A Few Of My Favorite Cosmetics Purchases From The Past Month Or Two...

Yes, I've been doing quite a bit of shopping over the past month or so, and YES, most of it has been for makeup :] I love it all... I don't know why I'm so obsessed with it, but I am. I love compacts and tubes and jars and palettes, and I especially love NARS, Chanel, YSL, MAC and Dior :] I'm going to be reviewing most of the "fun" things I've picked up lately. I've really gotten back into Chanel lately, and I've been buying fragrances a little more often too. I will forever love my black eyeshadows and my nude lipsticks<3333 A lot of these products have probably already been talked about by like everyone and their mom. Some of them I may have already reviewed in the past, but sometimes when I re-purchase an item and try it out all over again, I tend to have a different experience with it. But I really don't care hahahahaha I love to put my two cents out there :] I've photographed each item individually for each review- I'm SO not good at taking pictures of things. I'm only ever awake at night, and of course it's hard to take good quality pictures of things in indoor lighting- but hopefully the pictures will be clear enough to be helpful, hahahaha... I'm still getting used to this stuff. Tell me about some products you've picked up lately that you're really excited about!!!!

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Sephora Haul... NARS, Urban Decay, and Tokidoki

This is the haul before my last haul... from a couple of weeks ago. I was bored that day and felt like shopping, and of course I love NARS :] I bought a new NARS Sheer Matte Foundation and a few blushes... I picked up an eyeshadow duo in Cordura for my mom since she liked mine... And I thought I'd try a Tokidoki lip gloss because it was cute :] I also picked up a duo of Urban Decay Primer Potions- I like to change mine out often for cleanliness reasons, and I thought I'd try another color besides the original. I'll be doing a few product reviews on some of the things I picked up... My favorite thing out of this stuff was NARS' blush in Madly... It's gorgeous<3333

NARS Pressed Powder in Beach

NARS' Pressed Powder is not a very good value for the price. I only bought it because, stupidly, I'm just obsessed with anything that says NARS. I liked the compact because it's big and has a nice sized mirror, but is still thin and sleek enough to fit into a pocket or clutch easily. The powder inside is okay- it's like any other powder in that it sets your foundation nicely and keeps you from getting shiny too fast. I prefer NARS' powder foundation for setting my liquid foundation though, because it's so light and non-cakey and gives more coverage. This pressed powder is just better for touch-ups when you're out and you get shiny. It's has a nice finely-milled texture, but then again, what doesn't these days? Lol... The compact only contains 8 grams but was about $35. Another thing that SUCKS about this product is that it only comes in like 4 shades. I understand these shades are supposed to be universal and whatnot, but only 4!?!? I'm just glad I had a match lol... In their foundations, I'm Barcelona, so I'm Beach in this powder. Yeah, this stuff's not the best when it comes to "bang-for-your-buck," but what can you do... I guess this stuff is just for the NARS-obsessed or for someone who really likes sleek packaging. But if you're looking for an exceptional product, this is not one. Lol. I know this review or whatever wasn't particularly positive, but I'm just saying what I think about the product :] I love NARS makeup, but this definitely isn't one of their best products, at all.

(I hate trying to get pictures just right when I photograph the items, so I just use pictures I've found from Google Images, which I've sourced below!!!!!)

(http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=nars%20pressed%20powder%20beach&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa)

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Late-Night Online Shopping & Makeup Porn From NARS!!!

Hey everybody!!! I've been doing some more unnecessary makeup shopping tonight since I got home... I've already put in a few orders hahahaha... I've been looking at swatches and pictures of NARS products because I need more eyeshadows and blushes from them... and I ran across the picture above!!! Lol it got me all excited hahahahaha I just LOVE seeing lots and lots of makeup sprawled out all over a table... I totally see some of my favorite shadows from NARS' Night Collection lined up along the bottom left-hand side of the screen :] I've got lots of NARS' darker, rich, jewel-toned colors, but now I'm trying to pick out some pretty, lighter, more "wearable" neutrals for Spring and Summer. Tell me some of your fave neutrals from NARS<33333

NARS Casino: A Beautiful, Healthy Tan in a Compact!!

NARS Casino is probably my favorite bronzing powder!! It's darker than Laguna, so I tend to use it a lot more. I love how NARS bronzers tend to be truly brown-based... they won't leave you looking weird or muddy or worst of all, ORANGE hahahahahaha... Casino is my go to bronzer right now as well- It's gorgeous for applying to the parts of my face that need extra shadowing. It has a subtle golden bronze sparkle, but that doesn't really show up on the skin, so it looks completely natural (if used correctly). Casino really is like having a healthy tan in a compact!! What do you think? :]

NARS Laguna: An Amazing Bronzing Powder

NARS Laguna Bronzer has been a staple in my makeup collection for years!! I love using this bronzing powder as an all over bronzer just to warm up the places on my face that the sun would naturall hit. It also makes a great contouring powder when I'm paler or don't want to look toooooooo dramatic and overly contoured. Sometimes I'll even use this as an eyeshadow just all over this lids :] It's a gorgeous medium bronzey brown- it's not too light or too dark, not too orange or too yellow. There's subtle shimmer in it that shows up in the pan, but I really don't see it on my face once it's on, so it's super-natural looking :] Do you use Laguna?? Let me know what you think about it!!

NARS Sin Blush: A Beautiful Berry-Colored Blush

NARS' Sin is a pretty unique color not often seen worn as blush. It's a purplish rosey berry color with some gold shimmer running through it. You can wear this lightly swept on or you can build the color up when you want a more sexy/dramatic look. I like Sin a lot but it's not really one of my favorite colors- I think it'd be a little more flattering on deeper/darker skintones. I tend to wear this color mostly at nighttime when I want to look a little more dramatic. So, what do you think of this blush? How do you wear it? :]

NARS Turkish Delight Lip Gloss

Turkish Delight is undoubtedly NARS' most popular lipgloss. It's a gorgeous "pink sorbet" color and it's pretty sheer. I would say that it's a light creamy baby pink and I think it's pretty flattering on all skintones. Personally, I like to wear this over nude lipsticks, but it looks good paired with anything, and it even looks good on it's own. Lots of celebrities are known to wear Turkish Delight- Kim Kardashian wears this stuff religiously. I love Turkish Delight, but I don't think it's really all that amazing and unique though. It's not that hard to find a flattering sheer baby pink lipgloss, in my opinion. But I love all NARS products and this does look particularly great when you have a smokey eye and lots of bronzer on (my fave look) so I totally recommend everyone at least try this stuff out :] It's a bit pricey at $25 but you get what you pay for. NARS lipglosses are not sticky at all, and really have no scent/flavor. Turkish Delight is really easy to wear and really gives that extra oomph to your face when you really need it. If you want some sexpot lips a la Kim Kardashian, try this stuff on next time you're at Sephora or Nordstrom<3333

NARS Exhibit A Blush

NARS Exhibit A blush is extremely bright primary red, with no glitter or shimmer. It's extremely pigmented so I recommend applying this stuff with a stippling brush using a very light hand. If you apply it light enough, it can look very natural, but of course you can build up the intensity with this stuff if you want your cheeks to be a little brighter/more dramatic. I don't reach for this stuff very often but I like having it around though just because it looks good on lots of different skin-tones and I like that Exhibit A can be a multi-use product. I sometimes use it as a bright red eyeshadow, and you can even dab some on top of glossed lips to give them a nice fiery red color. I like wearing lots of highlight with this blush to give the face more dimension when wearing it... If you have flat red on your cheeks it can almost look kind of Raggedy Ann/sunburn-ish/clown-ish... But yeah I think Exhibit A is a great NARS blush to own if you're someone that loves bright colors and really likes to experiment with makeup. Let me know if you use this blush... or what you think of it :]

Our Favorite Luxury Brand Cosmetics. Quality or a Gimmick? Tell Me Your Thoughts/I Want Your Opinions!!!!

Okay. How many of you will agree with me that all luxury makeup products are completely over-priced? I can't help but buy as many of these little black compacts as I can. Expensive makeup makes me really happy and I just love the experience of walking into my favorite department store and swatching things and talking to Sales Associates about products. Realistically, however, I know that production costs of my favorite makeup is nowhere near its retail price at all. It's something we're all well aware of but we keep it in the back of our heads. We know we have pay the big bucks for the things we love the most. I guess. Some mineral powder, pigments, glitter and preservatives pressed together in a little black compact. Seems like nothing, right? However, when shopping a brand such as......... NARS, I seem to have no problem spending $25 on a single eyeshadow, or about $30 on a single blush. My favorite NARS powder foundation was about $50. Just yesterday I bought more Chanel makeup, and a simple lip gloss was over $30. It's not all that amazing either. I honestly could've bought one at Wal-Mart for like 5 bucks and gotten the same results. I just really like Chanel's packaging. I want to know what you all think? Are these cosmetics really worth the amount that we pay for them? I'm the first one to throw my money at the lady behind the makeup counter, but I have just recently started thinking... "Are they really worth that much?" I feel like such a sucker sometimes. Another thing that's been annoying me lately is the term "Limited Edition." A lot of us have become panic shoppers because of those two nasty words. I have found myself buying something simply because not many of that product will be made. I read about an amazing item in a new collection coming out and I hear YouTube beauty people rave about it endlessly, so of course I purchase it without even swatching it hahahaha... I also tend to buy multiples/backups of things just in case I really like them and need more after I run out. However, I don't think I've ever really used a cosmetic item in it's entirety in the whole amount of time I've been wearing cosmetics. I also tend to buy lots and lots of products that look exactly the same, but that's a WHOLE other story hahahaha... I've come to the conclusion that cosmetic companies will continue to charge as much as people will pay. So if you want something nice, expect to pay a lot for it. Let me know how you feel about this situation. Are you in the same position as me? Do you find yourself blinded by the glare bouncing off the YSL compact? Or are you a practical shopper that only buys exactly what you need? And lastly, what percentage do you think our favorite makeup products are marked up?

NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Cordura

I was at my local Sephora the other day looking at my favorite section for some new eyeshadows. Of course, NARS is my favorite aisle at my Sephora, and their products never seem to disappoint. I swatched a few of the singles, then some of the duos, and this set really caught my eye. The eyeshadow on the left side of the duo is a rich, warm shimmery bronze color, which is the more wearable of the two. It's a great color to wear on its own all over the lid and is great for daywear. My favorite of the two, however, is by far the one on the right. It's a very very sophisticated black coffee color concentrated with lots of golden shimmer. This is a GORGEOUS color for nighttime. I like to wear it in the crease and on the lower lashline, then I pack it on in the outer V area. These colors go together perfectly to make a deep and dramatic brown smokey eye, but when worn very sheerly, could almost pass as neutrals. NARS shadows are EXTREMELY PIGMENTED and blend so beautifully. Generally, what you see in the pan is what you get on your eyelids, when applied with the proper brushes over the right eyeshadow base. Cordura is such a gorgeous duo and I find myself grabbing for it pretty often. Soooooo, is anyone else currently OBSESSED with this eyeshadow duo from NARS right now too?!?! What's your favorite color of the two? :]

NARS Striptease Lipgloss

I have been complete obsessed with this lipgloss ever since I first got it!!! The nude lip look is by far my favorite look for lips, and I wear it religiously, using all different kinds of products, depending on my mood. The NARS website calls Striptease a "candlelight nude." It really is... It's a gorgeous pale beige with just a touch of pink, with a very very fine pearlescent shimmer laced throughout it. It's gorgeous over any nude or pink lipstick, but it's also pigmented enough to be worn on its own. I love the consistency of NARS lip glosses because they are long-lasting but I don't find them to be very sticky at all, and they're actually pretty moisturizing. Striptease is my go-to nude lip glosses right now, because it adds such a nice dimension to the lips and doesn't really give that corpse-ish/concealer lips appearance. It really doesn't have a scent or flavor, some people complain that it tastes like plastic though. It's $24 but it's totally worth it, because it usually takes me a while to completely use a whole lip gloss, and I'm just soooooo in love with NARS products right now :] So, anyone else use Striptease lip gloss? What do you usually pair it with?

NARS Orgasm Blush: A Shimmery Golden Afterglow

NARS Orgasm blush has been a staple in my makeup collection for a few years now... I remember hearing lots of hype about how the product gives you the perfect flushed look and that it looks amazing on every skin-tone. I have to agree. Though NARS does have very many colors and textures of blush, I totally believe that their Orgasm shade is universally flattering and I absolutely LOVE the gorgeous super-fine gold shimmer it deposits on the cheeks. Orgasm is a beautiful, warm pink-peach-coral color, it's highly pigmented, and, like all blushes, can be worn as a sheer wash over the apples of the cheeks, or deposited much heavier with a denser brush for a more dramatic look. I have found that very many companies have tried to duplicate Orgasm blush, but no one can hold a candle to this cult favorite. The texture, the pigmentation, the blendability, the lasting power, the gorgeous golden shimmer, the packaging... All of these factors add up to create the most sought-after product of the NARS cosmetics line. I must admit, I don't grab for this product very often, but when I do, I am reminded why this blush is just SO POPULAR!!! How can you not love Orgasm?!?!? :] Do you wear Orgasm often? How do you like it on your skin tone? Do you like it better than Super Orgasm? How do you usually wear this blush? Let me know if you LOVE this color too<3333

NARS Deep Throat Blush: The Perfect Peach

Deep Throat is a blush I had been lusting after for a while. I've been completely obsessed with blushes from NARS lately... They're just SO GORGEOUS and so pigmented and they just look AMAZING!!!! I've been wearing Orgasm and Super Orgasm a lot lately... I like these coral colors and I truly am a sucker for anything with a little bit of gold shimmer. Lately, though, I've been looking for a blush that was a little more natural that would enhance my face rather than adorn it. Deep Throat is totally my all-time favorite blush right now!!! It's a gorgeous warm-toned rosy peach color with just the right amount of shimmer... It really adds dimension to the cheeks without looking too dramatic or overdone. I love the way you can apply a sheer wash of it over the apples of the cheeks for just the right flush of color, or you can add more to make it a little more dramatic for an evening look. NARS blushes are about $30 but I must say, they are just too gorgeous to NOT buy, and they really do last FOREVERRRRRRR :] What's YOUR favorite blush right now? Do you like blushes from NARS? Let me know what you think :]

TAJ MAHAL ALL FALL.

The other day I went to the NARS counter at the Nordstrom in Fashion Valley in San Diego. I needed to stock up on some of my everyday basics because my local Nordstrom unfortunately doesn't carry NARS. I picked up my fave powder foundation, some blushes, and a lip gloss. I was glad to see Taj Mahal blush on display because I heard that it'd been discontinued and could only be purchased on the acutual NARS website. Taj Mahal is a rich burnt orange color. It's kind of like a very ripe tangerine, and it has gorgeous golden micro-shimmer in it. There really aren't any other blushes this color out on the market right now, and I hear that Francois Nars actually created it especially for Naomi Campbell. Of all my NARS blushes, this one is currently my favorite and I'm sure I'll wear it all Fall. It's just such a rich and vibrant color that gives you the perfect flush of luminous color that really warms up the face without looking overdone. Is anyone else obsessed with Taj Mahal right now?!!? :]