The New Dior Forever Launches You Need to Know About
Dior Beauty’s creative director Peter Philips breaks down the latest releases from the long-wearing Dior Forever complexion line: a four-in-one SPF50 glow primer, a pore-perfecting matte primer, a series of fashion-inspired cases, and a 24-hour setting powder built for real skin in real climates.
Peter Philips is one serious beauty geek. Just months after launching the reformulation of two of Dior Beauty’s flagship foundations – Dior Forever Skin Glow and Dior Forever Skin Wear, each of which he says has been “a huge success” – the creative and image director of Christian Dior Makeup has revealed a new suite of products to make looking camera-ready even easier. All land in stores on June 29.
The genial and down-to-earth Peter Philips, creative and image director of Christian Dior Makeup, was in Bangkok in early June to introduce the latest additions to the Dior Forever line.
Leading the launch is a duo of primers designed to match the aforementioned foundations, both in terms of application and ambition. The USP of Dior Forever Skin Glow has always been its ability to diffuse light and create a radiant, soft-focus effect, all while nourishing skin with hyaluronic acid, peptides and niacinamide the way a serum would. So what has Philips come up with as a first step?
The Glow Primer: Dior Forever Skin Veil
The Dior Forever Skin Veil – Dior Beauty’s first four-in-one primer – pulls off the rare feat of functioning as a serum, moisturiser, SPF50 and primer all at once.
Meet the Dior Forever Skin Veil, the brand’s first four-in-one primer designed to deliver what it calls a “photo studio glow”. Lightweight yet hardworking, it is packed with hyaluronic acid – enough that it doubles as a moisturiser, promising to hydrate the deeper layers of skin for 24 hours. It also contains four translucent, pink-toned pigments with a white, light-reflecting pearlescence, creating a universally flattering pale pink finish that lightly corrects imperfections and illuminates skin – what Dior Makeup calls a “tone-up” effect.
What pushes Dior Forever Skin Veil into overachiever territory is its combination of five UVA/UVB sun filters, delivering SPF50+++ protection while maintaining an ultra-fine, non-greasy texture. As Philips – whom we met in Bangkok earlier this month when he was there to introduce his latest creations – puts it: “It’s a serum, a cream, a form of SPF protection, and a primer. This formula is like a beautiful soft-touch serum that you can apply like a moisturiser, and it’s got this luminous finish to it.”
The Matte Primer: Dior Forever Velvet Veil
Dior Beauty ambassador Willow Smith behind-the-scenes of the campaign for Dior Forever Velvet Veil.
Launching alongside it is the Dior Forever Velvet Veil, the companion primer to the Dior Forever Skin Wear foundation – think of it as the matte counterpart to Dior Forever Skin Glow. Even the packaging signals the difference: Velvet Veil’s tube has a matte finish, while Skin Veil’s is glossy (yes, Philips thinks of everything.)
Formulated with a trio of mattifying and blurring powders that capture excess sebum, this translucent, barely-there gel-like primer minimises the appearance of pores, smooths skin’s texture and leaves a velvety matte finish – functioning as both a concealer and a makeup base in one step.
The Dior Forever Velvet Veil primer minimises pores and controls shine, and imparts a velvety matte finish that allows it to be worn on its own. Its tube packaging comes in a matte finish to match.
Like its counterpart, it is rich in hyaluronic acid for all-day hydration and offers UV and photoaging protection, though at SPF15 PA++ rather than SPF50. Philips explains that the formula’s architecture is less flexible, and that adding a higher level of sun protection would compromise its quality. “But it is pore-minimising and also very beautiful when worn on its own,” he points out. (We can attest: It has become a firm fixture in our daily beauty routine.)
The Finishing Touch: Dior Forever On Set Powder
Anya Taylor Joy – another Dior Beauty global ambassador – is also part of the latest Dior Forever campaign. Here, she’s pictured with the Dior Forever On Set Powder that’s been formulated to blur imperfections and is so light, its finish has been described as “powder-no-powder” by the brand.
The Dior Forever On Set Powder is formulated to lock in makeup and reduce foundation transfer, thanks to a high-tech combination of platelet-shaped powders that soften the appearance of imperfections and spherical powders that control shine. Together, they deliver a flawless, natural-looking finish that lasts up to 24 hours – all in a talc-free, hyaluronic acid-infused formula that wears comfortably even in hot and humid climates.
In fact – in addition to five universal shades – the powder comes in an Asia-exclusive sixth shade: 05 Crystal Pink, which features ultra-fine micro-pearls to give lighter complexions an added boost of radiance. “It offers a soft, blurry finish,” says Philips. “It blends in with whatever you have put on before. It’s very smooth, and very elegant – and gives that little boost of luminosity.”
The new Dior Forever On Set Powder comes in a Couture case and features an extra-large and extra-fluffy puff that can also be used like a blender and a brush.
All six shades are housed in Dior’s signature Couture Case, with cushiony, Cannage-embroidered lids and a new oversized and fluffy puff that can be used flat or folded for different application techniques. Philips describes it as “a combination of a powder puff, a blender and even a brush”. “Its generous format is slim, flexible and compact at the same time, so you can fold it and pat or smooth the skin, to apply powder freely in a really intuitive way,” he explains.
The Collectible: Jonathan Anderson’s Cushion Cases
The new Couture cases from the Dior Forever collection have been designed to fit the popular Hydra Glow cushion compact and its refills. From left: Pink Bow, Blue Bow and Flowery Bow – all limited-edition and inspired by Jonathan Anderson debut collection for the house.
Rounding out the latest releases are new Couture Cases for the high-coverage Dior Forever Hydra Glow cushion compact – and for the first time, they feature designs by Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Dior Fashion.
Drawn from his debut collection for the house, the three limited-edition styles are Pink Bow, with an embroidered Cannage pattern and a delicate pale pink bow; Blue Bow, a baby blue version in satin moire; and Flowery Bow, a white design inspired by the Diorarmour pattern and adorned with tulips and doves. With their coquette-coded charm, these are likely to sell out fast — much like the ones Anderson helped design for the Dior Makeup summer collection earlier this year.
The cherubic Thanaerng – Dior Beauty’s Thai ambassador – was also present at the brand’s presentation in Bangkok last month, and can be said to embody the same qualities as Peter Philip’s creations: top-of-the-league, trendy yet ultimately timeless.
Asked what excites him most about this latest evolution of Dior Forever, Philips’ answer is characteristically measured: “We have already passed our expectations, but there is always a need to make sure we don’t lose our very loyal clientele while staying relevant and attracting a younger audience.
“People often say that when you try to attract a younger audience, it means you have to be trendy. I don’t believe that. I believe that you need to deliver quality. It’s not us who create trends. We create products that guarantee performance and are at the top of the league with justified claims. If people buy them and love them and wear them, that’s how trends begin. And if a trend lasts, that product becomes timeless – and that is our goal.”
We’re sold.