Makeup

Confession time: part of the reason why NARS Cactus Flower Cream Blush ($26) drew me in was because it looked so freakin’ scary in the pan, LOL! I’ve had serious love affairs with brighter-than-bright NARS cheek colors before (Mounia, anyone?), so I hoped from my fingers to my toes that scary blush lightning would strike twice with this shimmery reddish coral.

Cactus Flower’s one of eight cream blushes in the NARS permanent makeup line. The texture feels slightly thinner than MAC and Illamasqua cream blushes to me (almost like a gel blush), and I think that’s part of the reason why it’s so smooth and easy to blend.

It makes the lazy beast in me dance jigs whenever I put it on because of how little work it takes to use — just a few swipes with my fingers, and less then a minute later I’m out the door.

Wearing Cactus Flower at the start of the day. NOTE: I am NOT nekkid in this pic. 🙂 I’m actually wearing a tube top, ha ha!
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WARNING: Do not stare directly at these tubes! Like liquid neon, both of the new Fluo de Chanel lipglosses ($27 each, available in May) may cause temporary blindness. 🙂

Pop (the shiny coral) and Laser (the shiny hot pink) are dressed to play for TEAM BRIGHTS this summer as part of Chanel’s Les Pop-Up de Chanel collection, and if I were to judge them on outward appearances, they’d look bright enough to require shades!

But…
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Urgh! Why do so many pre-packaged makeup kits contain at least thing I just don’t want? I call ’em bad beauty eggs, because it only takes one of them to throw a kit’s bargain/value ratio completely out of whack.

I expected it to happen again when I took my first look at the Cargo Pro Picks Collection ($39), a tiny kit of four items for face and lips.

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Luckily for St. Tropez, their new bronzing powder pellets really do rock, and not just in the ’80s power ballad kinda way.

Shimmering Bronzing Rocks ($40) actually look like little rocks. Well, they go from looking like rocks to looking like delicious chocolate truffles, but that could just be me! 🙂

Why rock?

Luxurious St. Tropez specializes in thinking outside the box when it comes to their self-tanners and bronzers. These Bronzing Rocks complement skin that’s already been kissed by the sun, taking it all the way to the Bronze Age by adding a shimmery, golden glow to shoulders, decollete, cheeks, face, lips and eyes. To ladies of lighter skin tones, Bronzing Rocks deliver a beautiful but subtle glow that’s safer than a regular tan; darker skin tones get a lovely golden shimmer.

How to rock

To apply, swirl a brush on the rocks (hold the olive!) and apply directly to the skin. Or, wield one of the rocks like a piece of chalk, drawing on the eyelids or lips, fun!

One of the best power ballads, evah!

“Good” glitter and a peachy golden glow

St. Tropez feels like a casual bronzer to me, one I’d wear to a beach bar barefoot in a slinky summer dress. I used it today to contour my face and cheeks and really like the fine glitter because it doesn’t make my skin look oily.

As for the color? — worthy of a good headbang. 🙂 It’s a golden, peachy brown about the shade of late afternoon sunlight, and it’s not muddy or orange at all on my skin.
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