Dior DiorSkin Nude Tan Paradise Duo 001

I've been on the hunt for a new blush for some time now.  My current blush collection is filled with one of two extremes:  aggressively pigmented orange/red/hot pink or dusty rosy-pink.  Time to branch out.

Before we get started, I have to address the issue of coral.  How is it exactly different from peach?  I'm never sure, but every once in a while, I'll point at a colour and say, "You.  You are peach."  Then I'll point at one that's a smidge darker/lighter/coral-er and name it coral.  How do you know?

For the purposes of all future blog references, I'm going to define peach as a combination of orange and pink with more yellow in it.  That is, it'll be more orange than pink.  Anything that leans more pink will be safely ensconced in its coral kingdom.  For example, Tarte Tipsy is a vibrant peach, whereas this beauty above...is coral.

This insanely beautiful chrome-quilted compact is a blush/bronzer duo from Dior's Summer 2013 line, the Diorskin Nude Tan Paradise Duo in 001.  One one side, we get two shades of bronzer -- a medium brown on top which mixes beautifully with darker, cool-toned brown to give an extremely realistic tan.  The key to a believable bronze is the amount of red in the pigment -- since a tan is glorified burned skin, there will always be red pigment, so even the most olive of skins will need a tiny hint of pink in their tan.

The other side is made up of two blush colours, one shimmery, one matte.  The shimmery quadrant is a shimmery coral and matte quadrant leans darker and more pink.  When mixed together they render a bright, medium-pink blush.  The magic happens when you mix all four shades together, they give you the most perfect coral.

I can't tell you how it happens or why it happens, but I have a very strong feeling that it's got something to do with the rosy shimmer mixing in with the peach-toned bronzer and all four shades amalgamating into a beautifully complex combination.  The colours lay down on your cheek in an almost imperceptible texture -- I rubbed my fingertips into the bronze side and double checked to make sure there was pigment there.  It's that smooth.  The shimmer in the pink is delightfully creamy, and even before blending out the product, the texture will have already disappeared, leaving you with nothing but your newly-blushed and bronzed skin.