NARS And God Created The Woman Eye Kit

For Spring 2013, NARS have released two limited edition palettes, one of which is the, And God Created The Woman Eye Kit, which contains 6 eye shadows, a travel sized Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (2.8g), and an Eye Shader Brush.

NARS Eye shader Brush

NARS Pro Prime Smudge proof Eyeshadow Base

Included in the palette are 6, shimmery and matte, neutral eye shadow shades; Alhambra, Bellisima, Kalahari, Galapagos, Coconut Grove and Night Clubbing. 

NARS Alhambra & Galapagos

Alhambra - A golden champagne, which is slightly too dark to be used as a highlighting shade on my NC15ish skin tone. It does work well as a pretty all over lid colour, though.

Galapagos - A bitter chocolate with tiny flecks of gold glitter. The gold glitter is much less prominent when the colour's applied.

NARS Bellisima & Coconut Grove

Bellisima - A matte taupe. The shade looks a bit chalky in the swatch below, but applies evenly and blend's beautifully.

Coconut Grove - A flat, matte deep chocolate brown.

NARS Kalahari & Night Clubbing

Kalahari - A metallic coppery gold shade.

Night Clubbing - A deep black with tiny flecks of olive glitter. Like Galapagos, the flecks of glitter are less obvious when the shade's applied.

Like a few other bloggers have mentioned, I was a little bit shocked at the size when I slipped the palette out of it's packaging. It's the same width as a NARS duo eye shadow palette and only around an inch longer with each of the shadows containing 0.03Oz/1g of product. On a more positive note though, the compact size does make the palette pretty travel friendly and the generous primer size and great little brush make up for the fairly small pans. 

The palette sat next to a regular eye shadow duo to give an idea of the size

I've been playing with the shades over the past couple of weeks and find them all to be great quality. They all apply really well (even the matte shades), are nicely pigmented and I've had no problems with fall out with the glittery/shimmery shades (Galapagos and Night Clubbing). I'd not tried the included shadow base before purchasing the kit, and I have to say after testing it out with both the shades in the palette and shadows from other brands, I'm completely in love with the stuff. It really does create a perfect base for colour, and keeps eye shadow in place all day. 

NARS And God created The Woman Eye Kit

Is the palette a must have? Probably not. There are a lovely selection of versatile, wearable shades included, though, and the primer and brush are both fantastic. Despite the eye shadows being fairly small, I think the kit is still pretty good value for money and would definitely recommend it. 

Available from the UK NARS site and Space NK £40.50.

Nars Blush: Douceur

I thought my first post of the year should be on one of last year's favourite products, NARS Douceur. I have to admit, I’ve never really been a big fan of NARS blushes. I’ve actually purchased quite a few of the shades over the years and while I’ve always found pigmentation and lasting power to be excellent, the shades I’ve bought have never been quite right for me. I do have a couple in my stash which I find myself reaching for often, Zen, which I find works really well as both a contour shade and a Winter bronzer, and Cactus Flower, which leaves cheeks with a really pretty hint of sheer, poppy red colour. There has however been one particular shade which I’d had my eye on for quite a while, Douceur.

NARS Douceur

Douceur is described as a “soft pink brown” on the NARS site, and I’d say the description is spot on. It’s a pretty, wearable pinky brown shade – perfect for adding a natural flush of colour to cheeks. In fact, since purchasing, it’s become my ‘go to’, everyday blush, because it works so well at adding a pretty and believable colour on my NC15-ish skin tone, and it goes with a variety of different eye and lip shades. 

NARS Blush: Douceur

Like other NARS blushes I’ve tried, Douceur applies and blends brilliantly. Unlike other shades I’ve tried from the range though, I do find it to be slightly less pigmented, which is fine with me. I tend to be a bit heavy handed with blush, so I like that Douceur applies quite sheerly and I can build the colour on my cheeks without looking overdone. As with other colours I’ve tried from the brand, I also find lasting power to be great. The colour sticks around for most of the day on my oily/combination skin type with only a slight amount of fading. 

NARS Douceur with flash

Douceur without Flash

Douceur swatched next to Zen and Benefit's Dallas, a similar shade which I found myself reaching for quite often before purchasing, Douceur. Although similar, Dallas is slightly more red than Douceur, contains more shimmer, and the formula is softer and more powdery, so I find it more difficult to apply and achieve a natural finish. Zen is more of a straight up, shimmer free, soft brown, which works well as both a contour shade and as subtle bronzer on my skin tone.

NARS Douceur, Zen & Benefit's Dallas Powder

Overall, Douceur is a fantastic blush which has become a firm favourite since I purchased it. It’s an excellent ‘go with everything’ shade, it’s easy to apply, and the perfect mix of pink and brown is really flattering on my NC15 skin tone, and I imagine it would work for a variety of other different skin tones too.

Available from the NARS site (£21.00) and from HQ Hair, where you currently receive a complementary NARS Tinted Moisturiser (I'm not sure of the size) with NARS purchases. 

Do you have any favourite shades from the NARS Blush range?

NARS Cream Blush: Cactus Flower

Nars Cactus Flower is something I’ve had my eye on for a very long time. I’ve even added it to my basket a few times when shopping on the Nars site, but never actually took the plunge and ordered it. The main reason for this is that while the colour looks extremely pretty in the pan, it also looks a little bit scary. I’ve also been a bit reluctant to order, because of my oily skin type. I love the ease of application with cream blush, and I also love the natural finish that most of them create, but I’ve found that the majority of the one’s I’ve tried don’t hold up well on my skin.

I’d describe Cactus Flower as a vibrant, reddish coral. The shade reminds me a little bit of Nars Exhibit A, which I found difficult to wear. It has a touch more pink in it, though and contains gold shimmer. I read quite a few reviews on the colour before purchasing and noticed there were quite a lot of complaints about the shimmer being sparkly and very obvious, but I actually find it to be quite subtle. There’s quite a lot of it and yes, it is visible on cheeks, but it’s delicate and adds a kind of glow.

NARS Cream Blush: Cactus Flower

The formula is a cream to powder one and is incredibly easy to apply. The texture is creamy, non sticky and blends with very little effort. I normally opt to apply with fingers, and a couple of dabs and a little bit of blending is all that’s needed to create a pretty flush. The bright, poppy red adds a sheer hint of colour to cheeks, and actually looks surprisingly natural. It can also be built up to create a more intense colour too, though. 

NARS Cactus Flower

NARS Cactus Flower

Cactus Flower is my first Nars cream blush, so I was unsure how well the formula would hold up on my oily skin. I’m pleased to report that it actually does really well! The translucent colour sticks around for biggest part of the day, which I’m really impressed with. I’ve only found a couple of cream cheek products (both from Becca) that wear well on me and don’t break me out, so I’m extremely happy that I’ve found another. Especially since there are a range of lovely shades on offer!

NARS Cactus Flower Blush

Cactus Flower is a really lovely shade, which adds a beautiful, natural and fresh hint of colour to cheeks, and the formula is great! I imagine I’ll be reaching for the shade a lot over the coming months, and will definitely be adding a few more of the colours from the range to my collection. 

Available from narscosmetics.co.uk & HQ Hair (£21.00) 

NARS Copacabana & Riviera Multiples

 Over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to use some of the products from my stash that don't seem to get a lot of love. I tend to be quite boring with my make up and stick to the same products everyday, so I've been trying to mix it up a bit by using some of the things that have been pushed to the back of my make up drawer. Last week, I pulled out two NARS Multiples which I purchased last summer when I was slightly obsessed with multi purpose products.

NARS Multiples

What NARS say about Multiples

The original multi-purpose stick for eyes, cheeks, lips and body. Its unique, creamy formula blends effortlessly to provide sheer color for creating shimmering accents, contours or dynamic highlights on all skin tones. Creates perfect, glowing complexions and is conveniently designed for failproof application. 

NARS Riviera

My thoughts

I'll start with Copacabana because it's the shade I find myself reaching for the most. It's described on the NARS site as a glistening pearl colour, I'd describe it as a shimmery beige shade. I originally bought it to use as a cheek and brow bone highlighter and I have to say, it does work quite well. The formula is soft and creamy and is extremely easy to blend. The shade leaves cheeks and eyes with a subtle hint of colour which is pretty, but not particularly natural looking in my opinion. I like highlighters to leave my skin looking glowy, Copacabana leaves it looking quite shimmery and almost frosty, especially in outdoor light. Lasting power isn't too bad on cheeks but the product doesn't seem to hold up well on eyes and I find it creases fairly quickly.

NARS Copacabana & Riviera

Riviera & Copacabana

 

Riviera is a bright, cool toned pink and contains delicate shimmer. I purchased it to use as both a cheek and lip colour but it doesn't seem to work well as either. The texture/formula feels completely different to Copacabana. It's dry, feels almost gritty and is really difficult to apply. The stick really needs to be rubbed over skin to get the colour to show up, so it has to be warmed up on the back of my hand before I apply to cheeks. The shade is really pretty but it's a complete nightmare to blend and I always seem to take half of my foundation off when I'm applying it. I've had similar issues when using it as a lip colour too. It's just far too drying and looks awful if I don't use a lip balm underneath it. I'd say lasting power is slightly better than Copacabana which I suppose is due to the dry formula.

After using both of the sticks again over the past week, I can't say I'm really impressed with either of them. Copacabana is definitely the best out of the two but is let down slightly by lasting power. I think this is mainly to do with my oily skin type though so I can't really complain too much. I imagine it would last a lot longer on normal/drier skin types. I'll continue to use it as a cheek highlighter and will probably try it as a body highlighter too when the weather warms up. Riviera is pretty, but horrible to work with and is going straight back to the make up drawer.

Have you tried Multiples? Have you had more luck with them than I have?

NARS Happy Days Velvet Gloss Lip pencil

I've always had a bit of a thing for NARS velvet matte lip pencils but find the formula a tiny bit drying, so when the velvet gloss pencils were released recently I was excited to try them out. I seem to be favouring my lipsticks over glosses a lot lately so a gloss in crayon form seemed liked a good option for me and sounded like a product I'd reach for a lot.

What NARS say about the pencils, Gorgeously glossy, intensely hydrating. NARS takes everything beloved about its Velvet Matte Lip Pencil—the convenience of a pencil with the application of a lipstick in a jumbo-size crayon design—then swaps the matte formula for one that lends lips luminous.

There are six pretty shades available but out of the colours on offer, Happy Days is the one that appealed to me the most. It's described as a Fresh Pink Coral infused with Gold Shimmer and sounded like a perfect summery shade. 

NARS Happy Days

The formula is actually a lot softer than I expected it to be. The pencil glides over lips with ease and leaves a very subtle hint of delicate colour. I am left with a slightly sticky/tacky feel after applying but my lips still feel quite comfortable and a lot less sticky than they do with most of my glosses. NARS do describe the pencils as being Intensely hydrating, I can't say I find them particularly moisturising though.

NARS Velvet Gloss Pencil: Happy Days

I'd say the description of Happy Days is pretty accurate and when swatched on my arm, the shade does look like a lovely peachy/pink coral with tiny delicate gold sparkles.

Swatched lightly

Slightly heavier swatch

On my lips I find the colour looks quite a bit different because the pencils are sheer and my lips are quite pigmented. I do still get a nice hint of peachy color but I have to say, I am a little bit disappointed that the shade is so sheer. I've seen Happy days swatched on lips which are less pigmented than mine and the colour seems to look quite a bit different. If you're interested in the pencils I'd definitely recommend visiting a counter to swatch the shades on offer before buying.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my purchase. The shade looks a little bit different to what I thought it would on me but it's still nice. I like the formula of the pencils and how they feel and lasting power isn't bad either (longer lasting than most of my glosses). Happy Days is probably something I'll be reaching for a lot when I want something that's quick and easy to apply or to layer over the top of peachy and coral lipsticks.

Velvet gloss pencils are £17.50

Have you tried velvet gloss pencils? What are your thoughts on them?

Bronzer comparison swatches

I posted a couple of pictures of the most recent addition to the bronzer collection last week (Becca's pressed bronzer) and mentioned a few others that I've tried so I thought it might be helpful to swatch a few of the ones that I have in my stash for comparison.

L-R Dior essential bronzer Amber, Vincent Longo terra bronzer, Nars Zen, Becca Calypso, Bobbi Brown Light 1, Benefit Dallas

As above only with flash

Dior's essential bronzer in 040 Amber I purchased last year when my skin was quite a bit darker than it is now so it's a little bit too dark for my nc15 ish skin at the moment. It has a slight shimmer to it which is a lot more prominent in the pan than it is on skin. 

I've had Vincent Longo terra gold bronzer lying around for ages and rarely use it because it's looks quite orange on my skin. Again it has shimmer which is slightly more noticeable than Dior essential.

I know NARS Zen is actually a blush but I find it dark enough and pigmented enough to use as a bronzer. I love the fact that it's shimmer free and looks incredibly natural and I also find it works really well as a contour powder. 

Becca pressed bronzer I wrote about last week. This one has shimmer in it but I find it looks really natural and leaves a transparent hint of colour with a pretty glowy finish. Really liking this one at the moment.

Bobbi Brown bronzing powder in Light 1 is another totally glitter/shimmer free bronzer that I've had for a while. I find this one to also be really natural looking and like Zen it also works well as a contour powder. Out of the two though, I definitely prefer Zen to contour with.

Benefit Dallas is not actually a bronzer but I thought I'd include it since it does create a healthy bronzed look when I use it. The pink in the powder obviously means it can only be used on cheeks and not all over the face but it looks pretty when it's used in this way.

What's your favourite bronzer? Do you prefer matte, or do you like a bit of shimmer?

NARS Loose Powder swatches

One of the things in my make up drawer that I really can't live without is, NARS loose powder. I started using it around four years ago after reading rave reviews on it, and I've not strayed since. Why? Because it offers extra coverage over my foundation, comes in a fantastic range of shades, feels and looks really natural, and a tub lasts for ages. In fact, I think I've only purchased two since I started using it so it's great value for money.

NARS Loose Powder

NARS Loose Powder: Eden

NARS Eden

I've never actually been matched with a MAC shade but I think I'm around NC15 in the winter and more towards NC20 in the summer months and I'm able to use both Flesh and Eden. Flesh is supposed to complement fair pink tones and correct yellow tones and Eden is aimed at skins with yellow undertones. Both match and blend in well once they've been applied and sheered out.

Eden swatch on the left and Flesh on the right

Eden left, Flesh right

So how much does it cost? £26.50 which granted, is a lot to pay for loose powder, but as I mentioned, the tub really does last for ages and the finish on skin is brilliant. I've also found that it controls oil well.