Blush : Beauty and Fashion Tech

Review: Nars the Multiple Multi-Purpose Stick

I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to picking up a NARS The Multiple Multi-Purpose Stick in the shade Orgasm. I love stick blushes and I love Nars blushes, so I should have been all over this earlier!

Well, I finally did get one in Orgasm and I do indeed love it. Nars Orgasm blush has always been a great shade for me, but a bit too shimmery for my over 40 tastes. However, the multiple version of it seems less shimmery to me. The general shimmer is still there, but it seems toned down a bit.

As a cream blush, Nars The Multiple blends well and had a good amount of pigment. On the lips, it provides a nice sheer color. Pair it up with Nars Orgasm Lip Gloss (read review) for a double punch of that shade.

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Popularity: 13% [?]

Review: New Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Cosmetics Inspired by Carmindy

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty has released a wonderful full line of cosmetics “inspired by” Carmindy from TLC’s show What Not to Wear. I am a big Carmindy fan and I liked her book, The Five Minute Face (Read Review). I also have been pretty impressed with Sally Hansen as of late. The new Sally Hansen Natural Beauty line focuses on natural ingredients and is paraben free.

When I saw the line at CVS, I bought a number of items to try. I was left highly impressed and am willing to bet that several items from this line will make my year end best of 2008 list (Read the 2007 list)!

The Sally Hansen Natural Beauty line includes foundation and powder, but I have so many unfinished items of those, I didn’t buy any. Instead, I got the primer, eye shadow base, an eye shadow trio, cream blush, lipstick, and a mascara. The look I created with the products and each item is covered below. All items are worn in the photo below. I am also wearing Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation (Read Review), Laura Mercier translucent powder, and M.A.C. dual edged eye pencil in a blue/gray shade from the Heatherette collection.

The Natural Beauty Luminizing Face Primer is a really nice silicon based primer. It has a lighter feel than the cult classic Smashbox Photofinsh (Read Review), yet worked just as well. I found that it primed my skin quite well in preparation for foundation by leaving it smooth and silky. The luminizing properties are also a welcome addition. At around $10, this primer is an incredible value, and I am not aware of any other comparably priced primers of this quality. Revlon has a decent primer, but it does not provide the perfectly nice skin surface that the Sally Hansen product does.

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Fast Fix Eyeshadow Base is another great value product. There are not a lot of drugstore shadow bases out there and this one is quite lovely. It has a light, easy to spread cream texture, that feels like it must have a touch of silicon in it. I found that it made my shadow look smooth and crease free all evening. This will become a staple product for me.

The cream blush is another great item in Salley Hansen’s new line. It is silky smooth, and Bloom, the shade that I purchased, has a nice rosy color. It is pretty well pigmented and builds pretty well, so those with darker skin can likely wear it just fine. At the same time, it also blends well, so I could wear it well with my pale skin as long as I applied with with a light and well blended touch.

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Cosmetics Carmindy

The Natural Beauty Instant Definition Eye Shadow Palette comes in basic and fairly neutral color sets. I decided to go for the Ocean Eye Palette, a gray/navy combo, because I seem to have acquired way too much brown shadow. The shadow is decently pigmented, blended fine, and lasted well. I did not have any creasing issues. It seemed like a standard decent quality shadow to me with nothing really outstanding, but nothing wrong with it either.

The Natural Beauty Lift & Define Mascara was nothing special for me. The brush is small (I tend to like that), but has rather wide spaces between the bristles, which I think can make things clump easier. It went on OK, and looked OK. I don’t think it would be my first choice in mascara, but it wasn’t bad either.

Finally, I loved the Color Comfort Lip Color! Perfect Pink, Rose Parfait, turned out to be perhaps one of the best pink shades I have found in some time. For a full review of it, head on over to my post at Girl Gloss!

The bottom line: The Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Cosmetics line is a welcome addition to the available drugstore makeup choices. I particularly recommend the primer and shadow base. These items are comparable to, or perhaps even better than, other much more expensive products. The rest of the line is quite nice as well. Well done Sally Hansen!

Look for the new Sally Hansen Natural Beauty at drugstore and at ULTA Beauty.

Popularity: 73% [?]

True Cosmetics Luminance Collection

Spring is a great time for luminous and sheer looks. That also happens to be the theme of many of the 2008 spring cosmetic collections. For those who want a great luminous spring look all in one palette and don’t mine a bit of a premium price (I think this one is well worth it), read below.

True Cosmetics (also known as beingTrue cosmetics) has a gorgeous limited edition palette out for spring, the TRUE Cosmetics Luminance Collection. At $86 it is a bit expensive, but I absolutely adore mine and find it well worth the price.

Being True Cosmetics Luminance Collection Spring Limited Edition

The collection is based on peach, pink, bronze and gold tones that are naturally found in all skin tones and when worn together compliment and add luminance to any complexion. It comes packaged in an attractive silver case with a mirror and includes 2 eye shadows, 1 eye definer, 1 blush, 1 bronzer, 1 face highlighter, an instructional guide, and a press definer brush.

The colors appear a bit strong in the palette. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought “this will never work on my pale skin” But boy was I wrong on that count! Do not be afraid of these colors–they blend incredibility well for a luminous spring glow.

The shadows consist of a light, but quite neutral matte peach, a shimmery neutral pink and a pretty brown for both lining and for use in the crease. I thought they looked on the warm side in the palette, but they worked perfectly well on my neutral to cool skin.

For blush, the kit allows for a nice mix of bronzer, highlighter and bit of blush color. There is a well pigmented rose pink that is dark enough and bright enough for dark skin tones, yet blends well so that those with pale skin like mine can also wear it if it is applied with a light touch. There is also a bronzer with pretty much the same characteristics. What really grabbed my attention was the gold highlighter. I don’t always wear gold well on my cheeks, but this one, when mixed with the blush and bronzer, worked very nicely.

The kit comes in a nice package with full instructions for use to create a look that should work well for most skin tones. True cosmetic really did a bang up job putting this together.

I truly love this palette and think it is one of the best limited edition items it this year. The only downside to it is that it is a bit pricey, although you do get generous full sizes of each color with this one, which actually makes it a pretty decent value. If you don’t mind the price and want a nice spring palette, get this one while you still can!

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Popularity: 9% [?]

Revlon Spring Collection, Nice Colors at a Nice Price

Revlon has a number of really nice items in their Spring collection. I picked up a bunch and have made good use of them.

Revlon Soft on the Eyes Palette Eyeshadow

For the eyes, I purchased a set of Revlon Soft on the Eyes Sheer Loose Shadow in a palette with beautiful pink and brown shades. This loose powder is great for a sheer, light look. It isn’t as well pigmented as say M.A.C., Stila, or any of the better mineral shimmers out on the market, but for a quiet, daytime look, it is just fine. It also comes packaged with a very usable brush. If you like loose powder shadow and are on a budget, this one is worth checking out.

Revlon A Floral Affair Sheer Powder Blush, in Pinking of You is another excellent sheer color for Spring. I adore all of the pretty pink sheer blushes that Spring is bringing in and this one is a current favorite. I have seen quite a few people raving about this one.

For the lips, you can get some incredible shine with a hint of berry red color from Revlon Mix & Mingle Lip Palette, in Chatty Cherry. For more, see my review over at Girl Gloss.Finally, there are some great spring shades in the Revlon SuperLustrous Lipgloss line. Revlon is generally my favorite drugstore gloss. It has the shine and quality of many of the better and more expensive glosses, yet carries a decent price tag and has a great selection of colors. Revlon also tends to put out particularly nice limited edition shades. This season is no different. There are some gorgeous new shades available!

Revlon cosmetics are available both online and at major drugstores and big box retailers.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

M.A.C. Beauty Powder Blush

The M.A.C. Beauty Powder Blush Collection has eight shades of blush, providing something for everyone.

In the usual M.A.C. style, the blush is highly pigmenting, so I found that even with a light apricot shade like Shy Beauty, I needed only a small and well blended amount. Interestingly, I have seen the peachy shade Joyous compared to NARS Orgasm, but I think Shy Beauty is equally close and perhaps a bit more wearable.In any event, if you are in the market for some new shades of blush, take a look at this collection. M.A.C., of course, has many additional blush shades in their permanent collection as well.

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Popularity: 7% [?]

A New Neutrogena Face: Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation, Sheer Highlighting Blush, and Nourishing Eye Duo

I love the new sheer blushes that are coming out. Neutrogena has a great one, along with a number of other new items, and I had the opportunity to put together a pretty nice look with some of them.

Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation Mineral Makeup

First off, Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation (above) is a great improvement on Neutrogena’s mineral sheers makeup line and it is refreshing to see so many new drugstore mineral makeup lines coming out. The powder foundation is easy to apply, and because it comes in a standard compact, you can also use your own brush . I recommend a stiff kabuki brush and personally use the Bare Escentuals Handy Buki Brush, which is my favorite for all mineral makeup applications. For those who need a supplied applicator though, it also has a sponge applicator in a little compartment in the compact.

I got a nice medium coverage and even finish from the foundation and was pleased to see that it was not cut with talc or bismuth. It contains soy for skin health and has an SPF of 20. It lasted fine through an evening and generally worked well with my dry to combination skin. The dry spots didn’t flake, and the oily part stayed generally matte. The shade classic Ivory worked fine with my very fair skin. I have recently taken to wearing this nearly every day when I want something to cover my hyperpigmentation a bit (I have mild melasma) and want extra SPF, but don’t want a heavily made up look. Overall it is a great drugstore mineral foundation.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Sheer Highlighting Blush (above) pairs nicely with the mineral foundation. I really love this blush. It is quite sheer with a light shimmer to create a glow that does not look overly glittery. Like many Neutrogena products, it also contains various skin conditioners. I tried the shade Vibrant, which worked well on my fair skin, but would likely work fine on medium to darker skin tones as well. Overall, it gives a fairly light look that is perfect for the upcoming spring and summer.

Another new product that I love is the Neutrogena Nourishing Eye Duo (above). I tried this in Starry Night, which has blue gray and silver gray shadows. The shadows contain soy silk and vitamins, and have a light shimmer. What I liked about the duo was that for a drugstore brand, they were pretty well pigmented and the shades in this line are particularly nice. They are all good basic shades that just about anyone could wear, so I might go back and buy one of the duos with brown shades. The shadow lasted well, and I had no creasing issues. Overall, this is a good value shadow set that is also good for your skin.Neutrogena products are available online and at most drugstores.

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Popularity: 11% [?]

M.A.C. N Collection Colour

I am madly in love with M.A.C.’s N collection, which was quite popular at the spring collection fashion week shows. One example of a look from the J. Mendel fashion week show that I really like is below. Consisting of all neutral and nude shades, the collection is perfect for neutral lovers like myself, and can also provide a great backdrop for adding a splash of color.

J. Mendel designer Spring Collection MAC Face Chart

For example, if you want to do a striking red lip, you could pair it up with a neutral eye. Or do a natural looking lid and lips, but add a bright splash of color along the lash line (I suggest Parrot from the originals collection). In the look above, an overall neutral look is used.

Below are some swatches, taken mostly in sunlight. The shadows are all gorgeous, with the brown Dark Edge being my favorite. Nanogold is very, very light, especially in sunlight. It is also more shimmery than the picture shows. It is great as a highlighter under the brow.

The collection also features three paint pots. Groundwork, which was already out, has been one of my all time favorite eye colors. I also love the previously released shade Painterly, which is another great neutral shade. With the addition of two more neutral shades, my paint pot love continues to grow. For more on the paint pots in general see my previous review. As you can see, soft ochre is almost the same shade as my skin, which is quite pale. I particularly love the Quite Natural shade.

The collection also has a couple of nice creamy eyeliners and some great lip shades. For that, and for another face chart look, head on over to my post at Girl Gloss. Keep an eye out for an upcoming look at the nail polish as well.

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Popularity: 18% [?]