NARS High Society Eye Shadow Trio: The Rundown

Let’s be honest. After getting burned by the epic fail that was NARS Christmas 2012 eye shadow trio Arabian Nights, I wasn’t going to get this.  But I’m a sucker for purples and the matte green mixed in was so different for fall I had to give it a try.

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High Society eye shadow trio from NARS Fall 2012 collection

NARS eye shadow trip offering for Fall 2012 comes in a sleek, black mirrored compact with three (3) separate eye shadow colors weighing in at 0.17oz of product.  The three colors is a shimmery lavender shade, a matte green just a shade lighter than hunter green, and an amethyst shade.

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Swatches of NARS High Society eye shadow trio (flash)

The lavender shimmer is nice, pigmented well enough but I find it lacks the iridescence of Iceland (purple side) and gold shimmer of Strada.  While I like it as a highlighter shade, NARS makes colors in their core line that do it better.  The matte green is definitely not my favorite but I also am not very fond of NARS matte colors in general. Fuji has a subtle sheen while green side of Blade Runner has more of a frost.  This matte shade serves well to darken and provide interesting contrast between the amethyst and lavender shades but not good for much else. The amethyst shimmer (my favorite color of the bunch), is pigmented nicely and I love this to smoke out my eye along w/ the lavender shimmer shade. It is slightly darker than Knight Rider.

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NARS Fall 2012 look with High Society on eyes, Outlaw on cheeks and Rouge Tribal on lips

When worn over Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candelight, I got at least 6 hours worth of wear but the color intensity wore off a bit. I couldn’t see the individual colors themselves but they did blend together for an interesting yet subtle look. As I prefer more intensity, I used Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream in #16 and only used the amethyst and lavender shades. This definitely helped to amp up the color and keep it a bit more vibrant and true to pan. The matte shade I found disappeared too quickly for my liking. Had a hard time blending it and even when worn on the lid alone it just looked ‘blah’ on me. Didn’t move me like my beloved Fuji, Blade Runner or Night Flight.

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NARS High Society Eye Shadow Trio–remixed!

While I do like two out of the three shadows in this palette, I don’t believe this is worth picking up if you are still working on your NARS eye shadow collection. I do believe you are better off picking up Strada and Fuji eye shadow singles and layering it over a cream base such as MUFE # (light purple) or Urban Decay’s Morphine shadow pencil. If you have very oily eyelids like me a an eye shadow base such as TFSI or NARS is required.

NARS High Society Eye shadow trio retails for $45 USD and is now available for purchase at NARSCosmetics.com and in Sephora stores and NARS counters at Neiman Marcus and Lord and Taylor.

Shop MAC Call Me Bubbles Eye Shadow Quad: The Rundown

It has been a long time, okay, never, that I’ve been interested in purchasing an eye shadow quad from a MAC collection. It was either the colors were too boring, or the color payoff was absolutely awful. And as much as I love my Veluxe Pearl finishes, having only one per quad wasn’t enough to make me cough up the cash to buy one.

That is, until this collection came out.

The Shop MAC portion of the Shop MAC / Cook MAC collection features three (3) eye shadow quads. They are Shop and Drop (which I skipped due to funds), Colour Added and Call Me Bubbles. Initially I was going to put the reviews of both quads in one post but I managed to find some eyeshadows in my stash (permanent and limited edition) to provide as a comparison. I am hoping this will be of help if you aren’t interested in the entire quad for whatever reason but perhaps one of the colors catches your eye enough to want something close to it.

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Cook MAC Call Me Bubbles Eye Shadow Quad

When I hear the name ‘bubbles’ I think either white or pink. Leave it to MAC to try something different. The Call Me Bubbles eye shadow quad consist of four coordinating colors. Call Me Bubbles (Satin) a slightly peachy-white, Fresh Daily (Frost) a tangy tangerine orange, Full Of Flavour (Matte) a buttery pink coral, and Brash (Veluxe Pearl) which is smooth pearly coppery goodness. All four shades work great together and the only shade I had a slight issue with was Full Of Flavour but that’s only because me and matte shades don’t get along too well. I will say compared to the hot mess that is Free To Be, it is an extreme improvement and a joy to work with.

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Call Me Bubbles quad look done by MAC MUA (wearing MAC Matchmaster foundation in 8.0) Watch Me Simmer lipstick, Optimistic Orange cremeblend blush and Wholesome fluidline

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The color in the crease is MAC Saddle eyeshadow--not in the quad but it is a permanent shade

”]20120211-223127.jpg20120211-223141.jpgCall Me Bubbles (S) is flatter of a finish and whiter as compared to Dazzlelight (VXP) and much less frosty than Rice Paper (F). It all comes down to finish when comparing this shade.

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From left: Dazzlelight (VXP), Call Me Bubbles (S), Rice Paper (F)

Fresh Daily (F) is more tangerine than Motif (F) and not as peachy coral as Paradisco (F). There is definitely a difference in color between these three shades. Fresh Daily is color that I haven’t seen in MAC’s eyeshadow lineup as it is definitely not a Matte like Orange nor a Satin finish and orange like Rule. Melon pigment might be closer.

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From left: Motif (F), Fresh Daily (F), Paradisco (F)

Full of Flavour (M) is much more coral pink than Samoa Silk (V) and slightly more pink than Free To Be (M). It is very smooth to apply like Samoa Silk and isn’t nearly as fussy as Free To Be to get great application and color payoff.

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From left: Samoa Silk (V), Full of Flavour (M), Free To Be (M)

Brash (VXP) is less red than Coppering (VXP) and has more of a peach cast than PaparazzShe (MMS/Peacocky). It is also more orange than Mythical (VXP/MAC Me Over–not pictured). This is the softest shade of the quad in texture and is the most pigmented. As it is a Veluxe Pearl (VXP) the color payoff is what I have come to expect from this finish.

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From left: Coppering (VXP), Brash (VXP), PaparazzShe (MMS)

As I am a total sucker for coral and coppery shades this quad was definitely a must have for me. It is great for creating lighter and softer looks that are easy for most people to wear. The colors aren’t necessarily unique but the performance of all four makes it definitely worth owning. If you’re not up for making the plunge for this quad, please revisit my swatches and keep them in mind when looking for comparable shades. I’m very much looking forward to using this quad–especially the gorgeous coral matte shade Full of Flavour so I can kick Free To Be to the curb.

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Call Me Bubbles quad 'softer' look with Full Of Flavour (matte) and Added Goodness fluidine. Color hack of Watch Me Simmer by using Pink Poodle lipglass over Vegas Volt

Shop MAC / Cook MAC Lipsticks: The Rundown

My mission was to get three of the lipsticks from the Shop MAC collection. I managed to pick up Watch Me Simmer (Amplified) and Quick Sizzle (Matte). Dish It Up (Lustre) I’m waiting on to arrive as it is on backorder from Nordstrom.com. As soon as I receive it I will post the review here.  This collection is on sale in North America right now and scheduled for International release in March of 2012.

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Get ya Shop MAC on!! And don't forget the 1980's Dynasty hair!

Quick Sizzle (Matte) is a surprisingly smooth pink-fuchsia lipstick. It goes on much nicer than MAC’s usual dry matte texture lippies I skip on general principle. Whatever smooth formula they put in the Iris Apfel collection matte lipsticks (of which I have a few and I love them) it’s obvious it’s been used in this shade. But like all matte lipsticks you need to make sure your lips are well hydrated/exfoliated or else this color will cling to every scrape, flake, bump, dent and pothole on your lips. It is very well-pigmented and quite stunning on cool skin tones. Quick Sizzle has more of a flat finish and more of a purple tinge as compared to Something New (Amplified/Stylishly Yours). Pink Pigeon (Matte/Iris Apfel) is definitely pinker and cooler in tone. The only lipstick color I can think of from the permanent range that comes close to this color is probably Girl About Town (Amplified) but it isn’t a matte finish.

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Shop MAC Lipstick in Quick Sizzle (Matte)

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On NW43 skin from left: Pink Pigeon (Matte), Quick Sizzle (Matte), Something New (Amplified)

Watch Me Simmer (Amplified) is well worth the hype behind its quick disappearance. A strong pink-coral, it is very pigmented and goes on smooth the way I’ve come to expect from all of the Amplified finish lipsticks I own from MAC. It is very easy to ‘overdo’ applying an Amplified lipstick so I advise using a lip brush if you are wary about this being too bright on your lips. This shade is pinker than my favorite coral lipstick of all time, Vegas Volt (Amplified/Permanent) so if you own Vegas Volt, picking up Watch Me Simmer won’t result in a duplicate. I’ve heard some people compare Watch Me Simmer to Full Speed (Sheen Supreme) and while it may look similar in the tube, on my NW43 skin it is obviously a more reddish-pink coral with more sheen. For me personally this shade of coral lipstick is more suited to cool skintones like mine where Vegas Volt seems to require I wear cooler-toned eyes to balance out the look.

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Shop MAC Lipstick in Watch Me Shimmer (Amplified)

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On NW43 skin from left: Vegas Volt (Amplified), Watch Me Simmer (Amplified), Full Speed (Sheen Supreme)

Of the two lipsticks, Watch Me Simmer is definitely the most ‘on trend’ shade to have for Spring 2012. Unfortunately it is sold out in a lot of places. MacCosmetics.com has it as ‘coming soon’ so stalk the website if you haven’t gotten your hands on a tube yet. But if you can’t get this shade don’t worry–it’s scheduled to be repromoted in the upcoming So Reel / Reel Sexy collection scheduled for release in early April. Also try pairing Vegas Volt with a light to medium pink lipglass as a ‘color hack’ of Watch Me Simmer.

Preview: Shop MAC / Cook MAC

It was ‘Game On’ today as I swung by my usual MAC boutique to pick up my Shop MAC / Cook MAC goodies!

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Big hair and bright makeup--the Shop MAC / Cook MAC collection is so me.

When the smoke cleared between what I’d reserved and what I bought as a result of my makeover, I would up with two of the eye shadow quads (Colour Added and Call Me Bubbles), two lipsticks (Quick Sizzle and Watch Me Simmer), two blushes (Florida and Optomistic Orange), and two tendertones (Purring and Hot and Saucy). I’m working on comparison swatches to post along with reviews this weekend but in the meantime enjoy the swag pics and a pic of me wearing the Call Me Bubbles trio and the pretty much sold out Watch Me Simmer lipstick.

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Da swag in packaging that reminds me of those cardboard Barbie supermarket play set...

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Colour Added quad, Quick Sizzle lipstick, Florida cremeblend blush and Hot & Saucy tendertone

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Call Me Bubbles quad, Watch Me Simmer lipstick, Optimistic Orange cremeblend blush and Purring tendertone

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The Shop MAC look feat. Call Me Bubbles eye shadow quad, Watch Me Simmer lipstick and Optimistic Orange cremeblend blush

Sneek Peek: NARS Sheer Matte Foundation

Happy New Year to you all! May 2012 bring you peace, prosperity and more blessings than you deserve and can stand.

Here is a little peek at two shades of NARS Sheer Matte foundation that I will be reviewing within the next week or so. These are samples I got from Sephora but it is enough to give you an idea of shades that are lighter and darker for women of color.

Enjoy!

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From left: Macao, Trinidad NARS Sheer Matte Foundation Swatches