added moisture and hydration are just a few of the reasons why I love them. Add to that a silky smooth, ultra-shimmery formula that provides a sheer wash of colour to the lips, will have you reaching for these over and over again. They wear for about 3 hours without feeling sticky, heavy or fading and add just a hint of sparkle without looking over the top. It comes in 2 limited edition shades, Fastes (154) and Mylord (624) and retails for $31.

Dior Addict Gloss in Fastes (154) is a beautiful sheer shimmery peachy pink with subtle iridescent shimmer throughout. Gives a sheer wash of colour that gives the appearance of fuller, plumper, kissable lips, perfect for Spring.

Dior Addict Gloss in Mylord (624) is a stunning, extremely light, mulberry, nude shade.

Dior Vernis comes in a square glass bottle with mirrored pull off lid and then a black twist off lid underneath. It has a wide, rounded brush for easy application and delivers a high shine finish with Dior’s secret shimmer formula, that when the light catches the nail, provides a stunning shimmer. It has a quick-drying formula that’s streak-free, chip resistance and doesn’t seem to fade. With two new limited edition shades, a neutral and a bright pink, it’s the perfect accessory this spring. It comes in Lady (294) and Glory (660) and retails for $29.

Dior Vernis Lady (294) is both a warm and cool toned nude pink that looks universally flattering on all skin tones.

Dior Vernis in Glory (660) is a bold and vivid orchid pink with a jelly like finish that’s extremely glossy.

Dior Éclosion Blossoming Top Coat is a limited edition confetti glitter polish. Its transparent gel formula contains both yellow, green, blue, pink and white micro confetti that creates a party on your nails. It has a glossy finish that’s surprisingly fairly easy to apply. It retails for $29.