NARS Mesopotamia Eye Paint Review, Photos, Swatches!

NARS Mesopotamia Eye Paint

NARS Mesopotamia Eye Paint ($25) is a multi-use eye product that can be both used as a cream eyeshadow and an eyeliner. It provides high-impact pigment with a silky, weightless feel. It glides on the skin smoothly and quickly dries down to a budge-proof finish.

So, you've tried one gel/cream eyeliner and you think you've tried them all. Well, despite the similarities between different brands of gel eyeliners, the formulas can differ quite a bit. Some formulas are drier than others, some are creamier, some are budge-proof and some smudge to no end.

I don't ask for much when I'm looking for a good potted eyeliner. My only requests are that the formula is smooth so that it will provide clean lines, opaque color and that it won't smudge/fade or crumble after several hours of wear.

I love the texture of NARS Eye Paint. The formula is more of a gel than a cream, as it has quite a bit of slip to it. Because of the slippery texture, it's very ideal for smudging and creating a smoked out eye. As with many cream products, once you apply it to your lid, you have to smudge it quickly, otherwise it won't budge. I love that fact that it doesn't set so quick that you have to worry about it drying before you're finished working with it (such as MAKE UP FOREVER Aqua Creams). It really smokes out nicely with a blending or smudge brush, and the intensity can be built up with additional layers.

Mesopotamia is a very dark intense brown. I think it's a great color for every day and I actually most of the time prefer it over black as it works well with my warm coloring and has a softer look. I've actually been using it on my eyebrows as well. For the brows, a little goes a very long way and I only have to lightly touch the product with the tip of the brush to fill in one of my brows completely.

The lasting power is very good. I notice that when If I don't apply a base, I'll have some fading when used as an eyeshadow, but when applied as an eyeliner it lasts well throughout the day. On my brows, the color doesn't budge all day.

Swatches of NARS Mesopotamia Eye Paint

NARS Mesopotamia smudged and lined on my upper and lower lash line as well as applied to my eyebrows

Million Dollar Tan Cabana Tan Extreme Face & Body Lotion Review!

Million Dollar Tan Cabana Tan Extreme Face & Body Lotion

Million Dollar Tan Cabana Tan Extreme Face & Body Lotion ($66) is Million Dollar Tan's Best Selling Formula for long-lasting, natural, ultra-bronzed color. It's made with organic ingredients and is paraben free.

I jumped on the Million Dollar Tan bandwagon after it seemed like every Youtube beauty guru was raving about it and deeming it their all-time favorite self tanner. Despite the hefty price tag, I gave in with expectations of a beautiful, deep tan.

I really like the consistency of the lotion. It's thin - therefore it smoothes on the skin easily and doesn't leave a heavy feeling on the skin. Also, the lotion isn't tinted, which has it's advantages as well as disadvantages. I really like the fact that it isn't tinted because it allows me to apply the lotion to my neck, chest and body in the morning after my shower, and I can look forward to bronzed skin hours later. The only disadvantage is that since it isn't tinted, you can easily miss areas of your body since it goes on clear. To avoid streaking/missing areas, work in small areas at a time.

Application

I don't typically like using my bare hands to apply self tanner, but it's my preferred method with this particular tanner. Latex gloves streaked the product on my skin and wouldn't properly blend, and a mitt seemed to absorb too much product. To apply, I would just simply pump some product into my palm and apply it to my skin as I would a normal body lotion - in circular buffing motions. To make the product go a little further, I'd like to add a pump of regular body lotion to every two pumps of self tanner. For my neck/chest, I like to be a little darker, so I usually apply around two layers of product. It dries pretty quickly, so once dry, you can apply another coat of product for a darker result.

*To avoid orange knees, elbows and feet, I will use a small amount of body lotion and rub it into those areas before and after applying the self tanner.

To avoid over-tanned hands and palms, I typically wash my hands a couple of times through the application process.

Estee Lauder Pure Color High Intensity Lip Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches!

Estee Lauder Pure Color High Intensity Lip Lacquer

Estee Lauder Pure Color High Intensity Lip Lacquer ($25) is described as a full-impact liquid lipstick with high lacquer shine. This new collection of Lacquers is part of Estee Lauder's Fall '13 Metallics Collection that is centered around highly reflective and glass-like finishes for multi-dimesional color. So, if you're looking for a product with loads of color and a high gloss shine, these are it! The formula is also creamy and hydrating with a blend of Vitamins C, E and Conditioners. Available in (12) shades.

Liquid Petal is a medium-dark neutral peach with a hint of pink. It also has a some flecks of very subtle shimmer.

Chrome Kimono is a cool, medium rosy pink with bright pink shimmer.

Fuchsia Flash is a bright blue pink with purple and pink iridescent shimmer.

Hot Cherry is a true cherry red with shimmer. It's a beautiful holiday red that will flatter all skin tones.

Ruby Glow is a deep black cherry with no shimmer.

Electric Wine is a deep ripened plum with shimmer.

The consistency of these lip lacquers are really thick - maybe somewhat comparable to MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass, but they aren't at all sticky. Because of the consistency, sometimes adding a lip balm prior can help add a bit of slip to your lips for these lacquers to glide across, as you might find that you'll need to re-dip your wand a couple of times. Luckily, but you don't have to apply much for full-on color. They are opaque with one coat.

From left to right: Liquid Petal, Chrome Kimono, Fuchsia Flash, Hot Cherry, Ruby Glow and Electric Wine.

NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand Review, Photos, Swatches!

NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand

NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand ($5) is a lightweight concealer that covers under-eye circles and imperfections on the face without looking cakey or obvious. It's non-comedogenic, so it won't clog your pores. Available in (8) skin shades and (3) color correcting shades.

The NYX HD Concealer is actually one of NYX's best selling products and it's a product that I've seen recommended countless times.

I purchased the shade CW05 Medium, which is described as a medium beige with olive undertones. I don't know about olive, but the shade is very peachy with a hint of pink. In MAC concealers I always use the shade NW25 and it's a pretty good equivalent - NYX has a stronger peach tone though, which works really well for counteracting under-eye darkness. Don't judge the shade by what the tube looks like from the outside because it looks much lighter than it really is. I also find that the color oxidizes a bit shortly after application.

The concealer has a light/thin, creamy, velvety texture and dries to a semi-matte finish. It smooths on easily and blends out really well. Some compare the texture to MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer, but it's definitely not as wet/liquidy. I find it to be most comparable to Nars Radiant Concealer, but it's not as budge-proof as Nars. Nars dries down quickly, whereas NYX doesn't fully set without the help of a powder.

The first few times I used this concealer, I didn't like it. It looked dry, almost ashy and obvious. With all of the positive reviews, I was persistent to get it to work for me. It turned out that all I needed was some eye cream (or any moisturizer) prior to applying the concealer. The results were a day and night difference.

I always make sure to apply a moisturizer to my under-eye area and then I wipe a generous amount of concealer under both of my eyes straight from the applicator. I don't blend it out right away - I'll usually dot my foundation all over my face and then take a beauty blender and blend my foundation in and then lastly, blend in my concealer with light, patting motions. I blend my concealer last to give the concealer a little time to set on my skin so when I finally blend it out, the coverage is a bit fuller. Also, the foundation residue from my sponge will help blend the concealer with my foundation. Sometimes I'll add an extra layer of concealer and blend with my finger tips and set with a powder (Ben Nye Neutral Set, of course!)