Dior Summer Sneak Peek: Bird of Paradise Summer 2013 Collection and new Addict Lip Gloss

When Pantone announced that the colour of the year for 2013 was emerald, I could not help noticing that many brands didn’t utilize it for teir Spring collections. We saw mostly pinks this year. But for Summer, Dior is rectifying that with a vengeance!

The theme for the Dior Summer 2013 makeup collection is the legendary bird of paradise that flies through the skies, never touching the ground, free, flamboyant and elusive. Truly, who has ever seen a bird of paradise? (not the flower 😛 ) Drawing on a sunny, tropical theme inspired by the Amazon jungles of South America, the Dior Bird of Paradise collection is lush and green, with tropical brights included.

I had a little preview of the collection yesterday and wanted to share with you a sneak peek of the products available, and what they look like when applied by the expert hand of Dior’s Pro-team International Makeup Artist from Spain, Junior Cedeno (who is also a super cutie and amusing to boot!) 😉 Just a quick one and I’ll have the more detailed swatches, tips etc to follow in time to come.

The star product in the collection is the Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo (RM198). Locally, it is only available in 001 Pink Glow and is a bronzer-blush. Use half of it to contour and the other half for a pop of colour on cheeks or swirl for a warmed pink. I have missed Dior’s summer bronzer/blush offerings (of which Rose Brazilia from 2009 is a personal fave!) so its nice to see it come back. Junior showed me a super neat trick with this one that I have to share with you soon! The colour isn’t quite true to colour due to lighting but I’ll have better photos up soon.

The Paradise Duo comes with a cute little mini kabuki brush, but Dior is also releasing a limited edition Summer Brush (RM210) which is a blush brush with bright red bristles. Interesting, I will concede!

Another very interesting product I’m keen on is the Dior Jelly Lip Pen (RM85). It looks pretty much like one of those balm-lipstick crayon pens that we’ve been seeing in recent times. It’ll be interesting to see how this one performs, since I personally find that Dior does lip products very well. It is rather sheer with a lovely shine and an interesting scent. I have seen reviews on the other products but none on the Jelly Lip Pen yet which is unusual.

There are 2 5 colour eyeshadow palettes (RM210) in shades of green which will either turn people on or turn them off, depending on how much they like to wear colour on the eyes. The textures are quite sheer and as is normal with Dior quints, shimmery. I’m curious to know if they have the buttery, pigmented texture of palettes like the Golden Savannah and Night Golds palettes. Junior showed me some very nifty tricks with the eyeshadow palettes, and I’m really excited to share them with you later too! 🙂

Also new are 2 mono eyeshadows in Feather and Parati. Feather is a gorgeous olive green with golden shimmer that just screams at you from the pan “PICK ME!” while Parati is a matte navy blue that Junior tells me was created by Yves St. Laurent when he was heading the House of Dior. It is an intense navy that is absolutely breathtaking as an eyeline

Another item that has the nail fan going gaga is the Bird of Paradise Nail Lacquer Duo (RM95) which you see in the first picture above. You get a duo of mini 7ml Dior nail polishes in Samba (Metallic turquoise and pastel green) and Bahia (bright fuchsia and petrol blue). Use together for dazzling nail art, or separately. I just love the adorable little bottles and the mini sizes and you can do some really nifty water nail art too!

The Eye Gloss from last year makes a comeback this year. These are cream eyeshadows that come in a tube, and that gold shimmer one is going to be a sell out because you can use it not only on your eyes but as a highlight for the face. I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw how beautifully it worked and how subtle it is. These backstage tips and tricks are amazing stuff, I tell you!

What we in Asia will not be getting are the Diorskin Nude Tan BB Creme and the Paradise Duo in Coral Glow. This is, I believe primarily a marketing decision as bronzing isn’t big here in Asia so a BB Cream that promises a hint of a tan wouldn’t go down as well as one that promises to brighten skin, and Coral Glow is the deeper toned of the two Paradise Duo powders. You can see some swatches of Coral Glow on Becca’s blog.

I had the opportunity to let the maestro, Junior Cedeno Dior International Makeup Artist, do a little makeover for me and it was fun! He’s an amazing artist and imaginative and I have picked up some backstage tips that I will share soon; but here’s how I looked after. Junior used the Summer collection and taught me a whole bunch of tricks involving the Diorsnow BB Cream. I swear I’ll never look at BB Creams the same way again – my eyes have been opened, my world enlarged!

This is how I looked after almost 4 hours. Base was perfect, eye makeup didn’t budge and cheeks were softly blushing. I had been sweating in the heat and still nothing was out of place. Celebrities and models who work with him are very lucky!

Note: If you too want to pick up some tips from Junior, he’ll be hosting a public makeup session at KLCC this Sunday, April 28, 2013 and also private one-to-one sessions with a fully redeemable RM350 voucher from Isetan KLCC or call 03-2382 0286 for more info. I enjoy watching international artistes at work – they always have something fresh to teach us and Junior is amazing – suave, funny, down to earth and incredibly talented. One of the best I’ve had the pleasure to meet so catch him before he flies off to do the makeup for celebrities in the upcoming Cannes Film Festival 😀

During Junior’s public appearances, I believe his focus will be on the new Addict lipglosses. You will already see the new Addict lipglosses and complementing lipsticks out at the counters. I showed you Delice recently. Like the previous ones, there are 3 formula – sparkly, creamy and pearlescent depending on the look you are going for. These are favourites of mine, and have been for years. They are also one of 2 brands of lipglosses I will buy and use simply because I love them that much 😀 The price hike recently is rather hurting the wallet though 😛

I hope you’ve enjoyed the sneak peek into Dior’s latest collection. I know its making waves everywhere already! Locally, it will be available from 1 May 2013 which isn’t too far away

Are you eyeing anything from the Dior Summer collection?

I usually don’t go for summer collections most of the time because they tend to be warm and I don’t play well with warm colours. Last year’s Aurora eyeshadow palette for example wasn’t something I’d normally wear. But this year’s collection is quite neutral and the bright colours are very pretty. I’m happy to see the bronzer/blush because I like that, and I’m curious about the Jelly Lip Pen. Less crazy about the eye colours (because I’m in a neutral shadow rut) but what Junior Cedeno did with them blew me away. You? 😀

Paris B

Dior Bird of Paradise Summer 2013 collection is limited edition and is available at all Dior counters from May 2013. Prices are as shown above.