Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
There’s something sketchy about the new NARS Galion Nail Polish ($17), and by that I mean that it reminds me of the graphite pencils I used to draw with in art class. 🙂
Two coats of this creamy dark gray, the sole polish in the upcoming nine-piece fall collection from NARS, deliver fully opaque nail color with a high-shine finish.
When NARS does neutral eyes, he gives ’em a little twist. The new Grand Palais Duo Eyeshadow from the upcoming Fall 2011 collection pairs a silvery taupe with a dusty rose in a partnership designed to flatter most skin tones. The combination takes the idea of the neutral eye well beyond simple brown, gray and beige.
Both shadows feel smooth to me, and they’re quite easy to apply. They pack a real wallop, too, when it comes to pigment, yet neither one leaves behind very much fallout at all.
While they’re intended to be worn separately or together, I have a tough time working these colors by themselves. On my NC42 skin, I feel like the taupe makes me look a little tired in the eyes, and the rose makes me look like I’ve been crying. But mixing both shades together? That’s a whole different story. Teamed up, they’re like the Wonder Twins! — an interesting duochrome of reddish, purplish taupe. 🙂
I prefer the way they look paired together on me, but I bet gals with cooler skin tones will be able to rock them together or alone.
Swatches (applied on top of NARS Smudge-Proof Eye Primer) from the left: taupe side, rose side and mixed together
Taupe and rose mixed together on lids
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This trio is totally ruined! But wait — in this case, that’s a good thing.
The ruins at Delphi, where the ancient Greeks worshipped the god Apollo, inspired Delphes ($45; part of the Fall 2011 collection), the latest trio to emerge from the House of NARS.
Can you see the resemblance? — how the ruins, and the plants taking them over, influenced this cool-toned trio of sparkling, sheer peach, matte dove gray and frosty sage?
The ruins of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece
“Train Bleu Velvet Matte Lip Pencil is perfect for a deep aubergine lip to complement the softer colors of the Trio Eyeshadow.”
–Francois Nars
Swatches atop NARS Smudge-proof Eye Primer
Like a bold accent necklace or a fun, floral scarf, bright blue NARS Outremer Single Eyeshadow ($23) does add a certain something special to a makeup maven’s look.
That said, could I see myself wearing it every single day? No, probably not, because I don’t think it’s that kind of shade, which is not to say it isn’t flexible. Oh, no. It most certainly is. 🙂
NARS designed the mostly matte blue Outremer (see the tiny silver sparkles?), the French word for “overseas,” to contrast with the softer green, peach, taupe and rose eyeshadows in the fall collection.
“Fall is the perfect time to play with dramatic shades, bold color and rich textures, like a bright blue eye or a stormy gray nail.
I like the look of a bright blue eye and a pale pink lip, achieved with Outremer Eyeshadow and Pago Pago Lipstick. It’s striking and modern.”
— Francois Nars
Mission accomplished. Striking, it is, and flexible, too, easy to build from sheer to intense in just a few layers.
Swatches of Outremer (applied on top of NARS Smudge-proof Eye Primer) from the left: one layer; four layers; and applied wet
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Funny how I can’t remember much from college chem lab, but I do recall the lyrics to Foxy Brown’s Get Me Home.
Uh-oh, uh-oh!
Both of them appeared in my life around the same time (in the mid-1990s), but while most of my chem lessons left me long ago, Foxy’s song is still fresh to def in my mind.
Of the few chemistry lessons that have, however, stuck with me after all these years, the law of conservation of mass seems particularly apt today. It states that mass can neither be created nor destroyed, or, as the 13th century scholar NasÄ«r al-DÄ«n al-TÅ«sÄ« put it, “A body of matter cannot disappear completely. It only changes its form, condition, composition, color and other properties and turns into a different complex or elementary matter.”
If true, then what the heck is up with these $1.49 Essence Metallic Eye Pencils?
With so many cheap beauty thrills coming from the Essence line lately — like the Stay With Me Longlasting Lipglosses ($2.29) and Colour & Go Nail Polishes ($0.99) — I’d just assumed these six $1.49 beauties would deliver the same affordable BOOM-BOOM-POW!
From left to right: Iron Goddess, Green Day, Heavy Metal, Lilectric, Black Knight and White Divine
Swatches from left to right with the flash: Iron Goddess, Green Day, Heavy Metal, Lilectric, Black Knight and White Divine
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Just added to the list of blushes that look totally scary in the pan but oh-so-natural on the cheeks: Jouer Mineral Blush in Peony ($24).
It’s a sheer, cool pink matte — not so sheer that you can’t see it on the skin — with a smooth, easy-to-blend texture that’s actually hard to misapply. I’d go with one layer when I want a light flush, and two for something brighter.
One day, after cleaning my room back when I was in elementary school, I asked my mom for an allowance and tried to justify it as compensation for a job well done. Her reply? “When someone starts paying me for making dinner and washing clothes, then you get an allowance.”
Oh, snap! Score one for Team Mom. 🙂
I still managed to scrape together a few bucks here and there, like the one my grandma gave me for being cute. “You’re so cute!” she said. “Here’s a dollar!”
I strutted around with that dollar in my pocket for days, like I was some kind of third-grade baller.
Yes, those formative years probably have something to do with why I love bargain beauty deals so much. My newest cheap thrill: the 99-cent Essence Colour & Go Nail Polishes.
They’re from the same drugstore line responsible for the kick-arse Stay With Me Longlasting Lipglosses, and they come in a bunch of different colors — 22, in fact — spread out among three finishes in shimmery, creamy and holographic.
The 0.16-oz. bottles are quite a bit smaller than regular nail polish bottles (which are typically 0.5 fluid ounces), but I’m fine with that. Heck, I can’t recall the last time I finished a regular bottle of polish, so the smaller size of these doesn’t bother me at all.
From the left: Wake Up, Mellow Yellow, Irreplaceable and You Belong to Me
From the left: Let’s Get Lost, Where Is The Party, Dress for a Moment
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Today, the first official day of summer, has been the hottest day of the year so far, yet shortly after it topped 92 °F this afternoon (33 °C) I exclaimed, “cool!”
Thanks to the shine-preventing power of powder (in this case MAC Blot), you may not be able to tell from these pics that my air conditioner is busted. I considered retreating with my water noodle to a pool, but then I would have had to wait before telling you about these bargain basement glosses from Essence.
Dang, right? Today has been all about the glosses. 🙂
The Essence line, an import from Germany, is still new to U.S. shores. Price-wise, it fits nicely next to other drugstore lines like NYC New York Color and Wet n Wild, and can be found at Ulta stores and also online.
From the left: Me & My Ice Cream, I Like Cotton Candy, Candy Bar, Trendsetter, Kiss Kiss Kiss and Berry Me
Although I felt just so-so about Essence’s $2 eyeshadows, their Stay With Me Longlasting Lipglosses ($2.29) are in a whole different league. If I hadn’t known better, I would have pegged these as $18 glosses from a high-end brand.
I like all six of the colors, but I 
purplish pink I Like Cotton Candy (a dead ringer for Benefit’s discontinued Kiss Me Gloss) and Candy Bar, a pinkish coral that looks great with summery golds and teals.
Swatches from the left: Me & My Ice Cream, I Like Cotton Candy, Candy Bar, Trendsetter, Kiss Kiss Kiss and Berry Me
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