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Face

My Cheeks Are Loving Tarte’s Latest Natural-Looking Cheek Stain

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tarte loving cheekstain

Things I encountered this afternoon…

1. A piece of chocolate cake.


Portion control is lame

2. A pinkish coral blush that smells like a mixed berry smoothie (more on this in a minute!).

tarte loving cheekstain

3. Jeremy Renner doing push-ups in my living room… He texted this morning to ask if he could come over on my lunch break (“Hey, girl, I’m in Novato!”).

Alright, so maybe that third thing didn’t happen. Truth is, Jeremy and I went makeup shopping at Sephora this afternoon…

Okay, okay, I’ll stop! 🙂

But seriously, I can’t wait to see Jeremy in the new Bourne movie. Maybe I’ll wear Tarte’s new Cheek Stain in Loving ($30) to the show.

If I do, one thing’s for sure — I know my cheeks will smell good, LOL!
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A Foundation Makeup Tutorial With NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer and Hourglass Oxygen Foundation Powder

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how to apply foundation tutorial 0

Sir, Mr. Tabs? I think I have an answer for the riddle you gave me.

“Meow?”

Yes, well, it’s obvious, really. I mean, not at first, but I’ve given it some thought, and well…What do good houses and faces have in common?

“Mrrrow?”

It’s foundation, sir. Houses and faces should start with a good foundation.

“Meow! Meow!”

Thank you, sir. It was a good riddle. You’re a very clever cat.

Yup, today we’re talking faces! — namely face makeup, like the combination I’ve been lovely lately, NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer and Hourglass Oxygen Foundation Powder.

Together, they deliver medium-to-full coverage in a lightweight blend that looks like real skin, and so far, knock on wood, it hasn’t given me breakouts.

In this tutorial, I’ll describe how I apply ’em for pictures, and/or whenever I have a good chunk of time to get ready.

Just a quick reminder, though — this is just one of many ways to apply foundation, and that includes techniques and brushes. As always, it’s all about what works for you. 🙂

Before we get started, let’s gather the products we’ll need…

how to apply foundation tutorial products
From the left: Hourglass Oxyen Foundation Powder in No. 4, Tarte Foundation Brush, Hourglass No. 2 Foundation/Blush Brush, Laura Mercier Finishing Brush, NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in St. Moritz and Cuba

how to apply foundation tutorial swatches
Swatches from the left: NARS St. Moritz, NARS Cuba and Hourglass Oxygen Foundation Powder No. 4

And because there’s nothing else you really can do but smile when posting bare-faced pictures of yourself on the Internet…

how to apply foundation tutorial 0a

Yep, that’s me without makeup. 🙂 Not a drop!

As you can see, I have a few dark spots around my chin and mouth left over from a gnarly breakout last spring and some darkening beneath my eyes… Hopefully, after we’re done here, most of it will be covered.
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Tom Ford Beauty Blush in Flush and a Quick Note to Self

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tom ford beauty flush blush

Dear Self,

I see that you’ve been caught by the whirlwind of fall makeup. I mean, I totally get it. Hello, NARS fall 2012? Swoon!

But I feel like I need to tell you something. To quote Alanis, “and I’m here…to remind you…” it’s still the middle of summer.

Hey, don’t you make faces at my corny jokes, young lady!

tom ford beauty flush blush

You know you love it. 🙂

So, no matter how tempting all of that fall makeup may be (and it sure is tempting), let’s give a little time this morning to summer.

I vote we spend it with a shimmery golden coral blush…like how about Tom Ford Beauty Blush in Flush ($55, and available now at Neiman Marcus)?

tom ford beauty flush blush

tom ford beauty flush blush swatch
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Thursday Greetings and Funny Faces With My New Favorite Face Makeup Combo

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For the love of husky tabbies! — yesterday I could not take a normal picture to save my life.

I don’t know how Tabs and Tyra do it. Some days it just seems, by my expression in every single pic, that I look like I accidentally stepped in dog poop:

But wait, it gets better…

LOL!

I do have a point, and it is this: I have a new favorite face makeup combo that I’ve been dying to tell you about — NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer topped with a little bit of Hourglass Oxygen Foundation Powder.


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The NARS Foreplay Cheek Palette Is Such a Tease

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NARS Foreplay Cheek Palette

Okay, this blog’s a family show and all, but c’mon! You can’t expect me not to enjoy the perverted wordplay possibilities afforded by the new NARS Foreplay Cheek Palette ($49).

Fore-play? Four blushes, one of them a big ol’ pan of Orgasm? Oh, François, you so crazy! 🙂

As a fellow diner at le buffet de beaute, you’re probably well aware of NARS Orgasm blush’s wonderful reputation. Makeup lovers have been lavishing praise upon it for years, calling it a universally flattering peachy golden pink that looks great on just about everyone.

I wear it, love it and reach for it often in the NARS Orgasm/Laguna Duo, which I never leave home without.

Seriously. I don’t think I’ve taken a trip without it once over the past three years.

Recognizing the product’s popularity, NARS decided to make Orgasm the main dish in Foreplay, a new limited edition cheek palette available exclusively at Sephora.

nars sephora foreplay

The palette serves up a big pan of Orgasm and three tasty sides — a matte rosy peach that reminds me of a sheerer NARS Amour, a matte hot pink that resembles a sleepy Mata Hari, and a shimmery golden yellow highlighter which, hello! — has glitter for days (starts off on my cheeks, ends up on my chin, weird!).

There’s been some rumbling about the blushes in Foreplay being different than their namesakes in the NARS permanent line, and I have to agree. The Foreplay Orgasm (did I really just type that?), for instance, sure looks more glittery than its permanent collection counterpart does to me, and the golden pearl glitter bits look larger, too, as do the grains within the powder itself.

Heck, I can see the blush sitting on my skin, which is something I’ve never noticed with my older pan of the big O. The overall effect seems more intense and less natural than the effect I get with the Orgasm in the Orgasm/Laguna Duo.

nars foreplay cheek palette swatches

Same goes for the glitter bits in the shimmery golden highlighter. They’re big, and they have a tendency to wander.

I’m definitely diggin’ both of the mattes, though, which remind me of Amour and Mata Hari, two of my favorite NARS blushes of all time.

nars foreplay cheek palette
Wearing the matte pink shade
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Why Wear So Much Shimmer on Your Cheeks? The New NARS Multiple in Undress Me Has Multiple Reasons

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nars multiple in undress me

With all the smokey purples and shimmery platinums blazing on eyes over at NARS fall 2012, I can see why François Nars (can I call you François, Monsieur Nars?) decided to go the sheer pink route with the new Multiple in Undress Me ($39). Smokey eyes and chill cheeks? — a classic pairing, like a more beautiful version of peanut butter and jelly (incidentally, my dinner tonight, because I was too lazy to cook).

But because it’s from NARS, this creamy, multitasking stick, which is designed to lavish both lips and eyes, comes with a twist. Yes, it’s jam packed with oodles of silver glitter. More like buckets, really. I’m talkin’ so much glitter that my shimmer-loving, sequined-covered, feathered-headdress-wearing inner drag queen snaps in full approval.

After I swipe a single layer of Undress Me on my skin and buff it down with my fingers, the glitter reveals itself like a phoenix rising!

nars multiple in undress me product shot

nars multiple in undress me swatch
Undress Me unblended (left) and blended (right)
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It’s a Crime How Much I Love NARS Outlaw Blush

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nars outlaw blush

NARS Outlaw Blush“You better head outta town, Outlaw. Marshall Tabs come lookin’ for ya!”

If you love NARS Amour or Taos Blush as much as I do, I reckon you’d do just about anything to get your hands on this Outlaw.

The first time I set eyes on a pan of new NARS Outlaw Blush ($28, from the NARS fall 2012 collection), I thought, “What in tarnation?! Is that Taos kinfolk?” but it actually applies like a rosier golden version of Amour instead.

Because this rose with its golden shimmer packs so much pigment, I’ve been using a fan brush to apply a single layer; the fan brush deposits less product per layer than a regular blush brush does.

A skunk brush would probably also be a good choice.

nars outlaw blush product shot

nars outlaw blush swatch
NARS blush swatches from the left: Outlaw, Taos and Amour
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