All posts tagged: nars cosmetics

Face Off: NARS Ita Kabuki Brush vs. Illamasqua Blush Up Brush

This fun post was brought to you by a NARS SA that gave me the wrong thing (as I previously mentioned here). I was going to buy the NARS Yachiyo brush because it applied blush really beautifully, but the SA gave me this flat brush called the NARS Ita Kabuki brush, which became really famez after YT gurus kept using it as a contour brush. I already had a similar flat brush, the Illamasqua Blush-Up Brush, so I was a bit miffed by this mistake, but I also wanted to see if this was as good as everyone thought it was. I don’t really contour much, so I didn’t have much use for this, but IDK. I have a weird relationship with stuff, I guess. Here’s what they look like, structurally. The Ita brush is comprised of a rubbery matte plank that forks into two planks that sandwich the bristles (the ferrule is black). The Blush Up brush is a bit fan-like but super dense with a shiny black ferrule and handle. Comparing the bristles, …

FOTD: #YSProm

I’ve been extremely busy lately and my queue of posts ran out before I could write more posts (heh), so I hope you guys don’t mind a Face of the Day! I wore this to #YSProm, which is basically Young Star’s 18th Birthday! You can see (a bit) more pictures here. It looks simple—and it is!—but I did spend quite a bit of time making my base look nice~ I was so happy that I didn’t have to put SPF on my face because it was a night event. Thank tha lawddd. I only put up with SPF because I don’t want to burn under the sun. What I Wore: Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Ginger), bareMinerals Original Foundation (Medium Beige), BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector (Opal), Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Mood Light), & Other Stories Eyebrow Pencil (Bouclé Greige), The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit (02), MAC Paint Pot (Painterly), NARS And God Created the Woman Palette, Sasa Perfect Shape Gel Eyeliner (01 Velvet Black), Happy Skin Eye Am Here to …

Boys Don’t Cry

Say hello to Boys Don’t Cry—another kinda impulse, kinda not buy from NARS. I’ve been eyeing this blush since the collection came out, aka Summer 2013, aka almost an entire year if not more. I remember falling in love with it online and swatching it every time I pass by NARS, just because I didn’t need any more blush. Especially not 13g more blush… But, what can I say? I got caught at a weak moment. This is a limited edition blush, so I’m not even sure if it’s still available since it did come out a year ago. The SA claimed that this was the last piece they had in stock (Rustan’s Makati), but she also gave me the wrong brush, so I don’t know if I believe her. More on that later. Boys Don’t Cry is a “High Voltage Blush” and is described as a “pink grapefruit” shade. It is quite a reddish coral with a bit of gold overspray (just at the top, for design). It is also so freaking pretty. In …

Recent Loves

I feel like it’s a bit too late to talk about “monthly favorites,” but I always have little products I want to talk a bit about. Here are the things I’ve been loving lately. Not exactly for an entire month, but just the ones I’ve been reaching for a lot these days. For my eyeshadow fave as of late, I’ve got a palette by NARS that I’m sure you are all familiar with, And God Created the Woman. This is such a great little palette. Recently, I’ve used this for eyebrows, eyeshadow and liner all at once. Other makeup favorites: I got the & Other Stories Eyebrow Pencil in Bouclé Greige from Laala and I’ve been using it a lot. I posted about my brow routine not long ago, and I sometimes have been using this in place of the K-Palette eyebrow marker. Another frequent easy lipstick I’ve been using a lot of lately is the THREE Velvet Lust Lipstick in 05 Love Like Heaven. The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger is steadily becoming …

(Another) No Makeup Makeup Look: Bright Eyes

“No makeup” makeup has a strong presence in the beauty world, and the opinion on this is split into two factions: the people who appreciate and love it and the people who don’t see the point. Over the last few months, I’ve gotten several anonymous comments about how my makeup is being “wasted” and is useless because you can’t detect it on my face. (That’s a whole other story.) I’m personally a fan of the no makeup makeup look. There’s nothing wrong with enhancing your features and going for subtlety. Understated is good. Plus, there are actually people who can’t wear wild makeup looks to work. I am not one of those people, but I still dig these looks. Also, I don’t really feel comfortable with the thought of someone actually being able to see foundation, etc. on my face. Why on earth would you want that? I would not wish that upon the most annoying of the people I am annoyed at. I don’t really have evil foes.

Graduation

I got a request for a graduation makeup look, so here’s an attempt. Just a disclaimer: I don’t think I wore a lick of makeup on my graduation day from uni, which was over four years ago. Here are some photos, to humor y’all. (I didn’t style my hair either. Lol. Basically I just didn’t care; I just wanted to get outta there!) And a swanget face with Marb, who I miss and haven’t seen since 2010. 😦 I did not show up for my high school graduation. (I watched She’s the Man in Glorietta instead.) So, you know, I don’t have a lot of experience under my belt, but here’s to trying! I’m going to put together a look that I feel like I would have worn that day if I gave a crap.

Spring

Happy Easter/Resurrection Sunday/420! You know, whatever you celebrate. I’m switching up my makeup for Spring (even though it’s decidedly summer over here), and I can’t help but reach for my pastels. It’s not that I look particularly good in them—on the contrary, some pastels can turn me quite ashy—but I just can’t help it. I feel fluttery! A quad that I’ve looked over the past few months is this Chanel Fleuries Ombres in Délicatesse. It was a spring release last year and great to use for brightening up the eyes! For the cheeks, I have a new-ish spring offering from NARS, a powder blush called Final Cut. And for the lips, I’ve got two perfect candidates—the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in Lydia, an orchid, and Annika a pale pinky peach. What are some of your spring makeup picks? Follow me: Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Facebook