NYX Caribbean Collection 5 Color Shadow

Here we are in the dog days of summer and what could lift our spirits more than air conditioning and a sultry pop of color? I found a real mood lifter in NYX The Caribbean Collection 5 Color Shadow Palette in I Dream of St. Lucia. NYX is offerring ten different palettes in The Caribbean Collection to suit your taste, all coming in at a cool $8.50 a piece. I chose the fun, uber-bright colors in I Dream of St. Lucia as a playful accent just perfect for the hot summer months. These five shades practically beg to be worn alongside a body of water!

Ok, so I love the colors, but what about the quality of these shadows. Check out my swatches to see how richly pigmented they are. The swatches were even done on bare skin with no primer or even a moisturizer, so this is really the way the colors will look on skin. I did find that when worn on the eyelid with no primer there was a tad bit of fallout. When I use my primer they wear flawlessly for hours. After giving these shadows a fair test run, I would say they are on a par with MAC shadows - and at a fraction of the cost. I will say that I much prefer the flat 3 pan palettes or the 5 pan palettes as opposed to the single eye shadows. The singles have a raised "quilted" design which I find results in more breakage and crumbling of the products. NYX products are carried at ULTA locations, but I find that the selection is pretty well picked over so I generally order directly from the NYX site.

My favorite way to use these almost peacock-like shades is to accent the "ball" of the eyelid - just above the pupil with a generous round smudge applied with a finger and then blended out all around. Think of it as a sunset on the horizon in a painting.  As an alternative, they also make great accents at the inner tear duct - really makes your eyes pop!

Another fun way I've been enjoying some of these colors is on the lips! I use either the pink or the orange shades smudged on the center of the lower lip and then apply a similar shade of lip gloss.  For example, NARS Easy Lover lip gloss looks amazing over the pink shade and the orange shade looks great under Pantone Universe Tangerine Tango Glaze. Have fun experimenting!

NARS Eyeshadows in Fathom and Lhasa

A new NARS eyeshadow can do wonders for my spirits. This spring I indulged in two new picks that I’ll share with you now.

 NARS eyeshadow in Fathom is described as “pink tulle with silver shimmer” and I must say it is ethereal! The pink leans more peachy and the silver shimmer is not glittery, but delicate. Since its more peachy with understated shimmer, it is more wearable and works as more of a neutral. 

It’s interesting that NARS uses the word tulle to describe this shade because the pink reminds me of the shade worn by dancers in my ballet company growing up. It was a peachy pink known simply in dance circles as “ballet pink” and was very often the shade of tulle used for ballet skirts and costumes. 

The only caveat is there’s a tiny bit of fallout from the shimmer, even with a good primer. I love shimmer, so the movement didn’t bother me, but it bears mentioning, nonetheless.

My next choice was Lhasa, described by the company as “lavender grey.” Normally I don’t wear a lot of grey eyeshadow but I was just captivated by this shade. To me, it’s a warmer grey with a lot of depth. The lavender in it seems more warm pink and less blue, which works well with my fair skin - blue greys tend to make me look sick. This heathery grey is sort of prismatic and looks different in different lights and from different angles. I think this makes it interesting enough to wear on its own. I apply it all over the movable lid and then build more coverage into the crease and slightly above it on the outer third of the lid. I usually take a tapered brush and drag the color under the lower lash line as well.

Both of these shadows are excellent additions to the already remarkable NARS line-up. What are your favorite NARS shadows? Have you tried Fathom or Lhasa? 

NARS New Order Highlighting Blush

One of my greatest makeup joys is trying out a new purchase from NARS. Opening one of those bold black boxes is a heady experience for me. My pulse still quickens at the sight of a NARS counter or the NARS section at Sephora! Maybe you think I’m nuts at this point, but that’s just the way it is for me. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I love only NARS - I’ll never be a one brand girl. I just can’t swear loyalty when there are so many gorgeous little things out there calling my name. Nonetheless, NARS will always be one of many honored favorites. 

In the Spring I happened upon a new highlighting blush from NARS called New Order. I’ve loved NARS blush for years - especially Sin. (Yes I know, that’s not the one everybody thinks of when they think NARS blush...) Somehow I managed to resist and I left it on the shelf at Sephora. For the next week I obsessed over this little item and visited it several times online. I simply couldn’t get it out of my head. (At the same time I was daydreaming about 3 other NARS items... more on that later!) As fate would have it, Beauty.com emailed about a 20% off promotion at just the right time! I was so thrilled to rip open that package when it arrived. (Does anyone else get this excited over makeup or am I the only one?)

New Order is absolutely intoxicatingly beautiful to me. The gentle pink shade infused with gold and silver shimmer particles is just so pretty. I am quite fair and the cool pink hue works with my skin tone. It may be too pale on darker complexions. Now, about the shimmer: I adore shimmer and even glitter, though I know I’m probably a bit mature to pull it off. It does verge on glittery and that may be a deal breaker for you. I’ve also used it on my eyes as a highlighter on the inner corner and the brow bone. It’s pretty, but be prepared for fall out. (My daughter asked me why I had glitter “all over my face.”) If you can handle the movement of the shimmer, you may adore this blush, as I do.

I’ve got a couple more NARS goodies and I’ll tackle them soon, so check back. 

Do you have a NARS fascination, like I do? What NARS products do you go weak in the knees for?

Josie Maran Haul - Lip products

The past couple of days I've been sharing my thoughts on several Josie Maran products I purchased several months ago from Sephora. Be sure to check out my earlier posts if you missed any.

I’ll continue the haul with lip products and I’ll start with the least positive and move on to the real winners. Argan Lip Treatment, $18, is a fairly decent basic lip balm. The container is the cutest ever, but I still don't love balms you apply with your finger.  Even though it contains Argan Oil, I noticed no real conditioning effect at all. Have you ever applied a lip balm that just seems to sit on top of your lips, without really making your lips feel any more hydrated? Think Vaseline and you’ll know what I mean. So, it’ll keep your lips from drying out any further, but it’s not going to condition them in any way. 

Next is Argan Mini Color Stick, $14, in Petal Pink. While I love, love, love the beautiful bronzy pink hue, I’m not crazy about the ingredients and their unintended effect on my lips. Kudos to Josie Maran for including some fabulous conditioning ingredients like mango seed butter, avocado butter, and cocoa seed butter, but the inclusion of rosemary extract, lemon tea tree oil, and menthol was a misstep. All three of those ingredients can cause skin irritation and inflammation. You know that tingly feeling you get when you apply some lip balms? Well, rosemary, lemon tea tree and menthol are three of the chief culprits. And while some really like that tingly feeling, it is not a good thing for your skin. Companies use these ingredients partly because of the inflammation response they induce. Swelling of the lips induces a temporary plumping effect. A much safer way to induce natural, healthy plumping is to include peptides which build collagen and rehydrate for a full, healthy look that’s good for your skin. 

A good rule of thumb: any lip product that makes your lips burn or tingle (all the time and not just when chapped)  is not good for your lips.

A very positive note in my Josie Maran Haul: the lip glosses and stain! I purchased Magic Marker Lip and Cheek Stain in Quickstep, $19. Marker style lip stains appeal to me for their ease of use, but finding a good one can be a challenge. This one is a keeper, for sure! There’s not too much to say other than it works. It has a great pigment that’s not garish and it really lasts - just like it should.  Also very important in a stain, it doesn’t dry out your lips. The marker itself stays moist and doesn’t dry out either. Perfect! 

I also purchased Natural Volume Lip Gloss, $20, in Optimism and Voluptuous. These lip glosses actually have great ingredients like argan and jojoba oils and coconut cream all of which are natural moisturizing factors and will hydrate and condition lips. The Natural Volume part of the name initially worried me since it could mean it’s full of natural irritants (see Mini Color Stick review). I was pleasantly surprised to see that the plumping is due to a tripeptide complex that, with continued use, will build collagen and enhance lip fullness! 

So, the lip glosses feel great on the lips - moisturizing and not at all sticky. They really meld with your lips so that they look great and are very comfortable to wear. Optimism is a gorgeous pink gold iridescent that layers beautifully as a highlighter over other lipsticks or looks fabulous and festive all by itself.  Voluptuous is a lovely sheer berry shade that layers into full color coverage, if that’s what you want. 

Usually I’m  a stickler for unscented lip products, but for this one I’ll make an exception! These lip glosses have a decidedly noticeable scent, but it’s so delicious I have to let ‘em off the hook for it. To me they smell just like my mom’s fabulous burnt sugar cake when I was a little kid! Like caramelized sugar.... oh so yummy. I love it, but it may not be your cup of tea - trust me I understand scent hang ups! Be sure and give the testers a sniff, just in case my idea of nirvanna is not yours. 

Some hits and some misses is the way I see it with the Josie Maran products. One bright, shining high note I want to emphasize is the company’s environmentally and socially progressive identity. Raising money to save polar bears is definitely cool, but helping to support economic growth in third world countries takes it up a notch. Most impressive, Josie Maran!

If you've tried any of the Josie Maran line I'd love to hear how you liked them. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that's just as true with beauty products! What I like, you might not, and vice versa. Let me know what you think!

Josie Maran Haul: Cleansing Oil and Wipes

Moving on to the cleansing products in my Josie Maran shopping spree, Argan Cleansing Oil, $32 for 6oz., and Bear Naked Wipes, $12 for 30 wipes. I’ve been a fan of DHC Cleansing Oil for years and this one works about as well. The biggest difference is the fragrance - this one from Josie Maran is loaded with it and that’s not such a great thing where your skin is concerned. The fragrance comes from grapefruit peel oil and not from synthetic fragrance which sounds like a good thing. Problem is that grapefruit peel oil can be extremely irritating and can cause inflammation. Lots of people have sensitivities to any citrus essential oils. Just because it’s natural doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing - think poison ivy! 

Unfortunately, the Bear Naked Wipes have the same potentially irritating ingredient - and in large quantities. The result is that both products smell great, but can really do a number on your skin. I had no problem with the cleansing oil, but the wipes made my lips swell and my eyes burn. The following day I awoke with itching, flaking and peeling - especially around my eyes and lips. Much as I applaud the company’s progressive consciousness (Bear Naked Wipes raise money for endangered wild life), I just can’t recommend these cleansing products. 

Keep checking back for more on Josie Maran products.

Josie Maran Haul

This spring while making one of my treasured sojourns to Sephora, I decided it was time I investigated the much hyped argan oil. I ended up purchasing quite a few Josie Maran Argan Oil products - I have trouble resisting much at Sephora. Anyway, I’ve used the products for several months now because I really wanted to give them a fair shot. 

All in all, it was a mixed bag. Some products I enjoyed, others I really disliked, but most I just found myself wondering what the big deal was. My haul included 100% Pure Argan Oil, Argan Cleansing Oil, Mini Color Stick, Argan Lip Treatment, Bear Naked Wipes, Magic Marker Lip and Cheek Stain, and Natural Volume Lip Gloss. 

I was most curious about the Argan Oil (MSRP $48 for 1.7oz) itself, due to the company’s claims about its supposed anti-aging and conditioning properties and the really cool fact that it is a fair trade product “purchased from women’s cooperatives in Morocco to support their social and economic welfare.” The company also claims that it is “clinically proven to improve hydration and elasticity in four weeks.” Sadly I found the argan oil to be nothing all that special. I don’t dispute that it will improve hydration and elasticity - any oil will do that because they are all Natural Moisturizing Factors and will halt trans-epidermal water loss leading to improved hydration. I just didn’t see any particularly impressive changes in my skin at all.  It did not cause any breakouts, though, so that’s certainly a plus.

The bottom line is that you could get the same benefits from Jojoba or Sweet Almond or Grapeseed oil purchased at a health food store for a whole lot less money.

Read more of my Josie Maran haul in upcoming posts...

NARS Easy Lover

I've found a new summer love: NARS lip gloss in Easy Lover! What a gorgeous shade - when I saw it, I knew we were a perfect match. When the temperature starts to rise, I'm less inclined to reach for my favorite lipsticks, but I still want to look cute.  Easy Lover is the perfect mix of easy to wear weightlessness and a just-so-summer-worthy pop of color.

The nearly transparent bright pink hue is right on trend with summer's most wanted looks. The gloss goes on sheer and can be layered to build a bit more color. It's modern and feminine without a hint of syrupy sweetness and the texture is livable, too - just enough grab to give it staying power, but no tacky stickiness that'd leave your hair stuck to your lips.

One thing that gripes me about a lot of glosses is the smell. So often your nose is assaulted with cloying, artificial fragrance that tend to turn my stomach. NARS lip gloss is scent neutral which I find highly preferable.

I love the sheer look of Easy Lover on its own for day. For evening, it layers beautifully over any number of lipsticks - especially more opaque pinks and plums.

If you've tried Easy Lover or other NARS glosses, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!