Showing posts with label Nars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nars. Show all posts

Thursday, 13 February 2014

It's Valentine's Day! So here are my favourite cheese-ball romantic movies and some products to match: Dirty Dancing, The Notebook & Pretty Woman


Dirty Dancing (1987)
Baby's  Beauty Corner: OPI nail polish in 'Bubble Bath' $19.95 available from www.davidjones.com.au, Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 'Sun Bronze' $15.95 available from www.priceline.com.au, Nars Satin Lip Pencil in 'Lodhi' $39.00 available from www.meccacosmetica.com.au


Dirty Dancing is not just a movie it is a religion, I can recite the whole movie from start to finish like it's my bible. My best friend Josephine and I have seen it so many times I cannot even remember but we watch it as regularly as a moderately religious person would go to church.
Baby is style icon, the way she wore those cute peasant blouses and the most perfect high waisted white jeans -  Classic 80's does 60's vibe. Her makeup was all about the perfect holiday tan (Rimmel Natural Bronzer)  with a pastel peach lip to show she blossoming into a woman. I'm sure that Baby's sister Lisa would have painted Baby's nails a colour very similar to OPI's 'Bubble bath' the perfect nude nail for any budding dancer. After every viewing of Dirty Dancing my reaction is always the same: 'Why the heck did Jennifer Grey get a nose job? She was so freakin' adorable'
The Notebook (2004)
Ally's - All Americana classic beauty products: Clinique Almost Powder Makeup SPF 15  $50.00 available from www.clinique.com.au, Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Stick $21.95 available from www.priceline.com.au
My two very essential essentials for watching The Notebook are kleenex and an endless supply of Lindt 85% Dark Chocolate - I can only watch it with these two items within arms reach at all times. Ally and Noah....If you want to get depressed about that one guy that you had a thing with and he moved away and never called again. Do not watch The Notebook. Let me tell you... In real life your Mum isn't hiding his love letters and he isn't off building you the most perfect house in the world!!! 
Ally has the all American stunning girl next door beauty thang down, pretty with a hint of seduction. Her skin is perfection, never too shiny due to the compact I'm sure she keeps with her at all times, Clinique powders are my favourite packaging, that jade green plastic has been a staple in my makeup bag since I was 16. Ally's lipstick is a mix between a coral and a red, never leaning too sexy or vampy. Revlon's 'Kiss me Coral' is just this - it gives you a bright lip without the 'trying too hard to be sexy' look.
Ryan Gosling will always be my movie dreamboat Valentine crush, so let's all just watch a Gosling marathon on the 14th and forget about real life!
Pretty Woman (1990)
Vivian from prostitute to posh out products : Covergirl Liquiline Eye Liner in 'Blackfire' $14.95 available from www.priceline.com.au, Benefit Gimme Brow in 'Medium/Deep' $32.00 available from www.adorebeauty.com.au
Who doesn't love Julia Roberts transformation from working girl to uptown fancy lady in Pretty Woman, personally I liked both looks equally. Working girl Julia new how to apply a matte kohl liner like it ain't nobodies business, it was worked into the eye smudged to and blended out around the eye to give extreme definition. Covergirl's Liquiline Eye Liner in 'Blackfire' is super soft and can be applied fuss free using the sponge tip to work it into your lash line. Julia Roberts is the O.G brow queen, her naturally bushy thick brows were always combed into perfect shape, Benefit's newbie Gimme Brow gives your eye brows a tint of colour and sets those bad boys in shape for the day or long long night as Vivian would have been getting ready for. 
There is something that is regularly forgotten and I would just like everyone to make mental not of how bangin' Julia Roberts body was in Pretty Woman. Damn Girl! Can we all just give it up for her because honeychild had legs for daaayyyyyyyssss! 

For all of you that have a romantic boyfriend who is going to wine and dine you at a fancy restaurant tonight for the ultimate Valentines day experience....BORING! Because this is what me and my girlfriends will be doing, jealous much? Probably not, but you know what how good is FRIENDS!


xxx Nella

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013

NARS Andy Warhol Collection Review

NARS Andy Warhol 'Walk on the Wild Side' Set $62.00 available from

Limited edition themed collections have been popping up from many of the high-end brands lately, many just re-packaged existing products which in my opinion isn't really a collection its just new packaging - but hey, I am a sucker for packaging!

The NARS Andy Warhol Collection really intrigued me before I had even set eyes on any of the products. Having a pre-developed love/hate relationship with NARS, some products I cannot use its almost as if my face rejects them and some I will re-purchase till I die - I'll be the nanna lining up at Mecca buying Matte Velvet Lip Pencils with my pension.

Of course I wanted the Andy Warhol 'Silver Factory' Set but alas it is $320.00
(Silver Factory Multiple (Silver), Shadows Trio Eyeshadow (new shades), Chelsea Girls Pure Matte Lipstick, Desire Blush, Larger Than Life long-Wear Eyeliner in Via Veneto, Large Domes Eyeshadow Brush #13.) Yes the prices are a little ALOT on the steep side. 

The 'Walk on the Wild side' Set $62.00 is a little easier to part with....The set contains: Silver Factory Illuminator, It Nail Polish, Larger Than Life Lip Gloss in Orgasm (all mini's)

My favourite product is the Nail Polish in 'IT' -  a beautiful cobalt purple with a not so obvious silver shimmer which gives it an amazing depth. It applies beautifully an is opaque in 2 coats. 'IT' does need a high-shine top coat as is can dent because of the shimmer content.

The 'Silver Factory' Illuminator is beautiful, mixed in with your foundation or moisturizer to give an all over angelic glow to the skin or applied directly to the high points of your cheeks and brow bone to give that 70's disco queen look. 

Can someone please help? Am I the only girl in the world that cannot wear the NARS 'Larger than life Lipgloss'? It applies patchy and its really really sticky and just looks awful on me. Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. This is the only dud product, it would have been better and more true to the collaboration if a pale pink Matte Lipstick was included instead.

NARS Andy Warhol Collection available from Mecca Cosmetica for a limited time.

What was your favorite product form the NARS Andy Warhol Collection?
Let me know in the comments or on twitter @beautegazette

xx Nella



Thursday, 29 November 2012

Modern Beauté Icon: Roisin Murphy


Irish born Roisin Murphy singer once part of Moloko but now solo making my favourite dance floor jams. Roisin is a natural risk taker in all senses, she far prefers to be bright interesting and stand out rather than to run with the beige pack fronted by their vanilla leader Olivia Paleremo. 
Roisin has been out of the spotlight for a little while taking time out to have babies in the Irish county side, she is back about to release a new album next year and I am super excited to be seeing more of Roisin in the press lately and am also dying to dance around to her new songs.
Roisin favours strong experimental fashion so her makeup is usually complimented with a defined natural look nothing too crazy and clashing. Her eyes are always lined on the upper lashline with a brown liner which is great if you have blue eyes because it makes them pop without looking too harsh like black can sometimes do. Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in 'Via Appia' $38.00 available from www.meccacosmetica.com.au is a beautiful burnish-brown it glides on easily and blends out without too much hassle.
Roisin is more inclined to favour a blended rosey-caramel eye rather than a winged liner, much more of a high glam 70's vibe - which I am so into.  The image in the top left is probably the most dramatic I have ever seen Roisin's makeup to achieve the intense build of colour try a dry-to-wet eyeshadow Yves Saint Laurent Pure Chromatics Wet and Dry Eyeshadow Palette in Number 7 $66.30 available from www.feelunique.com has heavenly tones for blondes. Using a few drops of water the shadows can become liners or used on their on can be blended out to create a beautiful wash of colour over your lids.

The only other beauty must for Roisin is a peachy blush, with such a soft ivory skin tone (pale, very pale - its ok so am I) it can make you look a little sallow if you don't pop a bit of blush onto the apples of your cheeks. Peach is the perfect subtle colour for porcelain babes, I adore Illamasqua Blusher in 'Sophie' $30.60 available from Illamasqua counters at Myer and www.asos.com subtle enough to make you look like you may not even be wearing blush, but just enough to give your face some depth.

Roisin is truly a Modern Beauté Icon, she is not afraid to be different and have fun with a look and most importantly she uses humour in her style which is so refreshing. Every time I feel like I am playing it too safe I try and say to myself 'what would Roisin do?'



Please comment with any of your favorite Modern Beauté Icons

xxx Nella

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

SHOW GIRLS : Spring Summer 2013 Beauty

Images via style.com
Rodarte girls were brave and fearlessly natural, with the clearest of skin extremely groomed eyebrows pushed and brushed into place with wax. These girls were strong and adorned with ear amour which  was way Game of Thrones and right up my medieval alley. Complexions were the anti-christ of the Kardashian ethos, with the lightest of applications of Nars Sheer Glow Foundation just in the centre of the face and specifically NOT on the cheeks because "because once it gets on the cheeks, it actually looks like foundation," says Makeup Artist James Kaliardos. Nars Triple X Clear Gloss was applied on models eyes up to the brow bone and along the cheek bone, this was a really tuff look almost sweat like. Maybe they worked up a sweat slaying dragons?
The nails were an intricate three dimensional basketweave "It took 200 man-hours," CND manicurist Michelle Huynh. Woah. Check out the NPAA facebook page for images and our favorite show nails.
Images via style.com
Australian sweetie Ruby Jean Wilson opened and closed the Marc Jacobs show, her dramatic bleach blonde make over made some very not so subtle references to Andy Warhol's muse Edie Sedgwick.  Hair was teased , back combed to voluminous heights using Redken's Guts 10 Volume Spray Mouse and Refresh Aerosol Hair Powder Dry Shampoo and then side parted.
François Nars who created the Edie clones complete with big bold over drawn brows using Nars Bengali and Bali Single Shadows. For the eyes used Nars Eye Shadow Duo in Key Largo and Portobello washing the lid with the pale peach and then creating a deep crease with the rich bronze in the duo.
Most of the shows have focused on a key feature on the face and played it up either a bright lip or an interesting eye which pulled the look together. But with Marc's Edie's they needed multiple bold features played up to pull the look together because it wouldn't have worked without the big-hair or bold brows or dramatic eyes.


Friday, 7 September 2012

Beauté Gazette's Bodacious Beach Bag!

This week there was a sneak peak teaser of SUMMER! 
It was heaven to be laying on the rocks at Bronte, dancing in the fading sunlight on North Bondi Rocks and generally being a bodacious beach babe once again.
The sneak peak too me completely unawares and I was very unprepared, having tossed all my almost empty sandy beauty products from last summer I had to improvise for my 3 days of almost (500) days of SUMMER!
Here are the new products I am excited to pick up and some old favorites for the nearing Summer:

Benah Canvas Beach Bag $149.00
Could there be a more perfect beach bag like ever? I don't think so. Canvas bags are my favorites for the beach, you can pile everything in and if it gets dropped in a rock pool you don't freak out because you can just put it in the washing machine. Yeah beach fun with Benah!

Dr.Jart+ Water Based BB Cream SPF 27+ UVA/UVB US$42.00
This was a favorite last summer and I am bringing the Dr. Jart back this summer too. It is water based which I like for summer, oil based tinited moisturizers/foundations break me out  in hot weather because your pores are all open and breathing. The light base and high SPF makes it perfect for summer.
Available from www.drjartstore.com

Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon $42.00
This little tube is super versitile I like putting it on my cheeks for a flush of colour and also on my lips for a natural 'I've just eaten a redskin' colour vibe. It is very sheer and won't go patchy in the heat.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock SPF 70 approx $13.00
Perfect if you are by yourself reading a book at the beach the spray gets all those tricky spots you might not be able to reach. Its also not as stinky like other sunscreens.
Available from supermarkets and chemists

Nars Multiple in Laguna $64.00
The sister to Nars's famous Laguna powder bronzer, I am super excited to pop this on my cheek bones after a day at the beach on my way to get a piña colada with my friends.

Frank Ocean -  Channel Orange
On permanent repeat! 
Available on itunes

Maybelline Full 'N Soft Waterproof Mascara $12.00
Normally I like loads and loads of mascara, but at the beach its not really that big of a deal. Full 'N Soft gives your lashes a good coat of colour without making them crunchy and looking like tranantula legs.

Yes To Cumbers Facial Wipes $9.99
Sticky hands, sweaty face, dripping ice-blocks happen all summer long and they need a wet wipey. Maybe I am prematurely preparing for motherhood carrying around wet wipes, but I don't care at least I am not a sticky mess.
available from www.priceline.com.au

Helen Kaminski Hampton Hat $185.00
I am totally obsessed with this hat! It is the perfect mix of Picnic at Hanging Rock and something you would wear to the beach in the 60's in Capri or some other Euro summer haven. This is on my 'Must lust buys for summer' list. The polka dot bow makes me weak at the knees it is so cute.
Available at David Jones


I was spotted doing a traditional native rock dance this week on Bronte Beach.
Wearing a Cynthia Rowley for Roxy onsie and having the time of my life.

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Modern Classics: Essex Girls

The Essex girl stereotype started in the early in the 80's and is now defined by the characters from the reality show The Only Way Is Essex. This aesthetic may not appeal to you and you might be revolted by the amount of makeup and fake eyelashes that these girls like to wear. To me the Essex girls look like they are having a lot of fun and if fake tans and eyeliner makes them feel confident then what does it really matter? Whether you feel naked walking out of the house without your tinted moisturizer or if its 3 sets of lashes its all the same! My love of makeup is an obsession and I am kind of jealous that these girls pile it on when I am worried if i blended in my BB cream and natural eye shadows seamlessly. So what does it take to be an Essex Girl?

If you want the Essex look, then go in hard with the bronzer and don't stop. This isn't a contour this is an ALL over application with the biggest brush you've got.

It looks like the Essex girls wear about 2 or 3 pairs at once, but if you are a newbie to the fake lash then just try a single set. This is the cherry on top to their signature smokey-eye look.

You want to go for anything that will make your lips look bigger. Nude lipstick is a must and like everything else on their faces this isn't subtle, although its called 'nude' this isn't meant to look natural at all.

This palette is an A-Z in smokey shimmery colours and it looks like the Essex girls apply all of them AT ONCE. 

There is a difference between a Jersey Shore tan and an Essex girl tan and its called class! These girls know how to blend a tan like no-one else - it may be a shade of bronze that is not humanly possible to achieve but it is always blended out into hairlines quite well. I am presuming they go for spray tans then top up with a little St. Tropez tanning mouse with a mitt in between sprays.

This post is for my favorite Essex girl of all time Alison Lennard xoxo


Monday, 16 July 2012

A foundation guide for ALL skin types.

There is a misconception by women that foundation is a product which is very masking or too heavy for their skin. At the moment there are so many different types of foundation available from very sheer to complete full coverage so something for everyone. Here are some tips on finding the right foundation for you:

- When buying a high end or expensive foundation ask for samples of two colours you think are the closest to your skin tone and test them over a couple of days and in different lights. I have been mismatched by cosmetics counter babes too many times and I have put it down to the horrific un-natural lighting in department stores OR if you don't have the time to the foundations at home, ask for an application of 2 shades one on either side of your face and then go outside and check which you like best in natural light.

- If you are expecting to be photographed (i.e your just very popular or its your wedding day) steer clear of foundations with SPF's as they can cast white on the skin and reflect the flash in a weird way

-Expensive or very cheap it doesn't matter if it matches your skin, if it does what you need it to do then its a good foundation for you.

-Change your foundation seasonally, in Summer use a light coverage with high SPF and in Winter use a hydrating foundation. You also maybe 2 different colours a couple of shade difference between Summer and Winter depending on if you tan or not.

-Choose a foundation based on your skin type not on what you want your skin to look like, everyone want perfect skin duh:
Combination Skin: Medium coverage light reflecting illuminating foundation 
Oily Skin: Oil free Medium coverage foundation and a mattifying finish
Dry Skin: A hydrating foundation with a light coverage and illuminating properties and a dewy finish
Acne Prone Skin: Water based oil free fragrance free foundation all over and then a full coverage on problem areas
Aged Skin: Medium coverage which is hydrating without giving a shiny finish
Young/Teen Skin: Sheer tint to let the natural qualities show through the foundation


SHEER COVERAGE:
If you want a dewy glow to your skin and a sheer amount of coverage a tinted moisturizer is probably your best product pick. Tinted moisturizers are not buidable because they soak into the skin and hydrate, if you want more coverage in certain areas then do a little spot concealing and finish with a setting powder.
COVERAGE: 
Slightly even out skin tone
WEAR TIME:
2-3 hours, longer if you powder definitely not a full day                                            





LIGHT COVERAGE:
Somewhere between a tinted moisturizer and a traditional foundation are water based foundations. They give a light amount of coverage and are buildbale, if you want a long wear time out of these foundations make sure to use a primer and a powder on top. If you have blemish prone skin a water based foundation (or an oil free) is great for you just also make sure it is fragrance free.
COVERAGE: 
Evens out skin tones and redness, slight imperfections and pore appearance
WEAR TIME:
3-6 Hours with Powder, longer if your skin isn't oily.
3. Nars Sheer Glow $68.00
4. Mac Face and Body $60.00
 MEDIUM COVERAGE:
These are traditional foundations, most chemist brands fall into this category. Rich in constancy and formulated to give you all over coverage. If don't wear powder and want foundation which is slightly matte in appearance these guys are for you. Buildable but formulated as a one stop shop for a base, fuss free. 
COVERAGE:
Dark Circles, slight pigmentation, blemishes, redness, slight scaring, freckles, sun spots
WEAR TIME:
5-9 Hours only powder if you have very oily skin otherwise it can look cakey
1. Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer $78.00
2. Bourjois Healthy Mix & Healthy Mix Serum $29.00
3. Rimmel Wake Me Up $19.95
4. Lancome Teint Miracle $68.00
FULL COVERAGE:
If you want to look like an extra on The Only Way is Essex or If you have acne scaring of very contrasting pigmentation and want to cover it up completely then try a full coverage foundation on effected areas then blend it out with a medium coverage to the areas not effected. Full coverage foundations can be quite thick and need to be blended into the skin really well to give a natural appearance.
COVERAGE: 
Pigmentation, scaring, blemishes, pores, redness, rosacea, acne bumps, freckles, birth marks, sun spots
WEAR TIME:
6-9 hours, just be careful if you do have acne that oil doesn't break through.    
3. Revlon ColourStay $26.70

*Please note all prices are in Australian dollars at recommended retail prices.


Thursday, 21 June 2012

Don't Believe The Hype : #1

Everything on this blog is my personal opinion - apart from if its a specified spiel from a giant cosmetic company claiming that they can make your lips bigger, get rid of you wrinkles and make you 10 times more beautiful by tomorrow.
Its not serious and I usually don't buy things that I really dislike because I am a 'savvy 20 something that knows how to use the power of the Internet for good not evil'.  My friends and family do it love when I get it wrong because I always give away things that haven't made the cut.

This was raved about by one of my favorite YouTube girls Vivianna Does Make up, she was banging on about how she put it on whilst on the tube (British). So I bought it. Its crap, well its not crap, she loves it. Its the brush that's not a brush its a comb and the product is really wet formula which just makes my usually naturally curled lashes point out straight and clump. If you can make this work for you, 10 points and please let me know how you do it.

When the lip stain trend was in full force last year I was sucked into that like a tornado, I was one of the cows in Twister - not Helen Hunt. But I survived with the debris of 15 lip stains cluttering up my makeup draws. Firstly the Revlon Lip Stain has a lip balm on the end - mine snapped off within the first use so I have no idea what it was like. It didn't pack the punch of my other Covergirl lipstains which the stain lasts almost all day and definitely have got more colour pay off and they are also $6.00 cheaper. And one more thing I hate that tacky twilight-esque font on the packaging.

3. Shu Uemura Foundations - $64 Face Architect Foundation  (but in general it's all of them)
I really want to like them because its one of my favorite Japanese beauty brands. The problem is that they do not have my colour, white girl is not in the spectrum of shades. Its such a shame because they have this really cool aerosol can of foundation that's really high tech and I am desperate to have it. Please don't let this put you off the brand it is fantastic and if they have your shade then lucky you! Especially the eye shadows they are a dream and the limited edition collaborations are beautiful especially the Tsumori Chitsato sets  from about 2 years ago.

The curved brush really stabs my eyeballs when applying it and the fall out is really bad it had given me dark circles by 10am. This cult product made me look like I was in a cult.

5. Nars Lip Gloss $39.00
I'm not really a lip gloss girl to begin with, your hair gets stuck in it. The Nars lip gloss is so sticky that its hard to even apply its like putting cold honey on your lips. The colours are really good and they have a new plumping formulation which i will try out to see if there is any improvement to the formula.

These are really shimmery, duh its called a freakin' Shimmer Brick! But its the type of shimmer and opacity which should only be going on in eye shadows. It is so shimmery it casts a white glow to your face from the lightest colours and highlights YOUR PORES!!!! I had a really bad time with this in both colours - yep I bought 2 colours - SUCKER!

This is a good moistirizer, just not for my face, its since been de-potted and put in travel size containers for legs on holidays. It gets all in my eyebrows and hair line coating them in white cream making me look like Santa Clause and it's impossible to put a foundation on top of it because it peels off like pilling on a cheap synthetic jumper. 

I did not purchase this -  it came free with a magazine. But I had to include it because the story of my single time using the product is very funny. I packed this eye cream in my toiletries bag when going on the first sexy weekend away with a lover, I thought you know its a small sample size and 'natural' kind off not wanting to pack my massive night cream. After coming back from a night swim and a long shower I moisturized as normal before bed, the eye cream was on the bedside table and I applied it in the dark before going to sleep. Morning came and I awoke to my lovers shocked face on top of mine saying that he could 'call a doctor if i needed', the eye cream had turned into a white flaky crust all over my eyes! It came off with a little warm water and my skin wasn't irritated at all but the shocked reaction caused me to bin the eye cream straight away.

So in total I have wasted $225.30 on these products. It is actually a lot more than this but these are the products that I can remember using and not agreeing with. 

What products have you regretted buying? Or what products have you been talked into buying by a very persuasive beauty counter sales assistant like a sucker?

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Nars Cream Shadow - Petula


Cream shadows are everywhere at the moment, probably the most versatile of eye products. Used on there on they give your lids a vibrant easily blendable wash of colour or layered with powder shadows give intense colour and longer creaseless staying power. Nars Cream Shadow in Petula $39.00 is a very burnt toffee orange bronze with a slight shimmer to it, my lovely friend Alyssa let me pop it on her beautiful lids this afternoon. Alyssa doesn't wear much make up if any, so a cream shadow is perfect for her to wear on its own to define her eyes with or without mascara. It applied very smoothly - concentrating more product closer to the lash line and blending up. Petula is a colour which on lighter skin tones looks like an on trend bright colour because it does pop out very orange and even more so with blue eyes BUT on women of colour especially South East Asian skin tones this would look OUT OF CONTROL AMAZING WITH A KOHL LINER! Blended up onto the check bone! 
GORGEOUS!
Nars is great brand and this product is really lovely to work with but there are a few other options if you are wanting to try out cream shadows:
Maybelline Colour Tattoo -  This isn't available in Australia yet but I am so excited, it is apparently comparable to the Mac paint pots, at a lower price point.



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