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NARS 413 Blkr and Lhasa Single Eyeshadows

February 12, 2012

This spring NARS has released two gorgeous dove-grey shimmer shadows with a tinge of lavender in 413 Blkr and Lhasa ($24 each for 0,07 oz/2.2 g). Both shades are similar with just slight differences between them, but equally gorgeous. 413 Blkr is the latest addition to the NARS 413 Blkr Collection which is exclusive to the NARS boutique on Bleeker Street in New York and Narscosmetics.com. Lhasa is available at all NARS locations as part of the Spring 2012 Collection.
I think most of you are familiar with NARS shadows so I won’t go into a detailed review on the texture/pigment/finish. Both are typical of NARS single shadows: soft, blendable, layerable and gorgeous on the eyes. The pigment of these is medium but easily layerable. For the colors, both shades look almost identical in the compact unless you move them at different angles in direct sunlight. The differences are subtle but more noticeable when swatched. 413 Blkr is a soft lavendar-blue grey shimmer that is lighter. Lhasa is a lavender-grey shimmer that’s slightly darker and more purple.

Both side by side in direct light:

413 Blkr close up:

Lhasa close up:

I use Lhasa last week and found that it worked best when layered over warmer colors. I particularly liked the effect when layered over Burberry’s Pale Barley or Midnight Brown. I found that both Burberry shades helped warm up Lhasa on the eyes.
413 Blkr while cooler is easier for me to pull of alone on the eyes. Perhaps it’s because it’s a smidge lighter in tone. I love it layered with Ashes to Ashes, which until now I considered a cool taupe. When Ashes to Ashes is placed next to either of these shades, it now looks like a warm bronzey color. Some might wonder if 413 Blkr is a reincarnation of Notorious that was discontinued a few years ago. At first I thought yes, but after swatching I do see a slight variation. Here are some other NARS greys and purples along with one comparison from Chanel:
Ashes to Ashes, 413 Blkr, Lhasa, Notorious (d/c), Barbuda

One swatch added of Gris Exquis (previously featured here, odd that when swatched side by side, the Chanel looks almost khaki/greenish)

So there you have it. I hope this helps girls who aren’t in NY! I ordered 413 Blkr sight unseen because the promo photos looked stunning even though it looked strikingly similar to Lhasa. I think it’s a must-have. If I could only pick 1 out of the 2 it would be impossible. I do prefer these over Chanel’s Gris Exquis. I think the shimmer and texture of the NARS shades are easier to work with. They blend beautifully on the lids.
Have you bought any of the NARS 413 Blkr collection? Or have you bought/seen 413 Blkr shadow in person? What about Lhasa? Yays/nays?

P.S. You can see the rest of the NARS 413 Blkr Collection online at NARS (click the photo above to go to NARS website). See reviews of the gloss on Gaia at The Non-Blonde and the pure matte lipstick on Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog.

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Wearing Tomorrow for New Year’s Eve

December 30, 2011

Many have asked me to share what I’ll be wearing for New Year’s Eve. I’m still working on the outfit but I’ve already planned the makeup look. Here’s my first Polyvore attempt (not sure if I pulled in all the right items for the above photos, but the look is detailed below):
  • Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Creamy Foundation in Natural Beige 120 mixed with a pale highlighter
  • Chanel Poudre Universelle Compacte in Rose Merveille 120 dusted all over
  • Armani Sheer Blush #10
  • Armani Jacquard Face Palette to highlight
  • Laura Mercier Metallic Crème Eye Colour in Gold
  • Chanel Beige Lamé 417 Soft Touch Eyeshadow
  • Armani Eyes to Kill #6 Khaki Pulse
  • NARS Larger than Life Volumizing Mascara
  • Bobbi Brown Gel Liner Caviar Ink
  • Armani Gloss d’Armani Pink 502 + 507 mixed
  • Chanel Black Pearl #513 Le Vernis
  • L’Artisan Mûre et Musc
I’ll be offline for a few days but I’ll be checking in here and there to publish comments/questions via my iPhone. I’m running out the door right now to get a Black Pearl manicure 🙂 Toes will be covered so I’m passing on the pedicure this week. I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

What will you be wearing tomorrow night?

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NARS Mandchourie Duo Eyeshadow

October 30, 2011
NARS Mandchourie Duo Eyeshadow ($33) is the new holiday duo from NARS this season. It’s an intensely smoky palette of olive-golden-indigo shimmer and a deep dark matte indigo blue. The colors are deep and dark and not for the faint of heart. Playing around with this resulted in a super smokey dramatic eye. I recommend having a paler neutral shimmer on hand to help tone down the intensity or to help blend harsh edges out. My favorite way to apply so far is to use Laura Mercier’s Platinum Metallic Creme Eyeshadow as a base and then apply the dark golden-olive shade on lids with a soft fluffy brush like MAC 217 then apply the darker matte navy with a pencil brush and smudge over the lash line upwards. The pigment in this duo is quite good, the matte shade can be a bit chalky on first swipe but layers well.

Compared to other NARS duos, Mandchourie is quite different and unique. Here are comparisons to Brumes, Dogon and Underworld. I also swatched Stila’s Diamond Lil to show how intense the NARS Mandchourie is by comparison.

Overall NARS Mandchourie is beautiful, unique, dramatic and intense. It’s lovely but a bit too dramatic for my taste – for everyday. For smokey eyes I will be reaching for NARS Brumes or Cordura more often since I feel those duos are easier to pull off although Mandchourie does go well with a softly bronzed cheek and pink lips. I’m one who prefers a natural smokey eye and while Mandchourie can easily be layered lightly for a less smokey look I still think it’s very intense (in a good way though!). It’s neutral enough in color so it won’t look too harsh on any skintone (at least in my mind). Some pure greys/blacks can look harsh and even some navy blues can look too contrasted on the skin. Mandchourie has an excellent blend of other colors in the undertone to make this intense/smokey/dramatic without being too harsh on the skin.

(For inquiring minds, the only other holiday items I picked from NARS were the multiple and highlighter but those are on presale for Nordstrom’s Trend Show, so they most likely will not be making an appearance on the blog for quite some time.) 

What do you think of NARS Mandchourie?
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Love To Layer

May 10, 2011

I love layering and blending out colors, especially for makeup. Layering different textures and shades allows me to create extra depth and also helps to give that slight glowy finish. Layering multiple products is something I usually only do when going out for a special occasion. In the mornings, I’m always running 5 minutes behind. Makeup for work is usually kept as simple as possible, except for the rare occasions that I am able to wake up an extra 30 minutes early.

My makeup looks usually revolve around my clothes/outfit of the day or night. This past weekend I wore a simple floral strapless dress (shown here). It was fairly neutral so virtually any look would go with it. I realize this would be more helpful if I had a photo of my face to go with this, but this is more for my own personal reference since I was quite happy with the result. The numbers in each photo indicate the order of application.

Cheeks: I applied Armani’s Fluid Sheer #10 on cheeks and then applied Dior’s Aurora on top as a contour. I then took a separate blush brush and applied Chanel Espiègle just on the apples.

Lips: Simply line with liner. Fill with a sheer gold lipstick. Top with a sheer coral gloss.

Eyes: The first step was to apply Laura Mercier’s Metallic Gold Creme shadow on the lids as a base. I took the white side of NARS Exotic Dance and and dipped MAC’s 242 (a stiffer brush) into the frosty white and patted it on 1/2 way up the eyes. Taking a larger fluffy brush, I swished it into the golden tan shimmer of Exotic Dance and loosely applied it all over. Next, I took MAC’s Spare Change and applied it along upper lashes in a messy smudgey line and layered Le Metier’s Splendid Frost taupe on top to blend. Last steps were to add a clean fine black line along upper lashes and outer corners on the bottom. Finishing step was with Armani’s Eyes to Kill Mascara.

  1. Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer #10 – shown here
  2. Dior Aurora Bronzer – reviewed here
  3. Chanel Espiègle #65 Blush – swatched and reviewed here
  4. Paul & Joe Lip Pencil Duo – Melon (01) – partially swatched here
  5. Bobbi Brown Candlelight Shimmer Lipstick – shown next to Beige Gold Metallic here
  6. Chanel Pensée 277 Glossimer – here
  7. Laura Mercier Metallic Creme in Gold
  8. NARS Exotic Dance – white applied with a stiff MAC 242 brush patted on lids
  9. NARS Exotic Dance – gold applied with a loose fluffy brush all over lids, here
  10. MAC Spare Change eyeliner – applied in a smudgey line along upper lashes, swatched here
  11. Le Metier de Beaute – Splendid Frost, top shade applied along lash line smudged on top, blended, also reviewed here
  12. Bobbi Brown Caviar Ink to finish as liner – swatched here
  13. Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara

Swatched, two views with different lighting:


One last view:

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NARS New Order Highlighting Blush Powder and Laguna Multiple for Summer 2011

May 8, 2011

NARS has released quite a few items this summer including their Summer 2011 Collection, Portrait of Paradise mini collection, Makeup Your Mind – Express Yourself Book, a number of kits to go with their new book (on Nordstrom.com) and a new I Will Survive Kit (with a new exclusive Deep Throat Lipgloss).
In addition to the two duos, I also picked up New Order Highlighting Blush Powder ($27) and the Laguna Multiple ($39). My thoughts are mixed.

Swatched on bare skin (no base):

First up: New Order Highlighting Blush Powder. I had high hopes for this from the promo photos and descriptions. Negative reviews have been floating around various blogs with detailed descriptions, photos and swatches explaining why this blush is less than fabulous. I should have listened. There were no testers at the counter and when the sales associate opened the compact for me to see, it looked like magical fairy dust. The shimmer did not look chunky. I thought, maybe I can make this work for me, even if it’s just on the eyes. Turns out – I can’t. There is barely any color to the pink base and the shimmer/glitter while not chunky, is simply too much. It reminds me of the Night Series eyeshadows. The glitter just falls off the face & flies everywhere.

On the eyes, I applied it over a wet base (MAC’s Bare Study Paint Pot). It shows more promise on the eyes yet still mainly shows glitter. This blush had the potential to be huge if it was anything like Albatross in finish. For me, thumbs down. I don’t want to return it because it’s simply stunning in the compact. I keep thinking there will be a way to make this work. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a way.



Next: Laguna Multiple. I used Laguna Bronzer daily through my college years. I’ve loved the Laguna Illuminator. Of course I had to try the Multiple Version which I find very close to the powder. The shimmer is very noticeable although not as shimmery as South Beach or St. Barts. It blends out a bit more so you get a visible tan, but not frost.


Compared, L to R: St Barts Multiple, Laguna Multiple, Laguna Illuminator, Laguna Bronzer Powder (swatched heavy over moisturizer), South Beach Multiple

New Order and Laguna:


Have you tried either of these? Thoughts? Have you been able to make New Order work for you, if so, please share!

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NARS Dogon & Exotic Dance Duos for Summer 2011

May 6, 2011


NARS Summer Duos in Dogon and Exotic Dance ($33 each) have been featured in so many awesome blogs I didn’t even need to test them in person to know that they would be must-haves for me. Many thanks to Makeup Magpie, Joeybunny, Karlasugar, British Beauty Blogger and Get Lippie to name a few for sneak peeks! (Links to their features have been included.)

Dogon has been an enigma to me since it looks different on each and every skintone. I believe it is universally flattering though and the beauty of this palette is that I find it unique in it’s complex shimmer undertone. In the compact you see a silvery greige that flashes a slight hint of green plus a dark smokey navy-teal-blue. On the hands and eyes, the silvery side is a complex greyish silver that flashes a hint of multicolors like green, gold, silver. It’s hard to describe. The darker shade applies true to what you see in the pan. They layer beautifully together for a smokey eye. Not really what I envision for something “summery” but stunning nevertheless. Two views with different angles so you can see what I mean with the complexity of these colors. The shimmer and pigment is rich and applies very smooth.


Exotic Dance is just as stunning with the contrasting sharp white frost (slightly chunky in texture) and the warm gold tan shimmer. It seems very basic and classic to me yet I could not find another gold neutral or white similar in my stash. I believe they are unique because of the mixture of colors. I haven’t played with this one much on the eyes but what you see in the pan is pretty much true to what you get on the back of your hand. It’s also a stunner.




Swatched in brighter light:

Just a few comparisons to help you put these new summer duos on the map for color spectrum. First, NARS Rajasthan and NARS Dogon.


I couldn’t find any bright whites with shimmer, so here is Exotic Dance next to NARS Étrusque and Chantecaille Pyrite:

Comparisons swatched:

One last view of NARS Dogon & NARS Exotic Dance:

Overall love. Definitely winners in my opinion. I know many will ask if I had to pick one, would it be Dior or NARS or Armani for summer. Please don’t ask me to choose. Both Dior and NARS are equally beautiful for me and it would be impossible for me to pick my favorite. They are all very different, designed to create different looks. If you like neutrals go with the Dior, they are more expensive but you’ll get more colors. If you like duos and something simpler and easier to use go with the NARS. But I will say the colors are not as neutral.

I found these at Nordstrom but they did not have the GWP as advertised online instore.

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Diorskin Nude Glow – Healthy Glow Summer Powder in Aurora 001 and Sunset 002

April 22, 2011

The summer collections this year have some of the most beautiful bronzers I have ever seen. I’ve been trying to find Aurora and Sunset everywhere – it appears Saks received their items first in the US and finally Nordstrom just received them this week. (On Saturday Aurora and Nude Tan Quint were both sold out already.) Being the bronzer-obsessive woman that I am, I jumped on both bronzing powders, Aurora 001 and Sunset 002.

The Diorskin Nude Glow Healthy Glow Summer Powder couldn’t be better named. They both give a warm healthy glow. Each shade has a beautiful woven pattern with four different shades in each. Both have visible shimmer and if you swipe your finger into the palette you will see a highly pigmented frost. On the skin, however, the shimmer tones down and you get a beautiful glow. The shimmer, to me, is barely detectable on the face.

Aurora 001 is the lighter softer version with soft peach and different shades of brown and tan. It’s fairly warm, not quite peach, not quite brown, but a peachy-brown hybrid.

Sunset 002 is darker, warmer, deeper and it was borderline orangey when applied with a heavy hand – but I have gotten a bit of color so I think this will be gorgeous on Chanel Beiges/NC35’s (not quite there yet, but almost!). A bit of blending out and it looks just fine on me but I don’t mind a strong bronzer. I always want to be more tan, and unfortunately I’m really fair right now!

Side by side, blurry but hope you can see the undertone:

I couldn’t find any dupes. The woven pattern makes this easy to mix and blend all the colors together so you don’t end up with stripes on the face. Plus the combination of colors makes both of these unique.

Comparison Set 1: MAC Shooting Star MSF, MAC So Ceylon MSF, Dior Sunset 002, Dior Aurora 001, MAC Sunny By Nature MSF, MAC Warmed MSF, MAC Gold Deposit MSF



Comparison Set 2: Le Metier Maldives Magic, MAC Refined Matte Suntan, Dior Sunset 002, Dior Aurora 001, MAC Refined Golden, NARS Irresistiblement



Lucky girl Café Makeup has been able to play with Dior Summer for a few weeks since she found them in Paris. Definitely check out her series to see what Aurora looks like on Liz and Amy’s arm (both are lighter and cooler toned than me).

Overall I love both. I think once I get to be at NC35 I will be able to wear the Aurora 001 and have it show up. Sunset 002 is darker and more orangey but not too orangey for me. If you’re fair like Chanel Cameo or MAC NC30 – it may too much for you.

For reference, I’m currently Chanel Shell Teint Innocence, in between MAC NC30-35. My arm underneath is probably closer to a NC30 because the sun does not hit that area.

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