Nars Hearts New York Set Review

Although this palette has actually been around for some time now (since last May), I only came across it a few months ago but discovered it was only sold in America (unfortunately, especially since I was there over summer) so I forgot about it but always secretly wanted it. Then I was looking for it again recently and came across the set on Ebay for £60. The product was actually being sold in America for $75 which works out at about £45 here so after a bit of haggling I got it down to £52, which is still good value in my eyes due to it's limited availability and it was the only one I have found that I can buy. And this set is definitely worth the money! Included in the cute little box is a palette with a Blusher in the colour Amour, a bronzer in Laguna and 4 eyeshadow shades in Biarritz, Nepal, New York and Galapagos as well as a Lipgloss in Dolce Vita and a Nail Varnish in China Town. The set is actually worth $107 and the lipgloss and nail varnish are full sized and the blusher and bronzer are actually slightly larger than the regular full size ones.

New York Palette

I love the eyeshadow colours in this palette. Biarritz is great for a highlighting shade for underneath the eyebrow or as an all over the lid base colour. Nepal is a gorgeous light neutral shimmery colour that is great for an everyday eyeshadow shade. New York is a beautiful and unique plum brown colour that I can't get enough of. Galapagos is a dark brown shimmery colour. The four colours work so well together when applied too. Although New York seems quite intimidating in the palette for a neutral eyeshadow lover like me, it looks amazing when applied and is a lot less scary than it seems. I also love the fact that you get slightly larger than full sized blusher and bronzer in this palette. The blush colour is Amour which is a pretty pink shade, perfect for spring and summer and it can be used subtly or can be built up for a bolder look. I'm so happy that this palette came with Laguna in it as well. Laguna is the cult Nars bronzer that every girl should try and now I finally have it. Overall I love this palette and I can tell I will get a lot of use out of it. I think this palette was really worth the money. Most similar palettes are sold for £45 but with this one you also got a full sized lipgloss and nail varnish for only £7 more, which would usually cost £14.50 and £18.50. 

Nail Varnish in China Town

I was pleasantly surprised by this Nail Varnish when I first tried it. I'd never tried a Nars Nail Varnish before and I'd never really heard anyone talk about them or review them before so trying one had never really crossed my mind but now I'm so glad I did. I love the dark red colour of the varnish and it lasts for a long time without chipping. The only downside I would say about this Nail Varnish is that if you were to buy it separately it would cost £14.50 which is almost double my favourite brand of Nail Varnish, Essie. Luckily though I got it in this set so didn't have to spend too much.

Lip Gloss in Dolce Vita

I actually really love this lip gloss too. I have never tried a Nars lip gloss before so this was my first and I was so impressed. The colour is a great dusty-rose pink shade that is close to the natural shade of my lips but better. I imagine if I had gone to the Nars counter just for a lip gloss I probably would have bought this one. The formula isn't too sticky and a little goes a long way. The only issue I have with this lip gloss is the scent is like plastic and although it isn't overpowering or unbearable, it would be so much more appealing with a nicer taste/scent to it. 

I'm so happy with my impulse purchase. If you are in America or going there soon the set is still available on the Nars website so get it while you can!

Raiding My Sister's Make-Up Bag

 Don’t you just love going through other people’s make-up bags? This weekend I made a little spontaneous trip to London to see my sister and found myself riffling through her make-up bag to see what goodies I could find, the following are things that I would love to buy myself in my shade and other products I would like to sneak into my bag and take back with me…

1. Bobbi Brown Blush in Peony

This is the one I got most excited about as I had no idea she had it, it is Bobbi Brown’s much raved about blusher in the colour Peony. It looks a very scary bright pink in the compact but once applied it leaves a gorgeous, natural, healthy pink, matte finish.

2. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in B20

I would love to be able to use this foundation but none of the Chanel shades ever seem to match my skintone, they are all far too yellow based for my pale-pinky skin.  My sister, Charlotte describes it as having a dewy finish with light to medium coverage, she says it's quick and easy to blend and leaves a nice natural finish. However, she does also point out that her shade isn't quite the perfect match and would benefit from having the shade B10 to mix in.

3. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer

This again is a very raved about product in the blogging world and I’m sure at some point in the near future I won’t be able to resist any longer and make the purchase. The unique product has two shades – one to match the skin’s depth of colour and the other to match the undertone. You can either mix the two shades together on the back of your hand to create your perfect shade or use the more pinky to counteract under eye dark circles and the more yellow-based one to hide any blemishes.  I think Charlotte uses her fingers to apply which is good as it warms the product up but I would then buff over with a fluffy brush to leave a super flawless finish

4. YSL Baby Doll Mascara

I actually recommended this to my sister after hearing Sophie’s great reviews about it and Charlotte loves it. It is quite a subtle, natural looking mascara perfect for everyday wear with a brush that easily coats every lash, making the more voluminous, longer and defined. Also – a mascara that actually smells nice, finally!

5. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact Highlighter in Pink Quartz

I am a big fan of these shimmer bricks even though I’ve never actually owned one myself, I’ve always just stolen a bit from my sister or Sophie! They are powder highlighters with 5 slightly different shades inside which when mixed together create a lovely natural looking pink highlighter – perfect for the top of cheek bones, on the brow bone and in the inner corner of the eye.

6. MAC Matte Lipstick in So Chaud

Now this is one statement lipstick! I’m surprised my sister has this as she is usually a very natural-looking-make up kind of girl. The best way to describe this colour is think of MAC’s famous Lady Danger Lipstick and add a bit more orange. MAC describe it as an intense reddish-orange, it also has the matte finish which I am really loving at the minute.

Charlotte Tilbury Makeup Haul/Review

Ever since Charlotte Tilbury launched her own makeup collection I have obsessed over all of the products! I was too scared to purchase them because I had never seen them in real life, only on her website www.CharlotteTilbury.com . Then Jess got the Eyeshadow Palette in Vintage Vamp for Christmas and I fell in love. So I decided to be brave and order a few things for myself from the range. I ordered one of the 6 Shades of Love sets that were released just before Valentines Day because it included a K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick and a Cheek to Chic Blusher for £49. I also decided to get an eyeshadow palette for myself but I went for the Dolce Vita palette instead. All the products arrived in a gorgeous custom Charlotte Tilbury box full of burgundy tissue paper. 

The Dolce Vita Eyeshadow Palette

This is one of the most beautiful eyeshadow palettes I have ever owned. I love all the shades and the idea of having a prime, enhance, smoke and pop shade in each palette is so unique. All of Charlotte's products seem designed for ease of use and to help with makeup application as much as possible. Charlotte has also posted videos on her website to give tips on how to apply her products best which is useful for everyone! The shadows are so soft and blendable and all 4 shades go so well together. The prime shade is a light shimmery beige/gold colour, the enhance shade is a reddy brown, the smoke shade is a darker chocolatey brown and the pop shade is a gorgeous glittery bronze colour. 

6 Shades of Love Sex on Fire Gift Set

Cheek to Chic Blusher in Sex on Fire

This is another product from the collection that is designed to help you with your makeup. The blush contains 2 shades, a 'swish' shade on the outside and a 'pop' shade in the middle. The swish shade is designed to be swept all over the cheek and blended outwards and the pop shade is designed to be placed on the apple of the cheeks. I absolutely love these colours, I think they would suit a lot of skin types and they are build-able so you can have a natural look or a bolder look. I also love the packaging of this blusher. Most of the products come in burgundy and gold designed packaging inspired by the 1920s and I love how unique this is compared to most makeup brand packaging. 

K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick in So Marilyn

This lipstick is the perfect red shade that seems like it would suit everyone. It has been named in homage to the iconic Marilyn Monroe and it certainly lives up to its name. The names and thought behind Charlotte's collection is what I also love about her products. She has taken inspiration from beauty icons such Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Brooke Shields and Bridgette Bardot. This is another product that comes in beautiful packaging (like most of the products in the collection) in a gold tube that is so unique and different to any lipstick packaging I own. Something else I love about these lipsticks is the delicious vanilla smell unlike any other lipstick scent I've come across before. It makes the product seem even more luxurious. The colour lasts a long time too and is quite moisturising. I can't wait to try out some different shades!

I absolutely love all three of these products and can't wait to try out more. They definitely deserve a place in my Charlotte Tilbury Makeup Bag. 

Have you tried anything from the Charlotte Tilbury collection?  Which product would you most like to buy?

Haul #1: Beauty + Fashion

On Friday, Sophie and I had a bit of a post-exams treat shopping spree in our university city of Nottingham. I spent far too much money on stuff I probably don't need- but it was all in the name of fun! Sophie will also be doing a haul of what she bought, but she is just waiting on some online purchases to arrive first.

SpaceNK 

Nude Oil Based Cleanser

I have recently been looking for an oil-based cleanser to replace my Bioderma micellar water to use as a pre-cleanse to remove all my make-up in the evenings. Although I find the Bioderma to be amazing at taking off eye make-up, when I use it all over my face it does tend to leave it feeling a little dry. After reading some reviews and blog posts I decided to go for this Nude one, on first impressions I really like it but will do a full product review in about a month.


Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara

I got a sample of this mascara in a Birchbox a few months ago and loved it so bought the full sized version. I won't go on about it for too long as I go into more detail in my post a few weeks ago about my favourite Birchbox products (click here) but I think this is a great, more natural looking everyday mascara. 

MAC

Lipstick in 'Mehr'

This one was a bit of an impulse buy, I originally went into MAC for an eyeliner and some eyeshadows to build up my palette but I couldn't decide which colours to go for. I felt that an eyeliner wasn't enough to satisfy my MAC-craving so I went over to the lipstick counter. Surprisingly, I only own one other MAC lipstick which I bought when I was about 14 and never wear as it is a god-awful colour, what was I thinking? But when I saw this one, 'Mehr', I fell in love with the colour and had to get it. The colour is sort of a deep dusky pink with a very matte finish, nothing like I already have.


Eye Pencil in 'Coffee'

This is what I originally went into MAC for, the eyeliner in 'Coffee'. I wanted a brown eyeliner to wear when I want to go for a more natural look as black can often look a bit too harsh and dramatic. I used it today and the pencil feels nice and soft on application and create a deep warm brown colour. It looks nice on the waterline and well as smudged across the upper lash line.

John Lewis

YSL Flower Crush Palette - Rosy Blush 

Is this not the most beautiful bit of make-up you have ever seen? This was the biggest splurge on the shopping trip. I've wanted this spring limited edition blusher since it was launched, there was a lot of umming and aahing at the YSL counter as it is not the cheapest item of make up in the world (I'm not saying how much it was incase my mum reads this blog post) but after a bit of gentle persuasion from Sophie and the lady at YSL I decided to go for it and I am so glad I did. I've only used it once so far but the colour is a perfect shimmery peachy-pink and the texture is like a creamy-powder. 

Laura Mercier Ambre Vanillé Soufflé Body Crème

This was another cheeky little splurge, but I have wanted it for ages- its nice to have a little bit of luxury sometimes! This body cream smells amazing, I could smell it all day, in fact as I'm sat here typing I'm smelling it. It feels good on the skin and the smell lasts for ages on your skin; if I put it on in the morning, it will still be able to smell it when I go to bed.


Origins GinZing Eye Cream

This little baby has been a life saver recently, I actually bought this a few weeks ago but thought I would sneak it in here anyway. I bought this before my January exams as I was a bit sleep deprived, a little stressed and there may have even been a few tears, but this little eye cream brightened up any tell-tale dark circles and puffiness. I use it every morning after my face moisturiser and have really noticed a difference.

Topshop

Knitted Crystal Stud Jumper in Duck Egg

When we went on our shopping trip, I saw the jumper Sophie was wearing and absolutely loved it... so I bought it. Although I am not a complete copy cat, Sophie has the dark grey version and I picked up this lovely duck egg blue colour. I'm a bit obsessed with this colour at the minute and I love the embellishment around the neckline. The material is so soft, it's not itchy and super comfortable to wear. 

Blogmas Day 9: Top 3 Blushers

Blusher is a really important part of applying make up as it helps put all the colour and shape back into your face after the foundation. It can also transform a look from natural and girly to dramatic and edgy. I like a mix of high-street and luxury blushers and I usually stick to lighter, more natural pinks; here are my top 3 at the moment. 

Nars 'Deep Throat' Blush

This is my everyday blusher that Sophie got me for my birthday earlier this year and I love it. I'd say out of all the blushers this one is my favourite as it looks so natural and gives a really healthy glow. It is highly pigmented, has a really silky texture and blends effortlessly. 


Sleek Blush 'Rose Gold 926'

I wear this blusher in the evening as its a little darker and a tad more dramatic then the Nars one above. The texture and feel of the blush is very similar to 'Deep Throat' and the colour is very much identical to Nars 'Orgasm'. It also has excellent pigmentation and is very affordable at £4.49. 


Maxfactor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush '14 Soft Pink'

This is a cream blush which makes it look very natural with a slightly dewy finish. I use this on days when I don't wear a lot of make-up, maybe just over a bit of tinted moisturiser and I mostly use it in the summer. It is very easy to blend, the colour is build-able and it also has a none greasy formula. It helps keep you look fresh and radiant all day.    


What are your favourite blushers?

Jess's Favourite: Make-Up Brushes

Good quality make-up brushes are an essential tool to getting perfect looking make-up, it’s important to try and wash them with shampoo as often as possible so they deliver the best results and last for years (I do not practice what I preach and all my brushes are way overdue a wash!). Here are a few of my favourites which I always use in my make-up routine.

1. MAC 150 Large Powder Brush – I tend to use this brush for bronzer as it’s the perfect size to run along the temples and in the hollows of the cheeks to create that more contoured and defined look. I don’t use it for powder as I use a much smaller brush and just powder the t-zone area as I have really dry skin so don’t really need to powder all over. I have had this brush for a while now and it is still really soft, I was a little disappointed with it when I first bought it as it kept shedding hairs on my face but that stopped after a few uses. It’s not a cheap make-up brush at £33.50, but for me it really is an essential.

 2. Real Techniques Stippling Brush - I use the stippling brush to gently buff liquid or cream foundation into the skin to give a flawless and airbrushed finish. I use it in little circular motions until all the foundation is evenly blended into the skin, I also use it at the end of my make-up routine and buff out and harsh lines I may have from bronzer or blusher. The Real Techniques brushes all have synthetic bristles which makes them quick to clean as they don’t ‘hold on’ to the product and at around £10 the brush is really good value for money.

3. Bobbi Brown Foundation Brush – This is more of a traditional foundation brush and I use it if my skin is very dry (the buffing motion of the Stippling brush can often make my skin flaky if I’m having a very dry day!). I also use it to ‘clean up’ under my eyes if any shadow has dropped down. This brush also builds to a more full coverage foundation look whereas the Stippling brush is creates a sheer to moderate finish. This brush is not cheap at £32.00, however it is very good quality and should last a really long time.

 4. MAC 263 Small Angle Brush – This is the brush I use to fill in my eyebrows on a day to day basis, I gently brush through powder eyeshadow in small soft strokes; the angle in the brush really helps to make the brow as precise as possible. I also use it to line my top lash line with powder and gel eyeliner as I find an angled brush much easier to use than a traditional liner brush. It takes 20 seconds to clean as it’s so thin and can be thoroughly dry in 15 minutes.  The RRP of this brush is £16.50.

5. MAC 217 Blending Brush – If you want to achieve a perfect smokey eye, a good quality blending brush is essential. I use it to brush base eye colours all over the lid then blend darker colours through the crease to add shadow and definition. The bristles are soft and don’t shed and blend colours together effortlessly. I also have another blending brush which isn't MAC (it is a slightly cheaper N⁰7 one) and I can definitely tell the difference in quality, however if you are creating a dramatic smokey eye it is usually best to apply the product with one and blend with the other to make it looks as neat as possible. The MAC 217 is £18.00 and also MAC’s top selling brush. 

What are your favourite make-up brushes?