Dior Confessions with Nordstrom Beauty Director Joelle Russo
Yesterday I attended the Allure Dior Confessions of a Beauty Director event at Nordstrom in Downtown San Francisco. It was super fun for me since I hadn’t tried Dior cosmetics for a while and was excited to finally discover some!
But before my makeover, I got to sit down for a few minutes and chat with Nordstrom Beauty Director Joelle Russo. She’s absolutely gorgeous and extremely nice. I couldn’t wait to pick her brain for some of her must-have Dior products as well as favorite beauty techniques.
Joelle loves Dior SkinFlash Radiance Booster Pen ($33 US) as a combo concealer and skin brightener. Use it on imperfect areas to reduce dark areas, shadows, and fine lines.
Blush is also a huge thing that every women should include in her beauty routine, says Russo. And her trick to cheeks is layering, layering, layering! Joelle likes to start with a cream blush like Dior Backstage Pro Cheeks ($30 US) for a color base and then sweep your traditional powder blush over it or in highlight areas.
And of course, Joelle couldn’t stop gushing over DiorShow Mascara ($24 US) for volume and length. I, personally, had never tried this before so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it during my makeover.
After dishing with Joelle for a few minutes, it was time for my very first Dior makeover! My makeup artist, Lena, decided to give me a sultry smoky eye that was not only fierce, but was still appropriate for me to walk around in broad daylight without looking like a crazy person that belonged in the clubs.
First, she prepped my skin with Dior Capture Totale Serum ($130 US) and Dior Capture Totale for Eyes ($80 US). We skipped the moisturizer step because Lena said that my skin was good enough to go without it. Plus the serum had enough moisturizing agents in it that my skin didn’t feel dry for the entire day – I was definitely surprised!
Next, Lena used Dior AirFlash Spray Makeup ($60 US) foundation on my face to even out my skin tone and mask my imperfections. Have you guys seen this before? It’s foundation in spray can – can you say airbrushed to perfection?? While you can certainly spray AirFlash directly onto your face – it reacts only to heat so if you get some on your clothes it won’t show up. Or so she says.
She applied AirFlash on me by spraying some of the product onto a powder brush and lightly brushing it all over my face. Finally it was time for color. We used Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow palette ($54 US) in Sunset Cafe, layering the lightest to darkest colors from the brow bone to my lash line. Their shadows are soft and really fine. You can really build the color up as much as you want or apply with a lighter hand for more subtle effects.
Using Dior Eyeliner Pencil ($25 US) in Black, Lena drew me a thick cat eye and then smudged it out with an eyeliner brush to soften up the look. She finished up my eyes by shading in my eyebrows and applying two coats of DiorShow mascara on my lashes. From me to you, I didn’t go completely ga-ga over DiorShow. Thank goodness because I really didn’t want to drop $24 on a mascara (whew!).
Overall, I really loved my makeover and went home with the eye shadow palette and the SkinFlash pen. I don’t have any product like it so far and I liked the final effect I got when Lena applied it under my eyes. It really brightened everything up!
So what are your favorite Dior products? What should I try next? Also, if you want an opportunity to attend a Dior Confessions event, Nordstrom at Fashion Valley is holding another event where you can meet Beauty Director Kari Larsen on June 28th. Reserve your spot now.
I hope you all had a great weekend – I finally saw the Sex and the City movie Saturday evening after my makeover and then went to a picnic barbecue today for the Boyfriend’s brother’s birthday. It was sunny, but a little windy where we were. Needless to say, I grubbed quite a bit but worked some of it off by playing a little tag football with the boys.
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On June 2nd, 2008 parveen said:
which do you think is better the ysl conceler pen
or dior skinflash?
On June 2nd, 2008 Jamie said:
This sounds like such a fabulous event! You look gorgeous of course!
On June 2nd, 2008 Vanessa said:
You look gorgeous as always Lilan! Thank you for the birthday greeting!
On June 2nd, 2008 Nikki said:
that is a gorgeous look!!!! Wow!!! I don’t have much dior products…so i’m drooling now.. *wipes drool*
On June 2nd, 2008 Little Miss Random said:
Totally unrelated, but thought I’d reply here rather than at the old Fafi thread where we’ve been chatting. I’m studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst examinations, and, hopefully, I’ll be done with it by this year (as opposed to having to re-take the final exam)!
On June 2nd, 2008 Brittany said:
Ohhh, that look looks amazing on you! The only thing I own from Dior is that Blackout mascara and contrary to what everyone says…I’m not a fan. I’ve been dying to check out their other items but my wallet is not havin’ it.
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi Parveen,
I haven’t done a comparison with the YSL pen, but I’m definitely going to check it out to see which one I like better. Which one are you leaning towards? Definitely stay tuned for a post from me soon!
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Thanks Jamie!
It was super fun – next time I’m definitely going to invite a girlfriend to come with me
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Aww thanks Vanessa! I hope you had a fabulous time and that your man did something special for ya!
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi Nikki,
I just started my Dior collection with a couple items that I hauled from this event. Hopefully I won’t go broke because I’m really diggin’ the spray foundation too!
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi Little Miss Random,
Wow, Financial Analyst – that sounds all sorts of complicated! But good for you! I bet you’re better at money than I’ll ever be!
School will be over before you know it and I wish you all the best!
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi Brittany,
Ya, the DiorShow was only okay for me – maybe it’s one of those things where I gotta apply it on myself to really know for sure. I did see a couple of fun Dior items that I wanted but I gotta be picky and choosey while I pay off those bills!
Is there anything from Dior you really want but are holding off on?
On June 3rd, 2008 Toya said:
You’ve been tagged! See my blog for details.
On June 3rd, 2008 parveen said:
hi Lilian,
I dont know really. I got dior skinflash put on me and i remember it did a very well job, but I didnt buy it as I was short on money. I tried out ysl one because of the fact i’ve seen a makeup artist use it on youtube under the username canadian85 whom has posted various vidoe’s of this middle eastern artist. I bought it for myself and i dont see extreme coverage but it does a great job blending
On June 3rd, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi parveen,
From how you’ve described YSL’s product, I think that Dior’s might be quite similar. Dior SkinFlash doesn’t appear to be heavy enough to be a full coverage concealer. I think it’s better used to brighten or even out smaller imperfections, don’t you think?
On June 4th, 2008 kia said:
look at my lilan! great makeover and interview. i wondered how their canned foundation compared to that of MAC’s. i have MAC;s version and love it. awww a no go for the mascara? i love it!
On June 4th, 2008 MandyPandy said:
Yeah, I’m none too fond of Dior Show either; for that price, you can get several decent drugstore mascaras. For me, DS doesn’t even have the versatility/durability of Lancome’s Fatale.
I hope that eyeshadow palette and Skinflash pen is swag-ity swag-swag, ’cause your time is money! They totally owe you for gracing them with your presence.
On June 4th, 2008 Lilan said:
Hiya Kia!
If you love MAC’s version, I say stick with it! Dior’s AirFlash for $60 is a hard pill for me to swallow.
Ya, I’m not sure if it was just because she applied DiorShow with those disposable wands or what but I just wasn’t feelin’ it at all.. give me drugstore mascara any day!
On June 4th, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi Mandy,
I have yet to try a Lancome mascara that’s not a GWP. I have at least two on my list now – this Fatale you speak of and Lancome High Definicils.
And sadly – no, I didn’t receive the eye shadow or SkinFlash in a swag bag
But the more I look at the photos and the palette I purchased, the more I think that maybe I took him the wrong one?!
SkinFlash will stay mine though.. I like makeup that I can literally paint on my face
On June 6th, 2008 Jennifer said:
You look amazing and have the most beautiful cheekbones! Isn’t it the most relaxing experience having someone apply your makeup? : )
On June 7th, 2008 Lilan said:
Wow, thanks Jenn! I always thought I had terrible chipmunks cheeks! Finding a pair of sunglasses that fit nicely on my face is quite a hard task
And I lurve getting my makeup done by someone else, too! Do you have a favorite makeover counter?
On June 18th, 2008 parveen said:
HI
I just wanted to update you. I went out and got dior skinflash and compared it with the ysl one. I can say that the dior skinflash one. It had more coverage, and it wasn’t drying like the ysl one.
On June 18th, 2008 Lilan said:
Hi parveen,
Thanks for stopping by again! Sorry to hear that the YSL one is dry compared to Dior – but at least now you know which works better for you!
Have you tried Flash Retouche by Lancome? It’s similar in a pen as well.