If That Color Were an Eye Shadow, I Would Wear It!

My 2000 Volkswagen Passat finally kicked the bucket, I should have known being the third owner and not doing all the research I should have. I only had the car for a total of six years, barely! So after some careful research, option weighing and serious budget cutting (on my part), we got this car:

A 2012 Toyota RAV4

At first, I was going to go with black until I saw this one side by side and then there I was, like at the Nordstrom shoe department - which color do I go with? I went with Pyrite Mic (Mica?) which I suppose it to be a mineral-like shade but I think I know taupe when I see it! Thanks Pink Sith for properly teaching me about TAUPE!

Yes, another thought I had when I saw this car on the lot, "If that was an eye shadow, I would so wear it!"

Now I can!

I knew there was a hidden meaning when I picked out this L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Bronzed Taupe #890 When I swatched it I felt like I've seen this color before. In my stash? Very likely but no, I have seen this somewhere else and more recently - my car. It's a great metallic cool taupe with bronze, gray and some purple and it doesn't have any chunky glitter.The best part - no noticeable fallout!

At first inspection, I didn't see the grayish taupe until I swatched and compared it to the exterior of my car. If anything, it looks like it would be a warm taupe. It made me love my new eye shadow even more. The texture is a mixture of spongey and mousse-like. Also, this has been compared to Armani's Eyes To Kill Intense Shadows but at much, much more affordable price point. I don't own the aforementioned shadows, so I cannot fairly judge the similarities or differences but it's what I've read on other blogs.

I tried using my MAC #239 shadow brush but it didn't pick up much product. I tried a thin shadow brush that I've used for cream shadows in the past. It worked. Another morning, I tried it with just my ring finger - I think I found my tool of choice when using this shadow. When applied on top of my trustee shadow primer, Too Faced Shadow Insurance - this doesn't crease or come off until I wipe it off with makeup remover at bed time.

Eye liner: Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner, Smog/L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Eye Shadow Single, Smooth Latte/Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara

And face of the day:

Other notable shades:
NARS Blush, Gilda
Revlon Lip Butter, Fig Jam #30

Okay aside from the superficial, "ooh, my car is so cute" I do love my new car. I went with Toyota because one of my old cars was a 1987 Corolla that refused to break down. When it did, it was just to replace a battery. Maintaining that thing just required regular oil changes.This is the very first time I have ever owned a brand spanking new car so this is a huge milestone for me. I would have been happy with a second owned used car that's five or even six years old but my husband wanted to really make sure that not just I but our daughter would be safe. Plus, being stuck in a car with a dead engine and battery at night barely on a shoulder of an on-ramp on busy freeway with huge semi-trucks barreling past us was a real eye opener. I have never been so scared in my life and the sacrifices I am making now (mainly halting major cosmetic purchases) to afford a reliable vehicle to transport my family are well worth it! 

L'Oreal Infalliable Eye Shadow was purchased by yours truly at my local Ulta store, $7.99/USD
This comes in a total of twelve shades and I got well over eight hours of wear time (with the use of an eye primer). I could see myself possibly purchasing one more color but that would be it.

The Toyota was purchased at my local City Toyota dealership. The dealer that helped was AWESOME, he never pressured me into anything and I referred him to my daughter's preschool as he and his fiance were struggling to find a school for their young son. I hope to see them around at the school just to thank him again for being so patient, answering every single question I had and not taking advantage of a girl that is highly excitable by pretty colors!

Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is the second shade I bought from MAC's Bloggers Obsession collection. This was created by Lianne Farbes, author of The Makeup Girl Blog. Lianne's mission was to create a dark sooty, grey shadow that would suit all and make for a killer smoky eye. I'd say she did a job well done! I am new to her blog - a fun and very informative blog.

You know I love a Smoky Eye so it should come to no surprise that I would own this shadow:

Here's a swatch on my NC42 arm:

It is described on the site as a dark, sooty grey with silver pearl. It actually looks more like a charcoal, brown with a golden sheen. This is a satin finish which worried me a bit - I don't have the best luck with the Satin finish but the color is so lovely that I figured it'd be worth a shot.

I tried it out just on top of my TFSI:

It looks a bit patchy, I know. I did pat this on with my MAC #239 shadow brush and I did add about three layers. I guess I need to blend it out better next time. This is usually what happens when I use MAC Satin finishes. I added MAC Soba to the crease and MAC Arena on my brow bone. I used MAC Fluidline liner in Blacktrack. I added Hocus Pocus to the bottom lash line and smudged it with my MAC #219 pencil brush.

Not too bad as a final look if I don't walk around with my lids half way open.


Then I decided to try it again but on top of Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner Shadow in Birthday Suit (brushed chrome):

Pretty clean and simple in comparison to the first look. It does look a bit lighter and the cream shadow base does seem to help for an even application. I still had to pat a few layers of Hocus Pocus with my dense shadow brush.

I figured that if it looked great layered on top of Benefit's Birthday Suit cream shadow, what else could I layer it with?

NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencil, Aigle Noir - Black infused with gold shimmer, MAC Hocus Pocus and then the third swatch is a mix of both products. I like the result - a dark charcoal with gold shimmer perfect for dancing with the girls or making googely eyes at my husband on DATE NIGHT! The next swatch is Benefit's Birthday Suit  and then a swatch of Hocus Pocus layered on top of - giving me a warmer taupey charcoal.

I think I like Hocus Pocus best when layered on top of cream shadows/shadow sticks than by itself.
Final Assessment - I will need to experiment more with this shadow. I am determined to get this to work. The color is just too lovely to keep on the shelf untouched!

Bought by yours truly online.
$14.50/USD

Jealousy Wakes

I was so happy to receive an email from the MAC site (who isn't?) letting me know that they now had more stock of the eye shadows in their recent Bloggers Obsession exclusive online collection. This was my chance to pick up two that I had my eye on - Jealousy Wakes and Hocus Pocus.

Today, I will just feature an eye look I did with Jealousy Wakes.

This awesome emerald green shadow was created by the lovely Christine at Temptalia. I learned about her blog the same time I discovered the always adorable, Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog. Christine describes it as an emerald with teal and gold pearl. She also introduced me to a world of color and helped me break my neutral palette uniform. I now have a love for teal eye pencils and colorful shadows because of her!

Her shadow has a veluxe pearl finish, which is my favorite finish (as far as MAC shadows are concerned) because it goes on buttery smooth and it's easy to blend.

Here it is on my arm (NC42/LM Tinted Moisturizer - Caramel)

and with flash:

It leans more on the teal side on my skin. I like this shade as it is a very unique green shadow in my collection. I'm more of an olive or khaki green gal. I don't own too many bright greens because I was never really drawn to it but Christine has made me appreciate it's beauty over the years of seeing her use this shade fearlessly!

And here's a look I did with it:

Unfortunately, I felt like it went on a bit patchy on top of my TFSI so I dampened my shadow brush (MAC #239) and packed on a bit more to even out any patchy areas. I added a neutral taupe brown, Coquette in my crease for a bit of warmth and I used a light, champagne gold shimmer - Femme Fi. I kept the liner simple - MAC's Fluid liner in Blacktrack.

I got compliments from my husband and my coworkers.

I am planning to experiment with this color and perhaps see how it would work as a liner if I added a mixing medium to it.

In all honesty, I bought this shadow in respect to Christine and for all the hard work she has put into her blog. She is one of the bloggers in the Beauty Blogging world that pushes me to try harder and really experiment with products I would have otherwise walked away from.  Lucky for me, this is a color that stands out in my collection - it also helps that I only have two other green shades in my existing stash!

To check out the Blogger Obsessions collection, please click here. This is an exclusive online collection only.

Dogon Eye of the Day - Friday, 5/27

I can't really say much more about the latest Summer duo from NARS, Dogon that already hasn't been said.

I took a picture of this late afternoon - the sun was starting to set so it was pretty bright in my livingroom. Sorry if this looks a bit flat but take a look at it swatched on my arm:

You can see the duochrome goodness of the metallic taupe shade - it has some green in it. There is also a minimal shimmer to the black shade.

Other shades used:
NARS Nepal in crease
NARS Alhambra on browbone
MAC Feline Kohl Power Eye pencil
Chanel Inimitable Intense - Black

I felt like the metallic taupe took some extra work to get on to my lid, I must have patted about three layers with a dense shadow brush (MAC #239) but the black shade went on easily. I layered this on top of my TFSI primer. I can't wait to experiment more with this duo. I am curious to see how the NARS cream shadow in Mousson will look layered on top of it.

Yes, I love it. I am glad I finally picked it up!

Other products used:

Cheeks: NARS Multiple - South Beach
             NARS Orgasm blush (layered on top of South Beach)

Lips: Estee Lauder Pure Color - #77 Cafe Chic/NARS Albatross lipgloss

For other color comparisons please check out these awesome photos from:
Makeup Magpie, Joey at Pink Sith, Martha at Planet Martha (congrats to the latest addition to her adorable family!) and of course my girl, Sabrina at The Beauty Look Book.

Retail: $32USD
Bought at Sephora (JCPenny's)

Rollergirl, Summer 2011

No, not Heather:

But from Urban Decay's latest offering for Summer 2011:




(the cute cardboard packaging really sold me)

 Comes with a mini Lip Junkie gloss in Crush - HOT pink (.12 oz)

(back)



(even the spine of the palette is cute!)

Okay so let's look at the colors:



(Cue in the OOOOH's and Aaaaaah's)

It also contains a mini deluxe (oxymoron, I know) 24/7 liner in Whiskey (.03 oz). I believe this was the same pencil included in the Half Baked palette from 2009 (?). It's pretty much Bourbon without the glitter - it's also my favorite if I had to choose between the two. I wish it was sold permanently in the 24/7 pencil line up. Woodstock - hot pink shimmer, Verve (exclusive shade) - like a pearly oyster shell, Suspect - like wet copper sand glistening in the sun (also my favorite from the palette), Darkhorse (from NAKED palette) - described as a 'bronze, plum shimmer' via Sephora site. But it seems more like a dark chocolate shimmer on my skin.

top to bottom -
Woodstock
Verve
Suspect
Darkhorse
Whiskey liner (on the side)

Bourbon vs. Whiskey:



(L to R: Bourbon, Whiskey)

Taken with flash just so you can see the glitter.
And here's a swatch of the Lip Junkie gloss, Crush (HOT pink):

I took this palette for a spin this morning:

Suspect on lid

Woodstock on outer corner (I want to play more with shade just because I want to prove to myself that it won't make me look hungover or like I'm have a bad eczema attack!)

Darkhorse on crease

Verve on browbone

Whiskey - smudge 3/4 in on both top/bottom lashline

On my cheeks - NARS Orgasm blush layered with South Beach Multiple stick
Lips: Crush Lip Junkie gloss (no liner).

For reference: NC 42/LM tinted moisturizer in Caramel/NARS Syracuse

Because these are shimmer finishes, I didn't notice any blatant fallout around my eyes - a common drawback from glitter UD shadows. I am really loving this palette. Urban Decay always delivers the look I'm going for in the summertime: sexy but with a hint of attainable edge. Does that make any sense? I feel like the Half Baked palette gave more of the edgy surfer girl vibe with it's gold/copper/teal shadow offering. Whereas, Rollergirl may be that same surfer girl at night hitting up a dive bar, live show, retro 80's night at the roller rink or just getting into trouble in general.

You know the kind of girl, I use to be 5 years ago! Except the surfing part.

Retail price:
$32/USD
Online, Sephora, Ulta

Ashes to Ashes

Not just a cool David Bowie song but also my featured eye shadow of the day. Yes, I am rounding out this un-official NARS week with this lovely, simple taupe with subtle shimmer.

(L to R: Ashes to Ashes and Abyssinia)

I love that this was included in my NARS15 (gift) palette:

I didn't have to add to much on my lid and crease to get this to show. I really thought it might not be dark enough for my NC 42 skin but it showed up as a lovely subtle plummy brown. Since I have been feeling a bit lazy with my makeup I just paired this with Abyssinia (pearly nude) on my browbone and lined my top/bottom lashlines with my favorite black liner, MAC Feline and called it a day.

I think this dynamic trio will be in rotation when I don't want to over think my eye makeup but it will look like I did!

I obtained both shades in my gift palette but both are part of the permanent collection as single shadows.

Retail:
$23/USD


HAPPY FRIDAY!

NARS - Jolie Poupee

The phrase roughly translates to: "pretty doll". When I look at this duo from the NARS permanent line I see a vivid bluish lavendar and a red purple that is indeed pretty but a little intimdating. These are two colors that I immediately think won't work for me - too cool for my warm skin.

(taken from Beauty.com)

But I learned at the NARS class that any color CAN work if you adjust it to your comfort level.

So I did.




(NC 42 arm)


 I took the left bluish lavendar and placed it on my lid. Then taking the red purple into my crease. I also added a layer of the silver lilac from the Nouveau Monde duo and added a light shimmer layer on top of the lavendar.

I also smudged the purple shade on my lower lash line with my MAC pencil brush, #219. I also used (once again) the shimmery gunmetal shade from the Eurydice duo.



(L to R: Dry Swatch, Wet with Flat Push Liner Brush)

 Overall, I am quite pleased with the results and I'm looking at all my NARS duos in a whole different way.

I just need to test out the new Summer 2011 collection.

For the rest of my face I used my HG coral blush, NARS Gilda and I popped a bit of NARS Orgasm blush on top of that for a bit of pink gold shimmer. I used MAC lip pencil in Whirl and NARS gloss in Ophelia on top of that.


I bought Jolie Poupee at Nordstrom, SF
Retail $33 USD

or take advantage of free shipping for purchases over $25 online.

A New Appreciation and Love for Everything NARS!

Saturday, April 30th at Nordstrom, Westfield Center, SF - I attend my first NARS Master Class. I was able to sit in the Advanced Class. There was a bit of a wait for clean up from the last class so to ease our anxiety we were told repeatedly that champagne and appetizers were waiting for us. Shoot, I'd wait anywhere to receive free Champagne and Cheese!
It a huge Mega Event at the Nordstrom where there were rows and rows of stations and the black and white logo: NARS.

I wonder if the MAC people were annoyed.

There was also a DJ, a hairstylist and a guy taking head shots after you got your makeup done - it was a pretty big party. If anything it was just so overwhelming. I along with 11 other women were taken to a private conference room on the top floor. It was a bit of a wait but the NARS artists and employees kept promising us champagne, they already had our pre-payment fee of $50 - of course we're going to wait!

But as they opened the door we were greeted with music, the said champagne, cheese and fruit appetizers and lots and lots of NARS makeup to play with. This is my idea of a dream pajama party!



(If only I had enough counter space to have this many NARS products!)

Warning: Text heavy - I was so overwhelmed that I didn't take a whole lot of pics - I'm sorry!!

So the course was lead by NARS stylist, Janice Daoud and other leading NARS makeup artists representing Nordstrom locations across the Nation. Janice, a self-taught makeup artsit worked her way from MAC, Chanel, Trish McEvoy before coming to NARS where she worked her way to becoming a Stylist. Since then she has worked alongside Francois Nars for NY Fashion Week (Spr 2010). Her work has also been in print and she has worked on everyone from Usher, Kim Kardashian and The Pussycat Dolls. I learned a wealth of information from this young woman (she's only 33) in just two hours. I couldn't take too many notes because I was just so overwhelmed and too busy drinking champagne.

(Product booklet and a photo of Janice above)



After we all went around the room and introduced ourselves we also had to state what we wanted to learn. I, and most of the others, wanted to learn how to really perfect our skin and properly contour. Then Janice had each of us pick two items that we would never use. I actually froze because I wasn't afraid of any of these colors - I just didn't know which ones to pick. I settled on the Jolie Poupee (violets) duo and Roman Holiday (soft pastel, pink that I originally thought made me look washed out) lipstick.

I tried the skincare products once - I was really dismissive since the Makeup Cleansing Oil made me break out badly. But after trying it another time, I am willing to give it another shot. We were escorted to the ladies room to clean our faces. I tried both the Milk Cleanser and Gentle Foam Cleanser to remove my existing makeup. Since I have dry, sensitive skin I was afraid that my skin was going to freak out - especially without my prescribed ointment. My skin was a bit taut after the cleansers but that was to be expected. It wasn't too uncomfortable. Then we were instructed to exfoliate with the Hydrating Refreshing Lotion. Yes, it looks like your basic toner but when you're sweeping a cotton swab in a circular motion on your face it activates the exfoliating properties and helps dig in a clear your pores. I know, you can probably do this with an existing toner. I need to look up the ingredients to find out what kind of 'exfoliating properties' this contains and what makes it different than a Kiehl's toner I use to use nightly. Next we were given the potent EFA cream. It has a pump top dispenser - think of the polish remover bottles used in a Nail Salon - yes, like that! I love it because I won't have to dig into with my nails and fingers. This cream is a Omega 3 cocktail - Omegas, Ceramides, Super Sterol (moisturizing skin agent) in a ratio of 3:1:1. It also contains Hyaluronic Acid and Acai - 95% lipids.

In other words, it's a moisturizer I am kind of obsessed with. It did make my skin itch or break out the next day. I guess I would need to test drive it for a full week before buying. The sister component to this moisturizer is the night time EFA Night Fusion Serum. This also contains 95% lipids like the day moisturizer. It's a bit more intense and I learned from the Artists that this can also be used lightly around the eyes after applying one pump to the face and neck. This item I did purchase. I figured I really need to start with a great looking canvas before anything else. Then an application of the Nourishing Eye Cream.

Another item I also want is the Brightening Serum - "a combination of Active Phytoseed Complex, powerful antioxidants and Fennel" (NARS site description). It also has a lovely pearl pink iridescence that imparts a lovely glow. Next was the new foundation primer w/or w/out SPF. I never used this primer before but apparently the old formula left a bit of white-ish cast. I'm glad I never used it after hearing about that. It's oil-free and felt very comfortable on considering I have quite a bit of product on my face and I didn't even put any foundation yet. Next up was a bit of the Pro-Prime applied around my nose to blur and minimize my pores. This is a balm like primer that dries to a matte finish and it's recommended to be used on top of the primer but before foundation.

Okay finally getting into some color. I used the Sheer Glow Foundation, which I love and have been meaning to buy a full sized bottle. I have been able to hold on to my deluxe sample size since I tend to only wear tinted moisturizer (LM) during the week since I go to the gym during my lunch break. I did learn a great trick that I'll be using when I know I'll be taking lots of pictures - using the color I normally wear all over the face and placing a slightly lighter shade just around my nose and a bit on the forehead (somewhat a triangle formation on the face). Followed by both Copacabana and Laguna Illuminators and because I knew I had the Brightening Serum on I was scared that I was going to look like a Caesars Palace Statue in Vegas like I did after a bad MAC makeover. The final touch Punjab powder foundation applied with the giant Boton Brush. I NEED this brush!

After I applied some Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base, I did a violet smoky eye with the Jolie Poupee duo (bright violet on lid/purple shimmer in the crease), a bit of the silver lilac shade (on lid) from the Nouveua Monde duo, and something I would have never thought of trying - touch of Mousson (silver sage) cream shadow as the last layer on my lids. Finishing up with the gunmetal shade from the Eurydice duo applied with a wet Push Eye liner brush and Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara in Black.

Taj Mahal (burnt shimmery orange) blush on my cheekbones and Roman Holiday satin lipstick and Sweet Revenge (pink grapefruit) on top.

And here's my head shot:

(I just wished it didn't take more than 3 products to get this glow on my face)

And here's my work station after I was complete:



(Each time I looked at my glass of Champagne it was always refilled!)

Here's a closeup of my eye - sorry bathroom lighting.

and lips:



(I'm still on the fence with Roman Holiday but Sweet Revenge is my favorite pink nude gloss)

 I was pretty pleased with the overall outcome of this event. I did end up purchasing not only the Jolie Poupee duo but also the Mousson cream shadow, Taj Mahal blush (I will be using a lot this summer) and the EPA Night Serum. I hope to pick up the EPA Day Cream/Brightening serum and that Botan Brush next.
The main takeaways from this class:

The NARS approach to makeup - "Don't be too seriously, it's only makeup"
Do take your skincare more seriously and yes it does take a lot to get that 'dewy, radiant', complexion!

And on to the gift bag. What was in my goody bag?

(Deluxe sample of Orgasm polish, Makeup Cleansing Oil and Copacabana Illuminator)

But the best part - getting the Anniversary NARS palette that was a Nordstrom exclusive. I believe this came out last year?

Eye shadows:
Top Row - Alhambra, Abyssnia
Bottom Row - Ashes to Ashes, Pandora

Middle row
Top - Orgasm Blush
Bottom - South Beach Multiple

Lips:
Top: Baby Doll Lip Laquer, Red Lizard
Bottom: Manhunt, Fire Down Below

(yay more REDS!)
I feel a challenge coming on.....


As you know, I'm not a beginner - most of the time the attending makeup artists left me alone after they recommended colors to me. They knew that I knew what I was doing. But I really appreciated the NARS products I currently owned - I am now doing a lot of color mixing and having even more fun with makeup.

Will this make me an exclusive NARS convert? Probably not, I like to have just as much fun with other brands too!

Learning to love Laura

Laura Mercier that is. This brand has always been under my radar but I always get sidetracked by other French cosmetic lines: NARS, Chanel, Dior...

Lately, I have been paying more attention to this line - I love using the combination of the oil-free primer and the tinted moisturizer in Caramel. Therefore, I have added a few new things to my collection - THANK YOU SEPHORA V.I.B. sale!

Today I will focus on Black Karat from the Baked Eye Shadow collection:


Black Karat with NARS Shadow Stick in Aigle Noir



(L to R: Aigle Noir, Black Karat on NC 42 forearm)

 The color itself looks like a black with gold glitter at first glance but once you lay it out on your arm (like I did) you'll see it's more of a super dark brown with black woven into it and the gold is hard to not detect.

This is my kind of color for a one-pan smoky eye look!

You can use this dry or wet - depending on how intense you want this color to be:

Top - I swatched it wet using a MAC 266 brush
Bottom - Dry swatch using a MAC 239 brush

The gold is bolder when wet but the dark brown base seems to stay the same.

Either way, I like it!

I layered it on top of the Aigle Noir shadow stick. I then took my MAC 266 brush and applied Black Karat wet to my lower lash line. I applied MAC Arena to my browbone and finished with a couple of coats of Dior's Extase masacara.

Please also check out Gaia's reviews and pictures of Black Karat. She has better photos of this lovely shade. Her LM reviews are basically the reason I have been tiptoeing to that counter recently!

I will attempt to do a comparison between this shade and any MAC Mineral Shadows I may still own. I have lost a few in transit - one slip and it's a messy spill on your bathroom floor, sadly!

EOTD - Olive Smoky Eye

It was another morning where I just didn't want to be bothered with a complicated, intensely blended look that needed 5 different shadows and included 3 different textures. Yes, I have been lazy lately. I guess I'm already in Summer mode and yes, it's still April.

Well I took these three shades and tried to make the best of it. So here's my smoky olive eye look:

and this is what I used:




(NC 42 forearm)

 L to R:
MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot - peach gold cream shadow (lid)
MAC Sumptuous Olive - khaki w/pearl (lid)
MAC Soba - light golden brown shimmer
UD 24/7 Eyeliner - Stash - Drk Green/Gold (top lashline/smudged bottom)

I apologize for my lack of enthusiasm but at least I'm trying. For a Tuesday morning, it sure feels like a Monday.

Maybe this will cheer me up:

A fan video of one of my new favorite bands: The Ettes
Crown of Age

If anything I am now pumped to meet with my trainer at the gym this afternoon!