Dior Addict Extrême Lipstick - New Shades for Spring 2012

Dior Addict Extrême Lipstick ($30) is billed as an extremely long-wearing lipstick that provides radiant shine. Tyen, Artistic Director of Dior Makeup and a photographer (who apparently uses only one name), has a passion for color. With Dior Addict Extrême, he created a "dynamic, fashion-inspired color palette" with a formula that promises striking hold and a radiant finish. Put Kate Moss in your ad campaign, and buyers will follow.

As soon as I saw the pretty new shades at Sephora, I decided to try two. I'm glad I did. These lipsticks provide a beautiful, shiny shot of color in a creamy formula that feels great on my lips. What follows is an edited version of the marketing speak.

Dior Addict Extrême Lipstick "goes the distance," combining vibrant color with the perfection of serious shine. The formula combines dazzling pure pigments, four special waxes, radiant oils, and hyaluronic acid microspheres for ultimate creamy comfort. The waxes at the heart of the soft texture act in a targeted manner to combine hold, comfort, and shine in an astonishingly fine film.

After wearing them, I can't tell you they are long-wearing. I don't see any wear difference between Dior Addict Extrême and any other lipsticks I like. I don't really care about wear time. I want color and shine. Dior didn't disappoint me.

Sephora offers 16 shades, four of which are exclusive to Sephora (and Dior online). There are also Saks-exclusive shades. The exclusive shade swatches at Sephora online enticed me. I purchased Holiday (#479) and Cruise (#486). I decided to start with the exclusives. I can always buy more - from any Dior source. They are available at all Dior counters.

As is often the case, when I popped outside to take photos, clouds were moving in. I had to hurry. The tubes were rolling off my backdrop, so I let them roll where they wanted to go. I wanted to get to the swatch photos - more important, I thought, than the shades in the tubes, which don't show you what to expect anyhow. Sorry about the goofy placement in the photo below. That wasn't even my biggest error.

I think Holiday is shown on the left, with Cruise on the right. Why do I say "I think"? As they were rolling, I lost track of the elegant Dior caps (which cap belonged with which lipstick), and that's the only place where you'll find the shade names. I could have placed Holiday back in the Cruise case or vice versa. Big mistake! Terribly embarrassing!

I'll stick with my delusions and show you my swatch photos. By the time I took them, the clouds had obscured the sun, so they aren't as bright as I'd like. What you will see is that these two shades are so similar, despite how they look in the tubes, you don't need both (although I'm pretty happy to have both).

They are both gorgeous pinks. One is much cooler than the other. I think it's Holiday at the top of my arm, with Cruise, a warmer shade, below. Check out Sephora's color representations above. Think I got it right?

I only had enough sunlight to pick up the glorious shine in my top swatch photo. I love the shine, and I love the transparency of the colors, a feature I wasn't expecting. I need more of the new shades. I'll try to keep them straight next time.

Many bloggers have featured the new Addict Extrême Lipstick shades. If you feel like blog hopping, you'll find swatches of at least half of the shades.

Photos at top courtesy of Dior; other photos by Best Things in Beauty