NARS 9947 Eyeshadow Palette swatches and review

This week has been all about my NARS palette.  My friend gave this to me for my birthday, and I'm so in love with this palette as it features both soft colours and very pigmented dramatic colours.

 

Swatches (Left to Right)

Kilimanjaro, Bohemian Gold, Surabaya II, Himalays, Ondine, Night Flight

Direct light

With Flash

All my swatches were done with a light swipe, so you can tell that some are very pigmented.  I was very impressed.  This is my first NARS palette, and I am definitely hooked.  What I love most about this palette is it's travel friendly size, and the ability to do a day look vs. a night look.

This is a discontinued palette from 2008, so you'll have to do a little hunting online for this, but it's well worth it.  I've seen it for around $60, not sure how available this is in the UK, but as I advised my friend last night, check blog sales as many beauty bloggers try to unload their stash.

My January Lemmings

Happy Sunday everyone!  

I can't even remember the last time I did a lemmings list really.  I feel like my lists have just become this fantasy wishlist, instead of an actual shopping list, because I'm trying my best to curb my spending.  In fact, I even joined this forum "challenge" which completely prohibits me from shopping for new items until I use what I have.  Now surely, I'm not going to stop completely as there will always be items that I need ("need" aka "want" ahem lol).  I still have a lot of products to review for you, so don't worry about that.  I just felt that my spending was outrageous considering I am self-employed and still looking for some extra work...sigh.  Anyways....this is still fun and I will still continue to share with you all the items that really caught my eye.  

Lemming #1: CHANEL MIRIFIQUE

Yes I've spoke about this a billion times! And I love my Emerveille, Epatant, and Illusoire, but I need this one too lol

 

Lemming #2 - NARS ITA BRUSH 21

I am a huge fan of Nars Artisan brush and this one looks amazing for blush application

 

Lemming #3 - SHISEIDO FOUNDATION BRUSH 131

The reviews have won me over.  I think this is a must have for everyone!

 

Lemming #4 - SECHE VITE RESTORE

My poor Chanel Vamp is sitting in my drawer all dried up.  It's a bit painful to see that, and I really need this to thin up a few of my other polishes.  I hope the reviews are as good as they are.

 

Lemming #5 - VERSACE YELLOW DIAMOND

I'm not a fan of the bottle sadly, but I do love how this smells on me :) 

 

What are you craving this month?

NARS Nail Polish in Bad Influence

NARS Bad Influence is a familiar colour to many other polishes in my collection, but I have to say that the formula is superior, almost as good as Chanel's Particuliere.

 

Super grateful to my girl in the states that sent this over to me :) It's one of those colours that I wanted, but felt guilty about buying because I had similar shades already.  It's so worth it.

NARS Zulu vs. MAC Beyond Jealous

I'm a green mood today, but not like a happy mint green mood, but like a dark and mysterious looking green.  So I pulled out my MAC Beyond Jealous.  I remember finding this at a CCO and instantly being pulled towards it.  It's a dark forest/hunter green, and at night it would look black basically.  As I was looking for this, I remembered that my friend gave me her NARS Zulu. 

I thought to myself? Geez, they are pretty similar...wait a minute, dupes? At first glance they are, but of course if you scrutinize every polish the way I do, dupes occur very few and far.  So let's examine, shall we?

Blasted with camera flash

So in the bottle, you can tell that the MAC has a bit more grey to it, where as the NARS has a bit more blue to it, making these not exactly dupes. Now onto the swatches...

Can you tell the difference here?

Let's play a game (haha). Which fingers have NARS Zulu on it? and which one has the MAC Beyond Jealous on it?

 

Any guesses yet?

I'll give you a clue:

Thumb, middle and pinky is one colour

and the index and ring is another

The Answer is..

Thumb, middle and pinky is MAC Beyond Jealous

and the index and ring is the NARS

Maybe I need new contacts, but to me they looks very close when applied.  I like them both a lot, and I like how quickly they dried as well. Major bonus points there!  I'm going to search for a high street version of this polish, because I'm really feeling this tone of dark shade.

What do you think? Modern? or passe?

My July's Swaps

Sorry this post is way way late.  I had a quiet month as far as swaps went, because I did one massive swap with Ashley over at buttonboxx.  I definitely did come out with some items that I'm very happy about.  Here's my swap haul for July...

Illamasqua Cream Foundation CF120

Nars eyeliner in Black Moon

OPI My Private Jet (NLB59)

Illamasqua Cream Foundation was something out of the ordinary for me.  I usually use liquid foundation and then set with a powder.  It's been a long time since I actually used a cream foundation out of a compact.  This item is quite misleading, at first glance of the cream, I thought it would actually be too dark for me, but when applied, it was actually a little too light for me.  I think this will end up being my winter foundation.  I did like the formula, it was very smooth on the face, and didn't highlight my enlarged pores as much.  They also have a pleasant soft vanilla scent.  But it didn't win me over to returning to cream foundations out of a compact.

NARS Black Moon Eyeliner was an impulse swap.  It's mainly because I am obsessed with all things Nars, and not because I needed a black eyeliner.  I have like 20 black eyeliners and I'm struggling to get through them all to be honest.  But like I said, I couldn't resist swapping for another NARS item, because they are in my top 5 favourite brands.

OPI My Private Jet was one of those polishes that I felt I needed in my collection.  This version is not the original black holographic one, but it's the dark brown shimmer one.  it's a nice colour don't get me wrong, otherwise I wouldn't have swapped for it, but it's definitely not filling the hole that the original black holo polish can only fill.  Oh well, maybe one day I will become lucky enough to get one, until then, at least I have this version in my collection.

I promise I'll have more fun things to show in August.  I have another massive box swap with Buttonboxx, and I have already gotten a really hard to find nail polish in a swap recently, so check back at the end of this month for my August swap haul post. xx

NARS Himalayas eyeshadow

I can't believe I haven't raved about this eyeshadow yet.  What was I thinking? Hands down one of my favourite eyeshadows by Nars.  At first glance it looks like a drabby white/nude eyeshadow, but honestly, when the sun catches it watch out now.  It becomes this multi-dimensional and opal colour with blue/pink duochrome.  It is gorgeous, it gives you a different look to your average highlighting white powder.  So if you want something different than your average white eyeshadow for highlighting, this is definitely the one you want to go for!

What's your favourite Nars eyeshadow??

NARS Tokaido Express vs. Ciate's Wait Until Dark

This was completely unintentional, but like I said, I must be a creature of habit after all.  I recently won the Nars for £4 (including p&p) off of ebay.  I know! Bargain! So that arrived on friday morning, and then of course I went out to get the free Ciate polish with this month's Marie Claire magazine.  Oh total side note, but this months Marie Claire totally bored me senseless.  I can't put my finger on it, but it really did.  Anyways... in the bottle they look nothing alike, besides that they both have a deep purple base.

See nothing alike, but I still swatched it anyways because I wanted to see how similiar they were.  Well....let's play a game.

Let's see who can tell which finger has the Nars on and Ciate on it?

any guesses yet?

Well if you guessed the middle finger has the Nars polish aplied on it, then you deserve the title of Queen of nail polish! Because I honestly could not see the difference between these two once they were applied on my nails.  

Both polish applied beautifully and left a beautiful rich deep purple shimmer on my nails with the tiniest micro-glitter flecks of gold submerged deep within it.  

Gorgeous polishes, and honestly I am now so happy that they are dupes, this way I can talk myself out of buying a backup :p

Have you gotten your free Ciate this month?

Who absolutely adores their tokaido express?

My Nail Polish Haul: Nars, Ciate, Topshop

I can't resist freebies, so I went on Friday to pick up the new Marie Claire magazine to get my free Ciate polish.  I think the purple is going really really fast.  I should have gone thursday doh! But my lazy butt wanted to go Friday so I could do several things in one sha-bang. So I was lucky to finally find the purple pollish after the 3rd shop that I stopped by.

This is my haul yesterday, including an ebay purchase that arrived as well. I'm in purple heaven my friends.

L-R

Top Shop Adornment (flakie goodness all up in here!!)

Ciate's Paint Pot in Wait until Dark

Nars - Tokaido Express

With the Ciate polish, this month we also got a nice size deluxe travel size Dove hair therapy express treatment hair conditioner.  So that was a lovely little bonus :)

Isn't she beautiful????

Then, while I was in town taking care of some errands, I found on the street a tiny little gold ring.  I took a look and saw that it was in fact marked, and seeing as I would never wear this ring, I just went to one of those turn your cash into gold places and got £25!!!

That £25 was a god sent, seriously ladies....

so of course I wanted to blow it all, but I resisted and will be saving most of it.

I did however wander into topshop....bad move.

I walked out with this beautiful purple flakie polish.

Adornment will just have to take care of me until I get my hands on Nfu Oh's 51.

Up next will be a comparison swatch. I guess I am a creature of habit after all.

Is it just me or is anyone else feeling the purple craze?

July's Top 10 Favourite Products

It's that time again. Another month gone, wow. So this month has been the month for pulling out the old products that I've had and frankly need to use before their shelf-life expires.  So there are some new products, but definitely some oldies.

My top 10 favourite and most reached products of July 2011 are:

* Missha Signature Real Complete BB Cream

* Make Up For Ever Glossy Full Couleur lipgloss in 4

* Lorac Behind the scenes eye primer

* Lorac Front of the Line liquid eyeliner in black

* N.Y.C. Color wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Peach Glow

* NARS Okinawa eyeshadow trio

* Dior Diorsnow Whitening UV Spot Corrector

* MAC Seriously Hip Nail Polish

*Chanel Peridot Nail Polish

* YSL macara singulier

* W7 Mega Matte lips 

NARS OKINAWA

 

I usually shy away from matte eyeshadows, but these are not chalky at all and completely blend-able.  I just love the great pigmentation as well.

NYC Blush & Lorac liquid eyeliner

 

I reached for this blush quite a bit this month. Not sure why, I think I liked the neutral look of the pink/peach shade.  It wasn't too glitzy, just a nice matte colour for my cheeks.

The Lorac eyeliner is great.  I hate how some liquid eyeliners really drip and apply super heavy in the beginning and then tapers off to nothing, but as you can see, I was able to control my strokes.

MAC & CHANEL NP's

 What can I say, I loves these two polishes so much.  As I previously mentioned, the colours are wonderful and unique and the formula is superb.

Make Up For Ever lipgloss

 

It looks quite bright and bold in the bottle, but it is very sheer on the lips.

This gave me just enough brightness to liven up my face this month.

 YSL Mascara

I got this back in January as a gift in an exchange, and I didn't use it until this month.  The brush is one of my favourites to date. Doesn't clump and gives an even distribution of formula on the lashes. No spider eyes here :)

 Dior concealer and Lorac eyeshadow Primer

 

 I didn't knw if I could believe the hype about the Dior concealer actually lightening up my scars, but it does.  At least for me. I've noticed a slight lightening of my scars. Now I'm not sure if it's the concealer that's doing it or my BB cream, but whatever it is, it's ligthening up my face and I couldn't be happier!

The Lorac eyeshadow primer is just as good as my usual urban decay primer potion (which I ran out of).  It really helps keep my shadows on :)

W7 LIpgloss

 

As I mentioned in a previous post. I love this little cheapie lippie. It suits me, goes on wet, dries matte, but doesn't leave my lips dry either.  I am contemplating going back and buying more of these!

These are my most reached products this month?

What is your number 1 product you reached for this month?

Share please, I'd love to see what everyone is using xx

Review: NARS Botan Brush

Hello lovelies...I have a really spectacular brush to show you today.  I know there are reviews on this brush (all mixed), but I really am excited to display this brush, because I have been waiting to review this brush after I have used it for quite some time.  

This Nars brush is part of the artisan brush collection, and is priced significantly higher than the normal Nars brushes, so the price was definitely a hesitation on my part and probably for a lot of other people.  I really went back and forth about buying this, but a few months ago, I was gifted the Nars Bento Box and since then, I have been obsessed with everything that was Japanese inspired by Nars.  It's a sickness I tell ya :p

Essentially it is just a large kabuki brush, so ignore all that fancy schamncy description, that's all it really is.

Retails for $75 USD and £55 in the UK.  Quite a steep price right?

Well, luxury comes at a hefty price. Try to get this during a promotion/friends and family sale to lessen the blow slightly ;)

 

Is it weird that I consider this eye candy?

I just love sleek, minimalist packaging and products..love!

Ok, so want to know my take on this product?

Mind you, I am NOT an expert at brushes, but I own roughly 30 brushes so I definitely have had my share of trying brushes from all different companies and at all different price ranges.

PROS

* Extremely soft & medium density to give you great all over face coverage

* Lovely modern/sleek packaging and overall look

* Did not have an odd smell like some have complained about

* Was not rough like some have complained about

* Huge brush - for me this is a pro, because it will make my finishing powder application go much more quickly then my other kabuki brushes

* Very luxurious in aesthetics and quality of brush hairs

CONS

* It does bleed black ink when you wash it

* It takes a long time to wash and there is no correct way to dry this upside down. 

I have the brush guards, but they don't make them in this size.

* Steep price point for this brush

* I'm not a fan of the Nars black rubber packaging, because it picks up too much fingerprint and cosmetic dusts

This is definitely a brush for grown ups haha. I wouldn't have dreamed of buying this 10 years ago ( it wasn't available then), but as I get older, I want quality, longevity in my products, and for some strange OCD reason, I want everything to sort of look similar on my vanity now.  

So the question is, would I recommend this brush?

I would recommend this brush if you are looking to invest in good brushes and it also depends on how crazy you are about beauty products.  This is definitely a must-have if you pride yourself on your brush collection, so I bought it for those reasons and I am left feeling satisfied.  But if you just need a kabuki brush and don't care about all that luxury nonsense, then there are plenty of great kabuki brushes on the market for cheaper.

So that's my 2 cents, and off topic...

look at the blackberries from the garden!

Things are growing fast, allergies are going nuts but all worth it at the end of the day, since I will probably miss seeing the Sun in a few months and then you guys have to listen to me b$tch about how cold and gloomy it is here lol

yummmyyyy!!!

And don't forget to come and enter my blog giveaway HERE!

NOTD: NARS Poker Face and H&M Sea Pearl

Just a quick update on my NOTD. As much as I LOVE Nars Poker Face, it's hard for me to wear the same polish for more than 2 days.  So I added H&M's Sea Pearl over it.  It's an iridescent pink/copper shimmer that makes Poker face shimmer a bit more.  I think I liked Poker Face on it's own, but what's done is done and this is the mani I'm rocking today :p

NARS- Poker Face with H&M's Sea Pearl on top

Ohhhhh hands are looking a bit dry! Time to butter them up :p
Sorry my camera hates shimmer or anything iridescent and always wants to "white out" the shimmer, but Sea Pearl definitely adds a thick coating of glittery shimmer on anything you layer over it.  It is not at all what you see in the bottle. Thank god for that!

NOTD: NARS - Poker Face Nail Polish

I have this wonderful polish to show you all. I'm not very much into pastels, but lately a lot of different brands have been coming out with a "grey-ed" out version of the traditional pastel polishes.  I really never thought I'd like this until I started seeing more swatches of it.

Also, the name is a huge turn off, but I forgive NARS for that as well, since this manicure has lasted me 2 whole days.  That is actually a record, not even a sign of tip wear either. I type all day long and do things with my hands, so my manicures always shows tip wear within the first 24 hours, but this is staying on strong.

So here's the overview 

PROS:

Cream finish with zero streaking

Long lasting

You get a lot for your money

Slightly different than your average pastel lilac colour

CONS:

Just the name really lol

It is almost double in the UK vs. the states

Appears slightly darker and slightly periwinkle in this picture. The sun decided to run away at the moment I was taking pics..urgh

This colour is more true to life than the swatch shot

I needed a pick me up after the week I had, so this definitely brought a smile to my face.