$10 NARS Deals at Sephora

Sometime last month (?), or maybe it was just a few weeks ago (time escapes me), I ordered a couple of NARS goodies after discovering they were only $10 on Sephora. I bought NARS' Duo Eyeshadows in Cheyenne and Wicked as well as their lipgloss in All Night Long. I believe that the duo eyeshadows are now sold out but the lip gloss is in stock. >(^o^)> I'm not sure what possessed me to make that emoticon.

 

Wicked, All Night Long, & Cheyenne 

Shown above is Wicked. This was really just an impulse buy because I can't pass up a good deal. Other than that, when will I ever wear lime green eyeshadow?

Cheyenne was more up my alley. It comes with a bronze-gold as well as a reddish copper.

 

 Wicked duo, Cheyenne duo (The copper color is not true to life, it appears more of a cool brown in photos, but true copper face to face... )

Cheyenne duo, Wicked duo

Like all other NARS eyeshadows I've tried, I'm again amazed by the amazing texture and pigmentation. They are always smooth and the colors are always vibrant and pigmented. I haven't actually used Wicked yet (bad I know, considering I received it so long ago), but I reckon the white will make a nice highlight, while the green will make a nice partner to keep the white company in it's lonely case. I did end up using Cheyenne, using the gold all over the lid and the red copper into the crease. Verdict? Amazing color payoff, horrible look on me. That's right. I don't even know why I attempted to use this duo, I KNOW that copper and reddish colors look HORRENDOUS on me. There's just something about coppers that make me look plain gross and a bit evil. I'm not joking. I just can't pull it off, I can't really explain it, but I just look BAD. B-A-D. Get the picture? So, two out of four colors isn't horrible is it...?

Moving on (since I'm getting oh-so-huffy)...

All Night Long was another impulse buy. I always wear nudes, but couldn't resist the cheap pricetag on this deep colored baby.

All Night Long  is a wonderfully smooth and pigmented berry color. It looks like a deeper plum in the tube but applies like a light berry when swatched. I haven't tried it on my lips because I'm still getting over my experience with Turkish Delight (YEESH Note: Splotchy color, horrendous taste, bad smell). BUT, sources have informed me of the majesty that is this lip gloss (translation: it's wonder in a tube).

Bottom line, I like the products (with the exception of the way copper looks on me), but truth be told, these have been sitting in the back of a drawer ever since this swatching session.

THREE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!

I'm a NARS Junkie

If you didn't already know, Sephora has this habit of making awesome boxed sets. I recently hauled this during the Friends and Family sale. No, this was not the only thing I bought from the sale. I have four more packages coming in. *BLUSH*. It's that time of year again. This NARS Junkie Beauty in a Box ($69) is exclusive to Sephora, and is a $121 value. After the 20% off, I got it for about $55, which is typically the price of the eyeshadow palette alone.

What's in the box:
-Nars Essential Eye Palette
-Lipgloss in Ophelia
-Mini multiple in Orgasm
-Mini bronzer in Laguna

 The main reason I wanted the set was for the eyeshadow palette. The colors included are: Unconditional love (cream shadow), Night Star, Galapagos, Nepal, Ondine, and Thunderball. Thunderball is a lot darker than pictured above. The complete palette is the size of a NARS bronzer.

Unconditional Love, Night Star, Galapagos, Nepal, Ondine, and Thunderball

Unconditional love is the cream shadow included. It's a "peach-beige shimmer", which is pretty spot on, but in my opinion is more beige than peach. The consistency is nice, but I really had to layer it on. Night Star is a "sheer peach with gold pearls". Translation: It's a light almost crappy sheer cream with chunky glitter. Yech. I don't like. I'll use it as a highlight but the glitter throws me off. Galapagos is a "rich bronze with gold flecks". This is one of the most pigmented colors in the set. This is where NARS quality really goes to work. I'm still not a fan of the glitter, but the color is so deep and rich, I can oversee its mild downfall. Nepal is a "rose with shimmer" and it an overall nice natural lid shade. Ondine is a "plum with gold shimmer". It's probably my favorite color out of the kit. It's a great crease color, and they dismissed the glitter for a nice shimmer. The last, darkest color, is Thunderball, which is a "midnight grey". It looks more like a blackened navy to me. As you can see, I swatched it really poorly, but it IS pigmented. Overall, even though there were a few disappointments, I can say I love this palette. I can easily, and probably will, incorporate this into my new everyday look.

The mini Laguna bronzer is by all means MINI in every sense. You can see it compared here to a full size as well as the size included in the blush/bronzer duo. I've already talked about how much I like NARS' Laguna. It's a pretty tan shade with a nice golden sheen.

I'm not a very big fan of NARS' lipglosses. I find them to be sticky, drying, and I SWEAR they accentuate every fine line I have on my lips. Even if my lips are moisturized, these glosses still make them look dry. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Ophelia. I expected a darker color, but fortunately, it's a medium strawberry pink. It is a sheer color, but looks nice on the lips. I'm forced to believe it's NARS' lighter colors that are more drying.

Here's NARS' cult favorite Orgasm blush in stick form. NARS' Multiples are called multiples because they can be used for multiple purposes. I don't see myself putting this anywhere but my cheeks though. From the get-go, I already think that Orgasm is overhyped. I own it, and I don't get what the big deal is. The multiple is super cute in its mini form and is nice to try. I would use it under Orgasm's powdered form, or to add a nice sheen. Other than that, it's passable.

Laguna, Ophelia, Orgasm Multiple

And, here's the samples I got. I love samples! (Er, even though I rarely ever use them).

Overall, I think this is a great set. It's a good value for the price and products included are super nice =).
I'll be posting more of my Sephora hauls as they come in. I feel like I've been waiting for years! Worst part is, now that the sale is over, I found more products I want. Luckily, the VIB in-store event is fast approaching!

How do you feel about these products? Have Orgasm? Love it? Hate it?

Off to go mooch around for the rest of my Sunday! And, don't forget to enter my giveaway!

NARS Limited Edition Douceur Blush

For Fall 2010, NARS released one blush. The shade is "Douceur" ($26). It's described as a matte soft pink-brown. This is one of those really hard to describe colors. It does have a pink tone, but is tan at the same time. When I swatch it however, it doesn't even look very pink. One of the things I really like about this blush is that the NARS logo is engraved into the product itself, although it certainly will fade with usage.

The color itself is really lovely. I was skeptical at first, the color is very dusty and looks ho-hum in the pan. It isn't very pigmented, especially compared to its sisters. BUT, Douceur does mean "softness" in French. This blush is exactly that, a tool to achieve a very pretty soft look. I think it would work really well on those with lighter skin. Even though I have medium skin, I really like it. It's one of those shades that I can slap on as much as I want and just simply look like I have a healthy soft glow, without having heavily blushed cheeks. I'm a bit heavy handed, so this works great for me. A lot of people might not like it since it isn't quite pigmented, but I'm gonna go ahead and say this is near the top of my NARS blush list.

As you can see, it's a really hard color to swatch.

I highly recommend this if you have lighter skin, or if you have medium skin and a heavy hand and an interest in soft glowy cheeks =).

NARS Cordura and EOTD

In honor of neutrals and my more recent NARS kick, feast your eyes on NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Cordura ($32). It's easy, it's pretty, and it's NEUTRAL. NARS offers a good array of different color duos, and when I saw this caramel and dark chocolate duo, I couldn't help myself.

The colors are rich, almost too rich. I feel like they're almost overly pigmented. By that I mean that when I use the lighter caramel color, it comes on a darker brown. How is this possible?! I have no idea, because the slight shimmer in it is golden, so there's no possible explanation for the dark hue. This scared me from trying the darker color at first, but I conquered my fears and slapped the duo on my lids. Result? I Likey. Although the colors are deeper than what I would often use on my lids, they look very nice.

As for texture, the colors are smooth and blend well. Be careful to not use too much. A little goes a long way with this pigmented baby.

Here's what it looks like on my lids. As always, my camera picks up the camera poorly, meaning the colors were MUCH deeper in real life:

I hope you guys all had a great Fourth of July!

On the other hand, has anyone read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins? I read it this weekend, bought it and finished in one day. It was that good! Plus, it's a super easy read.

I'm sure a lot of people of heard of it, or have read it. I'm itching on getting my hands on the next one =)!

NARS' Sugarland, Is It That Sweet?

NARS, like MAC is one of my favorite brands. I've been getting into NARS' eyeshadows recently, so I picked up NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Sugarland ($32). I figured that a single was $21, so $32 for a duo is a GREAT deal. I failed to realize that with that price I could buy two MAC shadows. *Blush* .

Sugarland is described as a "glimmering apricot/ lavender pink with golden sheen". That's pretty much spot on. The "apricot" side is more of a pale pink/gold to me. Gorgeous none the less. I wear the apricot all over my lid and the lavender into the crease, which I assume is how the colors are meant to be worn. The effect is very soft and fairytale like. I like the shadows. I just wish the colors didn't powder all over the compact. Be careful!

The lavender side is very smooth and soft to the touch. Very easy to work with. However, I really really hate the texture of the goldy side. It's so CHUNKY. The particles are rough and it's a bit tougher to work with (still do-able however). Although the texture is harsh, the color is too pretty to pass up. Plus, I paid $32 for it, so  you bet I'll be using it =). All in all, I pretty good buy. I definitly recommend NARS shadows.


What's your favorite NARS duo?

Nars Goldmember: Austin Powers Need Not Apply

I love all things gold. I mean, they're sparkly and look good on nearly every darn skin color. I was really psyched to pick up NARS' Cream Blush in Goldmember ($26). First of all, NARS is one of my favorite brands. Second, HELLO it's gold.

Although it's classified as a blush, like Albatross, it's actually a highlighter. I have no idea why the swatch on Sephora is yellow. If I was purchasing judging from online swatches, I'd stay far away. In the pan however, it sings a different song. It's a really pretty true shimmery gold.

Looks like a pretty good swatch right? FALSE. You guys do not know how heavily I had the swatch this thing. It just doesn't show up well. I tried to use it on my face, and it wasn't very noticeable. I think you'd need fairer skin for the color to show up. The results were average, you did get a slight sheen but nothing worth $26. Another concern was wear time. I just don't think it lasts very long. I probably should have reached for one of the true cream blushes, but I'm such a sucker for the 24K. Eh, I'm gonna try giving it another go since I shelled out the money for it.

What's your favorite highlighter?

Side note: Whew. I'm so exhausted. I spent all day yesterday and today writing three essays. I'm on campus and I'm dying. I'm glad its finally the weekend, but finals are next week and I'm majorly stressin'. I'm trying to get in some blogging on my down-time, but it's been pretty hectic with some personal issues I'm dealing with. Weren't things easier when all we worried about were naps and applesauce?

Super Cheap Nars Albatross Dupe

Nars Blush in Albatross ($26) is my HG highlighter. It makes me happy and I can't help but coo and sigh when I tickle it with my brush. God, I'm psycho. E.L.F. recently came out with three new blushes, with one that looks strangely similar to Albatross. I spotted it on the website under the pseudonym "Gotta Glow". Now, I'm already aware that E.L.F. totally ripped off Nars (think black flat packaging and products such as their Blush/Bronzer duo- Orgasm/Laguna anyone?). E.L.F.'s Blush in Gotta Glow ($3) is basically Albatross' sister in cheap clothing.

First similarity: Packaging. Nars has an icky rubber plastic that attracts fingerprints that I can't stand, but looks a lot sleeker. ELF has a clear window on the outside to see the color, and a mirror on the inside.

Albatross on the right, Gotta glow on the left

Albatross (top) and Gotta Glow (bottom)

NARS has better pigmentation, and the gold is more prominent in the ELF blush. However, when I actually applied them to my face, I seriously could not tell the difference. Plus, you save $23 dollars by buying Gotta Glow. For those of you who are lemming after Albatross: Here's your solution! If you already have Albatross, pass, because that thing will last you ages. I knew I had to have Gotta Glow just because I love anything that closely resembles my beloved. Plus, I wasn't losing much with spending three bucks. 

Do you guys have either? What do you think?

Step Aside High Beam, Albatross is in the Hiz-ouse

I have a huge affinity for highlighters. I saw NAY to matte skin and YAY to the dewy-glowy look. I feel like I've been stuck in a rut with Benefit's Moon Beam and High Beam. Don't get me wrong, they're wonderful highlighters. I guess I was just a little bored of the liquid formulas. Then I met Nars Albatross ($26).

Albatross is classified as a Nars blush. It's actually a highlighter. It's a bit alarming in the pan. It looks like a stark white, with slight pale gold shimmer. But, when you put it on, BAM. It gives you a sexy golden sheen. It's so finely milled that the result is a soft halo-esque glow, no gold glitter here ABBA.

I use it on on top of my cheekbones and down my nose (when I'm feelin' it). I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY.
It's kind of hard to photograph correctly, but I tried anyways. Can you guys see the slight shimmer on my cheekbones? Trust me, it's more noticeable in real life.

 Oh I'm in love.

What's your favorite highlighter?

Products I Regret Buying

I'm sure this has happened to everyone. You go to the store, see something you have to have, just to go home, try it, and be mega disappointed. Here are 10 items I shouldn't have bought. (Not to say them won't work for you. they just didn't for me.)

1) Mac's Hello Kitty Blush in Fun and Games

 

I tried so hard to like it, and managed to even persuade myself it was perfect. However, I've come to the realization that the pigmentation is so sucky, I'm not really getting much color out of it.

2) Loreal HIP Duo in Wicked

Seventeen magazine sucked me into buying this along time ago. It won best eyeshadow of the year. HAH. Yeah, right. Those 12 year olds obviously don't know good pigmentation. The bronzey side is ok, but the purple side is awful. I've tried to use this about 2 times now and the color isn't smooth and it gets muddy. YUCK.

3) NARS Concealer duo in Custard/Ginger

I was really excited for this one. I mean, c'mon it's NARS. Sadly, it doesn't conceal much. I use it on my eyelids now. AND, I still believe Nars has THE crappiest packaging. Fingerprint alert.

4) Urban Decay Blush in Exhale

It's super sparkly. Meaning, theres huge glitter chunks in this. I expect this out of their eyeshadows. But blush too? The color is nice but doesnt show up great, plus, did I mention the huge craft glitter?

5) Victoria's Secret Femme Lipstick

Yeah, it's a nice nude color and all in the picture. But it has crappy quality up the wazoo. It's drying on my lips and the color is strange on me. Again, DRYING.

6) Rimmel Lipstick in Airy Fairy

I had heard a lot about this one so I decided to try it. I HATE, ABHOR, DESPISE the color (on me anyways). And I really don't know why. I think I'm disappointed from the hype.

7) Sephora Lipliner in Chair Lift

First of all, the brush end is plain retarded. Second, who the hell invented the wood on the pencil. It's so harsh! The color would be nice if it didn't go on unevenly and chunky. Yeah. (note: try out Sephora's native nude lipliner, that stuff is geat).

8) Stila Major Lash Mascara

Doesn't do anything for my lashes. No volume, no length. Major lash? More like major a**. End of story.

9) OPI for Sephora Nail polish in A True Romantic

Tried this out once. Not doing it again. It's one of THOSE colors. The one's that come on two sheer, the ones for french manicures. I was not aware of this when I bought it. I was expecting a pink pastel.

10) Maybelline Superstay Foundation

I knew I shouldn't have gone behind colorstay's back. I'm a big fan of anything that says it'll "Stay". This is supposed to be transfer-proof. It's not. It transfered on EVERYTHING that touched it. A napkin, my shirt, my boyfriend's pillow. Freakin Fantastic huh?

I actually have a very important number 11 to add : Loreal HIP Cream eyeliner in Eggplant. IT SUCKS. pigmentation is poor. It's very sheer. I like the black one they make, but the purple is ridiculous.

What are the products you guys regret buying? I'm tagging everyone! (Because I love looking at products I SHOULDN'T buy)