blush ramble

i thought i'd do a little ramble about some blushes i have recently acquired. i got two new nyx blushes (that i had had my eye on for a while) from my grandpa for christmas. i know, very late discussion about something i got a month ago! but i also wanted to talk about two new nars blushes i got, one i bought from a friend and one from sephora.

nyx blushes

first up we have nyx's cream blush in glow (right). this color reminds me a lot of mac's cream blush in posey (left). they are similar in color, a beautiful dewy pink. this is my first nyx cream blush, and i have to say i am impressed! the formula is thinner (so easy to blend) and the pigmentation is amazing. i literally touch my finger very lightly on the product and it's sufficient enough to get the right amount of color on my cheeks. thumbs up!

i actually prefer the texture of glow over posey. i have two of mac's permanent blushcremes, lilicent and posey, and i have to say i am not impressed with the feel of them. it isnt the easiest to blend due to it being a bit thick and sticky. however both colors are so gorg and the product dries to a nice dewy finish so i deal with it.

next i got a powder blush in expresso. the color doesnt look special...sort of a blah color. but i really adore it. it adds such warmth to my face. i would describe it as a tanned muted pink. ive been using this blush very frequently lately.

swatches:
from left to right, mac's posey, nyx glow, nyx expresso. posey and glow are very similar, but glow is brighter and more pink. posey is a slightly darker pink.

nars blushes

my friend, Hieu (he has a youtube channel, click HERE to check him out. he mostly focuses on estee lauder products), recently asked if i was interested in buying his nars blush in angelika. i of course said yes because i am collecting nars blushes and i didnt have that color yet!

nars blushes in angelika (left) and desire (right)
when i look at angelika, i am reminded a bit of my beloved nars desire, minus the silver sparkles. when looked at in the pan side by side though, desire is a much brighter and hotter pink.

nars blush in albatross
im sure everyone has seen and heard of this highlighter. i have to say, that i looked at this product a million times every time i went to sephora and i just wasnt impressed. i didnt get why everyone loved using it as a highlighter. i mean look at it, it looks so white and powdery. if you have had those same thoughts about this product, please let me sway your opinion!

i have been absolutely obsessed with this ever since i gave it a chance and bought it. in the pan it looks so unremarkable. on the skin, it is amazing! especially if you pair it over a cream highlighter. i have been wearing this over mac's ccb in hush everyday. i love the effect, it is glowy and perfect and not over the top. it isnt powdery or unflattering, it gives the most beautiful golden sheen when blended. i can not wait to use this on tan skin because it will be the bomb for sure. i cant rave about it enough, im glad i gave it a chance!

swatches of nars products
from left to right: desire, angelika, albatross, albatross over hush. feel free to sit back and admire the albatross + hush combo. if you have these two products, please try them out together. please? if you need more convincing:

here i am wearing the pair together. i applied the products in the normal highlight areas (cheekbones, top of eyebrow arch, bridge of nose, cupids bow). subtle glow...check.

as you could tell from the swatches, desire and angelika are very similar pinks. angelika just has the silver sparkles. i was a bit worried about the silver sparkles, but it is strange, when i wear this blush, the sparkles arent noticeable at all. very strange since every time i swatch the color, the sparkles are definitely evident!

well thats about all for my long blush ramble. i hope you all are doing well!

as a side note...i dont know if you guys have noticed, but on the mac website the blushcremes have been removed due to the new cremeblend blushes coming out in march. the bad news is lilicent is discontinued it seems, but posey will be back in a different (and hopefully better) formula! does anyone know if the stores are still carrying the blushcremes? i havent checked to be honest...if you see lilicent though, i would snap it up since it will be gone!

NOTD: elephantastic pink

i miss warm weather. i really wish spring were here! in honor of my feelings towards the weather, i decided to paint my nails with a malibu barbie pink color: OPI's elephantastic pink.

this is the first time i've worn this color and i have to say that i love it! the color is so girly and pretty. this color definitely makes me think of spring and summer. i cant wait to paint my toes with this color when i am tanner.




what do you guys think of the color? i actually never used to be a fan of pink...but i gotta say the color is growing on me...



as a side note, i will also mention that i cut my nails into a round shape instead of my usual squoval shape. i dont think my little hands can pull off the squoval because i like the rounded shape better on my hands! it makes me a bit sad that the round shape looks better because i definitely perfer square nails.

my lil cham-pale purchase

have you guys been impressed with any of the new collections mac has been coming out with? i actually have been really interested in the recent ones that have come out (cham-pale, stylishly yours, mickey contractor, and peacocky) but im trying to stay away from getting sucked into the "gotta buy it because it's limited edition" craze and i think i've been doing pretty well.

i did, however, pick up a couple things from the cham-pale collection; a paint pot (because they all looked so darn shimmery and lovely) and the feline kohl power liner (because ive never tried it and i will always be on the hunt for the blackest eyeliner)

vintage selection paint pot
vintage selection is a dirty shimmery nude color. i have used it so far only as an eyeshadow, but i think this would be a very pretty highlighter as well. it is gorgeous, but if you cant stand shimmers, you wont like this paint pot. the staying power is like that of regular paint pots.

comparison to mac's cream color base in shell
when i first saw vintage selection, i thought of my ccb in shell that i always use as a highlighter. in the pans they look similar but when swatched it's a different story.

(from left to right) ccb in hush, ccb in shell, pp in vintage selection.
i included the ccb in hush for better color comparison. hush is no where near a match to vintage selection due to the finish being different (hush is a sheen, VS is a shimmer) and the color (hush being a peach, VS being a dirty nude). shell is a closer match, but still isnt a dupe. shell is more pink than the beige VS. both have similar shimmery finishes.

kohl power liner in feline
i have been really eager to try this liner out. this is a very hyped product, no? i've been using this ever since i received it to see how it wears. as for if it is one of the blackest out there...

feline (left) compared to mac smoulder (middle) and stila kajal liner in onyx (right)
feline is definitely black...but the blackest? i think stila still wins it although you have to have a pretty keen eye to tell. feline is definitely blacker than smoulder since smoulder seems a little blueish when compared.

all three are pretty black so if you have smoulder, you arent really missing out on anything(unless you are a freak like me that needs to have the blackest black to make you happy haha). stila is definitely the creamiest (lasting power isnt the best on the market, but hey it's smooth and so black!) while feline is a bit smoother than smoulder. feline and smoulder have the same staying power for me. i use all three of these for the same purpose: my waterline. i dont normally use it as a regular liner.

did you pick up anything from the latest collections? i was going to get a couple blue and purple mega shadows from the peacocky collection, but i figured i would never use it all so i didnt bother :)

NOTD: orly luxe

i dont know about you guys, but even though the holidays are over with, i am still obsessing over glittery and shiny nails. i am patiently waiting for the katy perry opi line to come out so i can get a hold of the polish "teenage dream", which is a pink glitter. with that being said, i painted my nails yesterday with orly's luxe.

i would describe luxe as a light gold foil, it is so pretty! i took several shots of my nails because the polish is so multifaceted that i needed to capture it from different views to give you an idea of how neat the color is.

i painted my nails with two coats, merely out of habit. you could easily get away with one coat with this polish...it is that pigmented!

there is also a silver and pink version of this polish named foil and rage, respectively. i really want rage, but im being good and resisting for now. you can get all three colors at sally's beauty (thats where i purchased luxe.)


please excuse the dent, i always am so impatient when my nails are drying!

what do you think of foil polishes? are you sick of the glitter and shine since the holidays are over, or are you still loving it like me?

rock & republic blush haul

hey guys! back in november i ordered some more r&r blushes from hautelook (if you dont know what hautelook is, click HERE). i picked up every color they had up online (i got some for my sister as well for her birthday) because 1. i love their blushes and 2. i am a collector of them. if you didnt see it, click HERE for my previous review on these blushes. this time i picked up four new colors: lust, tease, bedroom, and immoral.

lust

lust is a shimmery browned dusty rose. it definitely makes my skin glowy every time i wear this. out of all the blushes, this color is the softest (meaning very finely milled, product tends to fly about if you arent careful). it is a beautiful color.

tease

tease is a matte lilac/baby pink color. it is very cool toned. i have nothing like this shade in my blush collection. i havent worn this yet because i envision myself wearing this when i have a tanner complexion, and at the moment i am paler (since it is winter time.)

bedroom

bedroom is a matte peachy pink (more peach than pink). out of the four blushes i bought, this is my absolute favorite. it looks unremarkable in the pan, but whenever i wear this shade, it just makes my skin look so radiant and healthy. ive gotten many compliments from this blush. the color reminds me a lot of nars amour, but amour has more pink than peach to it.

immoral

immoral is a matte orange with pink undertones. when i first saw this, i was immediately reminded of cargo's laguna as well as a matte version of r&r's blush in all-nighter. i feel like i keep buying blushes from the same family of orange shades!

comparing immoral, all-nighter, and laguna

(from left to right) all-nighter, laguna, immoral. as you can see, laguna is a bit more orangey whereas all-nighter and immoral are slightly pinker. i would say if you have one of these blushes, you dont need any of the others (unless you want a matte and a shimmery, since all-nighter does have a slight shimmer). all give the same effect on my skin, a nice peach color. but i do have to say that all-nighter is my favorite!

swatches of all the blushes:
(from left to right) tease, lust, bedroom, immoral

have you tried any of these shades? i still want to snap up the other colors r&r has to offer, but they are never available for me to snatch :) these blushes retail normally for $40, but hautelook had them for $20.

FOTD: tan pigment

last month i bought mac's tan pigment. the reason i got it was because of a worker, she was wearing it on her eyes and it was so pretty! those mac workers know how to make me spend money haha.

the look is really simple and easy. you could just wear the pigment on its own but i chose to smoke out my eyes. im really lovin tan pigment though, its so shimmery!



face:
revlon photoready
maybelline dream mousse concealer
mac msf natural med-dark
bonnebell glimmer bronzer
stila bronzing powder #2 shade
mac ccb in shell
r&r blush in bedroom



eyes:
TFSI
nyx jumbo eye pencil in black bean
mac's tan pigment all over lid and under bottom lashline
mac's brun shadow in outer v
milani liquifeyed metallic eyeliner in black
mac's feline kohl in waterline
lashblast original mascara

lips:
revlon colorburst gloss in pink ice



have you tried tan pigment? ive been rockin this look for days because its so simple!