So a couple of weeks ago I had a day off work, wandered into
Mecca and started wreaking havoc on their NARS products. I was playing with
everything from blush colours, bronzers, eye shadows and lip colours. My hands
and wrists were a mess! (this dictates how much I love a product…or how
indecisive I am feeling on the day). I WANTED EVERYTHING…but, as I am saving up
for my trip at the end of the year, I convinced myself it could all wait…only
to have myself rush home and do a haul online. The girl in the shop let me know
about a NARS event they were holding where some cosmetic experts were coming
from over east to train their staff and do make-overs. I made a booking and
went to it yesterday.
The Make-Over:
They didn’t to anything new or exciting, but I did learn a
bit about a new way to create a smokey bronze look. What they did that
surprised me was putting ‘himalayas’ directly over the top of ‘cordura’ to give
it a sort of pinkish rainbow sheen. It surprised me that they didn't use anything directly under my brow as a highlighter, but it worked either way. The main thing that impressed me with my
eyes was the Via Veneto eyeliner they used, I never knew it even came with a
little pencil sharpener attached on the end! Will be picking this one up next
time I do an online shop. I might get the 'cordura' shadow duo if I ever get fed up of my natural eye palettes. They also used 'nepal' in my socket and 'bali' on my brows. I didn’t get a change to take a photo straight away
as I went out that night but here are a couple of shots from when I got home.
(I probably need a better camera to do this...)
What I ended up redeeming on the day (the booking was $50
fully redeemable on product), was a blush in ‘orgasm’ (officially initiating me
into the beauty blogger community) and a lipstick in ‘cruising’ which I am
really impressed with! They picked out the lip colour for me and I was shocked
at how I couldn’t have found a more perfect colour myself. I love it because it
is natural and I can wear it with ANY look. The pink works perfectly for me and seems to be a little bit darker than the natural colour of my lips. I can wear it to work and keep
re-applying it whenever I need to without worrying about how my lips look
in-between applications or after eating and drinking because the colour is nice
and subtle. It is slightly shiny and glossy in the light. I can't seem to capture the look of it properly with my camera so have not included a swatch. This lip colour also goes perfectly with 'Orgasm'. I was surprised at how glittery 'Orgasm' was because my other NARS blush 'Gina' was completely matte. Another example of the great range of different products that NARS provides I guess!
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| My NARS Sheer Lipstick in 'Cruising' |
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| The all famous 'Orgasm' blush |
I got a free gift sample of the soft touch shadow pencil in
‘Aigle Noir’. When I swatched it I was surprised to see a black liner with
shimmers and specks of gold all through it. I can’t wait to use this one. I
also got a tiny ‘orgasm’ blush that looks just like the original package just
in miniature. Since I bought a full sized one of this today I might include
this in a little give-away pack if and when I get 100 followers haha! I don’t
have a photo of the swatch because my camera just didn’t do it justice, sorry!
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| Aigle Noir |
The Haul:
This is what I bought online (here), before the event, to introduce
myself to the NARS cosmetic range. I hadn't been shopping at all in about to weeks which I think many will agree is A LONG TIME and I had worked 13 days in a row with my separate jobs....so yes, I spoiled myself.
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| The Haul: Yachiyo Kabuki Brush, Sheer Glow Foundation, Blush, Bronzer, The Multiple |
When the girl in the shop was helping me try on the blushes and bronzers on my face she used the Yachiyo Kabuki Brush. I loved it straight away because it felt so amazingly soft on my skin. When I received my order I still loved it because it picked up the colours so easily as well as blending the blush so quickly. I use it for both blush and bronzer because it is so versatile in this way (and soft!). The only reason I find it more designed for blush is because it is a little bit small for when you want to take your bronzer and put it all over. The size and shape specifically works for shaping cheek contours, which would be a bit difficult if it was any bigger. I can still work with it for bronzer though.
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| Unravelling the box... |
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| Shape and size |
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| front and side view |
I dont find the Sheer Glow foundation sheer at all. It is super smooth, easy to apply and best of all, it is completely build-able for any level of cover. I have the second lightest shade - 'Dauville'. I only wish I bought the little pump that you can get separate, as you need to just cover the top with your finger and shake it to get any out.
I bought the multiple in 'Copacabana' as it was listed as one of the best-selling products at Mecca and I loved the texture and colour as I tried it on. My imagination went wild with all the different ways I was thinking of using it. So far I have been using it as an illuminator under my eyes and on the top of my cheekbones (it is beautfiful!) but I can't wait until it is warm enough to start wearing some slightly more revealing tops and singlets so I can use it over my neck, collar and shoulders as an all-over shimmer.
I didn't have a bronzer and the girl in the shop made it look so good on my skin so I decided my first bronzer would be another Mecca all-stars best-seller 'Laguna'. I am very pale but I can still use small amounts of this all over to give my skin a bit of warmth and contour over foundation.
And a swatch, not much point though because my camera is so bad...
The blush I chose at this time without any research into the selection available at NARS was 'Gina'. I went for this one because it was different to any other blush I had tried before as it has a peach tone. I only have pink or red toned blushes so it was easy for me to justify this one. I really like it because it gives me a cute bright 'fresh' look.
That about wraps it up. I am looking forward to snapping up 'Via Veneto' in the future as well as trying some NARS eyeshadows eventually (if I can decide which ones). Comment if you have anything to add, if you agree or disagree, or if you have any recommendations of which NARS products I should try next!
