Dior Amazonia

You know what really sucks? Pneumonia. Pneumonia sucks. And pneumonia is pretty much what took up my entire February. I still haven't gotten my voice back entirely but at least I don't sound like an evil consumptive frog anymore! Now, if the cough calm down, I'd sound like the happiest, healthiest, least evil frog ever. So in celebration of being a happy frog...

Dior Amazonia

Slightly swampy army green creme. A little thin for a darker Dior in my experience (three coats) but can't really complain about that.  Dried quickly as usual. Wore well for days. 

Dior Ebony with Confetti Tazmanian Devil

Today I am a very sad panda. I've had to cancel my flight back home to New York because I am sick as a dog. It's going to be a lonely Thanksgiving for me... :(

Confetti Tazmanian Devil over Dior Ebony

Trying out my brand new iPhone 4S camera. Not bad in non-well-lit scenarios (and while lying in bed, too dizzy to move)! Super cheerful manicure (three coats of Tasmanian Devil over two coats of Dior Ebony). What is it about glitter that makes life just a tiny bit better?

Nicole ...Spotted! over Dior Nirvana

Nicole ...Spotted! over Dior Nirvana

Nicole ...Spotted! (one of the dumber polish names, imo) is multicolored (blue, gold) and multisized glitter (some hex, some micro) suspended in a turquoise jelly. The polish alone is pretty sheer so I layered it over Dior Nirvana, whose color is pretty much a perfect match for the Nicole jelly. It was less sparkly than I expected it to be, leading me to suspect that it might actually be a better layering polish over a contrasting color. Still, it was a nice way to extend my Nirvana manicure for another day before I got bored of it. :)

Dior Nirvana

Dior Nirvana

Nirvana indeed! A wonderful teal polish that has a very subtle but very real blue shimmer. I'm so glad Dior has started releasing more interesting shades because for awhile there, I was afraid I would have to start to enjoy reds, pinks and beiges in order to ever get a Dior Vernis fix. :P Two coats. Looked great for all four days I wore it.

Closeup of Nirvana

I took maybe two dozen photos with the express goal of trying to capture the shimmer. You can kind of see it in this closeup photo. I didn't even notice the shimmer when I applied it. I only realized it was a shimmer polish when I got out in the sun. (It was a great moment because my first thought was, "Aw, man, did I accidentally get some shimmer polish mixed up with my Diamont again??" (No, I didn't.)

Dior Aloha (Electric Tropics, Summer 2011)

Dior Aloha

Ahh. A neon orange creme I can get behind. Neons always screw with my camera so just imagine this photo as being less red and more screamingly neon. Applied gorgeously: it could've been fine in two coats but I did three. As usual for Diors, it dried quickly. I didn't use the topcoat that came in the Electric Tropics set (and honestly, was miffed that I had to pay extra for a topcoat I didn't want) so this was just using Poshe. Photo was taken on Day 3.

Oddly, the bottle was made out of orange-tinted glass. The tint was actually far more muted than the actual shade of the polish, which makes me think that they didn't want it to be so screamingly loud in their displays. (Otherwise, why on earth would you put nail polish into anything but a clear bottle? What's the point?) But it is loud. And I love it.

Dior Beige Lotus

Total impulse buy from a Duty Free shop at the Taipei airport. Twas my conference mani.

Dior Beige Lotus

I actually really like it. It's a good neutral with a bit of sparkle. Two coats, a typically great Dior experience. (Why are they sooo expensive though??)

Conference went well though it was absolutely exhausting. I almost forgot my poster in France, which wouldn't have been bad because I don't really have any more use for it. Still, it cost $120 to print so keeping it is a matter of principle.

Two Dior NOTDs: Sweet Orange and Lemon Balm

Dior polishes are my weakness. I try to get them cheaper but if I can't, I'm perfectly willing to shell out the $20+ for them.

Dior Lemon Balm

This one was just INCREDIBLE luck. I couldn't find it ANYWHERE and then all of a sudden, it shows up on eBay for less than $20 shipped. The first thing I think is that it must be a scam, it's too good a deal but just in case it wasn't... I ordered it. It came and it looks like the real deal! And even if it isn't, it's a great polish. I couldn't capture the subtle multichromicity (not a word) of this polish. In some lights, it looks like a dusty brown infused with bronze shimmer. In other lights, it's a dusty dark purple with gold shimmer. It's a very elegant polish and applies with characteristic ease: thick, pigmented polish that's very easy to control. Two coats.

Dior Sweet Orange

Another eBay deal. I think this was $15? This one was a bit more of a pain to apply. See the dent in the polish? That's because it took longer to dry than expected. I'm very spoiled when it comes to Dior polishes so I was surprised when it hadn't dried by the time I finish applying topcoat. Also, I find some of the lighter Dior colors tend to be a bit on the sheer side. This was four coats, possibly five. I don't like many corals on me but this one I really enjoyed.

Christian Dior Gold Nugget + Sale Reminder

As a present to myself for passing quals, I decided to get a polish I was really really really lemming. I'd be ogling Dior Gold Nugget on Piff for quite some time now and decided that this was basically the only occasion where I'd allow myself to go for it!

It's here and you know what....I'm not sure. :(

Here is Dior Gold Nugget in the pseudo-sun:

And in the shade/dark:

Gold Nugget is definitely what I would call an 'antique gold'. It looks burnished, but not warm. To me it kind of looks like how champagne tastes (I'm officially losing it...) even though I love champagne but I'm just not sure of this on me. It definitely isn't that 'boom in your face!' sparkly metallic like OPI DS Glow - there is something really classy about this one. I've been really in love with metallics this season, but with OPI Dazzled by Gold on its way to me, I'm wondering if this was really worth the splurge.

I think one thing that is making me waver is that I expected awesome application with this one...and didn't get it. I've heard tons of people rave about the Dior formula and to me it was kinda thick (even though my bottle was brand new) and had a ton of cuticle drag. I am also having a bit of shrinkage (see my ring finger in the sun pic??) which is annoying.

I need to make a decision on whether or not to keep this guy! I think as I wear this throughout the day I'll figure out how I feel...but I'd appreciate some outside input!

So please please please tell me what you think...this puppy might just end up in my SALE. ;)

kittytokaren

Dior Porcelain and ManGlaze Hot Mess topcoat

Whew, this polish dampened my enthusiasm for Dior polishes down a little bit... but still not that much.  

Dior Porcelain

Super pretty in the bottle: a very delicate pink that has bright silver shimmer in it. Just like in Black Sequins, the shimmer seems to disappear somewhere between the bottle and the nail. But it's still visible, lending the polish a more subtle shimmer that's only really obvious in the light. This was a very sheer polish... and, imo, not even enough to be worn as a sheer polish (if I had had the inclination, which I did not). It took me five coats to get rid of VNL. Luckily, Dior polishes have great formula so it was a piece of cake to do the five coats but still... five is pushing it. The dry time took a bit longer than usual (probably because there were so many coats). Either way, it was a little too delicate and bland for me. I put it on... and then felt compelled to change it a couple of hours later. 

Dior Porcelain with ManGlaze Hot Mess topcoat

I received a complimentary bottle of the Hot Mess topcoat from ManGlaze for review. I'm very glad I did (thank you!) because I really like this topcoat... and I hadn't been impressed with the photos of it at all. A regular glitter topcoat is actually different from a matte glitter topcoat, even though both are glitter. The matte glitter topcoat has a more diffuse glow to it: it's sparkly but it's more restrained somehow. You'll probably get a similar effect by mattefying a very fine silver glitter. I'm going to try building this topcoat to be an opaque polish sometime (the above picture shows two coats). I love the way it looks on top of Porcelain though: it's still delicate but has edge. 

Old NOTD: Dior Liquorice

Statement of the obvious: it is hard to find Dior for cheap. This one I got from CosmeticAmerica for about $18.50 (and I think I had a free shipping coupon too). Better than $20 + shipping but it's not really better by that much. :(

Dior Liquorice

Of the four Diors I've tried so far, this is my least favorite in terms of application but probably the color I like best. I love this dark burgundy that comes alive when light hits it. In low light, it just looks like very dark purple: your average vampy shade. But in the sunlight, the burgundy shimmer just pops. The above photo was taken after about 24 hours (with Nubar Nu Nails and Diamont) so there's a little bit of tipwear. This took me three coats to even out. It applied less smoothly than the other three I've tried. Whereas for the other three, I could have gotten away with two coats, Liquorice was a mess until the third coat. The third coat really evened it out. (I was starting to feel stupid for liking Dior polishes so much before the third coat.)

Ringing in the New Year with Dior Silver Pearl

Happy New Year (though not according to this blog because the times are all PST)! I just got home after finishing my fourth New Year's Eve four mile fun run around Central Park. Last year, it was deathly cold. This year, it was warm (read: above freezing)... and very slushy. It was my second worst run time-wise but I've been so out of shape this past year, I'm just glad I finished it in under an hour!

Anyway, I didn't want to forget to update the blog on New Year's so I thought I'd show off my NOTD:

Dior Silver Pearl

This is one of two polishes in Dior's Spring 2010 collection. I got my hands on slightly early because apparently, Saks gets Dior stuff early. And I happened to walk into Saks the other day. And promptly dropped $20+tax for this polish. It is the most I've spent on a polish. The color is a beautiful burnished silver that has a slight greenish cast to it. Depending on the light, it can look straight up silver, blackened silver or even a mossy silver. It's satiny and not at all glossy; it almost looks slightly mattefied to me. It's subtle but striking. Up close, I think of it as another *yawn* silver and kind of a dull silver at that. But once in awhile, I'll catch a glimpse of my nails from arm's length or in a mirror and I just stop and stare at my own nails. It really pops at a distance. It's not flashy but it's attention-getting. 

Application is what I have come to expect from Dior polishes: the small flat brush is perfect for my small nails and the polish is thick, smooth and very obedient: it goes where you want it to go. I used three coats though it could've been a two-coater. It dried before I could get the topcoat on! And I suspect the topcoat (Sally Hansen Mega Shine, which I really don't like but it's what I keep at my mom's place) is the culprit for the exceptionally advanced tipwear at 12 hours. :( 

So the question comes to this: is it worth $20? It is worth it to me because I have designated Dior polishes as my supreme manifestation of nail polish luxury: I'll buy them at that price because I've decided that they're my exception to my "No polish is worth over $16... and it had better be damn good if it's over $10" rule. These polishes make my nails feel invincible. For those who need a $20 polish to be all that, a bag of chips and a ready and willing slave that will make you breakfast in bed with freshly squeezed orange juice... no, it's definitely not that. Not magical. 

I actually kind of wish it was a dupe of Opulent Cloud but with the fabulous Dior formula. Alas, no, it's kind of just the lighter, airier, greener version of Silver Purple. I have the same feeling towards Silver Purple: "Eh" and a shrug. But I find myself strangely mesmerized by both. 

Old NOTD: Dior Black Sequins

I knew it would happen someday. I knew I would find a super expensive brand of polishes that feel absolutely right on me. And then I'd want to buy those expensive polishes.

Damn you, Dior.

Even though I was on the fence of the shade of Dior Silver Purple, I loved the way the polish applied and how it felt on my nails. Thick but smooth, and beautifully pigmented, it just clings to my nails like glazed ceramic. So when I got that $15 off coupon (and free shipping) from Sephora, I knew I had to try another Dior polish. Black Sequins -- from last year's collection if I'm not mistaken -- was the only one they had so that was the one I got.

Dior Black Sequins

My nails feel invincible in this polish. Tough as... well, nails. Not just the color but also in the texture and thickness of the polish: it feels substantial. Black Sequins is a dark black creme studded with unevenly sized silver flecks. The sparkle is very subtle and barely noticeable from arm's length. It's nowhere as sparkly as the Sephora polish dollop might lead one to think but I like it anyway. Like my experience with Silver Purple, it was an easy breezy application -- no, I don't have the neatest gap in the world but I also didn't have any cleanup -- with a brush that was nearly perfect for my small nails. It dried FAST with "David"... possibly because it dries fast anyway. It feels like as soon as it settles onto my nail, it's 70% of the way to dry already.

All of nail polish is a luxury, obviously. But this, to me, is so luxurious. And it is a horrible gateway drug because now I want to buy Dior polishes even when I don't have a $15 or 40% off coupon. See, I avoided buying expensive polish for years because I was afraid that I'd find one brand that I'd buy no matter what the cost. My consolation is knowing that they have few colors... all of which are LE. So that's not a consolation at all.

Old NOTD: Dior Silver Purple

Got this for 20% during the Sephora Friends and Family sale. This is probably the most expensive polish I own and there's heck no way I would've bought it without there having been a sale... and 4% cashback through ebates and a gift card and free shipping. I'm not a huge fan of expensive polishes but the curiosity got the better of me on this one. And now I don't know what to do with it.

Dior Silver Purple

This looks fantastic with my skintone: a blue-toned dark purple with a silvery shimmer. It looked almost like a shimmery black on me in darker lights. A darkened purple-blue shimmer that had almost no red tones in it in other lights. It's actually an elegant and unusual color and I can't think up a good dupe for it (the closest one I can think up is OPI Light My Sapphire, which I found just dark and dull).

It was a bit thicker than I had expected but it applied easily. The first two coats were kinda uneven but the third one evened it out perfectly... and then it was already well on its way to dry before I could get Diamont on it. With Diamont, it was completely dry and almost undentable within the half hour. And I don't say this about a lot of polishes but it WORE LIKE IRON. This was my NOTD for about three days -- the above photos are at the end of the second day -- and I got bored of it before it started to get chippy.

So... I can't decide whether I want to keep it or to return it to Sephora. It's beautiful but it's not $16 (and definitely not $20) beautiful. But... it dries really quickly and lasts a long time on me... and is that worth that amount in store credit? I really dunno.

Closeup of Silver Purple

The shimmer reflects many different colors which is probably what makes the color hard to pin down.

In other news, the sky has fallen down on my poor, pounding noggin in the form of 100 papers to grade in the next six days. All because I wanted to spend 10 days on the East Coast. Or rather, wanted to go to a conference in Boston the weekend before Thankgiving and decided it wasn't worth flying back out West for only Monday and Tuesday only to leave on Wednesday for the East Coast again. If I can finish grading these before Friday, I'll be the happiest graduate student in this galaxy. I've got a system worked out... now to just execute it...

Anyway, Silver Purple will probably be my travel mani next week because it wore so well the first time I used it (which means I'm going to keep it?). Hopefully, it'll stay put from Wednesday to the weekend when I'm planning to go to my absolute Holy Grail of a nail salon in Boston. To say that those manis wear like iron is an understatement: the last time I got a mani there, it lasted ten days with minor tipwear and no chipping. (Looked weird because it grew out, obviously.) That salon is like magic with ultra super cute decor. I plan on taking lots of photos to show you all and to make myself jealous that I don't live near there anymore.