Last year when Dior released ‘Saint-Tropez’ as a very limited edition lacquer and I soon learned that it would not be made available in Canada, I was crushed – seriously. Apart from the fact that Dior is one of a handful of my all-time favourite varnish brands, I am a complete fool for turquoise hues, especially when the weather begins to warm up. Then a miracle happened: back in late January of this year, I received word that Dior was bringing ‘Saint-Tropez’ back as part of their summer 2012 collection, limited edition again, but this time more widely available in the marketplace AND more importantly to me, to be sold here in Canada as well! To say I did a major happy dance, would be an understatement!
Along with the by now cult-status ‘Saint-Tropez’, Dior also launched ‘Bikini’ as part of their summer 2012 collection, and while at first my only concern was in snagging the former hue, I could not resist the charms of the latter. Dior varnishes are, in a word: sublime. Application is usually flawless, with an excellent consistency to their formulas, and the “secret shimmer” that’s to be found in several of their shades, only adds to their allure. The brush takes some getting used to; going from a straight-bristled narrow brush to one that is wider and slightly chiseled, may seem awkward at first, but I have found it to help with the actual application. Always super glossy at the finish, relatively quick drying and able to stay chip-free for days, you cannot go wrong with any Dior lacquer. All of the following swatches, including comparisons, are with base and top coats (Dior’s clear top coat, part of the Electric Tropics Catwalk Duo – previously reviewed here), and all bear 2 coats of lacquer each.
Inspiration: Saint-Tropez with its aqua waters & adobe clay roof tiles (source)
#401 Saint-Tropez has its reputation hugely deserved; an absolutely amazing “aged” aqua blue shade, it holds a secret deep within: tons of ultra-finely ground shimmer that while generally inconspicuous, really adds a well-rounded depth to this colour. There also seems to be an antiqued quality to this lacquer, as it bridges Tiffany Blue, Robin’s Egg Blue and Mediterranean Blue – with a dash of green thrown in for a nice urban edge. Perfectly self-levelling and über-glassy at the finish, 2 coats gave absolutely perfect coverage. BONUS: absolutely no staining upon removal. This is the equivalent of aquatic perfection for your nails!
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
While it seems like every brand has released a similarly-hued shade in the past couple of years, and to be sure I’ve scooped up every one I ever came across, I felt like Saint-Tropez still had something unique to offer, and so I limited my comparisons to the 3 shades shown above, which I felt were the closest judging from the bottle colour – I was wrong! All swatches are with 2 coats of lacquer, and here’s how they compared:
- index finger: China Glaze ‘For Audrey’ (previously reviewed here) – lighter by a few degrees, more green-leaning, bearing a similar formula
- middle finger: Dior ‘Saint-Tropez’
- ring finger: CHANEL ‘Nouvelle Vague’ (previously reviewed here) – several degrees lighter, sheerer & more watery formula, pale green undertones, pearly ribbons visible in the bottle adds a pearlized gleam to the finished look
- pinkie finger: a-england ‘Galahad’ (previously reviewed here) – most opaque with a thicker formula, can almost be a one-coater, the darkest and bluest-leaning of the group but in the same tonal family as ‘Saint-Tropez’
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
How fabulous is this? Bikini power! (source)
#231 Bikini is summer personified in a bottle of nail varnish; a dusty pink-leaning salmon/coral shade, the formula appears to be a crème-jelly hybrid as it lays down somewhat translucent on the first coat, but becomes perfectly opaque by the second. Totally self-levelling and with a brilliant glossy finish, I hadn’t realized that this shade also had some of that “secret shimmer” at its heart, until I saw the photos – a nice surprise!
NOTE: I was sure that I owned at least one, if not several similarly hued shades to ‘Bikini’ … until I actually went looking; to my utter surprise, I do not own any that can be considered duplicates, as what I do have in my collection either leans too orange, too pink or too coral. Verdict? ‘Bikini’ stands unique!
in sunlight
backlit
indoors
with flash
Final thoughts: Even though my ultimate goal was to add ‘Saint-Tropez’ to my collection, I could not resist including ‘Bikini’ – especially after seeing the two together and how well they complimented one another. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t stop with the varnishes of Dior’s summer collection — but that’s for another post! What sets these apart from the plethora of similar shades that are available, is their stellar formula and how easily they apply, flowing like silk across the nails – something you’d expect when you pay premium prices for lacquer, am I right? Still available at some Dior counters, as well as through Sephora, bear in mind that they are limited, ie: definitely won’t be around much longer!
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