REVIEWS: NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in St Moriz

 

Tinted Moisturisers...

I remember using tinted moisturiser quite often during my teens, it might take some effort but try to think back to the days when Nivea had just two shades. Two shades! Oh how the industry was lacking back then.

I was never really that keen on Nivea's version either to be honest, the lack of coverage for an adolescent teen with raging cystic acne was almost as appalling as the lack of shade range. It completely turned me off the idea of tinted moisturisers, and I hadn't bothered trying any since. Until last year that is.

That was when NARS launched their very own range of tinted moisturisers. As we all know NARS have a brilliant range of foundations with shades to suit pretty much any skin tone, so upon hearing of the launch I knew I had to at least try it. After all, I have complete faith in their brand.

The reason for that faith is because Sheer Glow in Barcelona is to this day my 'Holy Grail' foundation. The coverage is perfect and the shade range was spot on. It has peachy undertones which neutralised the hyperpigmentation I had, thus giving me mannequin-smooth perfect looking skin.

Anyway, I digress! Back to NARS Tinted Moisturiser in St Moriz. Would it follow in the footsteps of its big sister, Sheer Glow? 

 

I was a bit stuck for which shade to actually choose, both Annapurna and St. Moriz both looked quite close to my skin tone. I eventually plumped for St. Moriz, even though Annapurna reminded me of Nepal, as Annapurna was just a little too dark for my liking even if it did have those lush peachy undertones.

Last winter I was colour matched at the NARS counter in Selfridges to St. Moriz, and for once I actually came away feeling that it actually was the right colour. I've had a few bad experiences at these counters in the past, walking away looking either like a ghost (too light) or an Oompa Loompa (too orange!). The Sales assistance totally understood why I had my reservations at being matched in store and was actually pretty good.

Looking at the website I presumed St Moriz would have been more suited to those who use the Stromboli shade of foundation. With that in mind the SA assured me, as the colour is quite sheer, it would be forgiving in the Summer when my skin darkens quite a bit. Just for reference I'm usually anywhere between MAC's NC37 and NC40, but in the summer I can go up to NC42.

I wore the St. Moriz a couple of times in the winter, when I was a true NC37 however I just wasn't feeling it. In winter I crave full coverage foundation with tons of highligher on to get into the festive spirit. So I put it back in the drawer of unwanted, unused products to gather dust and be forgotton about. And then summer hit... 

When the sun is shining I like my skin to look natural and glowy, so I'm nowhere near as concerned about full coverage as I am in the gloom of winter. With this summer being particularly sunny and warm, this product seemed like a completely different proposition. It seemed to give me everything I need.

  

Here's what NARS have to say about it:

"Your skin – almost bare, but better. This advanced, oil-free formula provides a translucent veil of color and sun protection while helping to reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots in just four weeks. Infused with lush, naturally derived botanicals and ingredients to immediately helps thirsty skin feel hydrated. Kopara from French Polynesia and mineral rich seawater revive and re-mineralize skin for a softer, smoother, and brighter natural glow. Skin is transported."

  

TONE, CONSISTENCY & APPLICATION

Looking at the photo above, St Moriz looks slightly cooler than Barcelona which would be a bit problematic if it was a foundation and would leave me looking ghost-like. But because this is a tinted moisturiser it's much more sheer and is actually quite forgiving. Once I've blended it on to my skin using the ELF Studio Powder Brush, you can see just how sheer it really is and didn't leave me looking ashy at all. Also the consistency isn't quite as thick as a standard foundation, so it feels incredibly lightweight. 

NARS suggest applying this over a moisturiser and as my skin is oily/combination but is also dehydrated, applying a moisturiser is a must for me anyway. When I followed their guidance though I found it to be a bit too dewy, so I tried it without the moisturiser and my skin appeared so luminous!

The tinted moisturiser contains SPF30 in it which is a real plus point. For me though I feel this probably won't be sufficient enough to protect my skin from UV rays as I've noticed the tinted mousturiser starts to fade away during the day. A little powder does help a bit, but to stop my skin looking like a slick of sweat I now use Murad's Oil Free Sunblock with SPF30 from Lookfantastic:LINK

With this sunscreen, my skin has the right amount of dewy-ness for my taste and the product blends seamlessly into my skin. At random points during the day I'll then apply NARS Powder Foundation in Barcelona to blot out any excess oil

FORMULATION, FINISH AND LONGEVITY

As my skin is relatively clear at the moment, I find I that don't need to use too much of this just now. I dot it over the skin then blend it in like a mofo. Saying that, you have to be a little careful as this not buildable at all. As it contains moisturiser within it, it can make your skin appear a bit too shiny. I'd suggest applying concealer to any areas that need covering.

Having said that, it's definitely enough to blur out any imperfections on your skin, but it won't completely mask them like a foundation or concealer would. That's ok though because this isn't really the point of a tinted moisturiser anyway. I think that this product is perfect for me, given that my skin is pretty clear at the moment. 

As mentioned earlier I do have hyperpigmentation in certain areas, so if on occasion these areas require special attention I apply a tiny amount of L'Oreal's Nude Magique CC Cream in Anti Fatigue. On normal days though I don't bother, as my skin looks pretty good with just the tinted moisturiser. The end result is that when I'm wearing St. Moriz, my skin looks and feels as smooth as a baby's bottom!

As for longevity though, the product seems to start wearing off throughout the day to the point that by around 6pm it looks like it's completely gone. What's worse is that with my oily/combination skin it just looks like I've covered my face in oil - not a great look in a restaurant! My tip here is to touch it up with a little powder throughout the day.

CAM WHORING:

  

During the day with NARS Powder Foundation on top to set it into place...

  

And by night, the skin looks quite dewy. It almost looks like I have highlighter on! It's a beauty, isn't it? 

Now, observing the picture above, I have a serious case of Flash Back Photo Face. I'm putting it down to the SPF30 within the Tinted Moisturiser which is one of the downsides to this. If you are going out expecting to be photographed, I'd avoid this and opt for a foundation such as NARS Sheer Glow or Bobbi Brown's Natural Finish Foundation, any foundation with little or no SPF will do you nicely. 

Now to sum up:

  PROS

• Lightweight coverage, perfect for Summer where you don't require heavy foundation on the skin
• The shade is quite sheer so it's not a problem if you're in between shades
• Blurs out imperfections, skin looks fresh and appears soft
• Skin appears quite natural looking and gives you that artificial glow as if your skin is happy :) 
• Can be applied and blended with fingers or a brush
• Skin glows, you could even skip highlighter
• By the end of the day, skin appears dewy (with the help of powdering during the day for those oily/combination types)
• If you're looking for an every day foundation but want something lighter, this was made for you!
• Contains SPF30 (If like me, you're into that!)

  CONS

• Priced at £28, some could argue that it's pricy for a tinted moisturiser when you could get a similar effect by mixing a blob of foundation with moisturiser
• It's a tinted moisturiser so it won't completely cover up imperfections
• Without powdering (for oily/combination skin types), this will completely disappear off your face
• Again for those of you with oily/combination skin, skin can look too dewy without a matte moisturiser/sunscreen on underneath 
• The SPF 30 will give you that dreaded white cast look with flash photography

WOULD I REPURCHASE?

I think I would, but only to use in the summer and for that reason I'd probably go for the slightly darker Annapurna shade. I definitely won't be using this in Winter as I like my face to appear supremely flawless.

 And there you have it! Well done to yous that made it to the end, quite a mammoth post this time but I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you tried the NARS Tinted Moisturiser?

 

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From the Archives: FACE - NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Hello hello! 

A little while back I took some photos for a review my 'Holy Grail' Foundation but sadly I seemed to have misplaced one of the 727476327 SD cards I own. Finally, I found it the other day. On my other laptop, ha!

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation? What can I say? I've been using this for well over a year and that in itself says quite a lot about just how good this really is. I purchased mine in the shade 'Barcelona'. Funnily enough, while in Barcelona recently I was foundation-less and went bare faced.

At the make up counter, I was initially matched to 'Syracuse' which in my opinion, was faaar too dark for me. This is why I rarely ask for, and always reject, assistance at Make-up counters. I'm sorry but if I want to look like an Oompa Loompa then I'll ask for it, okay? 

Back to the foundation, the shade Barcelona has peachy undertones, perfect for folks that are between NC37-NC40 in MAC and have uneven skin tone. This definitely offers some form of correction and makes skin look as even as possible. Once I've applied the foundation, it actually appears to adjust to my skin tone, like magic! Any uneven skin tone I have seems to almost vanish.

For those of you who simply cannot be bothered reading the rest, check below for the summarised, bulleted bit, I can imagine this will come out being rambly, haha. 

Here's what NARS have to say about it:

"A glowing, satin-finish foundation with sheer and buildable coverage that immaculately evens skin tone. Replete with skincare benefits and the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, it leaves skin hydrated, more luminous, softer and smoother. Used daily, Sheer Glow Foundation improves the skin's brightness and texture.

• For normal, normal-to-dry and dry skin types
• Hydrates for softer and smoother skin
• Contains powerful anti-oxidants to protect against damaging free radicals and turmeric extract to improve skin's radiance and tone
• Dermatologist tested. Non-comedogenic. Fragrance free. Consumer Testing Results:
• 100% skin felt soft and smooth
• 96% evened out skin tone
• 96% would recommend Sheer Glow to a friend" 

 Niiice.

Tone, Consistency and Application:

The tone is quite warm, almost golden brown looking with a slight peach tint to it as mentioned above. The consistency is quite runny but don't let that fool you in to applying layers and layers. I either apply this with the fingers or my ELF Studio Powder Brush. I use my fingers for when I do my make up in the morning for work or the weekend and only need 1 pump! FYI, you need to buy the pump seperately. 1 pump is enough to cover my entire face as luckily, my skin is relatively clear and don't need as much coverage and like it to look as natural as possible.

For special occasions or going out, I use 2 pumps for that 'done up' look without it looking cakey.

 

Formulation, Finish and Longevity:

The formulation is definitely buildable and it blends like a dream. When blending either with fingers or a brush, it seems to melt into the skin without settling into pores and leaves you with a flawless look.

I'd have to say even though it's named "NARS Sheer Glow", there is nothing Sheer about this foundation unless you use a small amount. This gives medium to full coverage if you use the usual 2 pumps (as with most foundations). Even with the 2 pumps this feels incredibly light on the skin, pretty much the exact opposite of MAC's Studio Fix Fluid. 

For those days where I get the odd spot, I find I don't need to use concealer which is a bonus! That's how awesome this stuff is. Once I've applied it, my skin looks incredibly natural, looks super skin-like and looks incredibly ORGASMIC! The glow it gives it just enough without looking like an oil slick.

 NARS recommends this foundation for peeps with Normal to Dry skin and I totally understand as to why, by midday my skin looks super glowy, maybe a little too glowy for some folk. But a dusting of powder fixes that.  For those of you looking for a Matte finish, this is not the foundation for you. With this, skin looks hydrated and dewy. did I already mention that?

The longevity of this is absolutely fantastic! I find it lasts throughout my whole day and at the end of it, you find your skin looks dewy providing that you've dusted a little powder on top. However skin does still look stunningly flawless.

Would I re-purchase?

I already have. I can't look back now.

Although in between I have tested out other foundations such as Christian Dior's Diorskin Nude Fresh Glow Hydrating Make Up in shade 040. Yep, as much as I love NARS, the beauty junkie within me can't stop experimenting with others brands, ha!

Diorskin gives the same finish as NARS but not enough coverage which I'm not too bothered about, however, the shade is not for those with uneven skin tone, it will not attempt to correct it. It's more for people that have almost perfect looking skin.

What I love most about NARS Sheer Glow is the shade Barcelona. For women of colour, I too share the pain of the lack of colour range out their for us. Sure, while MAC, Bobbi Brown, and many others brands now have a huge colour selection but they only 'almost' match, and for me that's just not good enough.

So congratulations NARS. You've finally hit the spot.

Priced at £29.50. Some would say it's on the pricey side, but as I use one pump, this foundations lasts me an age. A worthwhile investment if you ask me!

To summarise:

Pros:

• Medium to full coverage that looks like actual skin, yet provides enough coverage
• Finish looks skin-like, dewy and most importantly FLAWLESS
• Provides you with even looking skin if you've chosen the right shade. The peachy undertones in Shade Barcelona helped even out some of the uneveness
• This does not oxidise like MAC's Studiofix Fluid
• Does not contain SPF, perfect for photographs to avoid the white cast some SPF'd foundations can give
• Longevity is excellent, at the end of the day, skin looks dewy yet FLAWLESS
•  Blends into skin seamlessly and does not settle into pores.
• Can be used on Oily/Combination skin in my opinion. Providing that you set your make up with a bit of powder
• Feels light on the skin

Cons:

•  Priced at £29.50, some would argue this is on the expensive side. But if you use let's say a pump at a time, this should last you a while.
• May not be suitable for Oily skin typed folks. It may make you look 'too glowy' that some percieve as 'Shine' but can easily be fixed with some powder
• Does not contain SPF. Also a pro but for those of you looking for SPF in your foundation, this is not for you. 
• It does not come with a pump. You will need to purchase this. I bought mine for £3.00 from the NARS Counter in Selfridges.

Now, as I've already talked about the foundation, thought I may as well show you what else I'm wearing, and no I'm not about to go all pervy on you... I mean my make up silly! ;)

So, a few special mentions down below:

MAC Eyeshadow in Beauty Marked

 

Isn't she just beautiful? However, I do know that others are disappointed with this. It looks purple in the pan but upon application it looks black/charcoal with hints of glitter in. I personally do not mind this. Sometimes I use this as a wash all over the lid or in the crease.

 

In this case, I've used it in the crease and it doesn't appear to be purple toned.

 

EYES:

MAC Eyeshadow in Brulé - all over the lid

MAC Eyeshadow in Beauty Marked - in the crease and lined under the eye

MAC Pigment in Vanilla - inner corner highlighter

Clinique Brush-On Cream Eyeliner in True Black

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Black

FACE:

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Barcelona - Obvs!

MAC Prep and Prime Powder

MAC Sheertone Blush in Gingerly

 

LIPS:

Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipstick in Kiss Me

I heart this lippie. It's a semi matte lipstick with amazing pigmentation but fades throughout the day, they don't call touch ups touch ups for nothing. The colour is absolutely gorgeous though. It's pink with coral undertones.

Unfortunately, Rimmel have discontinued the Colour Show Off range, so I turned to my best friend, eBay. They sell these for around £2.50. Bargain! 

 

And there you have it! I applaud those of you that managed to make it this far, this post is rather lengthy. 

But yes! All in all, NARS Sheer Glow is my HG foundation. I think I'd cry if they discontinued it. NARS, I plead you, please do not let this happen!

Have any of you found your holy grail foundation? 

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Stuck in a smoked out rut..

Hello, dolls!

After another short break from the blog, I'm back and more determined than ever to get posting more regularly!

I like to think that, when it comes to make-up, I push boundaries and try new things all of the time. What I think happens and what actually happens are two very different things though.

I'm a girl that likes my sleep, I need my eight hours... minimum! So every morning I need to wake up as late as possible to make sure I get it. I have a little 'schedule' in my head and that schedule allows for 10-15 minutes to apply make-up.

How much room for experimenting is there in that space of time? Not a lot. So I fall into the trap of reaching for whatever is nearest and end up sporting the same look, with minor tweaks, day in day out.

The routine only changes if I get time in the evenings or weekends to tidy up the ol' dressing table. Morning make-up for me is a bit like a production line, making the same stuff over and over again until I buy something new.

One such look I seem to be churning out every morning lately involves smoking out my eyes, it's just so easy and requires zero thinking! Perhaps it's just a little too easy.

FACE

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Barcelona (Equivalent to MAC NC37 - NC40)

MEMEME Blush Me! - Coral

MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish

EYES

Inglot Eye Make Up Base

Inglot E/S 458 /Lid/

Inglot E/S 63 /Crease/

Inglot 463 /Inner Corner/

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner - Black Ink

1 coat of L'oreal's Voluminous Carbon Mascara

Stila Kajal eyeliner - Topaz /Waterline/ (clearly worn off :)

LIPS

A dab of MAC's Ruby Woo :)

You may have noticed excessive usage of Inglot products, but in my defence there's no Inglot store in Manchester. When I came across it in Dubai I went a little crazy. What's a girl to do?! ;)

The Inglot Eye Base is an integral part of the production line every morning, the only problem is it is the worst eye base I have ever had the misfortune of using. The eyeshadow creases like a bitch and the formula feels a bit like extra virgin olive oil... but it's there so on it goes.

As for the eyeshadows. One word - LOVELOVELOVE.

The ultimate smoky kit - in case you don't know Inglot, you choose your eyeshadows, they stick them into palettes. In my case, I wanted to create a smoky kit, et voilà!

Left to right: Inglot eyeshadow 463, 458, 63

The star of the show has to be the highlighter. It's a vintage champagne coloured eye shadow with a delicate touch of shimmer to it. It works fantastically on the inner corners and the brow bone.

Suck it in! :)

Since returning from my travels my skin has been looking a lot clearer, it could have something to do with my newly discovered fondness of Green Tea and my freshly re-discovered appreciation of tap water, I just can't drink enough of the stuff!

I've also incorporated a toner into my skin care regime that I picked up in India by Ayur. My skin feels super clean and fresh every time I swipe it across. You can really feel it getting to work straight away!

Does anyone else need to shake things up in the morning? I hear two-tone lips are on vogue this year, not sure how I can squeeze this into my 15 minute slot..

 

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FACE: Minty goodness - Nars Habanera Duo Eyeshadow

Hihihi!

Oh em geeee, Manchester, what is with this wind? I felt like Mary Poppins this afternoon battling with the wind to stay grounded. I did manage to make it home in one piece: Halima 1 Wind 0. Pwahaha!

ANYWAY, the minty obsession continues...

I wasn't really feeling content with my mint shirts, sheer blouses & nail polishes, so I've only gone and got me some mint eyeshadow too! Some people might say I'm mint crazy, and I'd probably have to agree!

I usually stick to my neutrals & smokey shadows, but I think it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone.

I actually purchased NARS Duo Habanera e/s with my ASOS groupon voucher about a month or 2 ago. SO glad ASOS stock NARS :D

The mint shade is a gorgeous mint sheen whereas the perfectly contrasting purple shade has beautiful microscopic, kaleidoscopic glitter particles. The only downside is the fallout. I mean, I put the eyeshadow on my eyes but after an hour, I've got glitter all over my face! Not cool.

The eyeshadows were having a deep conversation about the meaning of life...

What is also not cool is my cat walking all over my laptop's keyboard and sitting on it while I'm trying to type! Argh!

What is cool though, is how photogenic the Habanera Duo is. It photographs well in shade, sunlight, indoors, at night, up close and far out without losing any of it's glamourous colour!

Workin' It!

FACE:
NARS Sheer Glow foundation Barcelona
MAC Prep + Prime Powder
MEMEME Blush Me Coral

Glittery!

Minty Goodness...

EYES:
NARS Duo e/s Habanera
MAC Naked Lunch
Maybelline Gel Liner
Maybelline Black Drama Falsies mascara

The Maybelline Gel Liner is actually pretty decent, it's creamy and pigmented. But in my case, if you do big flicks, the liner goes for a wander around the eyes, panda eyes? No thankyou! I've just recently bought Clinique's Cream Liner which is basically a gel liner which has really impressed me. May do a review on this soon!

LIPS:
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Red Square

Could you see the fall out around my cheeks? Not good! However, it is a truly gorgeous shade. Shame about the glittery cheeks, GAH!

And yes, the bright lips is still going strong for me. NARS Red Square is a stunning orange based lipstick with a hint of red, I'd say this is definitely in between MAC's SO Chaud and Lady Danger. It is super pigmented making the colour appear opaque which is definitely a plus for me. And I just love how it just glides onto the lips and leaves a matte finish which isn't drying at all, yay! Can't actually remember the last time I wore nude lips.. I look at my nudes and feel nothing for them whatsoevar. :)

Have you tried Habanera? Stepped out of your comfort zone lately?

 

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Spring spree!

Hihihi!

Today I headed into town after work in search of a new perfume, as it seems like most of mine are close to running out. And why on earth do they all start running out at the same time? Do perfumes have some sort of competition to see who can run out first? URGH.

It's been a while since I last went on the lookout for some perfume, and I was asking for suggestions on Twitter. I was kinda feeling Tom Ford Black Orchid would be something I would like. Rhamnousia reckoned it smelt of roast beef with an afterkick of bleach! Makes you wonder what kind of fare is served up in her household ;p

Needless to say, I avoided the Roast Beef & Bleach and ended up buying Chloe instead..

Pretty!

This smells gorgeous! If you love your sweet florals but want something that smells totally unique, this is the one for you. When I had a quick whiff of this, it smelt slightly of Shake & Vac? You know, the carpet sprinkler that you'd hoover up? Haha :)

Once I picked up the perfume, the buying didn't stop there. I headed down to Selfridges and bought NARS' "Red Square" on Zara's recommendation. There's a bit of a tale behind the purchase too!

I went to the counter and asked if they had any Red Square, the sales assistant must have been gone a good ten minutes when it hit me: I was at the Bobbi Brown counter!! WTF?! So barely seconds after realising this, the sales assistant comes back and says: "I'm sorry, but we've ran out of Red Square." I didn't have the heart to tell her that the reason she couldn't find it was because your company don't make it!

Now, feeling slightly embarrassed, I walked towards the NARS counter with tail firmly between legs and bought it. And check out how awesome it looks:

The clue should have been the big NARS stamped on it!

Just recently I've been feeling a bit bored of my current crop of eyeshadows. After trawling through blog after blog of shadow after shadow I felt that these three colours are the essentials that all women (and some men) really must possess. I was pretty shocked then to find that I didn't own any of them. Not a single one. Only thing to do then, was to bob over to MAC and rectify that, like now!

From L - R: Antiqued, Naked & Woodwinked. All from MAC

And here they are with their clothes off...

Antiqued. Up close and personal.

Woodwinked ;)

Naked Lunch. Reminds me of sandwiches. Looks nothing like sandwiches though!

Les Derriéres

Following from my mini-splurge at MAC I developed a bit of a taste for some nail polishes. I have quite literally hundreds of nail polishes, but a lot of them have gone a bit gloopy :(

So I wandered into Urban Outfitters..

Urban Outfitters Milky Matte 1 - Milky and Matte

Will there be a Matte Milk 2?

I'd tried a few of the polishes from Urban Outfitters before and really loved the colours, they certainly can't be accused of churning out the same old dull colours. I saw Matte Milk, which is just a Matte white. That looks like Milk. And I love milk, so I thought I'd own it :) I'm seriously digging the pale colours at the minute, white may be a bit extreme, but hey ho...


This is not the end of it. I craved more sweet smelling nail polishes. Yes, I like the smell of the fumes... but I'm not addicted... Haha! I fancied a bit of a change of scenery though. It can be a bit tedious routinely hunting down slight variations in colour at Boots and Superdrugs with the usual high street brands. I saw that American Apparel was only a few feet away, so I thought: "Why not?"

And here's what I ended up with:

American Apparel (From L - R): Butter, Rouge & Summer Peach

They look like those Mini Milk ice lollies from my childhood... mmmm Milky

So last but by no means least we have the wonderfully pastelly pale looking colours of American Apparel, I know the Rouge isn't exactly pastel but I didn't fancy going home with four pastel nail polishes. Three is acceptable, but four is just overboard, obvs.

This concludes my mammoth haul, now if you'll excuse me I'm skint so I need to go list some old junk on eBay. Well, either that or sit in my room rocking back and forth waiting for pay day...

 

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FOTD - NARS Rajasthan Duo Fall 2010

I'm a huge fan of NARS eyeshadows. I love how they have such a wide range of different colours and they're incredibly pigmented. I've actually got a few of the limited edition palettes, one of my faves is the "Pleasures of Paris" which is a staple for my make up collection. I was lucky enough to purchase it online as it was sold out in my local Selfridges.

... And you know me, I'm late for practically everything!

NARS Rajasthan Duo was out in August for the NARS Fall 2010 collection. And yes, I also had to purchase this online because surprise surprise, they were sold out in stores. It always makes me think: do people actually camp out overnight in anticipation of all these exciting releases?

The colours are are absolutely beautiful, and they really do compliment each other perfectly. The gold colour is stunning! It really does remind me of my trip to Rajasthan earlier this year, as it is practically a desert with plenty of towns and cities within it. The shade itself comes across as a metallic taupe brown, looks kind of bronze-ish, and it reminded me of MeMeMe's Blush Me in Bronze, they both look immensely similar. Maybe when I hit pan, I'll use the blusher as an eyeshadow, pow!

The other colour is a deep smokey charcoal with a hint of green to it. This colour was made to be worn in the crease and smoked out! And I do love smokey eyes, I bloody do!

*FACE*

MAC Studio Fix Fluid - NC37
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - Medium Plus

*CHEEKS*

MAC Mineralize Blush - Warm Soul
Sleek Contour Kit - Medium (LOVE THIS!)

*EYES*

NARS e/s Duo - Rajasthan
Bourjois e/s - Beige Rose
Urban Decay Liquid Liner - Black
L'oreal Voluminous Mascara - Black

*LIPS*

Bourjois Sweet Kiss Naturel Lipstick - Rose Sensuel

I la la love the intensity of the of the eyeshadows. And the longevity of it (with primer, of course) is superb as you would expect for a high end brand. And priced at £23.00, it is worth every penny.

Did any of you guys buy this duo? Have you found any dupes for it?

 

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You have read this article Bourjois / Eye Make Up / Eyeshadows / FOTD / L'oreal / Lipsticks / NARS / Reviews with the title NARS. You can bookmark this page URL http://clothingfashion2012.blogspot.com/2010/10/fotd-nars-rajasthan-duo-fall-2010.html. Thanks!

Neutral FOTD using Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes

Sometimes when I wake up, I feel like being really adventurous with my make-up and covering my eyelids with bright, bold colour or wearing a brash, in-yer-face lipstick so that I really stand out from the crowd and think "Yeeeah!". Ok, that last part's probably just me! Yep.

Most of the time though, I prefer to play it a bit safer and use neutrals. Neutrals are safe, they are my go-to shades, they are flesh-toned pinks, caramel browns, they are the staple of any woman's make-up collection, they are our secret weapons for giving the illusion of well-defined big beautiful eyes.

Funnily enough, this post features a palette called "Big Beautiful Eyes" from Benefit. And guess what? It's a neutral palette! Haha, clever.

Anyway, on to my Face Of The Day... Here are the products I used:

*FACE*

NARS Sheer Glow in Stromboli

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer 2 (From the Big Beautiful Eyes palette)

*CHEEKS*

Sleek Face Contour kit

MAC Warm Soul Blusher

*EYES*

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes palette

Bourjois Liner Pinceau in Noir

*LIPS*

Collection 2000 Volume Boost lipstick in Nude

A closer look at Big Beautiful Eyes by Benefit..

Oooooh, lap up those neutrals ladies & gents! Needless to say, I didn't bother using those naff brushes. Instead I opted for my little finger to dab on the concealer, MAC 239 shading brush for lid colour, 219 Pencil brush for the crease & 224 to soften the edges.

So yeah..

Drum roll, please. The results are in. And here they are..

Please excuse my brows, they deperately need threading. 

Biting my bottom lip trying to look all sexy... Fail.

I lovelovelove this look. Yay for neutrals!

So what are your favourite neutral eyeshadows? Share the love!

 

 

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You have read this article Benefit / Blusher / Bourjois / Collection 2000 / EOTD / Eyeliner / Eyeshadows / FOTD / Lipsticks / MAC / Make Up / Mascara / NARS / NC37 / NC40 / Reviews with the title NARS. You can bookmark this page URL http://clothingfashion2012.blogspot.com/2010/05/neutral-fotd-using-benefit-big.html. Thanks!