Real Girl Lifestyle

A break from health and organics and a dive into just gorgeous

Not that gorgeous isn’t healthy. Real Girl says a dose of luxe beauty a day keeps the doctor away. (Or keeps the cute doctor very close.)

The Dior Five Couleurs Designer All-in-One Artistry Palette is a true treat for anyone interested in the ritual of beauty. Open the inky blue, embossed packaging, and find your palette nestled in a CD-monogrammed dark velvet pouch–it’s like opening a Tiffany gift, if Tiffany were more sexy Angelina Jolie and less traditional Reese Witherspoon. And indeed, the packaging of this eye-shadow palette is just plain sexy. Shiny, reflective, rich midnight blue and silver, polished enough that you can see yourself in it. All real girls know that packaging is just that–a surface benefit, and we’re interested in the product itself. But oh, this is some lovely packaging. Real Girl feels sexier using it, as if the moment when she slips her palette out of its luxe velvet pouch is more special than when she flips open any old compact lid. Sometimes it just feels good to revel in the ritual of a lady’s toilette. Even a real girl deserves some decadence once in a while.

The four eyeshadows and cream liner inside thankfully live up to the promise of their sumptuous exterior. I tested the gold, tawny, and bronze hues of Amber Design. Other palettes in the line feature base colors in navy, smoky gray and silver, nude pink, and pink. Dior includes a mini tutorial on how to use your five colors–each one numbered–to achieve their version of the ideal eye:

Because Real Girl has quite a hooded eye, I use a variation of the suggested application, and I’ve adjusted for day or night usage. (In fact, a makeup artist friend recently complimented my Diored up “smoky eye,” and I was quite flattered!) But before jumping to application, let’s linger a bit on the scrumptious shadows (labeled “base,” “color,” “shadow,” and “shine,”) and the perfect cream liner. Each of the four shadows include shimmer, with the “shine” shadow amping up the shimmer to a gentle but potent sparkle. For that reason, I’ve mostly saved the extra shine for nighttime drama. I’ve also doubled the base as a highlighter for a 6th step in the process, dabbing a small smudge with my finger just under the arch of the eyebrow and at the inner corner of each eye.

The gold “color” offers a pretty, subtle shimmer for the entire lid. (Of course Real Girl always uses makeup brushes rather than enclosed applicators. I remember the day I discovered makeup brushes, and once that happens you can never go back.) The third step, the “shadow,” is probably Real Girl’s favorite. A universally flattering bronzy-brown, I’ve used this darker color during the day instead of the liner. Using a liner brush, I’ve applied the shadow close to the eyelashes and lightly at the crease. Really, for a daytime effect, using shadows 1, 2, and 3 provides just the right amount of shimmer and color to be sophisticated but also sexy.

For nighttime, I lightly smudge step 3, “shadow,” at upper and lower eyelash line for a smoky effect, and add a touch more just above the crease of my hooded lid. I have realized that I don’t have a slim enough eyeliner brush to use the cream liner–but I’m surprised and happy to say the enclosed tiny brush works very well. Using Dior’s slender-tipped brush, you can get right near the base of the lid, allowing for a thin and delicate dark brown line. Adding “shine” at the browbone completes a look I’ve described to friends as “lovely,” but it’s more than that: dramatic without crossing the line toward garish, subtle enough to be elegant, dazzling enough to make a girl stand out in a crowd. The Dior woman is no shrinking violet, but neither does she draw attention for the wrong reasons.

I do heartily recommend setting your designer-palette artistic creation with Benefit’s She-Laq, especially during the summer months. My one critique of Dior’s sumptuous shadows is that by the end of the day, the color can melt off if not reapplied. A thin coat of She-Laq, though, solved that problem for Real Girl, and her amber smokey eyes have lasted well into the night. Or you can keep the gorgeous little palette in its cozy velvet bag in your purse to easily reapply the darkest color late in the day. The shimmer and shine will  both last well on their own.

Real girls, when you get the urge to treat yourself to something special, sexy, dazzling…here’s your luxurious little delicacy.

THE DETES

Four shimmer shadows and a cream liner

Application tutorial enclosed

Luxe, decadent packaging

Appropriate for day-to-night

Best used with Benefit’s She-Laq