Cruise is one of those words that has all the right connotations in it – high end, relaxed, fun, posh, languid. And it has a mass of water associated with it, always. Water in all its glory, because there’s so much of it, and it shines and dazzles and provides and a perfect background for a perfect vacation. Cruise is a great thing to do in summer. But I, for one, really love cruising in fall, when it’s not quite as hot but still warm enough, and when I can prolong summer joy by being on the deck and, yes, in the sun. Cruise and fall just seem to go well together. The same way I do enjoy wearing products from cruise makeup collections both in summer, especially the end of summer, and the beginning of fall, or else that transition time when summer is just about to tip into this rich and lush season that’s about to be the king – no, the queen – of the ball – fall. So, today I’m looking at Dior cruise makeup collection that will look good now and anytime you want to wear it.

 

The first great thing about this collection is that it’s easy. Four lipstick shades and four nail polish shades. Just pick your combo and go out into the real world to present your beautiful self to everyone so that they could admire you, and so that you look like you’re on a yacht on a cruise wherever you are or go. I like this concept of lip colour and nail colour that can be paired up the way you like it. Painting your lips and nails the same colour, matching colours or colours that clash and create a spectacular result by doing that… there’s something about it, all those ways to play it, all three equally exciting paths to that place where you want to be. What is that older than world itself feeling that races through you, when you bring your hand up to your mouth flashing the combination of lip colour and nail colour you went for on this particular day, making it known, making it public and proudly claiming your own and very personal pair of these two basic makeup items that we reach for almost instinctively, when we think makeup? Who knows? 🙂 It’s a very mysterious thing.

 

The lipstick formula Dior went for in this cruise collection is Dior Addict that was relaunched some time ago. I’ve already told you about this new formula and how it’s different. See details here Dior Addict new formula and 4 new nail shades swatched. Here’s what you need to know about new Dior Addict in a nutshell. First, it’s sheer, that is you won’t get full on colour here, in fact it’s very sheer compared to other sheer lip colour formulae in luxury market. Second, it’s shiny, very shiny. Third, it’s very light, weightless almost due to this gel formula element, so that you almost don’t feel it on the lips. If you find it hard sometimes to pull classic cream lipstick and have it on your lips long enough do try the new reincarnation of Dior Addict. Trust me, you might be pleasantly surprised 🙂 Oh, and one more thing – no scent of any kind here.

 

Now we can get to the most exciting part of makeup – shades 🙂 We have four shades of Dior Addict in this collection.

 

Here’s the first one. I’ll tell you what, this holographic packaging design is amazing. Love it.

 

181 Dream

 

Dream is nice, cruise can be a dream, you know.

 

This here is another new feature in the new Dior Addict. Every single lipstick has Dior logo etched on its tip. This shade is lighter, so the logo looks at its best here, because it’s most conspicuous.

 

This shade is just so beautiful. It’s this lightweight transparent airy pink leaning to lilac. Or else, to be more precise, it’s a white and light pinkish pearly base shade with light cool lilacey pink sparkle in it. On your lips sparkle won’t show, it’s there to help create this delicate and super womanly shade. The shade that’s universal and universally flattering.

 

It’s the perfect nude shade for me. Nude shade with a glow to it merging with light and telling its story. The shade that doesn’t try to change you but brings out all your natural beauty instead. Also, this shade can be just anything you want it to be. It can be romantic, because it’s so subdued and so shiny. It can be elegant because it’s understated and pink. It can be special occasion like because it’s glowy and will be even more so in party light. Whether you are a blonde, brunette or redhead, or whether your hair is pink or blue or whatever else it can be 🙂 , this shade is worth getting. It’s a keeper 🙂

 

Next shade we have here.

 

264 Sunny

 

When I hear sunny, I expect to see… orange 🙂 Whether it’s because on hearing ‘sun’, I think yellow and orange, and yellow is an unlikely shade, when we’re talking lipstick 🙂 , or because it’s a cruise collection, and I expect to see all kind of corals in it, I don’t know, but I go – orange. Well, it’s not 🙂

 

This shade is pink. A light warmer pink with warmer pink sparkle in it. The shade is very much diluted with all the shine. It’s infused with light. It’s pretty and shy in a way. Just like in Dream, sparkle almost doesn’t show, it works with the rest of the glow and pearl to create this mirror like feel about the lipstick. The shade can be interpreted as nude, because it’s a pretty light pink. To me though it looks more like a romantic shade. I just can’t escape thinking about romance as a style when I see such delicate pinks. Sunny is a very wearable shade. Anyone who wants to can try it and make it work.

 

Moving on.

 

670 Wave

 

Wave is another name that’s very much in tune with the whole cruise theme. Although it gives no clue as to what the shade is going to be like. I can easily give you this clue though 🙂 It’s another pink, only this pink is cooler, cool with a whole bunch of lilac in it. Also, this shade doesn’t have any sparkle in it. It’s just shiny.

 

This lip colour is by all means brighter than the two other shades in this collection. It’s bolder, still cute. It’s such a cool mild pink, it’s a little doll like, Barbie like in style and inclination. For starters, this pink is mild yet pretty bright. Further on, once you apply it, it’s leaning even more to lilac. On the lips it almost turns full on lilac, and the pink tone gets dissipated altogether. Which means, you should be careful with it. This kind of cooler lilac pink is very appealing, but it might not look that good on some people. Say, pale skinned blonde beauties and red haired beauties might want to beware. Wave looks good on me, but I’m just not a fan 🙂 I can only wear it with specific looks, when it makes sense in a bigger context. The coverage in this shade is fuller than in the other two. It’s almost full on colour with shine.

 

And the last Dior Addict shade in this collection.

 

884 Escapade

 

Ok, so the name ‘escapade’ has been so overused in makeup world, I don’t even know what it means now 🙂 I mean, I can recall an incessant bunch of nail shades, lip shades, eye shades that were called ‘escapade’ by all kind of luxury makeup brands. If I had to take a guess though, I’d say this shade is probably brighter or darker. Or shall we just say more sultry? 🙂

 

Sultry it is. Plum. Plum in a cruise collection? Interesting. Unusual. I like it 🙂 Hm. Very sultry. No sparkle here, just shine. This shiny plum is ever so hot. Super hot. It will look hot in summer, in fall, in winter, in spring, all year round. This darker purple shade is not too dark, and all the shine in it makes it very flattering. Universally so. Anyone can wear this shade and look gorgeous in the meantime. Purple Escapade is not too sheer, it’s almost full coverage, just short of it, and then it’s shiny, full of light. This shade concept is great. It’s like Dior took a classically vampy plum lip colour and then turned it summery and sensual and even hotter than just plum on its own by adding all the shine in it. This shade is really something. It’s not just hot, it’s steaming hot.

 

These are the four Dior Addict shades from this cruise collection and… I love them. That lighter than light lilac pink stirs my imagination. The warmer delicate pink makes me wanna wear a long flower pattern dress. The super cool Barbie pink lures me into baby doll world. And the shiny plum… oh, I can’t even start recounting and describing the numerous sexy looks I wanna create and wear on seeing this colour. I wanna wear these shades, feel them on my lips and plunge into all the glow they have hidden in them. Here they are left to right: 181 Dream, 264 Sunny, 670 Wave and 884 Escapade.

 

Having seen the lip shades, I can’t wait to see the four nail shades. I keep my fingers crossed hoping they’ll be as awesome as those lip colours and start swatching.

 

Dior Vernis formula is gel like and good enough. Certain shades can get sort of clumpy, but all in all those shades are generally easy to apply, and once they are applied, they shine and last providing luxury market level quality.

 

Ok, so the first lip shade – Dream – was that ever so sheer and light pink, right? Well, check this nail shade out.

 

181 Regatta

 

Despite Regatta sounding like it’s going to be something blue or green, maybe, it proves to be this shy little pink.

 

Oh, this colour is so nice. And so rare. It’s very very light. A true counterpart of that Dream lipstick, you know.

 

Surprisingly, this touch of pink in nail colour is not pearly at all. It’s cream, that is just colour. So, all it gives off is the shade that’s intriguing because it’s doesn’t get released too often.

 

Regatta is so light, so cool and so pink it gets… artsy instead of being romantic and cute and pretty.

 

Just like Dream lip shade, this Regatta nail shade is the ultimate nude for me. It’s not a good old nude. It’s a modern nude. It’s up-to-date and edgy and perky nude. It puts nude manicure into a whole new category and makes it relevant.

 

There are two pieces of really good news about this shade. Here’s the first one. You might not have worn anything like it before. If you’re tired of all the pinks and everything else and want to get a little out of your usual manicure routine plane, this is your way to do it.

 

More good news. This shade will work with just about anything. Jeans, sharp business outfit, elegant dress, casual, sexy, sporty, natural, red carpet, whatever. There are only few shades that can show such versatility.

 

Next shade.

 

679 Dolce Vita

 

Ok, cruise is all about Dolce Vita, isn’t it? 🙂

 

Another pink. Only this pink is different. It’s brighter. Not as rare as Regatta, still good.

 

Dolce Vita as a shade name is right on the money. This medium bright cool lilac like pink is very sweet indeed.

 

It’s modern and sort of Barbie like. That is, it’s will work really well with that cool pink lipstick shade Wave.

 

There’s something very nice and very appealing about this pink. It’s not as doll like as Wave lipstick. It’s a little more grounded, even if it’s girly in its essence.

 

If girly and romantic is not your thing though, you could say it’s artsy and cutting edge and play it this way. You know, like a bright pink or lilac accent shade in your look.

 

Finally, Dolce Vita can be a modern classic manicure shade. What can be more classic than pink on your nails? Well, you can treat it as that and wear it with anything you like 🙂

 

Next.

 

601 Bay

 

C’mon, if Regatta wasn’t blue or green, tell me that Bay is going to be blue or green, at least 🙂 It would make perfect sense, wouldn’t you agree?

 

Okay, good, it is green 🙂 I love green nail colour. Especially as this green is so well balanced and put together.

 

It’s a cool medium green. Not too bright, so don’t shun it right away. Think about it first 🙂

 

This green is the most flattering green, the most calm green, the easiest green out there. If you’re looking for a way to get into the green manicure groove, this is it.

 

I think green makes total sense in a cruise collection. You know. Water. Aqua. Green.

 

Some people would say, maybe, that this green has a touch of blue in it. If so, then just a little. And green by all means dominates the scene.

 

Yes, green nail colour is artsy, but just think about all the possibilities it opens up for us. We can wear it with blue clothes, green clothes, white clothes, grey clothes, black clothes. Wow 🙂

 

And the last one.

 

709 Azur

 

Well, as long as it’s Azur, it must be either aqua or turquoise 🙂

 

Yep. It’s a very bright and cutting edge turquoise shade. Very summery in a way. Although, so many blue shades get released these days that we can wear blues on any day in any season, probably.

 

If Bay is green – you know even if you see both blue and green in it, green is in the foreground in this shade, there’s no question about it – Azur is blue. There’s both blue and green in it, but blue is winning this battle.

 

I’d say that Bay is more wearable than Azur. Or else, more people can wear Bay than Azur. Azur is brighter. Also, we do see shades like Bay a lot in nail colour world. While Azur is uncommon.

 

This bright turquoise shade can be a great manicure accent kind of shade. At the same time it can be too artsy for a lot of people.

 

If you’re wondering how you can wear it and what clothes will match it best, think jeans and then think the same colours in clothes I suggested to match Bay – blue, green, white, grey, black.

 

Azur is not an elegant shade, not a romantic shade, it’s more of a fun shade that you go for, when you’re fed up with everything else. Or when you have a specific look in mind that calls for a nice turquoise nail shade to round it up.

 

These are the four nail shades by Dior in their cruise collection this year, and I love them as much as I love the lip shades. That pale pink is stunning and rare, it might be my favourite nude nail shade. The bright lilac pink is a great everyday shade that I can wear any time I feel like it. The green is something I love, and it’s not just green, it’s a great green nail shade. And that turquoise is exciting in a way that I don’t think I have quite the same nail colour in my collection. It’s in the whole turquoise/aqua family, true, but it has a zest in it that makes it stand out in a very fulfilling way.

    

    

 

That’s cruise makeup 2016 by Dior, and it’s ever so good. Refreshing too. It’s a clever mix of pinks

 

and green

 

with plum

 

and turquoise

 

framing the whole collection and adding a very hot streak to the generally relaxed colour scheme. You know what, that’s one of the best cruise collections I’ve ever seen. All shades perfectly fit in here and correspond with other shades to create all kind of combinations from the most casual ones to the most sultry and special occasion ones. These shades can easily carry you through a whole bunch of looks and days of your life, whether you’re working or having a date or a fun night out with your friends. Even more so, I think every one of us can find something here that will be personally appealing and interpret these shades their own way. This collection is offering options instead of pushing certain trends and styles. So, it’s only up to you to decide whether you want to go for traditional makeup rules here and do matching lips and nails kind of thing. Or you want to make your own rules and play a totally new game creating something that will be a brand new word and statement in makeup world.

 

Here’s how you can do it. Following the rules:

 

Or breaking them:

 

P.S. Have fun whichever way you go 🙂