Is Dior Rock Coat Gimicky or Rocking? NOTD Dior Vernis Nirvana+Rock Coat

Above: Dior Vernis Rock Coat

The Dior Vernis Rock Coat is part of Dior’s Rock Your Nails collection from March 2011 I purchased along with Nirvana. I bought the Dior Vernis Rock Coat because of it’s novelty factor: a top coat that is sheer but is tinted a smokey gray colour. It also has a subtle micro shimmer to in.  As a top coat, it functions like any other topcoat. It creates a shiny finish and my manicure lasts about 5-7 days. It does create an interesting effect on your nailpolishes depending on how many coats you use.

With one coat it creates a slightly streaky look but creates an iridescent effect with your original colour underneath. With two coats, it creates a smokey finish and with three coats it will darken and blacken the colour for a more vampy and edgy finish. In the below pictures I tried to demonstrate the effects on the Rock Coat over Nirvana using one coat then transitioning to two to three coats. With the rock coat, I find that it is best to use colours with medium vibrancy because that would show the best range of effects. Anything too dark or blacken would not work and it would just be a moot point. Colours that are too light creates a colour that would be too ashen for my taste. I also prefer to use creme finishes.

Dior Vernis are high end and expensive, it is definitely a splurge. Dior Vernis Rock Coat is 24$. I think it is very expensive for a coat and I usually opt for either OPI or Essie. I definitely bought this for the novelty factor. Though Rock Coat is really just a glorified tinted top coat, I do think it is a nice item to have to change the look of any nailpolishes you have in your existing collection. You can wear your spring/summer brights and darken them with Rock Coat to create a more fall/winter colour. As for the Nirvana and Rock Coat top coat combo? I do like Nirvana with the Rock Coat better because I like the blacken teal better.

Above: Dior Vernis in Nirvana (left) and Nirvana with two coats of Rock Coat (left)

Above: Nirvana with three coats of  Rock Coat (pinky), Nirvana with one coat of Rock Coat (ring finger), Nirvana with no Rock Coat (middle finger) and Nirvana with two coats of Rock Coat (index finger).

Above: Dior Vernis Nirvana with four coats of Rock Coat

NOTD Dior Vernis Haute Couleur Rock Your Nails Spring 2011: Nirvana 704

Above: Dior Vernis Nirvana #704

Dior’s Rock Your Nails Haute Couleur Vernis Collection totally slipped my radar because I didn’t even know of its existence, until I stumbled upon it at The Bay. The collection includes Nirvana #704, a deep blue green turquoise; Purple Mix #887, a dark eggplant purple; Perfecto #804, a cool state gray; Blue Label #997 a deep navy; Underground #824, a deep brown red; and Rock Coat a sheer gunmetal gray topcoat. I picked Nirvana, which I will write about in this post and Rock Coat will be featured in an later post.

Nirvana is a deep blue green turquoise that is slightly muted by gray tones. It is a creme finish and applies beautifully like most of the Dior polishes I have tried. The application is smooth and medium thick. I only need two coats to achieve opacity. Also, Dior has redesigned their nailpolish brush. While the old brush is like a traditional brush, straight and thin, it is now flatter and wider and wedged shaped at the tip. The girl at the counter explains that the new shape improves application at the nail edges and corners, but I don’t really see the difference. I think the new brush shape might be awkward for those with shorter and smaller nail beds.

I tried the other colours at the counter too, but I find most of the colours a bit odd for spring. Most of colours are quite dark with the exception of Purple Mix and Nirvana. Overall, I like Nirvana because it is a lovely fun colour. It has nice vibrancy for the spring but the it has a muteness to the colour that would make a lovely pop of colour for the cold weather months/seasons as well. Stay tuned for my review for Dior Rock Coat.

Above: Dior Vernis Nirvana #704

Above: Dior Vernis Nirvana #704

Above: Dior Vernis Brush (New)

Above: Dior Vernis Brush

Sharing My Stash: Silver Nailpolishes

Hey Ladies, Happy Thursday! It is time to share some of my goodies again. This time I want to show some of my silver polishes. From left to right: Chanel Le Vernis 479 Kaleidoscope; MAC Nail Lacquer $$$$$ Yes; MAC Nail Lacquer Studded; and Dior Vernis 604 Gris Perle.

Dior 5 Couleurs Édition Dentelle Palette Fards À Paupières Coquette 743 Product Pictures, Swatches and Review

Above: Dior Coquette Quint 743

Dior’s Coquette quint 743 was released January 2010 in the Dentelle Lace collection and retails for $58 CAD. I picked this up way back at the end of January and I finally have a chance to play with it and do a posting. This is such a pretty palette with the lace imprint and  I kept on opening it to look at it. I didn’t want to dig into it because I don’t want to ruin the lace patterns. This the softer and more muted quint, in contrast to the Pearl Glow quint, which is more shimmery and vibrant.

It is unfortunate that the lace patterns deteriorate after each use. I tried to take shadow from the outer corners with no pattern, but all the lace pattern will be gone within a couple of uses. The colours are on the muted side and four of them are a satin finish with a slight pearl shimmer finish; however the shimmer is almost not detectable on my lid. Although the colours are soft, the pigmentation is decent and I did not need a lot of effort to build up colour. The texture is soft and since most of the shadows are satin there are zero glitter/shimmer fallout, with the exception of the middle colour. I feel that the middle pink colour is just a token highlight colour and is pretty much useless to me. It has chunky silver glitter in it and the fallout is horrendous. The middle should not be included at all. I think the fifth colour in all Dior quints should not be included at all because most of them are hard, gritty and glittery. I think Dior is better off making a quad and charging a little less. Even though, I think the middle colour is the worst of in the quint, I still really like the quint as a whole because the muted pinks, purples and grays work nicely together and create a nice soft smokey eye.

Since Dior does not have colour names or descriptions I will provide my own:

Light gray lilac (top left): This soft grayish purple gives off a silvery cast and has a slight pearlized finish.

Light ballerina pink (top right): This is a very soft light pink and it has nice pigmentation for such a light colour.

Gray medium plum (bottom left): This muted plum has grayish tones and gives a light silver pearl finish on my skin. This is one of the most pigmented colours in the quint and the most pearlized.

Silver gray (bottle right): This is a medium tone gray with with subtle silver pearl. This is one of the most pigmented colours the quint.

Pink with silver glitter (middle): This is a throw away colour for me. I have tried to use it as a highlighting colour but the fallout is horrible. It is the least pigmented and I picked up more glitter than colour.

Above: Dior Coquette Quint swatches

Frankenpolish NOTD Confetti in the Sky: Dior Gris Perle With OPI Mad as a Hatter

Above: Dior Vernis Gris Perle (Silver Pearl) layered with OPI Nail Lacquer Mad as a Hatter

Today’s post is just quite and dirty, I just want to show you all my nail combo. I love Dior Vernis in Gris Perle but grew bore of it in about 5 days, which is the typical life span of my manicures because I love to switch every couple days. This time I was too lazy to remove my original colour but I want to wear OPI Mad as a Hatter again. I also wanted to experiment with thinner layers of Mad as a Hatter with another colour base. So Voilá! A steel gray with a sprinkling of rainbow glitter. It looks like a rainbow of stars in a gray sky doesn’t it? Below are pictures of the original colour swatches of Gris Perle and Mad as a Hatter. Also check out the original reviews!

Above: Dior Vernis Gris Perle (Silver Pearl)

Above: OPI Nail Lacquer Mad as a Hatter

NOTD Dior Vernis 604 Gris Perle (Silver Pearl Nail Varnish) Product Picutre, Swatch and Review

Above: Dior Vernis Gris Perle (Silver Pearl Nail Varnish)

Dior Vernis in Gris Perle 604 (Silver Pearl) was released for Dior Dentelle Spring 2010 collection in January. This colour is a medium tone pearlized gray. I don’t think it is really a silver because it is a bit too blacken to be a silver, it is probably more of a pewter shade. I have always liked Dior polishes because they are smooth,pigmented and fast drying. The formula is thin but not runny and sheer. Gris Perle was a dream to apply, I got a smooth and opaque finish with two thin layers with no air bubbles ruining my manicure. It dries to a shiny metallic finish and with a top coat, it is even shinier; however, it is not a highly reflective colour nor is it a chrome like finish. I think this polish wears well, as chipping was minimal and I only noticed chipping on the very tips of my nails on the fifth day. The chipping you see on my ring finger was from a broken nail that I didn’t bother to touch up. I was glad to see that Dior incorporated a smokey colour in their collection to contrast with the pastels and girlier colours. I also think this colour would be a great colour to be carried over to the fall. Although I do like Dior polishes, I think they are a bit pricey because I paid $24 CAD for 10mL of product, but I think that is pretty typical of high end polishes, such as Dior and Chanel: less product for more money. But I love silver colours and I don’t have a colour like this, so once in a blue moon a splurge.

Above: Dior Vernis Gris Perle (Silver Pearl Nail Varnish)

FOTD Holiday Look Using Shimmery Lilac and Silvers: Dior Smokey Crystal Quint 089

I finally have a chance to play around with the Dior Smokey Crystal 089 quint I bought I few weeks ago. The eyeshadows in this quint are more pigmented than the Dior Night Butteryfly 173 I have. The Smokey Crystal quint are all shimmers but surprisingly there are little to zero fallout for me. The colours are much more pigmented in person than in the photographs. Since these shadows are all shimmery/frosty, it was very difficult to capture the real colours. Overall I like working with this palette and thought it created a soft shimmery holiday look.

MAC Hyper Real Foundation mix with Aveeno Positively Radiant SPF 15 moisturizer

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer for under eye and imperfections

MAC Mystery Powder to set concealer and dust over T zone

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study as eyeshadow base, all over lid and up to the brow bone

Dior Smokey Crystal 089 palette using platinum (lower right) in the inner eye corners for highlight and bring to lower lash line inner corner

Dior Smokey Crystal using lilac (centre) for middle of eye lid

Dior Smokey Crystal using chrome silver (upper left) for outer eye corners and bring down to lower lash line outer corner

Dior Smokey Crystal using shimmery charcoal (lower left) for the outer crease until the middle of the crease

Dior Smokey Crystal using shimmery silver taupe (upper right) for inner crease corner until middle of crease and blended into outer crease into the shimmery charcoal (lower left)

Tarte Treasure Chest matte eyeshadow using the matte fleshy peach colour at the 2nd tier (1st row 1st shadow) for brow bone highlight

Tarte Treasure Chest blush in shimmer dusty rose colour 2nd blush colour on the 4th tier

Tarte Treasure Chest highlighter (the light pink powder) on the 4th tier to highlight tops of cheeks, bridge of nose, forehead and chin

Tarte Treasure Chest Park Avenue Princess Bronzer on the 4th tier to contour hollow of cheeks and sides of nose

Prescriptives Brow Shaping Kit 02 to fill in brows

MAC Softsparkle Eye Pencil in Night Sky for upper lash line and waterline

MAC Dazzle Lash Mascara in Dazzle Black for upper lashes

Japanese brand false half lashes

Nars Lipgloss in Orgasm

Dior Cristal Boreale Holiday 2009 Collection: Smoky Crystal #089 5 Couleurs Palette Fard À Paupières Lumières Vibrantes Review, Swatches and Product Pictures

Above: Dior Smokey Crystal 5 Colour Iridescent Palette 089

Colours from top left to bottom right: chrome silver (top left); shimmery silver taupe (top right); lilac (centre); shimmery charcoal (bottom left); and platinum (bottom right). Dior does not name their eyeshadows, so I named them based on my colour perception.

Dior’s Smoky Crystal 089 quint was released in October for the Cristal Boreale Holiday 2009 Collection and retails for $58 CAD. I picked this up a few weeks ago and I finally have a chance to play with it. Ever since I saw this quint in collection previews, I have been lemming for it and I go “visit” and play with it a the Dior counter and at Sephora. Admittedly, these are not the most unique colours in the world and a few of these in the quint look like some MAC colours, but I was in the mood for more silver and grays and I liked the token purple colour. Sephora was having a promotion that weekend so I picked it up.

I have had some trouble with the pigmentation of my Dior Night Butterfly 173 quint, but the Smokey Crystal 089 quint seem to be an improvement in quality. The colours in the quint are all in the cool family. All the shadows are shimmery but I do not find that they are chalky or chunky. In contrast these shadows feel very smooth and creamy. The shimmer is also subtle without big chunks of glitter or shimmer. According to Dior the iridescent quints are formulated with Wet Reflect™ technology, which creates a wet and high shine look. The pigmentation is decent and it is much better than my Night Butterfly quint, because I do not have to layer after layer to create opacity.

Above from left to right: Chrome silver; shimmery silver taupe; and lilac

Chrome Silver is the lightest colour in the quint but is nicely pigmented. It is metallic with a subtle shimmer. I find that this is a nice pure silver with a slight antiqued finish. This colour swatches on quite smoothly.

Shimmery Silver Taupe is a shimmery dark silver with a bit of yellowish tones. It has a metallic finish without being too frosty. It is one of the most pigmented and smooth colours in the quint. This colour reminds me of MAC’s Smoke and Diamonds and Stila’s Lil Diamond.

Lilac: This is a pinkish purple that is a bit sheer and is one of the lighter colours in the quint. It has a slight iridescent blue cast to it and is has a frosty finish. It is the only colour that I find “chunky.” This colour reminds me of MAC’s Lotusland.

Above left to right: Shimmery charcoal and platinum

Shimmery Charcoal: This is a dark blackened silver with a bit of blue tones to it. It is iridescent with a subtle frosty finish. This is the most pigmented, opaque and smooth colour in the quint.

Platinum: This is a cool toned metallic silver colour. It looks almost  frosty white depending on the lighting. It looks the frostiest of the 5 colours. Although it is frosty, the shine is subtle and does not have obvious chunks of glitter or shimmer in it. Platinum is nicely pigmented and opaque. This colour reminds me of MAC Pigment in Platinum.

FOTD Dior Night Butterfly Palette 173 with Medusa’s Makeup Lipgloss in Gossip Redux

Above is my second attempted at the Dior Night Butterfly Palette 173. The first was my ‘practice’ look and this is the full look I did for my cousin’s night time wedding reception. I used mostly the same products but the eye primer and some of the face products are different. Otherwise, the colour placement of the eyeshadows are the same. I used a clear wax based primer: Medusa’s Makeup Stick It! primer to bring out the shadow’s vibrancy more. For my first FOTD Night Butterfly, I used MAC Bare Study Paint Pot, which got the job done, but it subdued the colours more.

MAC Hyper Real Foundation mixed with Aveeno Positively Radiate Moisturizer

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer mixed with Benefit Moon Beam highlighter for concealing under eye area and imperfections.

MAC MSF Natural to set concealer and T zone

Dior Night Butterfly 173 using light lilac (upper right) for inner eye corner

Dior Night Butterfly using royal purple (upper left) for middle of lid

Dior Night Butterfly using aubergine (lower right) for outer eye corner

Dior Night Butterfly using pewter (lower left) for inner corner of crease to middle of crease

Dior Night Butterfly using glittery black (centre) for middle of crease to outer corner of crease

MAC Paint in Sublime Nature to highlight brow bone

MAC Kohl Power Liner in Feline to line upper and lower lash lines and waterline. Winged out liner for upper lash line.

MAC Dazzle Lash Mascara in Dazzle Black for upper and lower lash lines

Ardell False Demi Lashes 120 for upper lashes

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes eye contouring kit using darkest brown to fill in brows

MAC MSF Light Flush for cheeks as blush

Benefit Moon Beam Highlighter to highlight tops of cheeks, bridge of nose, forehead and chin. Then use MAC Sculpt and Shape in Accentuate/Sculpt using Accentuate (peach) to go over areas using Moon Beam.

MAC Accentuate/Sculpt using Sculpt (brown) to contour hollow of cheeks and sides of nose.

Medusa’s Makeup Lipgloss in Gossip for lips

Above nails: Chanel Le Vernis Kaleidoscope 479 with Sephora OPI Nail Lacquer Untarnished layered on top

FOTD Purples,Grays and Black: Dior Night Butterfly 173 Palette with Medusa’s Makeup Lipgloss in Gossip

I love using purple eyeshadows and I can’t get enough of them. I like the Dior Night Butterfly quint, but I wish that it would be a bit more pigmented. Although the pigmentation is overall decent, it could be better for a $60 palette. This is a look I am trying out for my cousin’s night time wedding reception.

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation mixed with moisturizer for face

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer for under eye and imperfections. I mixed the concealer with MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study for the under eye area to brighten the area.

MAC MSF Natural to set concealer

MAC Paint in Sublime Nature as eyeshadow primer

Dior Night Butterfly 173 quint using light lilac (upper right) for inner eye corner

Dior Night Butterfly using royal purple (upper left) for middle of lid

Dior Night Butterfly using aubergine (lower right) for outer eye corner

Dior Night Butterfly using pewter (lower left) for inner corner of crease to middle of crease

Dior Night Butterfly using glittery black (centre) for middle of crease to outer corner of crease

Dior Night Butterfly using light lilac (upper right) lightly dusted on brow bone for highlight

Perscriptives Brow Shaping Kit 02 for brows

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack for upper lash line winged out

MAC Kohl Power in Feline for lower lash line

MAC Dazzle Lash Mascara in Dazzle Black

MAC Grand Duo Blush in Love Rock for cheeks

MAC Sculpt & Shape Powder in Accentuate/Sculpt, using Accentuate (peach) on bridge of nose and tops of cheeks. Use Sculpt (brown) for hollow of cheeks for contour.

John Masters Lip Calm lip balm to prepare lips

MAC Technokohl Liner in Full of Fuchsia to line lips

Medusa’s Makeup Lipgloss in Gossip lightly applied to lips