hi my name is kelly & i am a nars blush addict

i am a blush fiend. there i said it. blush definitely is my favorite cosmetic hands down. with that being said, if you didnt know already, nars is my favorite brand when it comes to blushes. i love the color range, pigmentation, and wear time. i even think their pricing isnt too outrageous for such a phenomenal product (drugstore may be cheap but i dont get the same color intensity and wear time!)

i added two more blushes, taj mahal and gilda, to my collection when drugstore.com had their 20% off sale. instead of doing a post only spotlighting these two colors, i thought i might as well do a roundup of all the nars blushes i currently own.

taj mahal
a shimmery burnt rust orange color. this is a wonderful color. especially for olive/yellow toned gals. i used this the whole time i was in cali. i will have to do a FOTD with this color because i feel most people think it is such a bizarre color to add to the cheek. i must disprove this!

gilda
a matte dusty coral. i had been longing for this color ever since i got into nars but always picked the more unique colors first. after getting it i must say it isnt my favorite out of my collection. not that there is anything wrong with it since it IS a beautiful color...but i just feel like it is not unique and is very dupable. i like it, but i find i dont reach for it often.

deep throat
a shimmery peachy pink. i wont go into too much detail with this blush (again) because i swear i have talked about it at least three times already. one of my favorites, looks the best paired with bronzer.

exhibit a
a matte red/orange. scary in pan, wonderful on the face. when i first got this i refused to use any other blush for a straight month. it especially looks good for those "im not wearing that much makeup" days. it adds a really nice natural flush with the smallest amount. seriously i dont think i will ever run out of this because when i do use it, i only dab lightly once for each cheek.

sin
berry with a beautiful gold shimmer running throughout it. this is another nars blush that i neglect but still really like. the shimmers don't translate the same way in the pan as it does on the face. when i wear sin it is just a beautiful berry sheen, not a hot glittery mess.

madly
a shimmery warm beige with some pink. this is one of my favorite blushes, which is funny because in the pan it looks completely boring and dull. on my face it just warms it up so nicely and adds life. very neutral but in the best way. not overly shimmery, just perfect.

desire
a matte hot pink. oh how i love desire. if this color ever disappeared i would cry. it is so beautiful in the pan and on my cheeks. this is another color you do not need a lot of product to get the look you want.

angelika
a baby pink with silver sparkles. i think out of all my nars blushes i reach for this one the least. unlike the other shimmery shades, angelika's glitters DO transfer to my face. the color is pretty, no doubt, but i usually save this color for night time when glitter is more socially accepted ha.

amour
a matte darker peachy pink. a lot of people compare this color to being the matte version of orgasm. i dont really agree with that but regardless i love amour. it is very flattering on my skin tone, a nice warm flush of peachy pink without any shimmers. i like to use this when i wear white, it really makes the color stand out.

albatross
technically this is a highlighting blush powder...but ill include it for kicks. it is white in the pan but when swatched on my skin the white vanishes into glowy multidimensional gold wonderfulness. one of my favorite highlighters for sure.

swatches:
(from left to right) desire, angelika, deep throat, amour, orgasm, gilda.

**btw, if you were wondering why i swatched orgasm but didnt have it pictured, it is because i used to have the full sized orgasm but i gave it to my sister. i used my laguna/orgasm duo for the swatch.

more swatches
sin, madly, taj mahal, exhibit a, albatross

out of all of my nars blushes, i would say my must haves and recommendations for you to check out are desire, madly, and exhibit a. deep throat and orgasm are also wonderful and my favorites but i would recommend trying it on before buying it since not everyone loves these shades! taj mahal and amour are also really great shades to check out if you dont have them yet.

i eventually want to own all of the colors (crazy person? yes)...the next few colors i want to get are mounia, torrid, and douceur. what are your favorite nars shades? or what colors have you been lusting after?

001 vain rambling

i thought i'd start a little rambling series here called vain ramblings...they will just be brief little snippets of things i want to mention but feel like dont really need a full post all to themselves...

i wore cargo's lyon blush yesterday and i quite liked it. i have been shamefully neglecting my cargo blushes (since i have been so infatuated with my deep throat/bronzer combo if you havent noticed...) so i thought i'd pull them out. reminds me of how much i love cargo's formula (smooth and easy to blend, yet pigmented) and how i want more colors (key largo and rome especially.)

here i am wearing it. i feel like its hardly noticeable in pictures, but i swear in person it shows up. the color is a nice matte muted cranberry. i feel like it is more of a fall color though...

ALSO i wore no liner on my waterline yesterday...which i feel naked without if im being honest since i have an abnormal infatuation with intense black liner. i look at this picture and feel like i look weird...probably just my own thinking though...right?!? haha

i bought four new polishes the other day. i have already come to terms that i have an unhealthy obsession with nail varnish. danielle from BLOOMIN BEAUTY has already pointed out to me that i am easily enabled...especially when it comes to nail polish.

this time i bought them at a salon centric (only beauty professionals can shop here, my friend Hieu got them for me :D) so the selection was MUCH MUCH greater than the little nail supply store i blogged about HERE. this time i picked up two opi colors (glitzerland & vodka and caviar) as well as two essie (pretty edgy & coat azure).

i got some samples (again from my friend hieu...he's so good to me) of lancome's hypnose drama and definicils. i have been wanting to try these out but have been very skeptical if the price is worth it. so we will see how it goes!

style inspiration:ashley tisdale

img courtesy of justjared.com


look at this outfit. i love everything about it, the dark skinnies, the platform booties, and especially...ESPECIALLY this sheer low scoop in the back flower top she's rocking by stone cold fox. sadly this shirt retails for about 275 bucks so it is out of my reach. but i can stare longingly...

just like with vanessa hudgens, ashley's style is hit or miss to me but this is definitely a hit to me. i would love to raid this girl's closet, her shoe closet especially.

what do you think of her look? too hippie or just your style?

punchy eyes

here i am with (not the best) pictures to show how i recently used the mac sweet & punchy e/s i blogged about HERE. since i am not really a big color fan when it comes to everyday looks, the most common way i wear color is under my lower lash line. fun and subtle, just the way i like it.



face:
neutrogena healthy skin foundation
mac msfn med dark
bonnebell glimmer bronzer
hoola bronzer
nars deep throat
dior amber diamond highlighter

eyes:
mac constructivist pp
bare escentuals nude beach all over lid
nars galapagos in crease
mac sweet & punchy under bottom lash line
milani liquidf'eyed liner in black
mac feline in waterline
lash blast mascara

lips:
foundation as base
revlon pink pop gloss

next i shall try and pair it with grey shadow, like i mentioned i would before. this chartreuse color is hard to match with my clothes though...

and yes i am wearing that gold leaf headband again. and no i havent made it more comfortable...but it's so darn cute so i keep wearing it.

summer essentials

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i wanna cajun berry

yesterday i was driving around and i came across a new nail supply store that had just opened. if you ever see any nail supply stores in your area i HIGHLY recommend you checking it out. they usually have common salon polish brands like opi, essie, china glaze, orly, etc for half price.

this one i visited didnt have a huge selection but it wasnt horrible. they had opi for $4, china glaze for $2.50, a little orly and lots of brands i have never heard of. i ended up picking up only three shades from opi.



koala berry
koala berry is a nice creamy raspberry color. i love this color...i would even go as far to say it is one of my favorite polishes. my sister had this before me and every time i visited her i always used this shade.

comparison
here i have compared all my pinked berried colors. koala berry isnt as dark as essie raspberry but they are in the same color family i would say. pink flamenco has too much of a strong pink base compared to the purpley berry tones of KB. and CG rich & famous isnt even close to KB, being as it is strictly pink.

i wanna be a-lone star
i originally wanted nothing from the recent texas collection, but after i read VIVIANNA's post with her wearing this color, i quickly changed my mind and wanted this shade immediately. i'll admit it, i am easily swayed by my fellow bloggers purchases and raves. sigh.

anyway, IWBALS is a very very light pastel baby blue with a silver sheen. i really have nothing even close to this shade making it a nice item to add to my collection. i like the color but i wish it was a little bit darker. i feel like it has too much white to it. i have been wanting CG sea spray polish, which is supposed to be similar but a little greyer and darker.

comparison
like i said, i really have nothing like this shade in my stash of ever growing polishes so i just picked a very light shade to compare it to. SH lavender cloud is an extremely light lavender. it actually is so light it looks white on me. IRL it really does have a tinge of purple to it; a very small tinge granted, but it is there.

cajun shrimp
cajun shrimp is bright orangey red shade.

comparison
here you can see lollipop isnt as orange, sunset orange isnt as red, and california coral is more muted/not as bright. i think if lollipop and sunset orange had a baby it would be cajun shrimp.

i am happy with all three shades i picked up. my first impression with the formula of all three is good since they applied smoothly and werent streaky. but that is just from me swatching them for pictures, who knows how they perform as a full mani/pedi (well except koala berry, i already know it is good :P)

do any of you have these shades? what are you favorite opi shades? or actually, what are your favorite china glaze shades? there were so many CG polishes at this store i got overwhelmed!

black skirt, magenta belt

today i had to run out to get some errands done and i thought i'd try to post my outfit. it's been pretty hot and humid where im at so i decided to pair my black flirty skirt i got from urban outfitters (UO) a couple years ago w/ my newly acquired magenta stretchy belt from american apparel (AA). this belt was 30% off at the AA i went to, so check out your local AA if you need colorful waist belts, they had various different colors when i checked.


white burn out tank- i got it at UO, the brand is BDG
white cami underneath- aerie
black skirt- BDG
magenta belt- AA
sandals- chinese laundry
flower locket- UO

my leaf headband is from target, i got it in cali. i think it's so awesome but it is so uncomfortable when i wear it all day! it is made out of metal and the prongs that go behind my ears really rub my scalp harshly after time. even though its not the most comfortable headpiece, i still love it. maybe i will try to make soft pads to put on the ends to make it more comfortable...

rings- f21
bracelets- american eagle
nail polish- essie turquoise & caicos

here is a closer look at my polish. i have been looking out for a nice turquoise polish and this is pretty, but not what i was looking for. i am looking for a more blue toned turquoise and this is too green. any recommendations? regardless i am really digging this shade.

the formula is really nice. very creamy and smooth. this is three coats but i could have easily gotten away w/ two.

more details on my makeup:



face:
mixture of revlon photoready & neutrogena healthy skin foundation
mac MSFN med dark
bonnebell shimmer bronzer in gold n glitz
benefit hoola bronzer
nars deep throat
dior amber diamond

eyes:
nyx chrome e/s in mocha as base
mac museum bronze pigment
mac brun in crease
milani liquidfeyed liner in black
mac feline liner on water line
CG lashblast mascara

lips:
foundation as base
revlon peach petal gloss

i hope all of your weeks have started off smoothly!

my first cco trip!

hello everyone! i am sorry i have been MIA for the past two weeks. i had a little vacation in california and while i was there i got to eat lots of great food and finally had the opportunity to visit a cco. the one i went to was in an outlet mall in san diego. it was a small little shop that offered mac, estee lauder, bobbi brown and lots of fragrances. i have heard ccos are usually hit or miss, and lucky for me it was a hit. i was able to snag a couple mac products i have been eying for a while as well as an on the whim buy.

cream color base in madly magenta
this is something i have been wanting ever since i watched nur's video on her purple blush crush and she mentioned the product. the color is so gorgeous. i would describe it as a bright pink based purple with no shimmers or glitter. it may seem so bright and outrageous in the pan, but really if you wore it right it is extremely flattering. this can also be worn on the lips, which i havent tried out yet.

it's extremely pigmented and can be worn really heavily if you wanted to be dramatic or worn really sheered out for a beautiful touch of color. i wore this a lot while i was in cali after i got it. this isnt available online atm, but you can sometimes find them at your mac counter and they repromote this shade frequently.

after getting this ccb, it makes me want to get virgin isle ccb. next time i see it i will definitely purchase it.

mac e/s in sweet & punchy
this e/s came out with the to the beach collection last summer. the only thing i picked up from the collection was hipness blush but i really regretted not picking up this unique shade. i started scouring blog sales and ebay for this e/s but i put it off hoping it would be repromoted. luckily for me this was at this cco! and for cheaper than retail too, i got it for about $10.

sweet & punchy is a very very yellow based chartreuse. i imagine myself pairing this with grey shadows to make it more wearable. i cant wait to play with the color.

ccb in madly magenta on left, sweet & punchy e/s on right

mac nail varnish in imperial flower
this was my on the whim buy. this polish came out last year with the fabulous felines collection. at the time i wasnt interested in this shade because i was distracted by the jade dragon polish which i bought. but once i saw this at the cco, it reminded me a lot of dior's aloha polish plus i have been looking for a pretty orange polish to pick up.

i really like this shade. i would say it is a reddish orange with gold flakes. its very summer appropriate and it definitely satiates my lust for dior's aloha. i think i like this more than aloha since it has the very subtle gold shimmers.

i would say this shade would look best on medium to dark skin tones. i know i will be rocking this a lot, especially with a tan!

that is all i picked up. i want to try to make a trip to another cco just to see what else there is to offer.

do you guys have any of these products? how would you wear sweet & punchy? it is such a funky color i'd like to hear what you would pair it with...