Quick Eyes with NARS Grand Palais Eyeshadow Duo for Fall 2011

I’ve been lemming over the NARS Grand Palais palette ever since I saw promotion photos of the Fall 2011 collection. I love NARS’s eyeshadow duos but I generally cannot seem to find a colour combination where I love both colours instead of just one. I also found that NARS kept releasing smokey eye duos for the past few seasons and I’m not really into the black smokey look, so I passed on all of them. I’m glad that NARS decided to do a more feminine palette for this fall.

The colours in Grand Palais include a shimmery taupe and a matte dusty rose. The taupe is super soft, smooth and swatches and applies like a dream. The rose, though, is powdery and slightly harder to work with, especially when first swatched, but still applies beautifully on the lids. The two shades look gorgeous on their own and when layered on top of each other, which is what I did with my quick eye.

I used the shimmery taupe as an all-over base on my eyelid, and then applied the dusty rose on the outer half of my upper lid. I lined my upper lids with MUFE Aqua liquid Liner in 03, which is a shimmery dark forest green, then I did my usual thing with mascara.

If you think rose is going to make your eyes look puffy, you are wrong. This rose shade is beautiful on eyes, in particular Asian eyes with a more yellow undertone.

I absolutely love this palette. You can see another look on Asian eyes on Messy Wands. You can find swatches on Temptalia here. Sorry I won’t be doing swatches of these because they are already all over the internet, just do a quick Google to find them. I’ll remember to do a proper FOTD later =)

My “haul” from the fall 2011 collection: the palette and a Larger than Life eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte which I will try out then review for ya!

Product Must-Haves: Stuff I’m loving right now!

Being a blogger gives me opportunities to try different products, but some products are “classics” for me and items I keep going back to. Here are some of my recent favorites!

Chanel Joues Constraste blushers

The texture of these are amazing: smooth, soft, pigmented and multi-faceted. I love the the glow that Chanel Joues Constrate blushers give me, I also love that rose scent that these have. Being in Canada, I only have access to the international formula of Joues Constraste which are baked, but judging from the online comparisons between these and the US formula (which are pressed), I find that these blushes have more of a glow and the colour is not as flat. I highly recommend these blushes, and more so the international formula, if you can get your hands on them!

NARS Eyeshadow Duos

I love the texture of these, so smooth and finely milled. I currently only have one in Kuala Lumpur, but I definitely want more (there just haven’t been any colour combinations where I love both colours… *sad face*).

Ombre Perlees de Chanel eyeshadow palette

Gorgeous colours, amazing texture. If only it wasn’t limited edition! I used this almost every day for a whole month, and it still looks untouched. My favourite shade to use is the peachy pink that is 2nd from the left. It is a beautiful base colour for any colour to layer on!

Nail Polish! In particular Jill Stuart, Chanel and Dior

I recently tried drugstore polish again which reminded me of why I stopped buying drugstore polish and went for the high-end stuff. High end polish (with the exception of Mimosa… which is like, an anomaly), applies smoothly, dries quickly and has a high-shine, beautiful finish.

Dior Top Coat

I LOVE this. It is a staple in my manicure regime because it dries everything down so quickly! Usually nails are dry in about 10 seconds after applying this top coat, which is a very light, almost watery liquid. It is also very high-shine on the first day, but slowly becomes duller, so I usually apply another high-shine top coat on top of this.

Zoya Remove+ 3-in-1 Formula

This is the most effective nail polish remover I’ve ever used. I usually cheap out on polish remover but Christine and Anita managed to convince me to buy one of these when we first tried them at Shi-Nail. This is especially effective at removing glittery polish. It gets everything off cleanly and with a fresh scent too. I also love the easy-to-use press pump that doesn’t waste product.

Biore UV Moist Face Milk

My HG sunscreen that is light and milky, but dries down almost immediately after application. It is nondrying, and doesn’t feel like you have anything on. I love that it has SPF 50 and PA+++ for the perfect sun protection. (not my photo, found on Google)

AmorePacific Treatment Cleansing Oil, Treatment Enzyme Peel & Treatment Cleansing Foam

The perfect trio to get squeaky clean skin, I alternate between the Enzyme Peel and Cleansing Foam to clean my skin after the oil. Both peel and foam foam up amazingly, using just a little bit of product. The oil is thicker than most oils I’ve used, cleanses really well and never gets into my eyes. There is no residue left on the skin, yet skin is never dry or tight. Highly recommend!

Shaved ice

Not much to say about that, perfect for that hot summer day…

What are your must-haves right now?

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FOTD + OOTD Shi Nail Grand Opening Event

I attended the Shi Nail Grand Opening Event on Sunday, July 10, 2011 and this is what I wore! I stayed away from Chanel today as I’m trying to use up more of my makeup collection. I also tried out a new pair of contacts: Freshlook Colourblends in Turquoise. I didn’t know what kind of eye makeup would look with this colour so I use kept it safe with a more neutral look.

On my face, I wore Jill Stuart Pure Lasting Makeup Base and Moist Silk Powder Foundation in 103, which created a light veil, perfect for the Sunday afternoon. My cheeks were coloured with Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact in 09 Little Bouqet which is a peachy coral colour.

On my eyes, I used UDPP for the base and NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Kuala Lumpur. I used the pink gold as an all-over wash of colour and to highlight, and then the boysenberry on my outer V and outer half of my lower lashline. I lined with Dollywink Liquid Liner, curled my lashes with Shu Uemura and coated them with Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara.

On my lips, I left the house using Paul & Joe lipstick in 002 from last summer, but then I went to the Bay to try on Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick in 86 Desinvolte, which is a soft coral peach, from the limited edition Le Blanc collection, so this is what you see in the photos (I didn’t get a chance to take face photos until after I got home).

I am wearing Paul & Joe 002 lipstick in this photo below as it was taken while I was waiting at Richmond Centre (sorry for the bad indoor lighting).

My outfit for the day was simple, and slightly underdressed. I wore a colourful tunic by Morgan de Toi, jeans by True Religion, Zara blazer (not pictured) and Gucci flats (not pictured). Hair was just straightened with Hana’s 1.5 inch flat iron, sent to me by Misikko (which I love… and will review later).

Swatch: NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Kuala Lumpur

I purchased the NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Kuala Lumpur near the end of August when I went to the Bay for the NARS makeup by makeup artist Tim. I didn’t get around to formally swatching this until just recently.

NARS Kuala Lumpur is comprised of a shimmery pink gold and a shimmery boysenberry infused with gold. The texture is very smooth and relatively pigmented.  The texture is a little hard, which means there shouldn’t be so much fallout, but it is very finely milled as well, so it adheres well.

I really love this duo, and I can see myself wearing this often. I definitely plan on getting more duos!

Review: NARS Aqua Gel Hydrator… my new favourite moisturizer!

It has been a long time since my last review! These few weeks I’ve been mainly trying out new skincare products, so I didn’t want to do review on them until I’ve used them long enough to be able to comment. The NARS Aqua Gel Hydrator is something I purchased at the end of August when I went to the NARS event at the Bay Pacific Centre. At the time, my skin was being really weird because it was all dehydrated and patchy, so I desperately needed a good moisturizer. I was using Lush Gorgeous Moisturizer and Vitacreme B12 at the time, but neither product seemed to do a good job on my skin.

However, the NARS makeup artist, Tim, introduced me to this product, and I must say after about 6 weeks of using it, it has become the best item I discovered in 2010.

What it claims (from Narscosmetics.com): An ultra-luxurious, lightweight gel-cream mask comprised of 87% water to deliver intense hydration to dull, dehydrated skin. Once massaged into the skin, exclusive technology ensures optimal moisture delivery to provide hydration throughout the night. This water-rich treatment enriched with skin conditioners imparts skin with a soft and smooth, luminous appearance.

Price: $120CAD for 100mL (I believe its $77 USD in the states)

What it is: Its described as a hydrating gel mask, but I like to use it as my daily moisturizer. I use it as the last step in my nighttime skincare regime (after lotion, serum and eye cream), and my second last step in my daily skincare regime (before sunscreen or BB cream).

The good: The stuff does wonders for my skin. Its very soothing and delivers just enough moisture, which slows sebum production but still prevents my skin from drying out. It absorbs very easily without any residue and a little goes a very long way. You can also use it as an emergency treatment mask, where you would pile it on and leave it on your face for about 15-30 minutes, then remove with a cotton pad and massage the leftover gel into your skin. It makes for a very good makeup base. I’ve also noticed that I’m not breaking out as much and my skin is not as red or sensitive. It smells of orange blossoms, but the scent isn’t strong, so it is soothing without being overpowering.

• Very hydrating
• Soothing, calms sensitivity
• Does not cause breakouts
• Smells nice

The bad: If you take a look at the ingredients list at the bottom, the thing is chock full of silicones. At first I was seriously shocked and wanted to return it, but I decided to take the risk and use it. I had been using a mostly natural moisturizer before this (Lush Gorgeous), but it didn’t seem to be doing much, so I thought might as well try something on the other side of the spectrum. If you are allergic to silicones, please do avoid. Also the price is a little steep, even though you do get double the amount of your usual moisturizer, $120 is something not everyone would want to plunk down in one go. If that is something that bothers you, I would also skip and try something else.

• Full of silicones
• Steep price

Overall: I’ve kind of looked passed the silicone factor now that I’ve been using it for so long. I feel that as long as I wash my face well enough at night and apply new moisturizer on before I go to bed, it shouldn’t clog my pores. I feel that my skin is smoother and doesn’t break out as much in general, so at least the silicones aren’t doing anything bad to my face. Again the price is a little steep, but keep in mind you are getting twice the usual amount for moisturizer. For my Canadian readers, I would recommend having someone CP this for you from the US if you want to buy it, I have no idea why it is marked up almost $40 more than the US price. I would definitely recommend this to people with sensitive skin, because this is really a good, soothing moisturizer. Also if you are looking for a no-frills moisturizer, this is definitely it. I haven’t tried it out for winter yet, so I don’t know how well it will hold up against crazy Canadian winter, but I’m hoping it should be okay. Overall, it is a great product.

• Product: 19/20
• Value: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Overall: 31/35 | 89% | A
• Repurchase: Yes
• Availability: NARS counters