NARS Sheer Glow Foundation and Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer review

So I've been trying out some new products for the past few days and I am very impressed. I recently decided to venture forth from my love of mineral foundation into the land of the unknown, liquid foundation. I also decided that I wanted to try some primers because so many makeup gurus swear that they're a must have.

I had first thought that I would try the Laura Mercier oil-free tinted moisturiser because it has good reviews and I was interested, but then I discovered that Mecca Cosmetica sells cosmetic brands that are usually only sold in pretty much every country other than Australia, AND there is one in Queen St Mall which is where I go for all of my cosmetic needs (there's a Lush there).

So I mosey on down there, into Mecca and head straight for the NARS section. It was all so very pretty. So I got a sample of NARS Sheer Glow in Deauville (which I have learnt is pronounced kind of like "doorville") and the sales assistant also put some primer on my skin when she tested the colours on me, so I also got a sample of the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, I've been using the samples for the past few days and I am oh so very pleased.My skin hasn't broken out or gotten even a little bit irritated, and that's saying something for my extremely sensitive skin.

NARS Sheer Glow looks so nice and I don't need very much to cover everything, so I think a bottle will last me a very long time. It has a dewy finish, but not too dewy, more luminous than anything. The packaging is simple, glass bottle with a screw on lid, no pump. The colour selection is really good too, heaps to choose from and I'd say I have my colour matched very well with Deauville.

The Hourglass primer is awesome as well, the texture is really nice, like silky smooth kind of texture in liquid form, not silicone-y feeling at all...weird and nice at the same time. The packaging is really good too, it comes in a sturdy frosted glass bottle with a pump, which is super awesome as I've had to order a pump for NARS, and it just generally looks fancy, which you would expect as it is a bit pricey, but definitely worth it. Also the pump screws off, so once you've used it all, you can reuse the bottle for something else.
It keeps my skin softly matted, not too matte, which I like about it, I'm all about the dewy with my dry skin, and the NARS Sheer Glow stayed on all through my shopping trip and other adventures, looking pretty well perfect by the end of each day.

So if you're interested in either then definitely get yourself some samples, try them out and maybe come back to get the full sized, and I would recommend you buy the NARS pump if they have them wherever you buy it (they didn't at my Mecca), I don't like having to tip out a certain amount of the bottle.

Daily makeup routine

My makeup routine changes very often, I like to try new products until I'm sure I have what works the best and then wait a little bit until new things come out and continue my search. My school makeup routine would comprise of mineral foundation/tinted moisturiser, concealer, blush and Lush Snow Fairy lip tint.

Things I use often

Weekends and holidays are usually a lot more elaborate.
1. Prime. An important step in my makeup routine. Priming keeps anything that you apply to your face in place and decreases shine, it also creates a smooth canvas for foundation to glide over. I have been using Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer lately and I'm loving it, because it's a liquid mineral primer it feels really interesting when you apply it, also really hard to describe. It hasn't irritated my skin so far and it neutralises a lot of discolouration and makes my foundation look even more luminous. So I dot it on my face, not much, probably one or two dots per face section, eg. left cheek, right cheek, forehead, nose, chin; and rub it in so that it covers my entire face. I then wait for it to sink in and set a bit, while I'm waiting I would apply an eye primer to the lid and underneath the eye to keep concealer and shadows from creasing. I've been using Smashbox Photo Finish lid primer, not sure how I feel about this one, it gets the job done, but I'm sure there are better ones out there (I will soon be trying the Urban Decay Primer Potion that so many people love).

2. Foundation. I enjoy playing with different foundations, so I usually do full foundation when I go out on weekends. Right now I'm trying out NARS Sheer glow and loving it so far. I also dot it on two to three dots per face section and blend it in with the Sigma F84 brush, this is my current favourite brush for foundation, it creates an air brushes finish and doesn't absorb product.

3. Concealer. I apply it with my fingers and blend it under my eyes, around my nose and on any blemishes. I'm using Maybelline Fit Me concealer right now, but I don't really like it, I think I'll go back to the Lancome Effacernes concealer.

4. Blush. Loving benefit tint/blushes at the moment, probably because it's so damn hot and I don't like to have heaps of powder on my face when I'm going to sweat it off, so cheek tints works much better. I apply a few swipes on the apples of my cheeks and blend outward with my fingers. I also like that I don't have to wash brush when I use these blushes.

5. Eyeshadow. I've been enjoying using a pearly yellow/white colour as a base and then a soft brown in the crease lately, but I usually like to go more dramatic if it's the weekend because I can't experiment with eyeshadows during the week. So I would apply a base colour of my choosing, for example, a soft pink, then blend a much darker mauve-y pink into the crease and maybe darken it more with MAC Carbon or an even darker pink. Then apply MAC Blanc Type with a fluffy brush on the brow bone and blend out harsh lines. And apply a highlight colour to the brow bone, I like Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in Tattle Tale.

6. Eyeliner. I nearly always use a gel/cream eyeliner, I like the control the brush gives you and the range of colours that they come in. I really like MAC Fluidlines, but haven't tried many others, so I still need to try some before I can say which is my favourite. For the pink eyeshadow, I would use a brown eyeliner, so it's not too harsh, or you can use purple if you like. So apply a thin line across the eye and maybe wing it out slightly or thicken it at the outer corner. I use Benefit Get Bent liner brush, but I like to use a thin, dense painters brush as well.

7. Mascara. Pretty self explanatory, curl your lashes, apply mascara. My current favourite waterproof (it has been raining so goddamn much lately) mascara is the Bloom Full & Flirty Waterproof mascara. After using that I comb them with a lash spooly. And my favourite non-waterproof is Benefit BadGal Plum (as you can tell, I quite enjoy Benefit products), it looks really good with green or blue eyes and makes the whites of the eyes appear whiter and brighter.

8. Brows. Since I've dyed my hair, I fill in my brows if I'm going out. I use a brownish colour (Mudpie by Lily Lolo) that is similar to the hair surrounding my face and fill them in with the angled brush from EcoTools, starting from the centre and working to the tail, then using the leftover on the brush at the innermost part.

Tada! Done! Happy, fun times and partying now.

New weird shoes - Vibram FiveFingers

So I bought some new shoes today, or more so my lovely father bought me some shoes he thinks are strange for Christmas. So I bought Vibram FiveFingers Barefoot shoes, and let me tell you, they are both really cool and really, quite horribly, ugly. So ugly that I don't think I'd have the guts to wear them in public, but they'll be perfect for running...maybe hiking, if I did that sort of thing.

So these shoes "replicate bare feet" in order for a bunch of awesome things to happen, I have come to understand that barefoot shoes
- Are better for your posture
- Allow you to run faster and further
- Eliminate pressure on joints whilst running
- Allows for people that like running barefoot, such as myself, to no longer fear stepping on something dangerous when not on the treadmill.

So a few things I have to say about the Vibram FiveFingers:
- They're awesome.
- Super comfortable
- Really damn hard to put on, though apparently after a few times it gets easier
- Once again, really comfy
- Frickin' weird looking

- I haven't actually run with them on yet, but they're damn fine walking shoes
- Dry quite quickly
- Breathable

I vant to make ze youtube video!

So I'm thinking of making youtube videos...but it' frightening. I feel like I know stuff that other people would want to know (beauty/makeup related), but I can't convey it properly in the written word, so I must venture into motion picture! Also, no one reads my blog anyway, so all of that knowledge is being wasted!

Videos makes me nervous because I'm self conscious about my voice, I feel like it's really weird and too deep or something, so that's the main issue, also just being filmed in general, not knowing what I'm doing, talking to myself, staring at myself in the camera - turning into a crazy cat lady, that would be quite terrible.

Haters, bitches, trolls, etc. Bitches being crazy.

I think I'm going to do it, but probably start with no sound, just text and music (and the video tutorial obviously), it still freaks me out though.



I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow, going somewhere new for a change. Not sure how I feel about it. I love my hair dresser, they know me, they're nice, she cuts my hair to my liking; I feel a bit like I'm betraying her, she probably didn't notice, but it all feels a little crooked.


Arrrgh! My room is dusty. My entire room and everything in it is covered in dust and I can't stand it. My hands feel both dry and dirty at the same time and all of my bathroom things are in boxes (dust from bathroom renovating), so I don't know where any hand cream is and I'm tried, so I don't want to go searching for it. My life is so hard! Dusty, icky room.

I'm going to go and take some pain killer because my teeth gosh darn hurt so freaking much right now

Damn you, orthodontist lady! Damn you!

Creamy garlic prawns turned soy sauce garlic prawns

So I made myself an interesting dinner tonight, it started off as being creamy garlic prawns and then quickly turned into soy sauce garlic prawns (Benihana shrimp style?) after I had added the garlic.

I was a little dubious after I added the soy sauce, it smelt a bit strong, but it turned out freaking awesome, so definitely try it!

Recipe
Prawns (can be cooked or uncooked, I used cooked, if uncooked just fry them in the soy sauce for longer)
Soy sauce
A small amount of butter
Garlic
Ginger
Rice, or whatever your preferred side dish is

1. Peel your prawns, leaving the tails on, ick, my least favourite thing about prawns, they taste damn good, but their beady little eyes creep me out.
2. Heat some butter in a frying pan over fairly high heat, wait until it all melts
3. Add 2-ish cloves of garlic, minced, depending on how garlicy you like it, I like it very garlicy, add a small amount of ginger, we're talking like a pinch of minced ginger, and stir
4. Add your prawns to the pan and stir them around.
5. Fry the prawns on high heat, leaving them to brown a bit for a minute or so and then flipping them, doesn't have to be specific, just kind of stir them around
6. Once the prawns are crispened to your liking add some soy sauce, about 2 table spoons, more or less, once again, depending on your preferences, and stir them around
7. Leave the soy sauce to reduce a bit and eat!

The finished product

This is my prawn heads bag

Favourite things of 2011

Numero uno!
Just in general, Sigma brushes. They are the bomb, super dope, high quality, but also very cheap brushes. I love all of mine, they are most definitely comparable to MAC brushes. My favourites especially are the Sigmax kabuki brushes, love the F80 and F82. Neither of them shed at all, like literally not one hair has come off of them in the months that I have owned them.

The F80 is my favourite for liquid foundation, stipple it on, then buff it in. It gives a flawless finish and doesn't absorb the product.

The F82 is my favourite for mineral foundation, just blend it straight onto the face and it all looks perfect and lovely.

Deus
Lush Ultrabland is the best thing to happen to my face in the whole of forever, that shit is insane. Like, life changingly insane.

You can read about my love for it here and also here, because I love it that damn much.

Sanban
Apples. Before I got my braces off this year, I hadn't bitten into an apple in two damn years. The day after I got them off I was on block exams, so I brought an apple with me to eat as a way of celebrating finishing my math exam. When I got out of that test, I was so excited. I took my apple out of my bag, brought it to my lips and stopped. I couldn't even remember how to eat a damn apple, it took my friends' encouragement and getting over the fear that my teeth will break off, but I bit into that apple and it was the best damn apple of my entire life.

I will never forget that apple.

Quatro
The NARS Beautiful Life Palette is so awesome. Before I bought it I hadn't tried any NARS products (damn you, Australia), but now I am so addicted, I must order more! The lip colours in it are super pigmented for non stick lippies, I especially love the darker pink on the right side, Funny Face, that looks really lovely. The multiples are cool, I don't really see all the hype with Orgasm, it's a pretty pink and all, but I'm pretty sure it's all in the name, well done, NARS, well done. Copacabana is an awesome highlighter, I use it all over my face (brow bone, cheeks, nose) and it looks very nice. The packaging is really good, it zips up and it has a huge mirror above the colours.

Fem
Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows in general are darn awesome, great pigmentation, stay fairly well and are pearly, but not super shimmery, but I love them especially in Busy Signal, Get Figgy and Tattle Tale. I like Busy Signal and Get Figgy as crease colours and Tattle Tale is an awesome highlight colour, also a nice lid colour.

Seks
Lancome Color Fever lipstick in 312 Pink in the Limo is a super pretty bright pink colour that I love wearing underneath Lush Snow Fairy lip tint. It's a nice pop of colour, that isn't too dramatic and I think would look good on all pale gals, but it's sadly been discontinued, though I'm sure there are a lot of dupes.

Shtatë (That's Albanian for "seven")
MAC fluidline eye liners in Blacktrack and Dipdown are my favourite gel eyeliners, granted, I haven't tried many, but these have served me well for some time now. Blacktrack is very black and is easy to make thick or subtle lines with and Dipdown is a softer brown colour that looks good for less dramatic eye looks. They are fairly water-proof, don't smudge and go on nicely.

Otto
Benefit cheek and lip stains, I love them all, Posietine, Cha Cha tint and Benetint, they're all awesome, interesting and fun to use. Great pigmentation, not too much so as it being too hard to get the right amount, but you also don't have to apply a heap to get some colour, love 'em.

Nege
Benefit Get Bent liner brush. When I bought this a while ago, I loved it, then I started trying new brushes and like them more, now I've come back to it and once again I love it. You can create both really thin and really thick lines with it and the bent head makes it really easy to use. Also, I've had it for ages and it hasn't split or frayed.

Tíz
Laura Mercier Tightline Cake eye liner is da bomb. So good for really thin lines and I like that because it's a powder, it allows less bacteria to collect. It's also a bit interesting and different from the normal eye liners on the market and it seems fairly water-proof so far. I just use normal water with it, as I've read some bad reviews of the activator liquid.

Ellefu
Benefit Badgal Plum mascara is my favourite mascara of all time, I just wish it was water-proof, even still, I'll wear it in the rain because it looks so good. It doesn't clump or give you spider lashes or anything bad, it just looks awesome and the purple colour makes your eyes look brighter and whiter.

Twaalf
The British TV show, Misfits, is my current favourite show. Even without Nathan, who was so freaking funny, it's still awesome. I've grown to like Rudy and I'm really enjoying the non-romance between Kelly and Seth. I love Kelly. I fookin' love her!

Well, that's about it, I'm going to go and watch Misfits now, catch ya tomorrow!