NARS NARSissist Blush, Contour, And Lip Palette

 

Looks so beautiful right?

Spring 2015 is here! Spring is a season in which many popular cosmetic brands launch their limited editions or seasonal products. NARS is one such brand.

As promised in one of my previous posts, today I am going to review the NARS NARSissist Blush, Contour, And Lip Palette.

Since this is a limited edition, I couldn't wait for it to arrive at my local store. I made a pre-order with Sephora, and after some waiting, it finally reached my hands!

Details taken from Sephora website:
What it is:
A limited-edition cheek and lip palette.

What it does:
This unique palette can be used to give cheeks and lips a shimmery wash of color. Featuring NARS’ Laguna bronzing powder, Albatross highlighting blush, three limited-edition blushes, and Istria lip gloss, it’s all encased in a take-anywhere NARSissist mirrored palette.

This set contains:
- 3 x 0.1 oz Blush in Roman Holiday (pretty pastel pink), Enrapture (pink terracotta), Enthralled (toasted rose/shimmer)
- 0.12 oz Highlighting blush in Albatross (luminous glow)
- 0.15 oz Bronzing powder in Laguna (brown powder/gold shimmer)
- 0.12 oz Lip gloss in Lstria (pink glace) 

Price in SGD: 65.00


 Let's take a closer look at the colours in the palette before I show you the swatches.

Shot taken indoor without flash lighting

Shot taken indoor with flash lighting

The bronzer + highlighter is below the blushes compartment. The lipgloss fits into its own compartment, where my watermark is, as in the above pic.



Now, let's check out the swatches:

Taken in natural daylight outdoor

 What do you think of the colours? Well, perhaps let me model the colours on my face for you, and we can decide if we like it later. :)

Putting on my first layer of foundation with a beauty blender dupe

Sorry if this pic scares you a bit, but yes, that's my bare face with just a light layer of not-yet-properly-blended foundation. (My hubby thinks I look most beautiful like this, so he decided to take this photo of me as I was prepping to test out the NARS NARSissist Blush, Contour, And Lip Palette.)

If you're curious what I am currently using to blend my foundation/BB cream/CC cream, it is a Beauty Blender dupe I purchased from Qoo10.sg at three for SGD9.99 + 3.90 shipping charges.

Also featuring my all-time fave $2 Daiso sponge cleaner in a bottle!

I have not tried the actual Beauty Blender yet. It is indeed a challenge for me to justify spending over SGD30 for a sponge! Maybe one day I will get it, just for kicks. At the moment, however, I am truly satisfied with my "fake eggs". LOL.

Moving back to testing out the NARS NARSissist Blush, Contour, And Lip Palette on my face....

My pale face before blusher, contour, highlighter. Wearing its lip gloss though.

The moment I opened my NARS NARSissist Blush, Contour, And Lip Palette, I immediately fell in love with the blush in Enrapture. I have been looking for a quality pink blusher with slightly cool undertones. Most of my blushers are coral pink, so this is a refreshing change for me.

Swipe swipe with my Real Techniques blush brush

The mirror on this compact is really handy; it comes on both sides! Opened or closed, you see a mirror!

Swipe on the other cheek!

Applying blusher is the most delightful step in a makeup routine, don't you think so? There's just something so therapeutic about using a fluffy blush and dusting pinky colours on the apple of your cheeks!

Shot taken indoor with natural sunlight

How do I look with the blush in Enrapture? Not bad right? 

With my yellow undertones skin, I hardly find blushers with cool undertones looking this good on me! The colours are actually very pigmented, so I only patted a very thin layer on my cheeks. You know, I am into Korean makeup looks, and they are not into bright blush colours nor very pigmented blushers. This "lighter" look fits me perfectly!

Now moving to contouring & highlighting...

On a day-to-day basis, most Singaporean ladies find it cumbersome to put on contouring/sculpting powders/bronzers & highlighters. Some are afraid their faces may look overly dramatic if they contour their faces on a normal working day. I think otherwise - I am afraid of not looking my best on any day. Haha!
Hence I contour my nose every day, and I often contour my jawline too. The only time I skip contouring is when I am going for a workout. If you love taking selfies, contouring & highlighting is a must! It makes a huge difference in your photos!

Here, I am using the new Bold Metal Collection eyeshadow brush from Real Techniques to contour my nose. This collection is not available in Singapore as of now. My husband got it from London.

Makeup all done!

LOTD 2 March '15

My Final Thoughts on the NARS NARSissist Blush, Contour, And Lip Palette:

PROS

• Pigmented- a little bit goes a long way. Save money in the long run.
• Powder is quite fine and of good quality.
• A well-balanced mix of coral, pink and brownish shimmery blush colours.
• Natural yet buildable bronzer & exceptionally beautiful highlighter 
• This particular bronzer works pretty well as a sculpting powder too. (Do you know the difference between bronzing powder & sculpting powder? They are not the same!)
• All colours in the palette work well for most skin tones
• Didn't break me out after a day's wear.

CONS:

• Fragile packaging - mirror on the front can crack/break easily. For some reason, the mechanism of the box sometimes make it difficult for short nails to lift up the flap that separates the blushes and the bronzer/highlighter.
•  Except for Roman Holiday and Albatross, the rest of the colours are too dark orangey-brown for my liking.
•  The lip gloss colour isn't anything exceptional; just a simple light pink gloss.
• Doesn't come with brushes.
• Needs a little touch-up after 5 hours.

Overall Product rating:

Or if you are an avid fan of NARS who happen to love limited edition palettes.