Beauty Obsessed

I have been delinquent in getting this review out, and I apologize!  Nail polish reviews are much easier because you just throw them on, snap a few shots, and go.  Personally, when I’m looking at polish swatches I want to know two things – the color, and the formula/application.  Wear time is a moot point for me because I don’t wear any color longer than 3 days.  I know that some of you likely want to know how long a polish wears, but I’ll never be that gal to give you that info – I’m sorry!  Please forgive my inadequacy in that matter.

Consequently, doing a review of makeup is trickier for me, mainly because I want to do a proper review that details wear
time – however, generally if I want a product to wear well I use a primer, which isn’t giving the true efficacy of the product.  And, because my brain is always on max capacity, on the days I decide to forgo primer to note the accurate wear of a product, I forget to notice when it begins to fade during the day and my review is henceforth not entirely complete.  Damn it!  Also, it’s hard to keep it in mind as I don’t really care if my makeup fades throughout the day, I guess because I assume that it should.  As long as it makes it past lunch, I’m happy lol.  The only thing I want to maintain is my lips, and I personally like reapplying (because that means I’m using up a product – and woo-frickin’-hoo! to that because it means I get to buy more ).  So…once again I’m failing you.  Aaaand not selling myself / reviews too well!  Don’t hold it against the blog!  At the very least, you get to see some fun products while feeling better about yourself due to reading about my own shortcomings.  So, ya’ll come back now, ya hear?

ANYWAY, enough of that.  Let’s get to the good stuff.  Like this eyeshadow duo from NARS – Grand Palais.  Wow, I like this SO much more than I thought I would!  This was a ‘OMG-I-haven’t-bought-any-makeup-this-month-and-I’m-dying-inside-and-oh-look!-I-have-a-gift-card-for -Mills-so-gimme-something-anything-I-don’t-care-what-it-is’ purchase.  Which means that I grabbed this without really thinking or even trying it on first to see if it would look stellar/hideous on me.  Thankfully, the Gods were smiling on my shopaholic-self that day and it’s fabulous.  Let’s check out why.
The left side, with the taupe shade (my first taupe if you can believe it!), is a smooth, extremely wearable shade, with good color pay-off but quite natural looking on – not too dark or light, nor too shimmery.  I always think of the golden color in the Rajasthan Duo, which is also a fantastic shade that works with pretty much everything.  With those two colors alone I feel like I have two great base shades – one cool, one warm – that can be worn alone for subtle shimmer or paired with more intense shades as a compliment.
The right side has a dusty rose color which looks gross at first glance.  That’s right, I said gross.  It just doesn’t look appealing at all.  But, in an effort to try something new (and to shop, as I mentioned), I just went with it.  I ended up really liking the way it looks on my skin – it’s sort of like a re-invented version of brown, without being quite as expected, and it adds visual interest and dimension to a look.  It’s a bit more stiff than the taupe side, but still smooth and applies well.
I tend to wear this duo two ways – either just in the crease, with the taupe shade layered over the rose side to soften it (usually for a no-makeup makeup look), or with the rose shade dusted lightly over the lid with the taupe shade in the crease/outer edge.  It sounds reversed, but I found when I wore the rose shade in the crease with the taupe on the lid, it looked strange.  With other colors it might work, but not paired together. While the rose shade is not really a ‘throw on and go’ shade, it really enhances the eye area when paired with the taupe, and I’m not disappointed in it at all.  This duo could have been a real ‘buyers regret’ purchase but thankfully it isn’t at all!  I use it quite often.  For $38 CDN, I think it earns its value in wearability.  It may not be wearable for all skintones though, so I would (smartly) check it out at the counter first.

How often do you make impulse purchases?  Do they usually end up a good thing or a mistake?

I’m off to Cape Breton for the weekend to attend a wedding and enjoy the Celtic Colors festival!!  I hope everyone has a fantastic long weekend and a great Thanksgiving (dinner)!!