NARS

5 Awesome Face Makeup Brushes I Use Every Day

October 15th, 2015 by Karen 7 Comments

Survey says that I WILL use most, if not all, of these five face brushes every. Single. Day. They’re my brushes with destiny! — my makeup main squeezes, and my main workhorse tools.

1. NARS Mie Kabuki Brush ($55)

LBD, baby! Little black dress. The NARS Mie Kabuki is the little black dress of my face brush collection because of all the many things it can do. Sometimes I’ll use it to apply face powder, other times I’ll use it as a bronzing brush, and sometimes I’ll use it to highlight or apply blush.

Unfortunately, the price. It’s $55… Buuuut, it can do so much, and above all, it blends like a mofo! I can really see a difference between when I use Mie to blend bronzer or blush, and when I use something else, and I think it’s because of that point in the tip (see the pic below) and how the tip slopes. It makes it easy to buff out edges and get smooth gradients. If you like the sound of that, Mie is available now at NARS counters, boutiques and online.

2. MAC 138 Tapered Face Brush ($53)

Another pointy tip! I mostly use the MAC 138 to apply face powder to specific spots, like the center of my forehead, on and around my nose and mouth, just below my cheeks and on my chin, and while big, fluffy face brushes are fun to use with face powder (and feel great on my skin), I still prefer this smaller brush.

Why?

Well, because when I apply too much powder, my face makeup looks heavy and très obvious, and with the 138, I can really target where I’m placing my powder, which means that I can generally get away with using less. It’s available now at MAC counters, stores and online.

3. MAC 109 Small Contour Brush ($35)

The MAC 109 face brush has a small, rounded head that fits just perfectly in the hollows of my cheeks; that makes it a bronzing/contouring champ.

I’m a big bronzer gal, so I rarely use this one for contouring, but I think it’s an absolutely awesome bronzing brush.

I always have to resist the urge to go heavy with bronzer, and I’m tempted put it everywhere (NO, SERIOUSLY), but this brush basically saves me from myself, LOL! It’s available now at MAC counters, stores and online.
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5 Lavish, Lovely Berry Lipsticks to Fall for This Fall

October 15th, 2015 by Karen 27 Comments

Fall.

They say it’s fall, and it did feel like fall here about a week ago. It was cloudy and chilly, and there were leaves falling everywhere outside, but then summer struck back and said, “CUT! Hold your horses! I’m not ready to go…” We had another string of 80- and 90-degree days.

Sooner or later, though, it’ll get cooler and stay that way. It’s a guarantee. 🙁 And when it happens, I’ll be ready for it with these five fall-friendly berry lipsticks.

1. NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Hyde Park ($26)

nars hyde park — NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Hyde Park

I really like Reddish berry Hyde Park with bronze, burgundy and brown looks. And even cranberry smoky eyes (Ooh! — give it try sometime with a warm and shimmery cranberry on your lids and a matte orangey brown in the crease). The pencil shape makes it easy to line and fill in my lips without needing a lip liner, so yay for skipping steps! Hyde Park is available now at NARS counters, stores and online.

2. Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Plum Lush ($52)

tom ford plum lush — Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Plum Lush

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NARS Steven Klein in Action

October 5th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

Just a few quick pics of the makeup I wore today, and fall was in full effect! This was a NARS Steven Klein kinda Monday for me, and glitter also made an appearance.

The NARS Steven Klein holiday 2015 collection is available now online and at NARS boutiques, BTW.

NARS Steven Klein products I’m wearing…

Killer Shine Lipstick in No Shame Lipstick — lips

Killer Shine Lip Gloss in Fast Life — lips

Single Eyeshadow in Never Too Late — lids

Single Eyeshadow in Mortal — inner corner

Single Eyeshadow in Stud — pressed into center of my lids

Dual-Intensity Blush in Vengeful — cheeks

What about you? Did you wear anything colorful today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

NARS Steven Klein Holiday 2015, Part 2: The Color Collection

October 5th, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

Gray does not grandstand in the new NARS Steven Klein holiday 2015 color collection, but if it did, and there were more gray in the release, [THIS] would be right about where I’d insert a 50 Shades of Grey joke about my cat’s never-ending need to dominate my life.

Um, yeah! You know how NARS is with their holiday collections — they like to take the road less traveled, which in this case means nothing too candy cane-covered or outwardly holiday-ish. This year’s color collection, a collaboration with fashion photographer Steven Klein, has an artsy edge to it, and by “artsy edge,” I mean that if a billionaire playboy were ever to invite you to the secret playroom in the back of his mansion, this collection would suit your favorite pair of shiny dominatrix boots quite nicely.

As NARS puts it, imagine “Fantasy. Roles. Rules.”

nars steven klein holiday 2015 lipsticks — NARS Steven Klein Killer Shine Lipsticks in Redemption, Besame Mucho and No Shame ($29 each)

nars steven klein killer shine — NARS Steven Klein Killer Shine Lip Glosses in Special Force, Fast Life and Provoke ($28 each)

Shiny vinyl-like finishes play a big part in this 15-piece limited edition launch of pieces for eyes, cheeks, lips and nails. As they are with the Steven Klein holiday gifting sets we looked at last week, lip products are again the stars of the show. There are three lipsticks and three glosses in a completely new formula called Killer Shine, and they’re so glossy and bright that your dominatrix boots be totes jelly.

NARS also carries that same concept of lovely lusters over to the products for eyes, cheeks and nails.

And now that I think about it…there’s very little, if any, matte here, so if you’re drawn to glitter and shimmer like a moth to a flame, then holla! — you’ll probably find something to like in this release.

nars steven klein holiday 2015 vengeful — NARS Steven Klein Dual-Intensity Blush in Vengeful ($45)

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NARS Steven Klein Holiday 2015, Part 1: The Gift Sets

October 2nd, 2015 by Karen 20 Comments

It wouldn’t be the holidays at NARS without a gift set with some man junk…

nars steven klein full service — NARS Steven Klein Full Service Mini Kabuki Brush Set ($95)

And a lady in a Jason Voorhees mask…

So, yeah. It’s pretty much business as usual over at NARS! 🙂

The brand likes to scoot along the razor’s edge with their holiday collections, often doing collaborations with cutting edge artists, and their holiday releases are anything but boring and traditional. Instead of reindeers and candy canes, we get ladies in lingerie wearing sexy aliens masks.

This year’s collab is with fashion photographer Steven Klein, and it’s a big one. I’ve split it into two parts, with this first video covering the gift sets, which arrive on the NARS website and at NARS boutiques October 5, and then in stores November 1.

Here are some swatches and pictures, and there’s a lot more info in the video at the top. I hope you see something you like.

nars steven klein dispair cheek palette — NARS Steven Klein Despair Cheek Palette ($65)

nars steven klein dispair cheek palette 2 — NARS Steven Klein Despair Cheek Palette Blushes in Nico, Savage, Esoteric and Ferocious

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Neat and New to Me: NARS Isolde Duo Eyeshadow

September 29th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Neat and New to Me

Unlike my Unsung Heroes series, which features permanent collection products I’ve known and loved a long time, the Neat and New to Me series showcases permanent collection products that slipped under my radar for a while, but then I discovered them! — and now I think they’re neat and new to me.

OK, so, I was expecting to Google the word, “Isolde,” as in the NARS Isolde Eyeshadow Duo, and find out that it’s the name of an exotic island in a far-flung corner of the world, because that’s how NARS usually rolls when it comes to naming their colors, but nooo! Turns out that it’s the name of a character in a German opera by Richard Wagner called Tristan und Isolde.

Random! Makeup, you are my teacher, and I’m your willing and eager student. 🙂

Isolde… Aah! Can I just say, “Hello, autumnal makeup jam?!”

Part of the NARS permanent collection, Isolde has recently taken up residence in my Large NARS Pro-Palette. Why I waited so long to try it, I’ll never understand…because it’s so beautiful (especially if your skin has warm undertones)!

You get a shimmery, coppery peach on one side and a shimmery warm copper on the other, and neither side is frosty, which I like.

These colors force me to think of autumn leaves and cozy scarves. And pumpkin spice lattes. And matte lips and boots. In other words, fall.

NARS has literally dozens of beautiful duos, but I think Isolde deserves a shout-out, first, because it’s intensely pigmented (one or two layers should do you just fine), and second, because of the powders, which are so soft that they almost feel like creams. Using them, I hardly notice any fallout, and they barely fade at all after eight hours.

And then there’s the finish, which comes close to being a frost, but doesn’t quite get there, and that’s one of the things I love about NARS. They play with shine in such interesting ways that I never expect.

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The New Refillable NARS PRO Palettes

September 21st, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

Whatever you do, if you are prone to procrastination, or if you have a deadline you can’t move or somewhere you have to be at a specific time, under absolutely NO circumstances are you to start playing with the NARS Pro Palette builder tool on narscosmetics.com.

I repeat, DON’T EVEN GO THERE! — because if you do, you will fall down a rabbit hole of endlessly arranging and rearranging your dream palette of eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers and powders, and before you know it, two hours will have passed, and your cat will be giving you the death stare because you haven’t taken him out for his walk yet.

Sure is fun though! 🙂

Earlier this month NARS did something very cool. They introduced two NARS branded empty palettes (a large one and a small one) that are fillable with whatever your makeup-loving heart desires.

Now, the idea of the empty palettes isn’t new. Other ones exist, like the Z palette, which you can get at Ulta for $20 (versus $14 and $18 for these two), but these have the NARS logo, and they’re also joined by a new line of NARS refill pans.

nars pro palettes in hand — The small and large NARS PRO Palettes in my paw…

nars large pro palette — The large NARS PRO Palette with an iPhone 6 Plus for scale

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Late Summer Sephora Haul!

August 24th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

My No. 1 rule when I shop at Sephora is to never, EVER walk around the store with a basket, because if I do, I’ll just keep dropping more and more things into it until eventually — whoops! — there goes all my fun money for the next few months.

I tell myself that I can only leave the store with what I can physically carry in my hands, but that doesn’t always work… You’d be amazed at how much stuff a short Filipino girl can carry, haha! 🙂

On my last trip I grabbed a few things — some re-stocks, some new things I’ve been wanting to try and at least one doodad (maybe two).

As always, my friend, thank you for watching.

Products mentioned

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen