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 :]

PHO: Vietnamese Noodle Soup

One of my favorite foods in the world right now is Pho. It's Vietnamese noodle soup with lots of different types of meats, sauces, seasonings and vegetables in it. It contains some pretty exotic ingredients that are not usually used in Western cuisine, so I'd say it's suited more for someone with a very cultured palette. There are so many different layers to this soup, it's truly a culinary masterpiece. It's the Vietnamese equivalent of comfort food, but it's also extremely healthy:] Does anyone else like Pho? How do you usually order/prepare it?

Smashbox Photo Finish Face Primer

I have been using Smashbox's Photo Finish Face Primer for years now, I think I may have actually started using it in high school. It's probably the #1 foundation primer on the market right now. It's silicone based so it makes your skin very soft and smooth, and allows your foundation to glide on effortlessly. I've noticed that it really does make a great difference in the application and wear of your makeup. I apply this stuff generously all over my face and neck, including my eye and lip area. I just like having a smooth canvas, and this primer greatly improves the appearance of skin. I've also noticed that it helps shrink the appearance of large pores and it evens out your skin tone and texture. Smashbox Photo Finish Face Primer has a wonderful gel-like texture and feels pretty slippery to the touch. If you want a smoother, more even skin tone and much longer weartime for your makeup, then I totally recommend applying this stuff before starting your makeup routine!! Anyone else use this stuff? Don't you just love it!??!? :]

MAC PRO-LONGWEAR FOUNDATION: MY HOLY GRAIL!!!!

I am very happy to say that I HAVE FOUND MY HOLY GRAIL FOUNDATION!!! I have tried very many over the years, I've tried cheap drug store brands, and I've tried the most expensive department store brands. I've had custom foundations made at spas, and I've ordered foundations from all over the world. I'm glad to say, however, that I actually picked up my HG foundation at my local MAC counter that I shop at every week :]

Over the years, I've been looking for a foundation that not only looks normal, but that offers good coverage as well. I prefer a matte finish and I love the idea of buildable coverage, just because I wear less during the day, but put a lot more on when I go out at night or take pictures, or feel like I just apply a little bit more to be happy with how it looks.  Oh yeah, I also wanted something that would stay on ALL DAY.

This stuff is AMAZING!!!! I've always loved MAC foundations, even though I know that not too many people out there seem to like them. I don't seem to have a problem with breaking out, and I feel like MAC foundations always have a super nice finish that never really get too cakey on me. I love how this stuff seems to blend SEAMLESSLY into my skin. It gives me that perfect matte yet glowing look. I guess you really don't need to set this stuff with powder, because it sort of feels powdery once it sets on your skin. I don't get oily/shiny when wearing this stuff anywhere near as fast as I do when wearing other foundations. And, it has an SPF of 10, so it helps protect your skin too!

Pretty much, I love how MAC's Pro-Longwear Foundation looks, feels, and lasts on my skin. This is my favorite foundation ever :] Anyone else use this stuff? Is anyone else ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with MAC Pro-Longwear foundation? Tell me about it :]

MAC HUG ME- A WARM & WONDERFUL NUDE FOR FALL

While makeup shopping with a friend about two years back, I came to the sudden conclusion that I should buy more tan-nude lipsticks to add to my collection. I've always been a fan of wearing a warm beige nude all over my lips then applying a lighter shade to just the center of my lips. The sales associate picked out a handful of more "tan nudes" that I purchased without even trying on. They looked good in the store, and fortunately I was happy with all of them :]

At first, I though this color was little too dark for me. Honestly though, it kind of just blends into my skin-tone. It's probably a shade or so darker than my NW30 complexion, but it doesn't look gross-brown on my lips at all, fortunately. It's a lot better than having concealer lips. It's a really pretty pinkish-tan nude that gives you that J.Lo/Kim K look. It looks amazing on, I love how warm it is. It looks even better if you have a tan :] Being a Lustre, it's super-creamy and rich and feels very luxe on the lips. To me, it really feels like a YSL Rouge Volupte, so silky-buttery smooth. It's not drying at all, in fact it's the complete opposite. It feels just like a lip-balm on. It's pretty versatile, you could wear it with any look, although I do prefer wearing Hug Me when I have an extremely dramatic smokey eye going on. I would recommend this color to everyone, except the super-pale, because it might show up as brown on someone with a very light complexion. SO, who here uses Hug Me lipstick!? Is it something you reach for often? Or does it sit in your "do-not-use" makeup drawer? If you DO wear Hug Me, what kind of looks do you tend to wear it with? Just wondering :]

BEAUTYMARKED EYESHADOW. CREATURE OF THE NIGHT.

Beautymarked is one of my favorite eyeshadows from MAC's permanent collection, if not my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. It's a gorgeous velvety black eyeshadow with LOTS of reddish burgundy glitter. I remember first buying it many years ago because I saw it sitting on the eyeshadow display at the MAC counter and thought to myself that I'd never really seen anything like that at all. Since then, Over the years, I have used copious amounts of this smoldering color. To this day, I have not found a similar eyeshadow that's as intensely pigmented, rich, gorgeous and glittery as this beautiful color. I've seen lots of eyeshadows slightly similar, but no other company has really been able to duplicate it. I've always been drawn to dark colors. The darker, the better. I'm terribly addicted to black eyeshadows, and I just cannot resist a black eyeshadow that contains shimmer or reflects. I love richly pigmented vampy shades that look amazing when used to create a smokey eye. Beautymarked is extremely pigmented. It is easily grabbed by eyeshadow brushes, and yes, it shows up exactly on the eye as it does in the pan. I've found, however, that if you want all of the red reflects to show up on your eyes, you have to use a sticky eyeshadow base or else the glitter will get eaten by your brush instead of adhering to your eyelid. In the past, I've had some trouble with fallout from Beautymarked, but after a while of using this color, you'll learn how to apply it in a way that avoids creating fallout. I've seen that a lot of people will use this color to line their eyes, or they'll wear it in the crease or to smoke out their outer V. Personally, my favorite way to wear it is all over my lid, from lashline to crease, then blended out very well. It looks good with just a little big of a shimmery silver or white color on the inner corner, and I usually don't care to wear a highlight color on my brow-bone. Sometimes too much highlight can take away from the effect of a dramatic smokey eye. Is anyone else completely obsessed with this color? Anyone have it but not use it very often? Tell me about your experience with Beautymarked... How do you like to wear it?

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?!!? :]