Nars Larger than Life eyeliner in Via Veneto

Right: Heavily swatched  Left: Swatched once

  I've heard youtubers missglamorazzi and FleurDeForce rave about the Nars Larger Than Life eyeliners. And luckily, I received it in Via Veneto as a birthday gift from my dear friend Vanessa! Via Veneto is just a plain very pigmented black. I was surprised by how creamy this liner was, it was nothing that I have ever experienced with eyeliners before (mostly just drugstore liners). It glides on extremely creamy and "dries" to a waterproof finish. But the creaminess also made it unfit for tight-lining (filling in the spaces between the lashes), since it's so soft, a lot of it caught on my lashes and made a mess when i blink.


  I have worn this to my sweaty jazz class (normal lining, no tight-lining) and really surprisingly nothing budge on my left eye (where the fold of my eye does not overlap with my lash line) despite using no primer. But as usual, my right side was not so lucky (fold overlaps with lash line), liner turned into a complete mess.


  It is a twist up pencil (I have vowed never to buy any kind of pencil that needs sharpening) with a sharpener at the end for you to sharpen the "lead" when it goes blunt, which is quite useful considering the "lead" is quite thick (very similar to what you get in a non-twist up pencil).


  Over all, I quite like this pencil, it's is creamy enough to be smudged for a smoky effect, but waterproof enough to endure my oily eyelids. It does make me want to purchase the liner in Rue Bonaparte (a skin tone peach color) for my lower waterline

November Favourites 2012

Yay! December is coming! Sad thing is that I've already gotten rather sick, so please excuse the lazy polyvore assemble of my monthly favourites.

Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer --- Light 02 Alaska

This stuff is amazing, although it provides very sheer coverage, you can tell your skin looks better and more even. But you definitely need a concealer if you have any spots or dark circles. This retails at Hong Kong for HKD$420, which is a lot pricier than what you can get at UK (£27) and US ($42)

Nars Blush --- Douceur

This is a pinky-brown blush (more to the brown side) that gives natural contours to the face. I think it's more like a contour than a blush (gives small amount of color to the face, but contours more). Great for subtle definition, plus it's kind of like a two in one product. Very sheer, but buildable. Retails at HK Nars counter for HKD$280.

Max Factor Lash Extension Effect Mascara ---- Washable Waterproof Black

First, this is not waterproof. I'd say it's water resistant, so don't be fooled. But what I like about this mascara is that it gives length and slight bit of volume ever so naturally, it does not clump my lashes together and people will barely notice you have any mascara on, but makes your lashes significantly longer than with no mascara on. It's also incredibly easy to wash off in the shower, another plus for lazy people like me. It is also quite a good dupe for cover girl's lash blast length, they have the same brush. Retails for about HKD$138.

Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stain ---- Honey

This balm stain is a pretty pinky rose my-lips-but-better color, it looks very natural and also quite pigmented, one swipe gives back the life to your lips. It does stay quite long as a stain, and fades evenly. Almost no touch up is required because this color is so natural, another plus again for lazy people. Retails for HKD$98.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

I've been really spotty this month, plagued by some less evil cystic acne, regular acne and comedones. Although it does not look incredibly horrible, it's bad enough that my regular tea tree oil treatment can't handle, I remember I have a small sample of this thing lurking around in my samples pile and decided to give it a try, although it did not clear away everything over night, my bumps felt significantly less rough and I went to get the full size. Althoguh I have only been using this for a few days to a week, this is definitely one of the favorites of the month. Retails for HKD$260. 

NARS Exhibit A Review

NARS's products are well known for its high pigmentations. This is what I love about Nars, you get what you paid for.

Exhibit A is very bright orangy red colour, when applied on the cheeks with a very light hand, it does looks pink. It is a Satin finish in my opinion, there are no shimmer in this product which I love about! If there are shimmers in it, it would appear too dramatic and it wouldn't be as awesome as it is now.

Exhibit A is an orangey red colour, very bright and vibrant. 

This is one application, see how bright it looks! You can also use it for an eyeshadow, for Chinese traditional qipao. or even a very fun party look.

On the left was the swatches with my finger and on the right i swiped it on with a brush. I do recommend using a foundation underneath this blush, as  you can see it my viens are showing through and you can see it's a little uneven on the swatch on the right hand side. 

I've used Mac's 168 angled face brush to apply that.

This is how it looks on me! It is really not that dramatic if you apply it with a very light hand. It has a pinkish tone to it.  But of course, with this blush you can build it up into a really vibrant colour! I paired off this look with a strong brow and winged eyeliner to match with the blush color. 

Again, this is not an easy blush to use for beginners, it could appear patchy if applied in a wrong way. I definitely need to use a foundation underneath just to even out my skin colour before using this blush, to avoid patchiness. Do not use it on the apples of the cheeks if you are doing an everyday look, it will make you look old! or make you look like a clown!

This product is very diverse, you can use it for many things and many looks! Do not think that just because it's a bright colour you cannot wear it everyday, you can! I've been wearing this for a day and it is still as vibrent as it looks when I applied it in the morning, this gives you a health glow in day light even though it's a satin texture. I definately recommend this product!

xxx
Vanessa