So I've been meaning to update my beauty stash as of late because I always seem to be revolving around the same girly pink and apricot cheek shades. And I believe I lucked out when SEPHORA Singapore reached out to me to pick some NARS goodies to review, because how was this beauty junkie to say no when one finally had the chance to fulfill one's makeup wishlist?
Gingerly taking it out of the triple bubble-wrapping by Sephora (thanks for the meticulous protection!), I held the palette of my dream with trembling hands. I may have even shed a tear of happiness at that instant, because CAN you even deal with how stunning the mirrored, minimalist packaging looks?
Here's how it looks like when swatched:
Decided to do a sensual, easy to wear look with the NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette Spring16:
Step 1: Sweep Paloma 1 (pink beige) as an all over eyelid shade to highlight and brighten the lid.
Step 2 & 3: Using the same brush, I concentrated the Fleshy Pink over the eye crease, feathering outwards.Step 4 & 5: Make a straight line with the shade Sausalito Sunset, just above the cheekbone as a highlighter, then buff it to blend.Step 6: Using an angled brush, gently swish to pick up Paloma 2 to contour the under the apple of the cheeks and sides of my chin to create a slimming effect.
Step 8 & 9: Finally, I used my fluffy medium-sized blush brush to dust Shimmering Rose Peach on the apple of my cheeks and towards my hair line.
TIP: I used shade Laguna around the circumference of my hairline instead of Paloma 2 so that it warmifies the face and doesn't look as harsh as the former; thus giving a sun-kissed effect.
And here is the finished look below; a sensual, natural everyday look with light washes of dusty pinks and shimmery mauves. I am definitely loving palette for its flattering warm tones, and I think you get really great value for 7 lovely (and generously sized) shades at $98! You'll definitely get alot of mileage out of it, take my word for it!
And how could i miss one of NARS's star product, the NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer? I went to swatch for my shade at the counter and found Custard to be the closest to my skintone but sadly it was sold out at point of purchase. Hence I opted for Honey, which was has more peachy undertones but I found it was perfect for countering the blueish-ness of my undereye circles and dark blemish scars, blending easily with an almost mousse-like consistency.
Because of its creamier formulation, I found the application a dream and it builds on beautifully without caking up. However, it does oxidize rather quickly on my skin, and I did need to touch up slightly after a couple of hours outdoors. It dries off relatively quickly and mattifies to blend in pretty well that I didn't really need to buff in my loose powder like I usually do.
Last but not least, is the NARS Velvet Matte Lip pencil! Something funny, I actually wanted to order the Satin Lip Pencil but blur old me mistook the similar packaging and ended up with the Matte version...still happy though! The pencil tip will need to sharpen with a sharpener once the tip gets blunt. The hue does come off abit sheer for me, so I usually apply at least 2 layers to achieve a nice opaque texture.
Sex Machine is a gorgeous mauve, dusty rose shade with cool undertones that subtly sexy on my lips; surprising because frostier shades then to look very grayish on my dark lips. And I can't wax enough lyricals over its creamy matte texture which doesn't leave my lips parched at all! Transfer-wise, it holds its own pretty well until I started eating oily foods, of which the color began to then fade.
Now its actually my first time ordering makeup from online and on Sephora.sg, so you could kind of imagine that I was a bundle of nerves and my mind running amok wondering if my parcel might get lost in transit or arrive damaged. WELL. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded because they arrived in pristine perfect condition!
If you love my look and wanna recreate it, you can shop all my featured NARS products HERE.
Let me know what you think in the comments section below!
Thank you SEPHORA Singapore and NARS Singapore for the review oppportunity!