New In: NARS Fall 2013 Color Collection

Autumn has to be my favourite season. The Fashion. The cosy nights in. Oh, and a/w makeup collections. NARS are one of those brands that never fail to make me 'ooh!' over their new releases. I have a few items from their latest Fall Color Collection which have wet my appetite for plum lips and metallic eyes.

Their Pure Matte Lipsticks in La Paz* and Peloponnese* caught my eye the most, however they are not as matte as I would like. I'm not a great fan of shimmer on the lips and these lipsticks do have a glittery effect to them. La Paz, the plum purple shade, has to be my favourite of the two and suited my fair skin tone whilst also packing a punch for an autumnal evening look. I think I'll find it harder to wear Peloponnese, which is a bronze toned nude. NARS describe this shade as a 'ginger pink' with its copper like tone, I think this shade would suit darker skin tones especially.

As for the eyeshadows I was lucky enough to test out Bavaria* which is described as a 'Deep Sea Blue' yet I find it leans more to a teal green hue. This is the only shimmer shade in the fall eyeshadow collection, which works wonderfully as a highlight in the inner corner or sweeped over for a more metallic look. I would love to pair this with the shade Kamchatka, I think it would make a gorgeous navy smokey eye look, perfect for these colder nights.

What do you think of the NARS a/w collection? What would you pick up from it? Shop the collection here.

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elf blush: fuchsia fusion

(l-r) fuchsia fusion, giddy gold, berry merry

fuchsia fusion £3.75

A few weeks back I took high advantage of the elf 50% discount code, among many other items I had often thought of picking up an elf blush to see for myself whether they were as pigmented as some of my favourite beauty bloggers have claimed for their extremely purse friendly price tag. I ended up adding three to my online shopping basket, and trust me when I say I would have gone for more if some of the more popular shades hadn't already sold out completely. 

First thing I noticed, once the excitement of eyeing up my new assortment of discounted delights wained off slightly, was the similarities between ELF and NARS. Most obvious to the eye is, of course, the packaging, cased in their sleek, black, and rectangular homes the only main difference is the famous rubberised packaging associated with Nars. Another similarity is that many of the elf shades are close dopplegangers for Nars also, in particular the blush in question which I find a great dupe for Nars Angelika.

Despite its namesake 'fuschia fusion', I would in fact describe this shade as more of a bubble gum pink with flecks of silver glitter running through it. Pigmentation wise I can't fault it, however, unless you're a human magpie, excited by all things sparkly and that shimmers, this shade can be over done quite easily creating a less desirable human glitterball effect. No, thank you. Therefore, you only need a light dusting on your brush and I would advise tapping off any excess before application and building up slowly but surely to your desired flush of pink. I really didn't need to build this blush up much personally as I am of the pale, ghost skin persuasion and as aforementioned this product is highly pigmented. 

I really do like this shade as it does add that rosy flush to your cheeks that is suited to the warmer months and more feminine look but I would prefer the elf blush range to have more matte blushes as many of their shades are quite frosty. And, if I'm being pickity, I would add that it is quite chalky so be careful of excess fallout.

Will you be trying any of the elf blush range or do you already have a favourite from their brand?

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want: high end make up bag

001 NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia £29.50 - 002. NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush Powder £21.00 - 003. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler £20.00 - 004. MAC Naked Lunch Eyeshadow (also lusting after Ricepaper, Shroom, Woodwined, and Coppering) £12 - 005. Benefit Porefessional Primer £19.58 (Usually £23.50) - 006. NARS Bolero Velvet Matte Lip Pencil £17.50 - 007. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit in Ivory £23.50

Being a student I often have to budget my spending and so my current makeup bag consists mostly of cheaper drugstore brands, most of which I find work wonders for their less expensive price tag but nonetheless I want to venture out and try some of the more high end products out there. I do own quite a few MAC Lipsticks since first wandering in there last Christmas armed with gift money but as of yet I have not tried any other brands of high end lipstick and have been also lusting after a YSL Lipstick just for the gorgeous packaging it comes in as well as testing out NARS lipsticks as I find their blushes to be my favourites since first receiving NARS Orgasm Blush for my birthday; the pigmentation is unbeatable and I can't wait to get hold of Miss Liberty Highlighter!

What are your favourite high end treats? Or have you found any dupes for some of the more lusted after high end products?

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HAUL: Birthday/NYC Bit's and Bob's

Products Mentioned: Real Techniques Core Collection, Stippling Brush and Blush Brush - available at Boots
Barry M Eyeliner in white - Boots/Superdrug

TopShop High Waisted Short with pastel green stripes - TopShop

MAC Lipsticks in Hue and Costa Chic - MAC

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 20 - Laura Mercier

NARS Laguna Bronzer - NARS

I've recently got back into making videos so if you have any request just let me know (:
Plus, I'm also looking to do a 300 followers giveaway so look out for that!

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weekend wishlist #2

                                                                             1,2,3,4,5

001: Beauty blogger favourite and hair heaven, I've been after Morrocan Oil Hair Treatment for quite some time as my tips could do with some hair salvation. However, I'm finding it hard to justify the hefty price tag, any alternatives?

002:  NARS is one of my all time favourite brands and my go to for blushes and so I've been really tempted to try out the new Miss Liberty highlight!

003: Another hyped up craze is the new Maybelline Color Tattoo's which are a great alternative to MAC Paint pots, I've spotted a few shades in my local superdrug and for a much more student friendly £4.99! I think these would act as great eye primers and have been lusting over Bronze on Bronze! (Official launch is in April!)

004: The UK has recently been delighted to wake up to brilliant sunshine and it's time to swap my boots for my flats, however upon browsing through my shoe collection I realised I was in dire need of sprucing up my flat collection! I've had my eye on these studded Vectra's from Topshop and a cheeky online purchase may be in order!

005: I've been feeling a bit nostalgic recently and reflecting upon the good old days of 'run outs' and sporting a fine pair of denim dungaree's. I really liked the quilted pattern on Miss Selfridges denim dungaree's.

What have you got your eye on at the moment?

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NARS Laguna Bronzer

Nars Laguna Bronzer £25 can be bought here.

Alright, alright so I'm a tad late on posting this review and I know NARS Laguna Bronzer has popped up on g-zillions of beauty blogs before but I thought I'd add my two pence.

I'm always really cautious when picking out bronzers as you can most probably notice, excuse the awful picture quality I'm on the hunt for a decent camera, I'm extremely fair skinned and the tango'd oompa loompa look just doesn't cut it for me. I have quite substantial cheeks, my dad often refers to me as "deputy dog" or "hamster cheeks" as they've always been quite squeezable since I was a baby and so I've always had difficulty in achieving the killer cheekbone look.

Nars Laguna Bronzer is excellent for contouring and adding a little glow to your skin, you only need a slight dusting on an angled brush and it does the trick without coming off too stark from our ghostly pale skin. I think this shade is gorgeous for pale to medium skin tones for adding a bit more definition to sculpt in our desired cheekbones, or to add a touch of warmth to our skin tone during the spring and summer months.

I love the NARS standard rubberised packaging for extra protection, with compact mirror to boot, perfect for slipping in your hand bag and on the go touch ups! The only gripe that I have with the packaging is that dirt and grime stick to it like no ones's business and so that clean and crisp packaging won't stay the same for long!

At £25 it does seem a bit overpriced for only 8g of product however you do not need much to achieve a completely natural looking glow, it applies smoothly and evenly and doesn't leave that horrid blotched effect that reminds me of 'The Only Way is Essex'... It also has a slight shimmer that acts more like a highlight which is gorgeous for fairer skin tones without being too pigmented so that you don't look like a sparkly disco ball, I really would recommend this bronzer for the paler girls out there to try for a golden, but natural, looking glow.

I think I've found my perfect bronzer for my fair skin, what do you think? Will you be trying this out?

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