Lipstick

It’s been pouring down rain and hail here for several days, but I signed up for a NARS event and was determined to go no matter what the weather conditions were.

My local Nordstrom hosted a 3 day NARS national artist event to launch the spring line and I was thrilled with the makeover results. I asked the makeup artist for a look that would either use the new Kuala Lumpur Eyeshadow Duo or if that didn’t work, I asked for ideas on how to use my Brousse Eyeshadow Duo with the new Ophelia Lipgloss.

We decided to try the new spring duo since she was smitten with it, but unfortunately it was just too warm for my skintone. It looked like a combination of MAC Melon Pigment + Starviolet Eyeshadow on my eyes. I loved the fact that she was so easy to work with and did not hesitate to take the eyeshadows off and start over again. This is what she ended up doing:

Skin Prep: Skin was cleansed with the Makeup Cleansing Oil (applied to dry skin) and wiped off with a water-sprayed cotton pad. She then used the Balancing Toning Lotion to tone the skin and applied the Potent EFA Cream, Nourishing Eye Cream, and Makeup Primer.

Foundation & Concealer: She used the South Beach Multiple on the cheeks and temples under foundation to give the skin a glow from within. Since I already use the Sheer Glow, I asked to try out the Sheer Matte, she picked out Sheer Matte in Santa Fe which seemed to be a good match. Red spots and dark circles were covered with the Custard/Ginger concealer duo mixed with Luxor Multiple for a luminous uplifting glow. The Powder Foundation in Deauville was buffed out on the skin.

Cheeks: For cheeks, I mentioned to her that I already had almost every single Nars Blush, so she of course asked which shades I did not have, and picked out Taj Mahal for me to try. I have to admit I was seriously freaked out when I saw it, but she applied it with a VERY soft touch followed by Desire and it gave THE PERFECT glowy peachy pink I have ever seen. The way she applied Taj Mahal was to take their Yachiyo Brush and dust it into the compact then she vigorously tapped off the excess. She applied it to the cheeks in a soft sweep and it gave a subtle candle-lit glow. She then used the same brush to apply Desire right over it.

Eyes: An interesting trick she showed me was to apply the Luxor Multiple with a concealer brush right above the brows to give an uplifting-effect. For the eyes, she started by lining the eyes with Aigle Noir Soft Touch Shadow Pencil and smudged it. Mekong Single Eyeshadow was then applied with a smudge brush right on top of the pencil and then blended upwards with a mixture of both sides from Brousse Eyeshadow Duo about 1/2 way up the lids. Next, she took the lighter side of Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo to go over all the shades as a blending and softening color with soft contour. For mascara, she used both of the new ones in black, starting with the Lengthening first, and then the Volumizing on top. It was an instant lash makeover.

Lips: For lips, she blotted the lips with Cafe Con Leche Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (which I have but is missing-in-action) and topped with an application of Belle du Jour Lipstick. The final touch was to add the new Ophelia Lipgloss.

Swatches L to R: Aigle Noir Pencil, Mekong Eyeshadow Single, Brousse Duo (both sides mixed), Kalahari (both sides mixed), South Beach Multiple, Luxor Multiple, Taj Mahal Blush, Desire Blush, Belle du Jour Lipstick, Ophelia Lipgloss

What I wore today to the makeover: White ruffle collared blouse from Banana Republic, Beige button coat from Banana Republic, Joes Jeans Petite Provocateur Fit.

Overall thoughts: I really loved the results and ended up purchasing the Eye Cream, Balancing Cleanser, Taj Mahal Blush, Ophelia Lipgloss and both mascaras. The EFA cream was a bit heavy for my skin, but from past makeover experiences I’ve had with NARS, I’ve found most of their moisturizers a bit too moisturizing for my skin, so it wasn’t surprising.

The number of products she used seemed like a lot, but the result was so pretty, I don’t think I’ll mind using everything again on numerous occasions in the future.

I absolutely LOVED both mascaras. They were both amazing and it was an instant lash-makeover with the application of both combined together. I’m not sure about the smudge-factor since it was raining heavily outside and my under-eye area was very moist from the EFA cream. I’ll be testing it out more in the next week and report back later about the results.

Most of the things I already owned from previous purchases. I’ve always been a HUGE fan of Nars and events like these are inspiring to me to try out new combinations to get me out of that same-look rut I tend to get into during this time of year.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a makeover – I used to go to Chanel and Nars events on a monthly basis before for ideas and GWPs. But there’s nothing like a horrible MAC makeover to make you want to stop going to any event period. That being said, I have ALWAYS had great makeover results with Nars events. I highly recommend you get on your local counters call lists or ask about upcoming events. They are super fun and you can get tons of ideas on how to combine different colors.

I find that a makeover is more successful when you have a certain look you have in mind so the makeup artists has an idea of what you’re looking for. Simply saying “give me a natural look” isn’t much help, so I suggest being a bit more specific like say, “I like pink lips” or “can you show me how to use Brousse Eyeshadow Duo?” If you simply have no idea, that’s fine too – just give them something to work with. Something like saying, “I wear champagnes and browns on my eyes with peach lips all the time – I need something different” can help a ton.