Sunday, November 18, 2012

Dior Holiday 2012 Collection - Grand Bal

One of the first holiday collections that we began to see hints of early last fall but hadn't yet been released with the earliest group is the Grand Bal collection from Dior.  The nail polishes from this collection were a very early hit with bloggers and the beauty industry in general, quickly being featured in many magazines and on The Zoe Report.  When I first saw these nail polishes, no mention was made of them being part of the upcoming holiday collection however they look very much like traditional holiday shades so I assumed that this was the collection that they would be coming out in.  These polishes are not the traditional Dior Vernis, theya re completely separate product called Diorific Vernis and I will have to se how the quality compares to the original.  The original formula was very high quality and had many fans in the industry so I am excited to see what this formula is like.

In addition to the new nail polishes, this collection does contain a full range of products for every facial feature.  I see a fantastic palette to start us off on the right foot, the Grand Bal palette looks as though I could fall in love with this product and like I will want it as soon I see it.  I also see a full range of lip products and shades and we all know how closely I will be looking at the red shades in this collection. 

This collection is available right now on the Nordstrom website and I will be pulling all of my information and pictures from that website.  I am having some issues with the Dior website loading so I am not sure if any additional items are exclusive to the Dior website (in the past, multiple versions of the same collection have been available from all different sources and it is rather hard and costly to acquire every single piece of the collection - it is for major Dior lovers only!).  The collection description is, "Whimsical and playful masquerade balls embodied Christian Dior's love of surprise and elegance. Today, the House of Dior embodies that same sense of extravagant splendor with a golden holiday collection of limited edition items."

The Grand Bal holiday collection from Dior!

Grand Bal Eye and Lip Palette - The star this season is the Grand Bal Palette. An elegant gold clutch that houses a duo of dazzling gold and white eyeshadows, two shining lip glosses and a deep black eyeliner to accent the eyes.
- Eye Shadows - deep gold foil/medium silver foil
- Eyeliner - deep black
- Lip Gloss - sheer warm gold shimmer/deep red shimmer

Grand Bal 5 Couleur Eye Shadow Palette - Gold, black and pearly white shadows adorn the eyes this season with two limited-edition 5 Couleurs eyeshadow palettes.
- medium champagne shimmer/bright gold foil/medium taupe shimmer/deep bronze shimmer/deep cool brown with gold shimmer

Grand Bal Addict Ultra Gloss - Lips are dressed in sparkling gold and holiday red with two limited edition ultra-glosses. Wear them alone or over lipstick for a little shot of glamour.
- 774 Ceremony Red - medium red with gold shimmer
- 424 Lame Gold - sheer gold shimmer

Grand Bal Rouge Diorific Lipstick - A limited edition collection of precious Rouge Diorific lipsticks encased in vintage-inspired gold cases. Provides true, vibrant color and long-wearing results, making them the perfect accessory for any occasion.
- 038 Diva - deep true blue red cream

Grand Bal Diorific Le Vernis - To complement the Rouge Diorific Lipsticks are four limited-edition Diorific Vernis Nail Lacquers. The vibrant, high-shine nail lacquers are encased in precious glass bottles accented with gold toppers and leave your nails perfectly polished.
- 011 Lady - sheer shimmering white
- 207 Diorling - shimmering medium taupe
- 751 Marilyn - medium bue red cream
- 901 Diva - black with subtle silver shimmer

Grand Bal Golden Tattoos - This season, Dior presents a limited edition collection of precious golden temporary tattoos. Available in extremely limited quantities, the jewel-like creations, designed by Dior Jewelry Designer, Camille Miceli, are made using 24-carat gold leafing. Wear as a finishing touch or a complete look. Incredible cuffs, exquisite chain bracelets, playful charms and delicate rings adorn you skin for an evening of true extravagance. The ultimate in luxury, Dior presents the perfect accessory for the Dior Grand Ball.

The Golden Tattoos are the most unique product in this collection, they are not practical at all but they would be so much fun for the right occasion.  I don't know that I will have a holiday party this season that I will be getting that dressed up for but they would be great if I had a black tie party or some other equally important event.  I guess that I will skip over these this time around but I just wish that I had a reason to justify them to myself.

I like many of the color products but I was expecting a more unique product and shade range, many of these shades have already come out from several companies this holiday and I don't really see any single product that makes me want to head right to the Dior counter.  I am a tad disappointed though I know that Dior products sell out very quickly and I have rarely been able to get most of the items that I really love.  The Rouge Diorific shade in the red shade is lovely and I would like to own it but I can't say that I must own it since it isn't very unique.  I do own a lot of red lipsticks and feel that I own several of the exact same shades but that barely stops me from ordering and buying more almost every single season.  I have seen a bunch of great reds this season (Lancome and Chanel) and I will be adding some more to my collection but I can't say that I need the one introduced in this collection.

The new version of Le Vernis is only calling my name because the bottle is just so pretty, I don't need any of these shades but I just love that bottle so much and have been admiring it since I first saw it about two months ago.  If I only buy one shade, the deep black hue will at least fill a whole in my collection since I don't own a shimmering black hue.  I guess this is the only shade that I really must own in the whole collection.  The Grand Bal palette is lovely and it is the only other product that I am really considering buying.  Being practical, I know that I will have to search for this product since I can see this being the first item to really sell out.

I don't know if I am getting a bit jaded with all the holiday collections after a month or if some of them really just aren't that great this year.  I like many of the collections but there hasn't been that many items that I am considering must haves this season.  I have never been very excited for holiday collections overall since I feel that they all look almost exactly alike or only contain gifts.  I am over half way through so we will see if my outlook changes over the next three or four weeks or if I should just begin looking forward to spring...

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

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