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NARS

NARS Pop Goes the Easel Sheer Pop Multiples in Navagio Beach, Motu Tane and Cote Basque

March 23rd, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

nars pop goes the easel sheer pop multiples-final
New NARS Sheer Pop Multiples from the Pop Goes the Easel collection (a Nordstrom exclusive)

OK, NARS, I see you. I see what you’re doing. 😉 I see how you named your new Sheer Pop Multiples after ah-may-zing beaches, all three of which are on my bucket list now.

Navagio Beach in Greece… Girl, mark my words, someday I’ll swim those aquamarine waters.

Someday…

Surf’s up! (But only for a limited time.)

Like a bubble at the beach, these three will eventually pop away. They’ll only be around for a limited time, and they have a very beachy vibe to go with their beachy names. They’re on counters now with the rest of the new NARS Pop Goes the Easel collection, a limited edition Nordstrom exclusive with blushes, lipsticks and these multiples.

nars pop goes the easel collection
Pop Goes the Easel

Navagio Beach is a luminous, pearly golden beige; Motu Tane is a satiny, rosy pink; and Cote Basque is a satiny, bright watermelon pink with tiny golden glitter pieces.

Purposefully sheer

Like the regular NARS Multiples, these creamy sticks are made for eyes, lips and cheeks, and they have that same smooth texture. They feel like a cream blush that you left open overnight, and the next day it still feels like a cream, only drier.

Unlike the regular full-coverage NARS Multiples, however, the Sheer Pops are semi-opaque, so you really have to be in a sheer mindset.

nars pop goes the easel sheer pop multiples 2
NARS Sheer Pop Multiples from the left in Cote Basque, Motu Tane and Navagio Beach

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There are 8 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

The NARS Loaded Palette and My Warm Shade Friday Face of the Day

March 3rd, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

nars loaded palette fotd k2
I’m wearing the new NARS Loaded Palette on my lids

Sometimes you need to put on makeup to buy garlic bread at Costco…

nars loaded palette fotd k2

I’m wearing a bunch of new faves and some oldies today in this warm-toned look, which I’ll be wearing in a few minutes when I go to Costco and brave the loooong afternoon lines.

The newest fave here is NARS Loaded Eyeshadow Palette, which has been giving me neutral inspiration for days.

nars loaded eyeshadow palette
I used Foix, Castille, Alnwick and Beaumaris

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There are 6 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Makeup, Nails

I’m Lovin’ the NARS Loaded Eyeshadow Palette

March 2nd, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

nars loaded eyeshadow palette open
The new $59 NARS Loaded Eyeshadow Palette, coming later this month

Seeing as how it’s *this close* to Friday, why don’t we just take off work early and get Loaded…

Guuuurl, interpret that as you will, but I’m talking about the new NARS Loaded Eyeshadow Palette ($59). 🙂

Isn’t it gorgeous?! Let’s just say all the magic words at once — pigmented, warm, neutral, mattes, shimmers.

YES!

So…this is new. Twelve completely new powder eyeshadows in warm shades. There’s a couple golden matte browns and a shimmery golden taupe, which I’m wearing on my lids in this look, that don’t lean as warm as the other shades, but Loaded is generally a very warm-toned palette. We’re talking reddish browns, peachy browns, warm gold, bronze and copper, and it’s coming to NARS Boutiques and the NARS website March 22nd , and to Sephora, Ulta and department stores March 28th.

nars loaded eyeshadow palette
NARS Loaded on my lids and Kosas Cosmetics Lipstick in Rosewater on my lips

Today was my first time using it, and I couldn’t help but think of that first really intense love that you have as an adult where the love is big, beautiful and, yeah, at times, messy.

Exceptionally soft

And by “messy,” well…let me back up a bit. I don’t know if NARS reformulated their shadows for Loaded, but they feel unusually soft, and while that’s great for easy blending, it can also take some getting used to.

nars loaded swatches
Swatches of NARS Loaded

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There are 19 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

NARS Banc De Sable Palette Review: Just the Highlights

February 28th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

nars banc de sable
The new NARS Banc De Sable Palette highlighting palette ($49)

OK, to be blunt…as far as I’m concerned, contouring can just go away already and never come back. 🙂 But highlighting? PLEASE. Highlighting, I beg of you, please stay around forever, because then I’ll be able to keep looking forward to things like the NARS Banc De Sable Palette, or BANK-DUH-SAB-ELLE…

I’m sure I butchered that 100%!

Banc De Sable, a new $49 highlighting palette with three highlighters, arrives March 1 at Sephora and sephora.com, and it’s not your average highlighting palette. These powders have what NARS describes as (insert whispery official voice here) “water-activated highlighters.”

What…?

Well, they supposedly work with the skin’s surface to create a supernatural glow.

Basically? Wet/dry. You can wear them dry for a light sheen or with a wet brush to intensify the shine.

nars banc de sable swatches
Swatches of NARS Banc De Sable

So, the trend over the past few years has been this whole, like, “OMG! You can see my highlight from space,” and yeah, that’s kind of what I expected from this palette, but to my surprise it’s really… What’s the word? They aren’t toned down or subdued. These definitely aren’t as hush-hush as the Hourglass Ambient Highlighters.

They’re more like, “Hey! There’s some shine here! But it won’t smack you across the booty.”

And that’s what I like about it. The finish is like that whether you wear it wet or dry.

nars banc de sable k
I’m wearing Rivage on my lids and Sale and Embruns mixed and applied wet on my cheekbones

Rivage, the lightest shade, is a cool-toned glistening beige pearl; Sale, the middle shade, is a shimmering peach champagne; and Embruns is a rose gold.

nars banc de sable k1
I’m also wearing NARS Famous Red on my lips and the MAC Semi-Sweet Times Nine Palette on my eyes

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There are 15 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

Introducing 10 New Shades of NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

February 15th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

nars dirty mind
The $27 NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. This one’s “Dirty Mind…” LOL!

Prince night at karaoke.

Think about it. All of the only songs are Prince songs. I would totally go! It would be awesome! Let’s find someplace that does it.

I think it would be even more awesome, though, if we went wearing these new $27 NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil shades, because of the 10 of them, half are shouts-outs to Prince songs, including Let’s Go Crazy (one of my favorite Prince songs).

(Side note: if you can spot all the ones that are Prince songs, PROPS.)

nars velvet matte lip swatches
Swatches of the new NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils from the top in Get Off, Intriguing, Do Me Baby, Famous Red, Let’s Go Crazy, Pussy Control, Dirty Mind, Endangered Red, Unspoken and Lonely Heart
nars lets go crazy
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Let’s Go Crazy

These are the 10 new shades joining the permanent line, aaaaaand one of them is kinda funky, although it’s a color that’s very trendy right now. It’s a dark bluish black, and I can’t remember seeing anything like it at NARS before.

It’s one of the ones that doesn’t have a Price name, but when you say it out loud, you do have to whisper…because it’s called “Unspoken.” Shh…

nars unspoken
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Unspoken…

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There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 1: Copper With a Splash of Gold and Natural-Looking Skin

February 1st, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

tarte happy girls shine brighter palette
My Wednesday makeup ensemble

Here’s the makeup I wore today! It was a pretty chill Wednesday overall… I got up, wrote for a bit, took Connor out for a morning walk (yes, our Coywolf is walking now!), worked and went to an appointment to see my therapist (just a regularly scheduled thing I’ve been doing once a month; it’s been very helpful).

And that’s what I did! I didn’t want to wear anything too elaborate or heavy, but I was in the mood for a little spice, which is why the gold glitter liner was up in the mix. 🙂

All about that base: Tarte’s version of MAC Strobe Cream, and a new IT Cosmetics cream foundation

I started with an old fave, Make Up For Ever Face Smoothing Primer (THE BEST!), then patted Tarte Brighter Days Highlighting Moisturizer ($32), a face moisturizer with pink pearl that looks a lot like a slightly thicker MAC Strobe Cream, all over my skin, because I wanted a little bit of glow to show through my foundation.

Then I buffed new $38 IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Compact Solid Serum Foundation in Tan all over my face (it’s a cream foundation).

The compact says that it’s full coverage, which I think is totally possible because it’s pretty opaque, but I sheered it out because I wanted my skin to look as natural as possible. Plus, I wanted the glow from Brighter Days to show through.

Anyway, it’s very lightweight and so, SO creamy, and my skin, which was feeling extra dry today, likes it a lot.

tarte happy girls shine brighter palette k
Wearing IT Cosmetics Confidence In a Compact in Tan atop Tarte Brighter Days Highlighting Moisturizer

Happy Girls Shine Brighter

I grabbed this cute new $29 Double Duty Beauty palette from Tarte with the most adorable name ever for my eyes and cheeks. It’s called Happy Girls Shine Brighter.

See? Isn’t that sweet!?

tarte happy girls shine brighter
The Tarte Double Duty Beauty Happy Girls Shine Brighter Palette ($29)
tarte happy girls shine brighter
I love the packaging!

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There are 11 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Face of the Day (FOTD), Makeup

January #mbbinstachallenge Look 1 (Week of Jan. 9-15): Minimalist Skin and Bright Pink Lips

January 11th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

mac candy yum yum
#mbbinstachallege!

Happy hump day! OK, here’s my second look for week #1 of the #mbbinstachallenge using the same idea of a bold, colorful element on super clean skin. Lots of you are participating, and I love what you’re coming up with!

In the look I did on Monday, it felt super weird to see myself in bright eye makeup with absolutely no color on my cheeks, but it feels TEN TIMES weirder to wear bright lips today without color anywhere else on my face.

Maybe that’s because when I normally do wear a bold lip, I’m usually also glammed up?

I dunno…

But I do know that when I look at these pics, the lips REALLY STAND OUT. All I see are lips, lips, lips! ???

instagram challenge pink lips original inspo
The pic I used for inspiration…

The model in the pic above looks like she’s wearing a bright pink lipstick outlined with a slightly darker liner. I wanted a similar vibe, so I went with MAC Candy Yum Yum and NARS Costa Smeralda Velvet Lip Liner, and I kept the liner purposefully un-blended to help it show up brighter in pics.

instagram challenge mac candy yum yum
MAC Candy Yum Yum Lipstick outlined with NARS Costa Smeralda Velvet Lip Liner

Also, it looks like this model isn’t wearing any foundation or concealer or mascara, or really anything at all, but your girl doesn’t roll like that, LOL! Oh, hell no. I had to put on a little something, so I used Make Up For Ever Smoothing Primer, and then a little bit of Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum before setting everything with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural.

I’m getting so many ideas from your looks so far!

I love how precise @jewelia13’s bright lip are…

Taking part in the #mbbinstachallenge, issued by the lovely and talented Karen of "Makeup and Beauty Blog"! This week's challenge is "a look with a single bold, colorful element", which I accomplished by using Lip Ink's "Energy Red" on my top lip (lwith Urban Decay's "Mrs. Mia Wallace" lip liner) and Tattoo Junkee's "Riot" on my lower lip (with Urban Decay's "Big Bang" lip liner) for a look inspired by Mila Kunis' makeup in "Jupiter Ascending"! #mondaymotivation #selfie #boldlip #tattoojunkee #urbandecay #lipink #energyred #bigbang #greeneyes #charlottetilbury #shorthair #pixiecut #jupiterascending #instagramchallenge

A photo posted by Julia Niblock (@jewelia13) on Jan 9, 2017 at 12:45pm PST

And the glossy finish on this purple eye by @cosmetopiadigest is GORGEOUS.

Look 1 of the #mbbinstachallenge, hosted by @karenmbb, is a "bold, colourful element". I stepped out of my neutral comfort zone and used the @katvondbeauty Metal Matte #eyeshadowpalette – shades Nebula, Velour, and Glitz. As a rule, I'm iffy about bold shades, but I have sinusitis and can't go out, so I figured that this challenge was the right motivation, and the bright shades have cheered me up no end, despite the watery eyes. Do you have this palette? It has sold out online, but launched in Sephora Dubai recently and my Mum treated me to it before Christmas. Review coming soon.

A photo posted by Renu (@cosmetopiadigest) on Jan 9, 2017 at 6:13am PST

This hot pink hotness by @niteowlchef makes me smile. 🙂 (Seriously, I have got to wear hot pink shadow more often.)

And Efrain’s double-stacked liner here is making me long for summer parties!!!

Estoy haciendo el desafío de Karen de Makeup and Beauty Blog, esta semana se trataba de hacer un look con un elemento vibrante y la piel natural / I'm doing @karenmbb #mbbinstachallenge this week was a bold element on clean skin. I used for skin @lorealmakeup Pro matte foundation in 107 as spot concealer, for my under eye I mixed it with @maccosmetics Lustre drops in Sun rush, my foundation was @natura.mexico tinted moisturizer and my powder was @citycolorcosmetics HD powder. For eyes I started with a nude pencil from Oriflame and use a green eyeshadow as first liner and @sleekmakeup Lantern blush from the Pumpkin trio as second liner; for brows I used L'Oréal Brow artist in Medium dark. Last for lips I used Sierra bees Lip shimmer in Pink. It takes a village to look this natural #nofilter #guyswithmakeup #cateye #brightcolors #makeup #slay #guymakeup

A photo posted by Efraín Gómez (@efradiario) on Jan 10, 2017 at 5:29pm PST

I’m feeling inspired!

#mbbinstachallenge Week 1 One bold color. Digging out this #sugarpill yellow eyeshadow after a while. @karenmbb

A photo posted by Chris Daniela Thomas Díaz (@chrisdaniela) on Jan 10, 2017 at 6:56am PST

#mbbinstachallenge I'm so excited for this! The first challenge is bold color on clean skin. I did dark green eyeliner: @urbandecaycosmetics 24/7 Eye Liner in Mars topped with the emerald shade from the Viseart Bijoux Royal palette. Lips are @smithandcult Kissing Tiny Flowers, cheeks @narsissist Orgasm blush and @colourpopcosmetics Highly Waisted highlighter. @karenmbb

A photo posted by Kalli McQ (@kalliope) on Jan 9, 2017 at 4:00pm PST

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There are 12 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Just For Fun, Makeup Keywords: mbbinstachallenge

The NARS Spring 2017 Wildfire Collection Lipsticks and Lip Glosses

January 5th, 2017 by Karen 18 Comments

nars kiss me stupid lipstick
Wearing new NARS Kiss Me Stupid Lipstick from the Spring 2017 Wildfire Collection

OK, so I know that I make grammatical mistakes left and right, and I make up words like haaay I write run-on sentences like this one I say “yay!” instead of “yea!” and I use too many emojis 🙂 and LOLs and elipses…

But I do make an effort to at least put my apostrophes where they’re supposed to go, although I don’t lose any sleep over it when I make mistakes or write “gonna” instead of “going to.” I’m not gonna (haha) throw a vase across the room when I come across one of my old posts where I said LOL 20 times and used punctuation improperly (although it does drive me batty when I mix up “you’re” and “your”).

That said, it would really help me if somebody over at Team NARS could clarify something about new Kiss Me Stupid Lipstick from the NARS Spring 2017 Wildfire Collection.

Like, is there supposed to be a comma in there? Is it, like, “Kiss me, stupid,” like you’re talking to someone and saying, “Hey, stupid! Get over here and kiss me”? Or, does it need an exclamation mark because it’s a declarative statement? “Kiss me stupid!” Because I want you to kiss me until I can’t even remember my name or see straight anymore?

I’m so confused…

NARS Kiss Me Stupid Lipstick, $28

Oh! I like this color a lot. When you first see it out of the tube, it’s like hmm… Typical matte, ’90s brown, but this bad boy is a desert sunset in a tube. When you try it on, it becomes a warm, satiny terracotta infused with a fiery reddish orange and subtle golden sparkles. It fits in fabulously with the whole Wildfire color story.

nars spring 2017 swatches lipsticks
Swatches of the NARS Spring 2017 Wildfire Collection Lipsticks in Kiss Me Stupid (top) and Breaking Free (bottom)

NARS Asphalt Jungle Lip Gloss, $26

The whole “You gotta try it on to appreciate it” thing also happened to me with Asphalt Jungle Lip Gloss.

OMG! Swatch it. Ooh. Get it on your lips. Ah! Fall in love.

nars asphalt jungle lip gloss k
Asphalt Jungle Lip Gloss

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There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Makeup, NARS, Product Reviews

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Welcome to Makeup and Beauty Blog! My name is Karen, and I’m a freelance writer obsessed with makeup.

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