Friday, June 10, 2011

Dior Aurora bronzer


Finally, I'm getting around to reviewing the Dior Aurora Bronzer that's been flying off shelves everywhere. Somehow I had the foresight to order this early on, which is surprising for me, since I like to mull over things too long before buying them! I'll refer to this as Dior Aurora bronzer because the official name Dior DiorSkin Nude Glow Healthy Glow Summer Powder in Aurora is just too much to handle. What is it with Dior and ridiculously long unmemorable names?

I'll try to keep this short, since I plan on catching some Z's.

Dior Aurora's been getting lots of love on the net, unsurprisingly, because of the beautiful basket-weave pattern. The bronzer comes with a dark blue velvet pouch and a flat soft brush for application (see above). The brush is actually quite nice, and I've used it exclusively for my application. However Aurora's beauty is more than skin-deep. It also applies beautifully, which I'll discuss later. It's the lighter of two bronzers, the other shade being Sunset (for darker skin).


The casing is a reflective silver. It matches the summer theme, although I secretly was wishing for Dior's holographic blue packaging.


And the bottom.


And more gratuitous shots of the beautiful pan.



When I first saw photos circulating online, I was concerned that Aurora might be a little too peachy and look odd on my skin. I was imagining what I'd look like with NARS Deep Throat applied all over! Not good. I must have been delusional, and took the plunge anyway. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. I applied it, brushing downwards in locations that the sun would normally hit the skin, such as cheek bones, forehead, bridge of nose, chin, etc. The effect is a just-come-from-the-sun glow as opposed to a deeper golden bronze glow which would suggest a tan that's already settled in.

You can see the swatches of Dior Aurora bronzer below. I've swatched the individual colors, as well as all of them blended together. There's no way you'll ever use the colors individually, unlike Chanel's bronzer, since they're too small, so this is for interest only. The colors are swatched over UDPP, however they're still quite light on my NC20 (?) skin. I suppose that's why this is named a "Summer Powder" as opposed to a bronzer. It's quite subtle, but buildable for sure.  The pigment is very smooth and finely milled and doesn't look or feel powdery at all. There are micro-sparkles mixed in so your skin does shimmer if you look really really up close. However you don't notice any shine from afar. 



Overall, a definite thumbs up. The idea is different from your typical golden bronzer, perhaps more along the lines of a terracotta bronzer such as NARS Irresistiblement.  It can be used as an all over bronzer to tan skin, or it can be used to contour. One plus is that Aurora also works as a stand-in for blush.

I hope you enjoyed the review! I have more bronzers than I can handle, so now I'm on an official no-bronzer-buy for the rest of the year. I wasn't planning on posting tonight, but I found out about a personal issue today which put me off kilter. Doing something artistic or creative (blogging included) always helps me feel better when I'm feeling a little down!

Thanks for reading, and hope all is well with you guys!

Love, Dovey.

9 comments:

  1. I am sad to say that this is literally sold out EVERYWHERE on my island and at all online retailers that I know of. I really want it, but eh... anyway, great review and swatch photos.

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  2. Your photos are terrific, A+ there! I'm glad that you snapped that up and had the foresight to do so. :)

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  3. I always hear so many good things about Dior's powder products, I definitely will have to try them. I am waiting until there is a sale! :-)

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  4. Wow, gorgeous bronzer. The shade of all the colours blended together is subtle and lovely.

    In answer to your questions about BB Creams:
    BB creams differ from foundation as in they claim to have other benefits as well (but for me I find them more moisturising). I also find BB cream to be more creamy and thick in consistency. In terms of coverage BB creams can be more similar to tinted moisturizer of foundation, depending on their coverage. The cream I reviewed has good coverage, so is probably more similar to foundation. In terms of finish, I prefer BB creams as they tend to look more natural and more dewy (like tinted moisturiser) and most brands don't tend to cake x

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  5. Gorgeousness! Maybe it's a good thing that it's SOLD OUT because I do not need another bronzer in this lifetime.

    I'm sorry to hear that you are down in the dumps. Hope all is well!

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  6. I'm glad to hear that you are still smitten with this- gives me great hope that when I finally get around to trying mine- I'll love it too- lol.

    Hope things are looking up for you tonight! x

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  7. AnonymousJune 10, 2011

    Great review. I want the Dior Aurora bronzer to use as a highlight as my skin tone and the Dior Sunset bronzer; simply for the use of a bronzer. I can't wait until I have them. :)

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  8. What a beautiful bronzer!! :) I love it so much! Although I don't have one yet :p

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  9. JC - oh no! That's sad. However, there are always new exciting lemmings to replace old ones =)

    HDTM- Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it!

    Blusherine - a sale sounds lovely... if only they were more common!

    Penelope - Thanks for the info, it does help clear things up =)

    Lexi- me neither. I don't see how I'll ever make significant dent in mine!

    Makeup Merriment - thanks for the well wishes--- you should get around to trying yours!!!!

    Stealmyheartlove- it's so great that you can pull off both. Sunset is really gorgeous too.

    RainyDays and Lattes- Thanks! yet...

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