All posts filed under: Reviews

A Selection of Makeup Bits from Glory Boon

Hey all! Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been testing many things (they all kind of arrived at the same time…) so I have a lot of drafts in place, but only one face to test everything on, so it’s been quite a weird past few days. I’ve also been out of the house most of the time (there’s an Art Fair going on in Manila now—though today is the last day—and I’m there for a few hours everyday). Anyway. I was looking for indie companies on Etsy to support and I found my way to Glory Boon, which seems to be one of the more successful and visible ones (correct me if I’m wrong?). They have quite a bit of skin care stuff so I wanted to try those out, too. For the makeup bits, I got eyeshadow (predictably), concealer (because it seems to be their bestseller), a lip butter/gloss. I feel predictable, but here, I bought the Chicka Chicka eyeshadow, since it looked good for everyday, like a warm & bright …

Say hello to the NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette, because I got it. Of course.

Oh NARS, you have done it again. But let’s stop pretending that we didn’t know this was going to happen… A few of you actually asked me if I was planning on buying the NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette when it first came out. I was yoyo-ing with my feelings (haha) and was coming up with pretty good reasons as to why I shouldn’t get this palette. After all, it’s another neutral palette. On the other hand, I’ve been meaning to get more into NARS Eyeshadows (for whatever reason). This palette has 14 permanent shades, plus 1 LE shade that was just released, so this would be actually be great introduction for a NARS n00b. The NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette launched into a chorus of mixed reviews. A lot of people said that the shadows in this palette weren’t on par with the originals. As someone who is pretty familiar with the ‘NARS Syndrome,’ I knew that the shades would be hit or miss… but I wasn’t expecting a discrepancy in quality. Finally, after much deliberation, I just …

Sample Stash Sunday: Femme Fatale Sampler Pack

One of my resolutions this year (that I seem to be following to a ‘T’…) is to try and discover more indie and local cosmetics companies. They are usually cruelty-free (sometimes even vegan!) which ties in to my whole transition to CF cosmetics. One of the more prominent brands I’ve been seeing around is Femme Fatale. I think this operation might be bigger than most indie companies, but I still wanted to try them since they seem to be quite popular in the indie cosmetics realm. Luckily, they had a 10-Sampler Pack, which I snatched up immediately. My order came a few weeks later in a simple letter envelope from Australia. I got my 10 samples (8 eyeshadows, 2 blushes) and a free eyeshadow sample.

Crossed Out Shopping List: NARS Duo in Charade & Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned

You know sometimes how you keep on putting off buying certain things, but then can’t get them out of your head that you eventually cave? Yep, that’s the situation right here. These are two NARS makeup items that I finally got around to “crossing off” my imaginary shopping list—the Eyeshadow Duo in Charade and the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned. The eyeshadow duo is, I admit, very much an influence of Ingrid/Missglamorazzi on YouTube. When she started her channel, she was pretty much a NARS loyalist, so I knew I could count on her opinion when it comes to eyeshadow duos. I actually went into NARS to buy this, but was unimpressed and left with both Grand Palais and Dogon instead. Well, I couldn’t forget about Charade.

Quickie: Happy Skin Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie in Girls Night Out

Here’s a quick post of another shade of Happy Skin Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie. I’ve reviewed two of the lighter shades previously (Crushing on You and Summer Fling) here, so if you would like a more in-depth review on this particular range, you can read that. Girls Night Out is a red violet shade, and is one of the two darkest shades in the range, and it’s the less-red and cooler of the two. The other one is a bit more red.

NARS Spring 2014 High Seize Eyeshadow Duo: China Seas

So I ended up with both the eyeshadow duos released with the High Seize collection for NARS’ Spring 2014 offerings. I mean, it was bound to happen. First up is the more coveted of the two—Kauai. It’s easily the more wearable of the two, with a gold lamé and dirty orchid instead of a blue and pink. I still haven’t gotten it, since it’s extremely backordered (what up with that, Nordstrom?), but I couldn’t wait to post China Seas. Both duos are permanent additions to NARS beautiful lineup of eyeshadow duos. I didn’t expect to pick up the other duo—China Seas—but I ended up doing so, and boy am I glad. NARS describes this duo as an “Iridescent turquoise with gold infusion” and an “Iridescent plum.” Judging from this description, I expected to be absolutely floored by the blue shade, alas I was not. It’s a pretty turquoise, but I don’t see much gold in it. The plum, on the other hand, has a smattering of cool blue/violet sparks in it. It’s so freaking pretty, …

My NARS Final Cut Collection Picks

I posted about my NARS Spring lemmings a few weeks ago, and I ended up buying two things from the “Final Cut Collection,” or which we have come to know as the pink collection. NARS came out with 4 pink-toned blushes with matching 4 satin lip pencils, as well as a pinky highlighter.