* Please note that the bronzer and blush were applied with a heavy hand for swatches and do not look the same on the face, when applied with a bronzer/blush brush, these 2 mixed create a healthy soft glow
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Another combination: green/gold/brown eyes with peachy lips/cheeks
1) MAC Cash Flow Paint Pot 2) Giorgio Armani Eyeshadow Quad #3 3) Benefit Coralista 4) MAC New Vegas Mineralize Skinfinish 5) Chanel Black Jade Eyeliner 6) MAC Summerfruit Lipliner 7) MAC Shy Girl Lipstick 8) Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #1 9) Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #16
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Another combination: green eyes with pink lips/cheeks
Cheeks: Chanel Rose Petale
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Ballet Pink Cream Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Ivy Shimmer Gel Liner Chanel Murano Quad
Lips: Bobbi Brown Blondie Pink Lipliner Chantecaille Camelia Lip Chic Edward Bess Bare Rose Lipgloss
Today’s color theme includes bronzey eyes and peachy lips/cheeks with three variations. (Note that Day 1 has been updated as well with a third look.) I would have to say this is my no-fail go to look. I always feel comfortable with a bronze liner and a soft peach lip (although I’ve been told that I look better in pinks and plums).
Look Day #2: bronze eyes with peachy lips & cheeks
Cheeks: Chanel Fandango Blush MAC Refined Mineralize Skin Finish
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Sandy Gold Cream Eyeshadow MAC Vanilla Pigment Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill #2 Brown Copper Trish McEvoy Eye Definer Sparkling Bronze
Lips: Make Up Forever Aqua Lip Liner 1C Laura Mercier Designer Beige Shimmer Lipstick Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer #3
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Alternative with a brighter lip:
Cheeks: Trish McEvoy Liquid Face Color #1 + MAC Superduper Natural Mineralize Blush
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Flesh Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Burnished Cream Eyeshadow Nars Cordura Eyeshadow Duo Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Liner Lips: Chanel Exquise Rouge Allure MAC Euro Beat Dazzleglass mixed with Paul & Joe Lip Lacuqer #8
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Alternative with a smokier eye & lighter nude-peach lip:
Cheeks: Chanel Tweed Sienna Blush Le Metier Blush/Bronze Duo Sunkissed and Echo Eyes: MAC Femme Fi Eyeshadow Trish McEvoy Eye Definer in Sparkling Bronze MAC Gilt by Association Mineralize Eyeshadow Lips: Bobbi Brown Beige Lipliner Giorgio Armani Rouge D’Armani Beige 101 Le Metier de Beaute Peche Creme
(Note you will most likely see a recurring trend with the Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers because I love them so much! For those who don’t have access to Paul & Joe, do not fear, I will include other brands too.)
Last week I shared a few other items from Nars Holiday 2009: Luxor, Brousse, Eurydice & Aigle Noir. This weekend I was able to check out the entire tester unit (since it wasn’t blocked by tools and tissue boxes from the event) and picked up two more items Taiga Eyeshadow Duo and Mousson Cream Eyeshadow.
No swatches for these, but Taiga has a sheer sparkley light golden color and a shimmery olive-greyish green. The duo does seem to be a bit more sheer than most of his eyeshadows, but is still gorgeous in my opinion. Definitely test it out before buying.
Mousson is the prettiest sparkley silvery-green color. I don’t have a crease so I don’t have to worry about creasing. I know a lot of ladies don’t like the Nars Cream Eyeshadows – I must be in the minority because I have several that I use regularly and love. I do find they fade faster than most, but I personally don’t mind!
My local Nordstrom was having a store wide event and each line was having makeovers or gifts-with-purchases. The place was packed, so I wasn’t able to see the new collection tester unit and was only able to pick up a few things. From Nars Holiday 2009, I came home with Luxor Multiple, Brousse Eyeshadow Duo (top), Eurydice Eyeshadow Duo (bottom) & Aigle Noir Soft Touch Shadow Pencil.
Luxor Multiple ($37) is an pale shimmery pink. The Nars promotional picture on their website is fairly accurate in showing how light it is. If you like light colors like Giorgio Armani Blush #12 and Chanel Wintersky, you will probably like this one. I feel it’s a bit pale and more on the sheer side for me (Chanel Shell/Beige, Armani Lasting Silk 5.5-6.5) but it’s different from any other cream product I have.
For Brousse & Eurydice Eyeshadow Duos ($32 each), I felt the promotional pictures were a lot more exciting than the actual product, but I did find them both very unique for Nars and different from anything else I own as well. Brousse has a soft shimmery brown (think a puppy chocolate lab) and a soft purple shimmer. Eurydice has a brighter purple-eggplant with hints of fuschia and a dark complex charcoal.
Left = Brousse, Right = Eurydice:
Some comparison pictures:
1) Brousse (L) versus Cordura (R):
2) Kalahari vs. Brousse vs. Charade:
3) Eurydice vs. Dior Night Butterfly vs. Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill 3:
Aigle Noir Soft Touch Shadow ($24) is a blackened gold. Along the lines of Clinique Egyptian but in a chubby pencil form.
I haven’t had a chance to play around with the products except for the multiple. This will be a busy week for me, so I don’t think I will be able to get swatches up until the end of the week. Hope these pictures help a bit! I plan on going back to Nordstrom to check out the rest of the products in the collection hopefully when it’s not so crowded.
Here is October’s list of Ten Things I’m Loving Right now. There’s a slight twist on a few items because I simply could not pick one item in a certain category. I’d love to hear what you all are loving right now too.
1) Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill #1 Steel Black Mascara $28 – I finally found a mascara that thickens and holds curl! I have the straightest lashes ever and even after curling with my favorite Trish McEvoy Eyelash Curler, nothing holds the curl as well as this one. Doesn’t clump, smudge or flake. I’ve tried other Armani mascaras in the past and did not like them at all, luckily, I got a mini-sized version of this to try out first. My other favs are DiorShow (gives thick plush lashes), Dior Iconic (gives dramatic black lashes) and Chanel Inimitable (also great) – but Armani’s Eyes to Kill has won my heart.
* A few key tips – I recommend using only one coat and make sure it dries completely before touching up your eye makeup or removing smudges from eyeshadow fall out. Also, I use this in conjunction with an eyelash curler, I can’t say whether or not it is curling, but I will say it holds the curl very well.
2) Shu Uemura Natural Pony Brush 20 $50 – Soft and plush, this is the perfect size and shape with the right density in bristles to make this my favorite blush brush. There is an angled version 20h which is just as soft.
3) Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner $33 – I was lucky to try a sample before I bought this. The Paul & Joe toner makes my skin feel refreshed and it isn’t too drying or heavy. I have sensitive skin and this seems to be gentle and effective at the same time. Love the price too!
4) Bobbi Brown Nude Shimmer Brick $38 – I own almost every Shimmer Brick from Bobbi Brown and this one is the prettiest to date and works on both eyes and cheeks. It features “five pure pearl pigments—pink, gold, bronze, beige and caramel” – I believe it is limited edition, but can still be found at various counters. See comparisons to other shades HERE.
5) Chanel Quadra Eyeshadows in Mystic Eyes $56 – This is one of the prettiest unique combination of colors I have seen. I love the silvery shade because it has some golden flecks in the shimmer. I like to wear it with NARS Oasis Blush and Stolen Kisses Lipgloss over Mitzi Lipstick.
6) MAC Viva Glam V Lipglass $14 – this is my classic no-fail neutral pink lip gloss
7) Black/Gold Olivey Colors – I really like black golds for fall which can sometimes end up looking olivey with the combination. My favorites right now are:
1. MAC Seriously Hip Nail Polish 2. MAC Gilt By Association Mineralize Eye Shadow 3. Laura Mercier Black Gold Kohl Eye Pencil 4. Clinique Egyptian Eyeliner 5. Bobbi Brown Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Liner
9) Beige Shimmer Lipglosses like MAC Bare Necessity Dazzleglass $18, Chanel Freeze Aqualumiere $27, Hourglass Ignite Extreme Sheen Gloss $28, Chantecaille Crystalline Brilliant Gloss $28, Le Metier Captiva Sheer Brilliance Gloss $32 and Laura Mercier Opal Lip Glace $22 all have this lovely complex iridescence with a neutral beigey base giving a barely-there glow to the lips.
L to R: MAC Bare Necessity, Chanel Freeze, Hourglass Ignite, Chantecaille Crystalline, Le Metier Captiva, Laura Mercier Opal
10) L’Occitane Cherry Blossom Hand Cream $10 – love this for the packaging and lightweight non-sticky texture. I keep one in my purse all the time. Also comes in the larger sizes and a few different scents/formulas.
Purple seems to be popular this fall and there are quite a few vampy purples that have been released (or repromoted) this season. I did a feature back in July, Color Focus: Dark Vampy Polish with some of the vampy shades I have and a swatch/review on Nars Tokaido Express as well.
I just added MAC’s Baby Goth Girl from the Style Black release to my own personal collection and love it! Although it looks similar to my other vampy shades in natural light, I found it different enough in the undertone and sparkle to make my heart skip a beat when I put it on. Here are some comparisons to other purple shades.
Left to right: Nars Tokaido Express, Chanel Vendetta, Chanel Feu de Russie, MAC Baby Goth Girl, OPI Black Cherry Chutney
Three coats each shade:
Thumb = OPI Black Cherry Chutney Index Finger = MAC Baby Goth Girl Middle Finger = Chanel Feu de Russie Ring Finger = Chanel Vendetta Pinkie = Nars Tokaido Express
Same order as above, different view:
Close up swatches of Chanel Vendetta, Chanel Feu de Russie, MAC Baby Goth Girl
Swatches in natural light, same order as above:
Thumb = OPI Black Cherry Chutney Index Finger = MAC Baby Goth Girl Middle Finger = Chanel Feu de Russie Ring Finger = Chanel Vendetta Pinkie = Nars Tokaido Express
This is the newest palette from Nars which is currently a Saks Exclusive in the US and available to Narscosmetics.com. The palette was sold out on the Nars website for a couple weeks, so I called the Saks Locator to track one down from store stock and had them order it for me. I did speak with Nars Customer Service a couple weeks ago and they said they were expecting another shipment of this palette by today. So check back online shortly!
I don’t have a lot of purples in my eyeshadow stash, so these comparison photos aren’t necessarily dupes, but comparisons.
1. Laura Mercier Primrose 2. MAC Seedy Pearl 3. Nars Charade Duo (darker side) 4. Trish McEvoy Haze 5. MAC Fertile 6. MAC Blackberry 7. Laura Mercier Bordeaux (old version) 8. MAC Velour (discontinued) 9. MAC Shroom 10. Chanel Lotus 11. MAC Bronze 12. Chantecaille Jasper 13. Trish McEvoy Rose Quartz
See my other Nars Palettes, Nars Best, Modern Love, and Essential Eyes here: Nars Palettes = Pure Love
* Please note that the bronzer and blush were applied with a heavy hand for swatches and do not look the same on the face, when applied with a bronzer/blush brush, these 2 mixed create a healthy soft glow
1) MAC Cash Flow Paint Pot
