Dior launch their Fall 2011 collection next month and it’s really, really beautiful. I had a sneak preview yesterday and was particularly taken with the Blue Tie palette, a metal case containing four shadows and a lip-gloss. It is so unbelievably chic! Take a look at my rubbish picture above and then play spot-the-difference with the one below:

PEEPO!

How cool is that? A secret door, or “secret Dior” as my resident pun-maker just shouted out. Four ice-cool shadows with very blue undertones and a gorgeous natural lipgloss to contrast with the dramatic eye. The little trapdoor isn’t just a pretty little gimmick, it actually stops powder from getting stuck in the gloss – brilliant idea! This comes in ‘light’ or ‘dark’ shadow combinations of which I think the dark is probably more wearable. Convenient, then, that I photographed the light one! Hey-ho.

Whoever thought of the little trap-dior idea should be given a payrise – and I’m not going to even start on the genius of the ‘3 Couleurs Smoky’ palettes! OK, I will;  another feat in makeup-compact-engineering, their lids slide smoothly backwards as a little mirror inside raises up and angles itself perfectly behind the eyeshadows. There are three shadows inside – a flattering base and then a duo of matte and shimmery powders and they all work together easily to create a smoky eye that’s as simple or dramatic as you want it to be.

The Fall 2011 collection launches in Selfridges on the 25th July and I’m going to be doing a full video review of the collection in a few weeks time. Until then, I’ll leave you with the news that the Blue Tie compact will be £52 and the Smoky eye palettes (two shades available for now, more later) will be £32. I think that the Blue Tie makes for a gorgeous little collector’s piece!