Rouge Dior Fall 2016 "It" Shades swatched!

Seems this is the month for daring lip colors; even the venerable house of Dior has launched their edgy Dior Rouge Mattes, in shades I never thought I'd see under the CD banner.

Besides shades and finishes, the packaging has been slightly "upgraded" as well. (Hint: look under the caps and you'll get a Louboutin-esque indication of which tubes are from the new collection and which are older.) Aside from a whole host of pretty, lady-like shades, there are also some incredibly daring ones - including the 4 Matte "It" shades ranging from a chic dusty grey to a deep dark navy that looks almost black in the tube.

Rouge Dior 602 Visionary Matte and  962 Poison Matte

I love all of them, but 789 is a pretty standard bright wearable violet (if any such shade can be called "standard") and something you can find from many brands from Urban Decay to NYX to MAC. 207 Montaigne is ultra-cool but more of a mixer shade to do interesting dusty ombre looks, unless you are super porcelain-pale, in which case you can probably wear it on its own.

My personal picks were 602 Visionary, a navy which swatches a lot more vibrant and less black than it seems in the tube, and of course 962 Poison. This color is named after their iconic Poison perfume, and mimics the deep prune-purple bottle. 

First off, the formulas are very smooth and creamy, rather lightweight for mattes, which is in keeping with the Rouge Dior line in general. Swatched on the wrist, they are less pigmented and dense than Diorifics (my forever fave) but you can definitely build these up to opacity. The good news is they don't feel heavy or dry on the lips, but if you really want an ultra-matte finish you will need to blot because these do have a comfortable low sheen and are more the "comfort matte" type of texture.

I do need to remind everyone that I am shooting freshly applied lipstick in front of a bright lamp. In real life, after the lipsticks have had time to set a bit, they will always look more matte and less "creamy".

Dior 962 Poison Matte

I personally feel Poison is an ultra dark purple (much darker once on the lips than it seems in the tube) that suits medium to dark skins beautifully. Pale skins CAN pull it off but it tends to look prettier as a stain, and extremely goth if worn full on.

Be aware that it has very little red or rose and can make you look a little washed out if you don't balance it out with some blush etc.

Rouge Dior 602 Visionary Matte

As for 602 Visionary, this goes on sheerer than I'd expected. Somewhat disappointing because I thought I would get a thick dense dark indigo. The good news is it's not opaque in one coat, but you can build it up quite easily, although it will never look as black as it does in the tube. When you do get it built up though, it really slays.