As summer is approaching most French beauty brands have released their summer 2016 makeup collections, and it's time for me to show you all the pretty stuff! Of course this year again summer collections are all about bronzer, sunkissed glow and juicy lips, but there are also a few surprises with unexpected themes. Today we'll take a closer look at what Lancôme, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent have to offer this season.




Lisa Eldridge's influence can clearly be seen in Lancôme's summer 2016 makeup collection. The celebrity makeup artist and creative director for the brand has curated a collection of playful, easy-to-wear products that's supposed to evoke a tropical jungle. Funnily enough the collection is called Tropical Daydream according to Nordstrom's website, but Summer Bliss on Lancôme's. I've had a chance to swatch most of the products so I'll give you my first impressions together with the descriptions. The collection includes:

- Two new Belle de Teint Powder Glow bronzing powders, Belle de Vanille and Belle de Bronze. They both contain three different shades that can be used separately (with a small brush) or mixed together for a bronzed glow. I tried the lightest, Belle de Vanille, and it felt very soft with medium pigmentation, which is better for a bronzer in my opinion: you can apply it very lightly or build it if you prefer a more intense look.

- A brand new and unique product, the Belle de Teint Elixir Glowing Liquid Bronzer. This is a tri-phase product, the very first one I can remember ever seeing! There's a watery phase, an oily phase and a pearly pigment phase that all separate so you must shake before use. It's supposed to give skin a healthy bronzy glow, and it comes in three shades: 01 Glow Vanille, 02 Glow Orchidée (this one seems to be exclusive to Lancome's website in the US) and 03 Glow Jungle. I tried the Glow Vanille, the phases mixed easily and what comes out of the bottle is a lightweight fluid with a lot of fine shimmer. I was quite subtle and very pretty, but it didn't have any color, only shimmer. I'd probably use this on my body more than on my face.

- A new Color Design 6-Pan Eyeshadow Palette called Jungle Pop, with shades of bronze, kaki, purple and coral. I really like the color combination of this palette, but sadly I was very underwhelmed by the overall texture and pigmentation level. If you scroll down to see my swatches you'll notice that only 2 shades out of 6 show up at all on my skin. It's quite disappointing for a $50 palette.

- A new shade of my beloved Shine Lover Lipstick called 122 Eté Coquelicot. The texture is very lightweight and the pigmentation level great for a sheer shiny lipstick, as always with the Shine Lover, and this new shade is a bright, happy poppy red (Eté Coquelicot means "poppy summer").

- The Ombre Hypnôse Stylo, a long-wearing eyeshadow stick in 3 shades: 16 Passion Passiflore, a shimmery lilac; 17 Kaki Voyageur, a dark green with a matte finish; 18 Pépite Amazone, a stunning shimmery bronze. All 3 felt creamy and were indeed very long-lasting, I had a very hard time removing the swatches from my arm!

- The waterproof version of Lancôme's iconic Grandiôse Mascara. The original Grandiôse is already a long-lasting formula so I'm curious about this one.

- Two new shades of Vernis in Love, 512 Orangeade Glacée and 502 Orchidée Vanillée, the latter being apparently another lancome.com exclusive.



And here are my swatches!



Besides the color collection, Lancôme will also soon be launching the Grandiôse Liner this summer. I don't have much information about this new eyeliner for now, but it looks innovative and exciting!



And you probably already know everything about the Juicy Shaker, a bi-phase lip oil that Lancôme released in early spring in Europe but that just arrived in the US. You can read my review that I just published a few days ago!





The inspiration behind YSL's summer 2016 makeup collection is very classic: it's the desert, with hot sand dunes and mineral shades. Why it's supposed to be Savage though, I don't know... The collection is rather small and focuses on the essentials: eyeshadow palette, bronzers, cream shadows, gloss and nail lacquers. I've also had the opportunity to swatch and play a little bit with most of the items in this collection, so let's take a closer look:

- The Savage Escape Couture Palette features a really classy blue suede lid. When I saw the promo pictures I didn't particularly liked it: it looked like the usual bronze and taupe with a deep blue, and the two Pantone color of the year randomly thrown in for good measure. What are a pale blue and a baby pink doing in this summer palette, right? But when I swatched it I was really impressed by the texture of all shadows and the beautiful reflections of the shimmery shades. I still think that they could have replaced the pink with a champagne to use as a brow bone highlighter, but the shadows are really stunning.

- Les Sahariennes Bronzing Stones, a matte bronzer in three shades: 01 Sunstone, 02 Fire Opal and 03 Jasper. The texture of these bronzers is very soft and lightweight, I think they would be great for a natural sun-kissed look. And of course they look so pretty in the pan.

- Two new shades of Full Metal Shadow, the cream shadow that YSL launched last year: 11 Bonnie Copper and 12 Blue Clyde (are the names a clue to the Savage Escape theme?). I know the formula isn't very popular among bloggers, but when I tried these two shades they felt very creamy and pigmented.

- Two new shades of Gloss Volupté, 54 Rose Denim and 55 Rose El Dorado. Nothing much to say here, the shades are new to the range but not unique in any way. If you want to know more about the Gloss Volupté formula you can read my review of Nude Carat.

- Two new shades of La Lacque Couture nail lacquers: 71 Savage Pink and 72 Night Escape. It may be weird to say that but I think these nail polishes are the stars of this collection! They're both absolutely stunning, and they're so rich and intensely pigmented that you could get away with a single layer. The way their sparkles reflect the light is just mesmerizing. They do need a top coat because the amount of glitter makes them a bit gritty, but they look so amazing. They're both high up my wish list!




The swatches:



Dior decided to go for a completely unexpected theme for summer this year with their Milky Dots collection. It's inspired by the classic but playful polka dot pattern and the milky colors of summer smoothies. I appreciate that Dior tried to create something unique instead of just giving us the same old beach inspired collection, but I'll be honest, I think this is the least appealing collection this year. First I think the promo picture is plain ugly and very old-fashioned, and then I don't see the connection between the collection's supposed inspiration and most products. Milky Dots? Where? No palette with a fun polka dot pattern to be found here. The nail art kit made to create polka dots and the new Milky Tints for lips are the only two items related to the theme, the rest is all over the place.

Dior also has this annoying habit of releasing different shades in different geographic areas, so it's a lot harder for me to make a reliable list of the new products and shades. If you want to take a look at all the shades we're missing in the US, go to Dior's French website (in French but you can see all the shades available). Here's what the collection includes:

- We get the new Dior Addict Milky Tint Nourishing Lip Fluid Wet Effect, that's its full name. It looks exactly like the Dior Addict Fluid Stick, but it's much sheerer and the colors have a milky look. Apparently there are 6 of those in Europe, but the US is getting only 4 shades: 156 Milky Pastel, 286 Milky Plum, 356 Milky Peach and 376 Milky Pop (the 2 missing are Milky Pearl and Milky Pure).

- The Diorskin Nude Air Glow Powder for radiance and a bronzed look. Two shades are available in the US, 01 Fresh Tan and 02 Fresh Light, while Europe also gets Warm Tan and Warm Light.

- The Diorskin Nude Air Summer Glow, a loose powder with shimmer. I saw this one and it looks delicate and pretty on the skin, not too glittery, although I would use it sparingly on the face.

- Two limited edition 5 Couleurs Polka Dots Palettes... that don't feature any polka dots. They're called 366 Bain de Mer and 536 Escapade. The first one is very colorful with shades of blue, aqua, yellow and peach while the second is more neutral.

- The Polka Dot Manicure Kits are the main attraction in this collection and it's fun to see a high-end brand get into nail art! The kits contain 2 contrasted lacquers and a dotting tool for easy application. We US customers get all three kits, hooray: 01 Pastilles, 02 Confettis, 03 Plumetis.

- Europe gets 4 new shades of Dior Addict Lipsticks but the US doesn't get any at all. Naught. They were called Appeal, Beat, Break and Play. I'm gonna go as far as to say that Dior didn't need to give them names in English if they weren't even planning to release them in the biggest English-speaking market. Yup I'm bitter. But you never know, sometimes Europe-exclusive Dior shades end up being released as Nordstrom exclusives for their semi-annual sale, it's happened before!

- Europe gets 2 new shades of Dior Addict Fluid Shadow, the cream eyeshadows that look like glosses. The US doesn't get them either, but to be honest I don't think anyone's gonna complain... There are also 2 shades of the Dior Addict It-Line eyeliner and a bronze version of the Iconic Overcurl mascara that got lost at sea while crossing the Atlantic.

- Another Backstage Eye Reviver Palette. I think this is a new one but it looks extremely similar to the ones we got last year.

- A Dior Addict Lip Glow Pomade, subtitled Color Reviver Instant Oil-Gel Care, that I've only seen on dior's own website.



At your local department stores. Click on the images in the post for online retailers.


I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.