Another lovely day, another lovely NARS cheek palette.
Whoops! I misspoke. I meant to say, “another lovely NARS cheek and lip palette,” because the new NARS 413 BLKR Cheek & Lip Palette doesn’t only contain blushes. It also comes with a gorgeous matte lip pencil.
So what is heck is a 413 BLKR? Is it a secret pager code, or the code to a hidden door at NARS headquarters, where if you type it on the keypad, François Nars answers the door and says, “Bonjour ma chère! Have a macaron, and let me do your makeup, you gorgeous girl”?
Um…no, although that would be dope, wouldn’t it?
413 BLKR is the physical address of the NARS flagship store in New York, and it’s also the name of a special collection of NARS products inspired by New York.
The NARS 413 BLKR Cheek & Lip Palette also contains three brand new cheek colors and, if you have a thing for rosy, plummy tones, you just might freak out. But in a good way.
Starting from the left, there’s a light opalescent pinky rose blush that can also double as a highlighter on darker skin tones, then a mid-toned satiny rose with hints of plum and gold, then a satiny deep plum, and finally, on the far right — sigh! — good old golden tan Laguna. Because, obvs, it just wouldn’t be a NARS blush palette without Laguna up in the mix…
Side note: The cheek powders in this palette have that traditional NARS powder formula, unlike the formula of the powders in the Dual-Intensity Palette I reviewed yesterday.
So these blushes aren’t as compressed into their pans as those Dual Intensity Blushes, and you should see more powder particles partying (moving) when you swipe your brush atop the pans.
As you know, Laguna has been around since the Cretaceous Period (can anybody even remember a time before Laguna?), and the 413 BLKR Velvet Matte Lip Pencil has been kickin’ it old-school since 2012, so the fresh and summery rose and plum blushes are the new recruits.
If you wear many rosy purples, plums or cooler-toned hot pink lip colors, these cheek colors should go really well with any of them. I bet you’d get a lot of mileage out of this palette.
Oh, and these blushes have more of a sheen than a sparkle. Some NARS powder blushes…man, they totally go for it with the glitter, ya know? But these don’t. They’re more luminous than frosty. The finishes are very flattering.
The palette, by the way, is limited edition, but you don’t have to go to NYC to get it. It’s available now exclusively at NARS boutiques and the NARS website.
Sansa Fierce and Snapchat
Spoilers ahead!!! Stop reading right now if you haven’t seen last Sunday’s Game of Thrones yet (and you still want to).
GIRL, I can’t even with the latest episode. I. CAN’T. EVEN.
I finally caught up and watched it last night, and I swear to gawd, I had to like…You know that thing little kids do when they cover their eyes, but they still peek out of the little spaces between their fingers?
I did that.
The whole time, I was sure things weren’t going to go well for #TeamStark, so I was absolutely SHOCKED when hottie-patottie Jon Snow climbed his way out of that mountain of bodies, and then my girl Sansa Fierce showed up with her backup army! 🙂
Couldn’t contain myself.
After the episode I turned to El Hub and said, “You know they’re just building up #TeamStark to tear them down again, right?” And he was like, “Yeah…probably.”
But for now I’m going to hold on — HOLD ON FOR ONE MORE DAY! — to the fact that something relatively good happened to most of the Stark kids.
In other news, I finally made a Snapchat account! Now…all I need to do is figure out how to use it, haha. If you have any secret squirrel Snapchat wisdom, please share it.
My Snapchat handle — or is it a Snapchat code? I dunno! — is @karenmbbsnaps.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I love rosy plum shades, but I never wear them. Are they very New York?
I guess so! Or they’re New York inspired. 🙂
Sansa is a total badass! Yassss
Yeah she is. Isn’t that scene at the end where she walks away and smiles the best. Seriously so emotionally satisfying!
I can’t remember where I read it but some people are speculating that she’s pregnant with Ramsay Bolton’s baby. 🙁
Karen, you look so pretty!
Thanks, Chris!
Skipped over the GoT part, but I love the look of that palette.
Yay!
Gorgeous palette! Lord knows I don’t need more Laguna, but those blushes are seriously my kind of color, and I’ve been wanting that pencil for a while. Now if only the NARS website has the Audacious Lipstick in Dominique in stock… it does! I may see a NARS order in my near future 🙂
So good to see you writing reviews again, Karen! I haven’t been able to keep up with the blog because of being in school full-time and then preparing to take the exam to get my esthetician’s license, but I passed last Thursday and am recovering from overwork while waiting for my license to come in the mail! Got to polish up my resume and look for jobs doing mostly facials and makeup (rather than leg and bikini waxes — I think estheticians tend to lean one way or the other, as the two sides really draw on different kinds of skills!)
So I hope to start keeping up again… trusting that you, Connor and Tabs are all healthy and happy — Connor is beyond adorable in pics! 🙂
Hi Fran,
Congrats on passing your exam! That’s so exciting. I hope your job search goes fast and that you find something you love.
OK, so I have to know… What are your fave products for evening out the skin tone? I’m sure you and your fellow esties have some go-tos.
Tabs is doing great (he just got a new toy today which he’s very excited about) and so is Connor. She’s in my office with me right now and is refusing to take a nap, LOL. Go to sleep, child! 🙂
Talk to you soon!
Being a lowly student, I don’t have the inside scoop on everything yet, but, for preventing/treating dark marks, the most important ingredients are:
1. sun protection. you can’t get melanin production without some sun exposure, and ongoing sun exposure will make dark marks worse and produce more dark marks. in fact, it’s especially important to use sun protection in conjunction with any of the following “skin lighteners”
2. “skin lighteners” and some “skin brighteners” work by slowing down the production of melanin.
and there’s a lot of controversy surrounding some of them, especially hydroquinone, which has been banned in several countries due to side effects and a suspicion that it might contribute to cancer.
Dermalogica, a brand that’s popular with estheticians, is favoring oligopeptide-34 in its products, but the research on it is proprietary, so I can’t really evaluate it.
Alpha Arbutin, from bearberry extract, is a popular skin-lightening ingredient, but is apparently chemically related to hydroquinone, but without the side effects.
Various other botanicals may also slow melanin production.
Retinol, vitamin C, and chemical exfoliants, especially BHA (salycylic acid), all reduce dark marks while having numerous other benefits for skin, so I favor them for general use against “age spots” and post-acne hyperpigmentation.
If someone has significant melasma, I would suggest seeing a dermatologist to discuss the options. Medically supervised application of hydroquinone to small areas of skin is probably safe.
But it’s really important to remember that a few hours of sun exposure could undo the positive effects of months of applying topical skin brighteners.
That is probably not the answer you wanted…
I recently purchased iS Clinical’s Pro-Heal Serum Advance Plus while dermstore was having a 20% off sale. I don’t usually buy such expensive skin care products (I’m a CeraVe, First Aid Beauty, MD Solar Sciences, and Paula’s Choice kind of gal, mostly), but I’ve been getting weird irritated spots on my neck where my skin seems to be reacting to my own sweat (!), plus little blisters on my feet from getting used to wearing sandals are taking *forever* to heal now that I’m older, so I decided to give this vitamin-packed powerhouse a try. Interestingly, it’s got a couple of skin-lightening ingredients in it. It’s supposed to help with rosacea (mine’s in good control, but if I could get rid of some residual redness without lasers that would be nice) and cystic acne, among other things. It’s a really weightless serum that hasn’t irritated my very sensitive skin anywhere in two days of application — waiting to see what positive effects it will have!
Yeah, GoT was both super sad and super cool. I wonder if Sansa is preggo with a Bolton heir. He said he was inside her now, which could be figurative but it could be literal. I also noticed she was only shot from the chest up in most scenes which may be telling.
The palette is cute but Laguna is too dark for me. I have a tendency to skip the palettes where it is inside but this one is tempting.
It was favorite episode to date. I’ve really been loving this season!
I’m very proud that I knew what 413 BLKR was. But only because you’ve said it before. 🙂 I hear you on Laguna, but at least it wasn’t Orgasm, right? HAHA! Don’t get me wrong, I love it. Just saying that NARS uses those 2 heavily. When I saw your palette pic, I thought they’d all make lovely eyeshadows, too. It can be done, can’t it? 🙂
PS I have no fear for Jon, for he is the Prince That Was Promised. 😉
Ooh, I think these would be cool eyeshadows too! Sometimes I plop a little bit of my blush into the crease to tie a look together. I bet that would work in this case. 🙂
Re: Jon. I was convinced it was over when he got trapped under that pile of bodies and was shocked – SHOCKED! – when he made it out alive. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, though. This is GoT after all.
When I saw yesterday’s review of the dual intensity blush palette I was, “yeah, no, maybe, nope, got to save money.” But I’ve been eyeing this one, despite the fact there is more laguna in it. I think I need to have this one. Not want, need.
We’re still on the first few episodes of this season of GoT. Dear Husband is working way too much overtime at his new job (he’s worked every Sat. and Sun. for the past 6 weeks) and there hasn’t been much time for us to sit down watch TV together, besides the Warrior games. But I’ve been reading up on the episodes on-line. I watched a video yesterday about the lead horse wrangler and how she set the shot up so that Kit Harrington was completely safe during the horse stampede. Man, I’d love to put on a suit of armor and be one of the horse riding extras on that set!
Got to go order this blush palette.
The horse scenes were really cool, and the entire battle was epic. It was hands down one of my fave GoT eps ever. I think I need to watch it again so that I can enjoy it in a non-stressed state, LOL!
Did you end up ordering the palette? 🙂 I need to hop online and get some stuff, too. I’m just about out of my ride-or-die Kate Somerville acne cream (without it I’m a mess) and maybe the Illume Sheer Color Trio.
I’m dragging my feet on the palette. Trying to balance wanting something so badly v. saving some money for a rainy day. Or at least the Nordstrom Anniversary sale, which I got notice in today’s mail, is coming up soon.
Maybe I’ll drive to SF and see if they have this at the NARS boutique on Filmore. If I see it in person I’ll know whether it’s right for me or not.
Gorgeous palette and lip color.
I like this one too! Kim (one of the commenters up above) mentioned that it might even be pretty for eyeshadows, too. I’m gonna pop the dark plum in my crease just for fun. 🙂
I hope you’re having a nice day so far. Things on this end are good; Connor’s currently with me in my office keeping me company and chatting away.
This palette looks great on you! And thank you for reviewing it – it’s one I’d been eyeing but was kinda hesitant to buy. Definitely going to making room for this new addition now.
Loved the last episode of GoT. Though now you have to wonder what Petyr Balish (Littlefinger) is going to blackmail Sansa and/or Jon with, having saved them with the Arryn army. Btw, yuck on the thought of Sansa being pregnant with Ramsay’s child!
I’ve got to have that palette. Those blushes are right up my alley. Love the lip pencil too, and I don’t have it. So glad you are on Snap! I just added you. (I’m daydreambeauty) I’m pretty new there too, and mostly feel too old for it. I do post the occasional makeup or cat snap though lol.
Hi Amber,
Thanks for adding me. I think the best part of Snapchap so far at the cat snaps, haha!
Yes! Finally Sansa oulled herself together! And all those episodes with Jon, OMG!