Eye Shadow -NARS - Ondine
dollbird 12/24/2006 6:11:00 PM
Like others, i fell in love with this e/s when i saw it in the pan. The color is a beautiful complex blend of plum, brown, taupe, grey with shimmer. Complements my dark brown eyes, medium yellow-toned skin well. Lasting color is characteristic of all of Nars other eyeshadows, not bad, but not as good as MAC. This is no doubt a pretty color, and makes for a great neutral, but i won't repurchase if i ever run out because I can't justify spending this much (CAD$27) on a neutral e/s.
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Loose Powders -NARS - Loose Powder
dollbird 12/24/2006 6:07:00 PM
HG loose powder for me as well. This beat out my previous favourite: Jurlique silk dust, because the silk dust can leave a white cast on my face when I'm a little too heavy handed, whereas this doesn't cake on me and can be layered to achieve a beautiful matte soft-focus finish. Beach is a perfect match for my medium yellow-toned skin. I love Beach so much i bought the loose sparkling powder in Gold Rush (same shade, plus shimmer) for nights out. Oil absorption is superb. Doesn't break me out. LOTS of product for the price making it actually affordable. Perfect finishing powder for my Alima mineral foundation. No complaints and would buy again.
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Concealers -NARS - Custard
dollbird 11/14/2006 10:49:00 PM
HG concealer! Blends seamlessly into my MMM yellow-toned skin. I've got combo skin, with skin issues like acne scarring and uneven skin tone around nose and dark circles under eyes. This concealer solves them all and coupled with my Alima mineral powder, leads to complexion perfection! Gives me exactly what i ask for in a concealer- good color match, coverage and lasting quality. Also love the sleek Nars packaging.
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Blush -MAC - Satin Blush - Well Dressed
dollbird 11/14/2006 9:43:00 PM
This blush has very unfairly gotten a bad rep from medium/yellow/warm skinned girls. I couldn't disagree more. I'm medium/yellow toned/warm skinned and this is the prettiest light pink blush i have ever found. i don't mind layering for it to show up on me because it looks sooo good layered. I was looking for a light pink blush, and other light pink blushes, when layered, turn red on me. This baby has no red/brown/orange undertones and is just the perfect baby pink. Very subtle shimmer which barely shows. I pair this with Nars Laguna bronzer to get the perfect look of health.
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Lip Gloss -NARS - Orgasm
dollbird 10/31/2006 5:21:00 PM
I love the texture...moisturizing and not as sticky as MAC lipglass. I don't like how sheer and orange it looks on my pigmented MMM skintone lips. I prefer Turkish Delight.
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Makeup Brushes -MAC - Catherine Deneuve Buffer Brush
dollbird 10/31/2006 5:12:00 PM
Love this brush! Sooo dense and soft, and not scratchy at all. The permanent version is the #182 buffer brush, which has a black handle as opposed to the gold handle of the ltd. edition Catherine Deneuve brush. I use this to buff my mineral foundation. This picks up the right amount of loose powder, evenly distributing it for a flawless finish. MAC brushes are worth the splurge because of the unsurpassed quality.
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Blush -NARS - Angelika
dollbird 10/31/2006 5:05:00 PM
Blech. What a waste- such a pretty pink color in the pan, but it brought out whatever red I have in my skin, making me look slapped. The color is not very natural, so if you overdo it you'll end up looking clownish. Thank goodness I exchanged this for Deep Throat, which looks much better on my yellow-toned MMM skin. Why oh why can't Nars make a pretty pastel pink? Even Desire has too much red undertones in it..but i'll save that for another review.
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Blush -NARS - Deep Throat
dollbird 10/31/2006 5:00:00 PM
I have both Deep Throat and Orgasm, and I must say this is my favorite. They both look identical in the pan, but this is a bit more sheer and less pink. This is a lighter peach than Orgasm, so it more buildable. Goes great with Nars Laguna bronzer. Gives my MMM yellow-toned skin a beautiful healthy glow. Don't like the vulgar name...worked for Orgasm but not for this. The packaging is architectural and sleek but over time the leather picks up dirt. I love the peachy color though, so would definitely repurchase.
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Bronzers -NARS - Laguna
dollbird 10/30/2006 2:47:00 PM
HG Bronzer. I have tried many from cheap brands (Revlon, Physician's Formula) to expensive (Chanel, Bobbi Brown), and nothing compares in terms of color and quality. Like others have said, this is a true brown with no red or orange in it. It gives you a real natural tan. The subtle sparkles in it don't show up on my MMM yellow-toned Asian skin. Lasts the whole day with no need for touch-ups. Goes great with virtually any blush...but i especially love it with my Nars Angelika and Orgasm blushes. Basically everything i expect in a bronzer (except for the price hehe). Although the leather case is architecturally sleek and minimal, it gets dirty easily. Would re-purchase, since this has ended my search for the perfect bronzer.
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Eyeliner -MAC - Fluidline Eye-Liner Gel in Blacktrack
dollbird 10/28/2006 10:56:00 PM
I love MAC Fluidlines. Bought it because of the raves here, and turned out to be everything i expected and more. I have oily lids, and with or without primer, this 1) doesn't smudge or run 2) lasts all day 3) is easy to apply with my MAC 263 brush 4) versatile for all sorts of looks 5) is an intense basic black I can't live without my desert-island product!
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Powder -Bare Escentuals - BareMinerals foundation #2.3 Medium Beige
dollbird 10/17/2006 6:53:00 PM
Yuck. Ugly metallic finish. Even this shade was too pink for my yellow-toned skin. Gave me tiny clogged pores. I found my HG in Alima...which is purer than this with only four ingredients.
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Powder -Alima - Satin Matte Mineral Foundation
dollbird 10/17/2006 6:46:00 PM
HG!!! Finally, I can quit buying and testing samples. Alima is a high-quality, finely-milled, creamy MMU that comes in a wide range of shades that are categorized into bronze, golden, neutral, ebony, cool, warm and olive undertones. If you have the patience to try out samples, you will eventually hit the perfect shade. I ordered samples in G3, G4, G5, W3, W4, W5, since i'm of medium coloring with yellow undertones. So the goldens are too yellow for me. W4 is perfect. It's almost as dark as G4 except slightly less yellow. Lasting quality is superb- i'm oily and i only had to touch up once a day. One thing i really like about this is that it didn't fade or melt off throughout the day, unlike Lauress, and it didn't turn orange on me, unlike EM. But the thing i liked best is the fact that it doesn't irritate and clog my pores (BE, JI, Youngblood, EM, Lauress did), and the finish is amazing. I look poreless! The finish is not completely matte, but not as shiny as BE, giving me some radiance that i like. Coverage is good, and on par with Jane Iredale and Youngblood. Customer service is excellent. I ordered my samples a day after their 15% discount promotion ended but they sent me a cheque to reimburse me of my 15%. They also send extra free samples with every order. The only caveat i have about the foundation is that in close-up flash photography, there is a slight sheen, from the titanium dioxide as first ingredient i presume. Other than that i'm very happy and satisfied that i found the only MMU that works for me. It was a long painful road to finding out that my skin doesn't like bismuth or mica (mica is Alima's third ingredient). Anyone whose skin is similar should definitely give Alima a try.
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Treatments -Renee Rouleau - Anti-cyst treatment
dollbird 10/12/2006 1:12:00 AM
HUGE dissapointment for me. In a last ditch effort to help my hormonal acne (cysts on my chin) before visiting my derm, i tried this, hoping for miraculous results based on the reviews here. Alas, did NOTHING in terms of size, redness and pain. In contrast to the topical antibiotics i was prescribed, which shrunk my cysts in 2 days, i render RR's anti-cysts treatment as completely useless.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Shadowy Lady
dollbird 9/26/2006 4:19:00 PM
I love this shade and can never be without it! Looks good paired with practically any color. I use this at the outer corners of my lids...ideal for smoking up the eyes. Just like any MAC e/s, quality and lasting-power are great. From MAC's website: Darkly veiled-plum (matte).
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Makeup Brushes -MAC - #213 Fluff Brush
dollbird 9/26/2006 2:26:00 PM
I would repurchase, but see no reason to since i find this a good quality, hardy brush. In fact, it's the only e/s brush i use. Makes e/s application a breeze, and blends well. If you've used cheap brushes before like me, you'll notice the huge difference. A must-have in my makeup bag!
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