Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss from the Grand Bal Collection for Holiday 2012

I've never met a Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss ($28) lip gloss I didn't love. That's why I had complete confidence buying the two shades sight unseen from Le Grand Bal: Lamé Gold (#424, shown at right) and Ceremony Red (#774). Of course, I had seen an advance photo - the photo I featured here in August. It didn't do them justice! See update below.

Grand Bal, a favorite theme of Dior's, is the name of one of the new Christian Dior La Collection Privée Eau de Parfums. It's a beautiful fragrace. The color collection is worthy of comparison. Elegance and history combine to make a lovely story.

Lips are dressed in sparkling gold and holiday red with two limited-edition ultra-glosses. Wear them alone or over lipstick for a little shot of glamour.

As you know, I was hampered by a dense cloud cover yesterday, but I was determined to get swatch photos of something. I reached for these beautiful glosses, knowing their brilliance would part the clouds and bring some sunshine into our world. They didn't part the clouds, but I think they had enough shine that you can overlook the lighting conditions and the ghastly white my skin looks without a bit of sunshine.

It seems a little strange, but Flash is the gold one, and Pearl is the cherry red. Hmm, does the combo of gold and cherry red remind you of another holiday collection? This red is a bit more "real red" than the cherry red of Lou-Ling from Guerlain's collection, but the choice of colors struck me as the beginning of a trend for the holidays.

I think they are both dazzling, and I suspect I will carry them both with me in my handbag. I touch up with gloss many times/day, and these two shades give me the extremes I'll need to make easy decisions as fall fades into winter.

What do you think? Will you be stalking the Dior counter? As I warned yesterday, Dior collections have been selling out quickly over the last year. I am dead-sure that they mean limited when they say limited. I purchased my Ultra-Glosses at Neiman Marcus. You can find these at Nordstrom too. As for what to call them, it's anyone's guess.

Update: I have updated this feature. Believe it or not, Dior puts the name of one of three finishes on the bottom of the gloss tubes - not the name of the shade. I was quite confused by Flash and Pearl. My favorite Dior rep explained it to me.
Photos by Best Things in Beauty