Diorific Vernis Gold Coffret Holiday 2013

*taps mic* I hope everyone is paying attention, because I have the most jaw-dropping holiday gift set that's not being talked about for Holiday 2013 to show you today.

What's the beautiful gold Dior box?  It's the Diorific Vernis Coffret for Holiday 2013, of course!

If you're scratching your head because you hadn't heard about the Diorific Vernis Coffret, you're not alone. I happened to stumble onto it late one night on the Saks website, where it's an exclusive.

Before you shrug and think "but I've got the holiday polishes," let me warn you that you don't.  This Diorific Coffret has 3 brand-spanking new, exclusive shades.  Let that sink in for a moment.

The three shades are Almee (#291)- gold, Aladin (#668)- bronze/copper, Apparat (#871)- red/gold.  This is the only place where they're bring released.

Here they are, on my nails.  This is inside, with flash:

Swatched, outside.  Thumbnail is Diorific, the gold shade from last year. It's clearly very different than these shades.

Here's another look at the coffret, outside:

I'll be doing a NOTD for each of these shades, but wanted to show you this incredible nail set as soon as I felt up to blogging again.  At $70, that works out to just under $24 per polish- which is what you'd pay at the counter for them individually if they were available.  It's an amazing set, and worth running out to Saks to pick it up.

Pricing/Availability; $70, a Saks Fifth Avenue exclusive.  When I got mine on 22 November, my Saks had stacks of these available. That said, each major metropolitan area seems to have only one Saks that received these. Go!

Bite Beauty Lush Lip Trio

I didn't participate in Black Friday this year, so I was shocked when a family member returned from shopping with this Bite lip gloss trio, one of Sephora's $10 Black Friday specials.  She saw the Bite lip pencils in my vanity and thought I probably would've purchased this for myself had I been with them. (Guilty as charged).  Since it's a special and I'm not sure if it's still available in stores, I'm just doing a mini-post here.

The Bite Lush Lip trio consists of three mini lip glosses that weigh in at 0.06oz each.  The shades are, L-R: Honey, Garnet, Strawberry.

I'm not sure why these photos are so dark, but it's dark out now so they'd look worse if I retook them. Sorry.

Here's Garnet-Strawberry-Honey.  And then I swatched them:

Inside

Outside

Of the three, only Honey is shimmery; both Garnet and Strawberry are creme glosses without shimmer.  I think this is a great value at $10, so if you see them at the store, grab them!

Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Holiday 2013 Set

I've already raved about the Diorshow New Look Holiday 2013 set, and this is the sister to it.  I find these sets to be some of the best values out there.

This version of the mascara + palette set features Diorshow Iconic Overcurl mascara and a mini of palette 254 Bleu de Paris.

Just a quick word on Diorshow Iconic Overcurl mascara- this is different than the others due to the curved brush.  I'm going to open this as my next mascara, so look out for an in-depth review at that time. 

The mini eyeshadow palettes are one of my favorite products out there. (To be honest, I have a mini problem- mini palettes, mini lipsticks, and especially mini perfumes.)

The 5 Couleurs Palette #254- Bleu de Paris is a breath of fresh air and exactly the blue palette I've been looking for.

The palette outside, in natural light:

But swatched, it looks even better.  For reference, I swatch these quints from the upper left and around in a clockwise manner, finishing with the middle color. Dior eyeshadows are incredibly pigmented, and I get a full day's worth of wear as long as I'm using my favorite primer.


Inside, no flash:

Inside, with flash (more representative):

Outside:

Color #1 is my favorite in this palette. It has just enough grey in it to make it versatile and workable in most situations. Blue is a tough color for me to wear (I have blue eyes), but this palette looks lovely on me.  I'd have paid $28.50 for a single of #1, so this is a fantastic buy for me.



In case you were wondering, the mini palettes require a brush with a small head in order to efficiently pick up pigment.  I used the Ulta Professional Crease brush (pictured below with the palette) for my swatches.

Comparing the palette, it's 1/3 the size of the regular palettes.  That would place the value of the mini at $20.

Bottom Line: Run, don't walk to grab this set.  I'll revisit the mascara once I open it (I'm set for 2014 already in terms of mascara!), but this is just such a great value.  This set in particular features some incredible blues in a manageable palette size.

Pricing/Availability: $28.50, at Nordstrom or Macys.  The later claims it as an exclusive, but it's been at my local Nordstrom for over a month already.

Dior Diorshow Catwalk Eye Makeup Set- Holiday 2013 (and a mini update)

I know the blog has been quite light on content these past couple of weeks. I've been quite ill and haven't felt up to writing, even on the very few photos I've been able to grab.  That, and every time I was able to get enough light to swatch my chain-smoking neighbor was outside.  And being highly allergic to smoke and already suffering with bronchitis, it would immediately chase me back inside.

I have been doing a bit of shopping- and swatching- so I'll be able to bring some new content to you very soon.

This post is going to be quite short, mainly because the mini quint enabled me to the extent that I picked up the full-sized version during the Sephora VIB sale (more to come on that- my haul was small but impressive).

Every year, Dior releases at least one of its Diorshow Catwalk Eye Makeup sets.  In my humble opinion, they're one of the best values out there and a can't miss.  For the price of the tube of mascara, you recieve a full-sized Dior mascara and a mini 5-color eyeshadow palette.  It's a fantastic way to sample Dior's quints before spending $60 on eyeshadow.  Last year's set featured 734 Greige.

This year's set is a winner.

The back of the box makes the contents clear:

Opening up the box, Dior has fabulously secure packaging:

Let's talk about the contents.

First, there's a full size tube of Diorshow New Look mascara:

This mascara retails for $28.50.  I didn't open up this tube (as I have other mascaras open right now), but I've used it before and can speak to it.  This mascara is significantly different than the other Dior mascara offerings, starting with the brush (stock photo via Nordstrom):

Love it or hate it, this mascara has a dramatically smaller wand than most on the market. It's only a little bit bigger than the wand on Clinique Bottom Lash mascara. I struggled with it, but am looking forward to having more precision in my application this time around.  (I'm not ashamed to admit I'm still learning and improving my technique!).  I didn't have problems with flaking or clumping with this formula, but the wand makes it a love or hate it.

The "bonus" in this set is what makes it such a can't miss.  In the name of full disclosure, after playing with this quint I had to buy the full-size (so I won't be reviewing it in-depth here).

This year's offering is 454 Royal K(h)aki.  I've seen it noted as both- Kaki is the French spelling of Khaki.

While I like Greige, I'm in love with this:

I'll be showing these colors better once I review the full-sized palette but wanted to give a quick overview of this set before it's gone.  I found mine at Nordstrom, but Macys may have it by now.

Sephora Favorites Lip Service

One of the most hotly-anticipated beauty items every year are the Sephora Favorites sets. These mini collections offer huge value and allow you to try an assortment of deluxe minis and full-sized products.  Another key is that there are often different sets offered at Sephora/Sephora dot com and the Sephora inside JCPenney locations.

This Sephora Favorites Lip Service set is a Sephora inside JCPenney exclusive. It offers six products (2 full-sized) for $28 and claims a retail value of $83.

Let's start with the box.  The outer cardboard, which gives the details on the kit, simply slides off to reveal a rose gold box with a white Sephora logo:

 The lip products are nestled inside:

And now, the six lippies:


Bite Beauty High Pigment Pencil- Pomegranate

It should be no secret that this is the lip product I was most excited to try out of the set.  Pomegranate is the cheeriest red I've tried in awhile.  I'm a newcomer to Bite's lip pencils, but I'm not wasting any time loving them.  These are mostly matte but have a bit of sheen to them and last for 4-5 hours.  Best of all, they're made of organic, food-grade ingredients so you don't have to worry about what you might be ingesting.

Swatches:

Outside

Inside, with flash

Outside

Inside, with flash

Buxom Full-On Lip Cream- Kir Royale

I unmistakeably mixed feelings about this product.  Color-wise, I love it.  It's exactly what I've been reaching for or wanting from lip colors this fall.  This is a beautiful wine-colored gloss.  Formula-wise, I loathe it.  I hate, hate, HATE any plumping/tingling products because my lips are so sensitive.  This product makes my lips feel like they're on fire, and beauty just isn't worth it.  I wish the plumping trend would just go away NOW.

Swatches:

outside

inside, with flash

Outside

Inside, with flash

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar- Pretty Boy

This is my first experience with a Lip Tar, and Pretty Boy is a vivid, matte magenta.  These come with their own brush, but not the primer that OCC recommends that you use with them.  I found Pretty Boy to apply easily- but the Lip Tar itself was far more liquidy than I was expecting; there's a splat of Pretty Boy on my white bath rug as a testament.  This is liquid rather than thick gloss- so user beware!

Outside

 

Inside, with flash

Outside

Inside, with flash

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick- Nylon Nude

This is a beautiful nude lipstick.  The formula feels lovely, and I would've loved to have really worn this. However, I know it's a color that just won't work on me- hence the hand-only swatches.  I'll be passing this lipstick on to friends or family.  It should easily find a forever home because it's so lovely.

Outside

Inside, with flash

Stila Lip Glaze- Apricot

I think there's an unwritten rule that there has to be a Stila Lip Glaze in every lip kit.  Apricot is a popular inclusion.  It's a nearly colorless gloss.  For that reason, I'll just be showing you a swatch on my hand:

Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12-Hours Lipstick- Inspired

 This is the other product from this kit I was looking forward to trying.  After being introduced to Tarte this summer, I've been wanting to try the 12-hour Glamazon lipstick formula.  Inspired is a neutral mauvey MLBB.

Outside

Inside, with flash

Outside

Inside, with flash

Bottom Line: Overall, this is one of my favorite curated lip kits I've tried and I find the SiJCP version to be superior to the one offered at freestanding Sephora locations.