NARS Makeover @ Space NK

Last Wednesday I was booked for a makeover with Becky, NARS National Makeup Artist for the UK. Since I had a friend from Canada visiting, I decided to bring her shopping with me then we headed to Space NK for the makeover. Becky was kind enough to do makeovers for us both, though it meant that my makeover time had to be shortened. At least, we both got really pretty makeovers using some of NARS Summer 2011 products. :)

Becky used Dogon Duo Eyeshadow for my friend.

While I requested Becky to try out Exotic Dance Duo Eyeshadow on my eyes (since I already had Dogon and Cap Ferrat), and Carthage lipstick for my lips. Both are from NARS Summer 2011 collection which I have not yet owned, though I have placed an order for Carthage at ASOS which is currently having 20% off and free shipping! :D

So here are the photos of the look Becky created for me using NARS Exotic Dance Duo Eyeshadow, Carthage lipstick and a combination of Deep Throat and Desire blushes.

Eyes:
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Exotic Dance Duo Eyeshadow (shimmer white on the inner corner of the eye, inner lid and below the brow; antique gold on the lid; layer with Coconut Grove single eyeshadow over the antique gold on the outer corner for definition)
Blackmoon eyeliner
Mascara (I don't remember which one)

Lips:
Papua lip liner
Pure Matte Lipstick in Carthage

Face and cheeks:
NARS Pore Refining Primer oil-free
Fiji Sheer Glow Foundation

Deep Throat blush and layered on top with Desire blush
Laguna Multiple to sculpt/contour




More photos...........

My thoughts on the look and some of the products used:

- The look is simple and fresh which is quite neutral overall, except for the pop of pink on the lips with Carthage lipstick.
- Carthage lipstick is matte but does not dry out my lips. It has very good staying power.
Other than the last photo above which was taken right after the makeover, the other photos were taken after eating and the colour was still quite intact.
- NARS Pore Refining Primer is silicone-free EDIT: NO WAY! I just checked its ingredient list, plenty of -cones! It does its job pretty well. Might consider getting them once I am done with all my current makeup primers, namely MAC Prep+Prime Skin Base and a couple of RMK liquid and cream makeup bases.
- I like the way the makeup artist layered Desire (a matte candy pink shade) blush on top of Deep Throat. It gives a flush of pink on my cheeks without stealing the limelight away from Carthage! ;)
- And finally, Exotic Dance Duo Eyeshadow - very pretty, but it's not something that I can't find dupes of from my stash. Perhaps not exactly the same colours, but I have some shimmery white eyeshadows and plenty of antique gold/golden brown eyeshadows from my stash. As for Coconut Grove (a matte dark brown), I have a matte dark brown eyeshadow from Shu Uemura which was purchased on impulse and has never been used. Actually, the eye look seems quite familiar, as I am sure I had done similar eye look before using gold and brown eyeshadows.
I have to say that the makeup artist cleverly blended Coconut Grove onto the antique gold shade of Exotic Dance, toning down the shimmery effect and giving it more of a sheen (not photographed well).


I would like to hear your thoughts and comments too. :)

Birthday Gifts

This year, I had a quiet birthday about 2 weeks ago with Hubby and Princess. I didn't want to celebrate my birthday because then, I was still mourning for my Dad and just a few days ago, was the 100th day of his passing.

I wasn't in the mood to do much shopping, but I did pick up some small stuffs for myself.

And here are some little birthday gifts from Space NK as a N.dulge member which I picked up last Wednesday when I went for a NARS makeover with a friend. Actually, the gift is only a 2ml sample of Talika Lipocils lash serum but the SA (whom I have purchased NARS from previously) added a box of samples of NUDE Probiotic Skincare, and a small sample vial of perfume.

Gifts from Space NK

Talika Lipocils lash serum (2ml)
The actual birthday gift from Space NK

NUDE Probiotic Skincare samples

This year, Sephora birthday gift for their Beauty Insiders is a bottle of Philosophy shower gel, which my brother-in-law had helped to pick up for me. :)

I don't have the photo of the product yet as it is still in the US. This is from the email Sephora sent to me.

And I have also received an email from RMK Malaysia to collect my birthday gift, but my sister was busy with her exams and couldn't help me pick it up. :S Think the date to collect the gift is already over.

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And it's the end of May already! How time flies! It will be Summer soon though it's been pretty cold over here.

Gonna take it easy today with some photo posts throughout the day, and I will start on the Battle of the BBs tomorrow. But it's not going to be a long series like the A-Blush-A-Day series which spanned more than 30 days! :-0

And there will be more skincare reviews and EOTD/FOTD posts (with simple tutorials) coming up in June. And I will also spend more time on doing eye makeup which I so love but had been a bit neglected for the past month when I was concentrating on the blush reviews. I was actually surprised at myself to be able to completely reviewing all the 30 cheek products! OK, enough of blushes for now. I may write some summary/overview of the blushes some time in.... I don't know when. It's the exam season now, not for me, but my students. ;)


Have a nice day!

Estee Lauder Orange Crush Collection By Tom Pecheux In The UK

Remember I was whining and complaining about not getting the Orange Crush eyeshadow from Estee Lauder by Tom Pecheux? Then, it was released in the US in April.

And I was reading from BBB yesterday that we will get this limited edition collection in the UK too, but only in selected Harvey Nichols stores in London, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh starting 17th June 2011. :( Well, perhaps, I could ask a friend in Manchester to help me get the Orange Crush Pure Color Eyeshadow.

The 2 Pure Color Eyeshadows, Orange Crush and Sugar Cube (£15.50 each) and Pure Color Gloss in Orange Crush (£15.50).

A-Blush-A-Day, Nos. 29 & 30: MAC Mineralize Skinfinshes - Refined & Light Flush - Swatches & Reviews

The last 2 blushes, but not least ;), will be 2 MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes. So I decided to combine them into 1 post. Picture-heavy post!

MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes in Light Flush(left) and Refined(right)
As with most MAC MSFs, these 2 are limited editions. I am sorry.
Light Flush, however, is a repromote from MAC N Collection (January 2008??) which came in the Pinkzapoppin! Mineralize Kit (RM300 for the whole set) from Magic, Mirth & Mischief (Holiday 2009) collection.
While Refined is from the Sugarsweet Collection (March 2009) which I snagged from the Estee Lauder sale.




MAC MSF in REFINED



Of the 5 MAC MSFs that I own, only Refined's packaging has the brand and product name etched onto the transparent plastic cover. The rest, except MAC Wonder Woman Pink Power MSF, have only the words printed on the plastic cover.




I think this is one of the most beautiful MAC MSFs of the 5 that I own. It has a marbleised pattern throughout with coral, light brown and pale peach shades. And the marbleisation in this forms some sort of a 'flower' pattern.

The pigmentation of this is fairly good, but overall, I think the colour is quite light. I did swatches from 3 different parts of the MSF (as denoted by the numbers labeled on the photos).

Generally, it gives a nude tan shade when swirled together with a frosty sheen which isn't too prominent. I get an average of 5-6 hours of wear time from this MSF.

Swatches were made at the points 1, 2 and 3 by swiping my fingers across the MSF (one finger at a time).

Swatches of MAC Refined MSF
Swatch 1: Pale peach with a touch of orangey colour
Swatch 2: Light brownish coral
Swatch 3: Nude tone with shimmer
(Overall, the 3 swatches above show some slight shimmer.)


Swatch of MAC Refined MSF - swirled together



On my cheek



It gives a tan glow, which I have a feeling I would be reaching out to this MSF quite often in the coming Summer months. :)


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MAC MSF in LIGHT FLUSH



This MSF lives up to its name, Light Flush, and does just the way it was named. It gives me a light flush! ;) (in the real sense of the words)

This is a beautiful soft nude-pink shade with bronze veining. And the surface of this MSF actually has a very beautiful sheen (look at the photo above, the right upper quadrant - you can see the sheen). The pigmentation is fairly good. It has a smooth texture (the same as with Refined) but slightly powdery when swiped. Refined is more powdery compared to Light Flush.



Swatches were made at the points 1 and 2 by swiping my fingers across the MSF (one finger at a time).



Swatches of MAC Light Flush MSF
Swatch 1: Pinkish tan
Swatch 2: Light peach
(Both have some shimmer.)


Swatch of MAC Light Flush MSF - swirled together
A shimmery pinkish tan




On my cheek





The last 2 photos show the light flush it imparts to my cheek very clearly.


Both of these MSFs contain 10g of product, compared to some MSFs which have 9g.




And now......

It's the end of the A-Blush-A-Day series! :)))



................Curtain call..................

A-Blush-A-Day, No. 28: Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek #01 Honeymoon Pink - Swatches & Review

Another Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek, which is the 28th blush. The first one to be featured in this project was #04 Cappucino Brown. Today's will be Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek #01 Honeymoon Pink.




Today's post is a bit late as I took Princess to a play group this morning and just came home not long ago, fed her and off she went out to play again with the neighbours' kids. It's just amazing the amount of energy as kid can have! They just don't get tired out. Well, good for me, then I can do some of my work, blog and crop and resize the photos, etc etc... some ME time! :D

(I started writing this at about 3.30PM local time, and it's almost dinner time now.....and I haven't completed....sigh... too much distraction).

Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek #01 Honeymoon Pink

The mono shade side is a shimmery yellow pink while the marbleised side is a mixture of lilac, light brown and reddish pink. They both swatched sheer with a fair amount of fallout. But its pigmentation is average. On my cheeks, the finish is quite sheer with some shine and frostiness.

Description and ingredient list of Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek #01 Honeymoon Pink

Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek #01 Honeymoon Pink
With the compartment for the brush and the brush shown
Normally I wouldn't use the applicator, be it a brush or sponge applicator(for eyeshadow) that comes with the product. However, this brush is quite well-made, and the bristles feel soft. It's not too small that it can apply the blush on my cheeks well.

Swatches

Swatches of Palgantong Kamayaki Cheek #01 Honeymoon Pink - individual(above) and swirled together(below)

As you can see above, the swatches are sheer, but pigmentation is average. It has some tiny glitter in it, but generally, the finish, especially when swirled, is rather frosty.
I got about 3 hours of wear with it, after that, I can only see some slight glitter.

On my cheek

On the 2 cheek swatches photos, the blush was applied swirled together and gave a frosty finish with a faint hint of pink.

This retails for RM79 (10g) and it's available in 4 different shades at SASA stores in Malaysia. throughout the day. luxuriou


*This product is a press sample provided by the manufacturer, and not SASA Malaysia.

A-Blush-A-Day, No. 27: MAC Blush Ombre In Azalea Blossom - Swatches & Review

The 27th blush is MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom. Yay! 3 more blushes to go....



This is the second MAC Blush Ombre in my stash, the other one is Ripe Peach. They were both released last Spring with the Spring Forecast Collection. While Ripe Peach is a warm peach-coral blush, Azalea Blossom is more cool-toned with colours ranging from pale pink with lilac undertone, a lilac-y shade and a purplish lilac.

MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom

Basically this blush has 3 'parts' of colours, ranging from a pale pink with lilac undertone, a lilac-y shade and a purplish lilac. I have swatched each 'part' individually (see below) and also a swirled-together swatch (further below).

It has a soft and smooth texture, with good pigmentation. Despite the swatches appearing quite light, the colour shows up well on my cheeks, as a pinkish lilac glow (applied swirled together in the photos). However, please do note that since the blush has a gradation of shades, the end result after swirling them together may vary, depending on which shade the brush would pick up more.

I get more than 6 hours of wear time from this blush.

Swatches

Swatches of MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom
L to R: Pale pink with lilac undertone, a lilac-y shade and a purplish lilac
(The numbers denote the part of the blush being swatches corresponding to the photo of the blush above labeled with the same numbers.)

Swatch of MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom
- swirled together

Swatches of MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom
L to R: Swirled together (lilac shade), pale pink with lilac undertone, a lilac-y shade and a purplish lilac

On my cheek

Gives a pinkish lilac glow to my cheek.

This blush cost RM105 (at the time of purchase in April 2010) for 9g and is, unfortunately a limited edition. Yes, this blush is quite large compared to the usual MAC Powder Blush which is only 6g. It is about the size of a MAC MSF.