Lip Gloss -Chanel - Levres Scintillantes Glossimer in Silex #126
illuminate1 9/14/2009 11:25:00 AM
I am a NC35ish in complexion, this does not wash me out at all. Its a gorg apricot/peachy shade with almost a halographic shimmer inside. Its beautiful in the tube & on my lips. It doesn't look overly shimmery on but it does bring an extra pop, if that makes sense. I am always pulling this out of my lipgloss bag and that says a lot! I have way to many to ever use in my lifetime. This might actually get used up.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -NARS - The Multiple Bronzer in Rapa Nui
illuminate1 7/21/2009 11:30:00 AM
I purchased this on a whim, the MA used this in a look and I loved it. This is my first multiple and I have to say I LOVE it. I can contour a thinner face, a nose w/good bridge and a smaller forehead all with this one multiple. I love contouring.. Rapa Nui is a darker brown that can be easily blended to give your skin a bronze glow. It looks dark and intimidating but blended out its good stuff. I haven't touched my powder bronzer all summer since I had this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NYX - Root Beer
illuminate1 1/8/2009 5:03:00 PM
I love Root Beer, but its no dupe for MAC's Smoke N Diamonds. Its more smooth and has more of a purple tone to it. Here are my swatch comparisons, click continue to see: 
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NARS - Mediteranee Duo
illuminate1 1/8/2009 1:21:00 PM
I have wanted Mediteranee for a while now. I have had to stop my spending due to recession/husband job layoff but I had that Sephora discount that I didn't want to waste... Marketing genious, because I WAS on a spending freeze. It makes a beautiful summery eye look. I know its dead winter but I decided to wear today to work anyway because I feel blah. I get tired of doing neutrals every day. I work in a conservative place and I like to stir the pot everyonce in a while. I'm not trying for management so I figure what the heck, life is short and I should have fun sometimes. Esp now that I am not buying new makeup, I should use every thing I have! Today its being worn as follows: Light color washed all the way up to the brow Orange color in outter 1/3 of eye and in the crease UD Honey in the middle of lid NYX black shadow in lashline for soft liner look UD 24/7 liner in Lucky on lower lash line followed up with the orange powder
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Christian Dior - 5 Colour Eyeshadow - Sunset Cafe
illuminate1 12/10/2008 11:24:00 AM
Well I guess I am going to be one of the few to "ehh" this product.. I am just not impressed with Dior shadows. They look beautiful, not to mention the luxe packaging. But that is where my happiness stops. I try to get a nice look going but its just not showing up! I am no makeup newbie, mind you. I KNOW how to layer and use bases, etc. But when I am using a $55 eyeshadow palette I don't want to work so hard to get it to show up like it does in the pan! I just want to lay down some PP and then whip out a brush and actually SEE the colors. Can't do that with these, they are super-duper sheer and you have to layer for any type of impact. The pretty shimmer you see in the pan? A no-show on the eyes. I am a person of *light* color (dark brown hair & eyes medium skintone) and I just don't think Dior works well with anything my level or darker. I'm taking it back to Nordies. I would rather have a color show up too much and sheer it out than barely show up and have to build it/pile it on. With Dior, I will stick to the lipsticks/glosses. Now those really ARE nice.
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Palettes -NARS - Holiday Palette 2008 Palette #9947
illuminate1 12/4/2008 2:16:00 PM
I love NARS, so I usually like their products. This is no exception! The colors included in this are: Bohemian Gold, Himalayas, Kilimanjaro, Night Flight, Ondine & Surabaya. I am very excited to see Night Flight in this set, because it was not in the Night Series Palette and I didn't want to purchase it as a single. Night Flight makes a beautiful liner color and will make a brown eye pop. Ondine is truly pretty though not a strong color. A cream base makes this color stronger and the shimmers stick. Surabaya II is a really nice pigmented red/brown. Kilimanjaro looks quite like Smashbox's Oyster.. It seems white until you use it and it has a golden/yellow sheen. GREAT highlight. I haven't been impressed with Himalayas yet but haven't really played around enough for a final verdict yet. Pictures below, click continue..
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NARS - Galapagos single
illuminate1 12/4/2008 1:22:00 PM
Oh Galapagos, how much to I love you?! Went to my MA at NARS naked faced and asked her to make me up. I was not dissappointed! She ended up using all kids of light blues and taupes and just a hint of Galapagos in the crease. It was beautiful. Since bringing this color home I have paired it many ways. I use creme shadow duo Summertime all over lid then apply California all over and Galapagos in the crease to make a beautiful orange/brown look. I have used it with Alhambra Duo and April Fools Duo, all very very beautiful. Its richly pigmented and if you want the gold to show all you need is a little cream shadow laid down first (which I do anyway so this doesn't bother me). I anticipated the arrival of this color, and it turned out to be all that I had wanted it to be. I makes me happy just seeing it in my traincase! I wanted to attach some swipe pictures to compare it next to Cordura and a few other NARS browns. Click Continue to see.. 
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - You Don't Know Jacques!
illuminate1 12/4/2008 1:09:00 PM
I am quite pleased with this color. Its a beautiful taupe and one might even be tempted to call it gray. I can't call it gray because I had China Glaze Recycle first and THAT is grey. This has a touch of brown in it and it makes it a much warmer color than the other. I love Recycle and this is a great alternative! I have attached pictures of both Recycle and YDKJ so you can compare the colors side by side. Click continue to see.. YDKJ
Recycle 
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -MAC - Cult of Cherry
illuminate1 12/3/2008 3:42:00 PM
A very pigmented lipgloss indeed! I purchased to use with my Port Red or my NARS Flaminco and its very complimentary to both. I am wearing today alone and its also nice by itself. I have reds but wear them only occasionally. I am going to make more of an effort to USE what I buy!
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Palettes -Christian Dior - Dior Deluxe Travel Palette
illuminate1 11/21/2008 11:32:00 AM
I actually WANT to like this more than I do. The colors look amazing, the blush and what they call bronzer (to me it's a highlight, too light to bronze anything) the eyeshadows all look lovely. They even seem to swatch nicely. So why a 3? Because I am starting to really believe that Dior is for light skinned white women only. I am a medium toned latina and I haven't had much luck with Dior eyeshadows. I don't expect every color to be bright but I shouldn't have to stamp every color over and over for it to show up slightly! It makes for a very lovely au natural look but there is no way I can get an evening look out of this. When you travel you WANT that as an option so you don't have to take an entire traincase. So I don't HATE it, as it can look lovely, I just am not overjoyed by it. For $70.00 I should sing its praises. I love the gloss and will eventually get a full size when I run out. I didn't take it back to the store but I wouldn't purchase again nor suggest to a non-white friend.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Velvet Teddy
illuminate1 11/21/2008 11:19:00 AM
VT. I've had it for the longest time and only worn it a few. So I decided to pull it out of the lipstick collection and put it in purse rotation. Since I have it out now I have decided I do, in fact, like it. I personally cannot wear this alone due to my skin color, It would look like death to my lips. However, its LOVELY as a base to a gloss. It allows the gloss color to show more truly on my pigmented lips. It neutralizes my natural lip color. I also like the matte effect, for me this seems to last longer and allows the color to lay down w/o getting all mixed into the gloss. I find sometimes that really creamy lipsticks don't last long when topped with gloss. Not a problem at all with VT. So a great base yes! Alone color? No.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Christian Dior - Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect 257 Rose Organdi
illuminate1 10/31/2008 2:51:00 PM
I love my lips while wearing this gloss. Its sheer with very fine shimmers that leave my lips looking juicy but not overly wet like some glosses do. I have SOO many lip products that I really should stop the madness of getting more. Even so I am glad I have added this to my collection.. Looks good alone or over lipstick/lipliner. It lasts nicely and when it wears down doesn't look like you got smacked in the lips by pixi dust. I love the brush applicator much more than the doe foot. I got this in a mini size with the travel set, when I run out I may actually rebuy!
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Eye Shadow -Smashbox - Eye Shadow Single - 24K
illuminate1 9/26/2008 12:07:00 PM
This color is quite beautiful. Lately, I haven't been interested in anything but my beloved NARS (with exception of the spiced chocolate quad from MAC). My fav NARS makeup artist left Neimans and went to Nordstroms which does not have a NARS counter, much to my dismay. So she switched over to Smashbox. I was dissappointed. She knew her NARS to a T, much more than the Sephora MA's who are clueless most of the time. I really think they carry too many lines and are not trained enough to know any of them well. I mean come on, how do you NOT know that Turkish Delight is a Lip Gloss?? Sorry to go off on a tangent, I will get back to the business of reviewing this color.. This eyeshadow has a lovely buttery smooth quality. This is a golden gold whereas UD's Honey or NARS Goldfinger are more of a yellow gold. I have found this color looks amazing paired with the MAC Spiced Chocolate quad where I found Nanogold lacking. Its higly pigmented so this will last forever I am sure. I like the rubberized packaging but I do not like the screwtop. I don't enjoy taking the extra time to unscrew and then in my morning rush have to find the lid to put back on again. I would buy this again but doubt I will ever need too.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NARS - Thunderball single
illuminate1 9/23/2008 10:33:00 AM
This is a highly pigmented gorgeous grey-blue color. Like the previous reviewer, I am wearing as liner today with my NARS best of Nordstrom palette and it makes a great statement with neutrals. I have also worn as a crease color and just a dab will do ya! Its so so very pigmented and vibrant, soft and luxurious. This will last forever because its so finely milled and strong but if I ever ran out I would get again. I wasn't initially impressed with it in the pan (it bored me) but once I used it I understood the reason its so highly rated. Highly recommend!
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Polishes -Unlisted Brand - Finger Paints If It Ain't Baroque Don't Fix It!
illuminate1 9/9/2008 11:10:00 PM
The very beginning of Spring, when I was totally embracing my corals, yellows,oranges and girly pinks, I saw this color in the sale section at Sallys. Thinking ahead, I grabbed it up for when the time would be right. So so glad I did. In this picture, it seems as though I may need one more coat but I didn't notice this until I took the picture. So its a great plum and I the wear was very nice! This was taken on day 4 or 5 and yes I know my cuticle area is a hot mess.. Click continue to see.. 
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No