Going dotty over the Dior Milky Dots Summer 2016 Collection which revealed 1 surprise hit

When Dior first announced their adorably named Dior Milky Dots Summer 2016 collection, I perked up a little. I haven’t been very kind to Dior lately, and I was previously quite a Dior girl. So, I wanted to see how cute a collection could be with an eyeshadow palette named the 5 Couleurs Polka Dots palette. Polka dots! You can’t look at polka dots and not feel happy, right?

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So, imagine my consternation when nothing featured polka dots.

There I was, all ready to coo over a polka dotted eyeshadow palette or maybe even a blush… only to have my air let out like a deflating balloon. Sigh… Dior, why do you persist to disappoint me?! 🙁

That said, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I was gifted with 3 items from the Dior Milky Dots collection to show you, and one of them turned out to be quite a hit with me. I’ll let you pause and take a guess before you head on to find out my views on the 3 items are 🙂

Dior 5 Couleurs Polka Dots eyeshadow palette – 366 Bain de Mer – RM265 | US$63

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The palette featured here is one of 2 limited edition palettes in the Dior Milky Dots collection. They are called the Polka Dots palettes, but as you can see, polka dots do not feature one bit. The only time they appear are on the box. Strange, Dior, very very strange! Also, the collection is called Milky Dots, but they call the palettes Polka Dots – the naming convention jars, in my view.

The palette I have is 366 Bain de Mer, which when translated to English reads “swim” according to Google Translate. French speakers, please feel free to debunk this LOL! But you have to admit that a palette named Bain de Mer sounds a hell lot better than Swim! 😀

This is a palette of pastel shades incorporating the blues to represent the sea. It’s pretty, but I’m afraid to say that I was quite disappointed with it. The shadows felt hard to the touch, and the colour payoff wasn’t very impressive. Brushes pick up the colours easily, but when you put blues on Asian skin like mine, it tends to turn a little green as you’ll see below. So, all in all, it’s a bit tricky, I feel. The pastel shades will look much better on Caucasian skin, which generally takes pastel eyeshadow better. If you really want to use this, use a lid primer for the colours to show up better. But to be honest, I’d just pass on this one. It’s not terribly impressive.

The other item I have is a Dior Addict Fluid Shadow in Eccentric (RM119 | US$32). It’s a golden-brown cream eyeshadow that comes in packaging that looks like a lipgloss. The applicator is a brush, and it’s quite impossible to apply. The best way is to deposit some on the back of your hand and use your finger to pat it over your lid for a lovely shimmery wash of brown-gold. It takes a while to set, but once it does, it stays, and it’s quite pretty. A bit fiddly, but nothing you can’t really handle if you are keen.

Here are the swatches of the products so you have an idea.

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You see how the Fluid Shadow smudged? That’s because it takes ages and AGES to set! This was swatched using the brush applicator, which is a really REALLY dumb design for an eyeshadow and liner, IMO. Dior really needs to rethink their packaging for this one.

I layered the bright blue to get the colour to show up, and you can probably see how the other shades are fairly muted. Bain de Mer is a fun palette if you love playing with colour, but if you prefer something more neutral, the other palette, Escapade, is neutral. You can see the pictures and swatches on Lily’s blog as well as another shade of the Fluid Shadow in Ecstatic.

Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow Shimmering Loose Powder – RM225 | US$56

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So by now you can probably guess that this Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow Shimmering Loose Powder is the one that turned up trumps in my books.

What it is, quite simply, is a loose powder with shimmer in it. The powder itself has a warm amber tone, and there is shimmer particles that add a glow to the skin. As you can see in the swatch above (swatched thickly), the Nude Air Summer Glow powder looks a little warm and a little shiny. However, what I found when I dusted it on my skin is that none of those shimmery bits show up as glitter. That is so important!

Instead, what you get is a very lovely, diffused glow to the skin. I was afraid of the warm tones too, as shades that are too warm tend to make my skin look dull and dirty, but I needn’t have to be, because when I applied it using a fluffy powder brush, it did not impart a lot of colour to my skin. What happens for me when I use this powder, is that it infuses my skin with a touch of warmth, and a gentle, diffused glow that is very flattering. Not bronzed, not yellow, just a hint of glowy warmth.

Dior says you can use the puff included, which feels like air – so soft it is! – but I feel that using the puff imparts more product on the skin. If that’s the effect you want, then use the puff. Otherwise, I prefer using a brush. Just tap a little powder out on the cover, swirl your brush in it, and brush onto the skin. I wear this over foundation, BB Cream, or CC Cream and it’s very nice because it’s subtle, yet makes you look healthy and radiant.

Left to me, if there’s one item you’d like to pick up from the Dior Milky Dots collection, I’d pick this Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow powder – it’s definitely the best of the lot!

To give you an idea of how I’d wear the Bain de Mer eyeshadow palette, here’s a quick look that I did.

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I had the bright blue along the upper and lower lash line, the seafoam blue on the whole lid, and the coral-pink blended in, with the pale gold to highlight. This is one of the safest ways to wear it. If you’d like the colour to pop further, use a lid primer. You can also get some other ideas on how you can wear blue eyeshadow here.

I’m also wearing the Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow loose powder, but you can’t quite see it, of course. It doesn’t make my skin look too golden, nor does it make me shine in the dark. But you can probably see some highlights, which is attributable to this powder. It’s flattering. Expensive, but flattering 🙂

So this is my overview of the Dior Milky Dots collection. There are a couple of other items in there of course, but these are what I have to show you.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Dior Milky Dots collection for Summer 2016 has limited edition items, of which 3 items are featured in this post. I can’t say that I’m crazy about this collection. I’m usually not into Spring nor Summer collections, but it is quite different from other collections, in that the shades on offer are less traditionally summer, which usually evokes impressions of bronze, orange and coral tones. If you’re going to check out one item, check out that Shimmering Loose Powder. It’s the one item that I feel stands out, and is a little underrated. You can easily pass on the eyeshadow and not miss them. Ever.

PROS: The Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow powder is light and imparts a lovely gentle radiant warmth to skin with a bit of a glow that isn’t too shiny nor shimmery

CONS: Pricey, Eyeshadow palette is hard to the touch and colours are not very flattering, Takes a lot of layering and blending to get the colours to work, Powder is limited edition

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who likes light or pastel shades for eyeshadows

PRICE: As above

AVAILABILITY: Dior counters and boutiques, Sephora stores & online, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods

Have you seen the Dior Milky Dots collection? Did you pick anything up?

I haven’t been keeping up with all the seasonal collections for a while. There just seems to be so many! LOL But occasionally, it’s nice to see what’s on offer, and in this case, nice to discover a diamond among the coal. So, what did you pick up, and were you expecting polka dots on the makeup? 😀

Paris B