Some NARS x Steven Klein collection swatches and tutorial

 

For the holiday season, NARS has teamed up with photographer Steven Klein for a collection that celebrates individuality and power.

Despite the very avant garde campaign, the collection is actually extremely wearable, and great if you love bombshell slash femme-fatale makeup with strong lips and neutral eyes.

Case in point? The Dead of Summer Dual-Intensity palette.

The An Abnormal Female lip bullet set below is LITERALLY a giant bullet case which you can re-use (I can't imagine bringing it out, so it would really just be a display piece more than anything).

For review, I received some of the individual items, along with the NARS x Steven Klein Magnificent Obsession Lip Set, so these are what I'll swatch for you.

The lip set comes in a small glossy metal-lined cardboard case (top right above), and contains 3 lip products. Flamenco lipstick, Velvet Matte lip pencil in Mysterious Red, and Velvet Lip Liner in Misdemeanor.

The liner is a true red, whereas the other 2 have I feel a touch of neutral brown in them which makes these very flattering on a majority of skin tones. This is more apparent in Mysterious Red. In Flamenco, which is glossy and semi-sheer, it's more of a deep and subdued red tone, and not as bright as a true red.

I'm always up for a good red, but I was actually more wow-ed by the other lip products I swatched.

Lipstick in No Shame is a gorgeous deep berry which goes on so smooth and rich that it feels almost like butter. I'm totally in love with this shade right now.

The glosses Special Force and Provoke, are also pretty darned pigmented, and are that nice new non-sticky texture.

The single shadow I received, Mortal is a crystalline white. It's pretty, but I personally feel it's more of a shade which can easily be found from any other brand, including drugstore ones, so it wouldn't be where I would invest my money unless you absolutely love NARS and want a pearlescent white which layers well over other shades.

I received only one shadow, so I decided to work it into a look paired with another NARS duo, Habanera, which contains a soft aqua and a deep prune purple. Then I paired it with No Shame lipstick.

Eye Tutorial below!

I used Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather in 90 Vintage Plum

Tip: because this was a rather cool toned look, a warm matte transition shade helps make it less harsh, and adds contrast with the cool shades too.

I forgot to add that I also ran the color lightly along the outer 2/3s of the lower lash line!

Note: It's optional applying the white sparkly shade to the inner corners and below the bottom lash line. I just wanted a brighter look, but if you have pronounced eye bags or your upper lid fold covers the inner corners (many Asians), skip this step.

If you're curious about the lashes, I used Dolly Wink No 9 lashes, but just in case it's not available to you, just look for wispy natural lashes that are longer at the outer corners.

P.S. For the lips, I did use a little of MAC's Cyber World pencil (a very deep dark prune/plum) along the outer corners of my upper lip, and along the bottom to add a little 3D definition. You want to cover up most of the liner with the lipstick so there isn't a hard obvious deep purple line ringing your mouth. The effect should be subtle.

MAC Magic Of The Night Collection Swatches and First Impressions

MAC's Magic Of The Night Collection is a true party collection. There is nothing here that is soft and subtle or especially day-appropriate, aside from maybe Please Me lipstick.

If you like smoky sultry colors shot through with beautiful sparkles and shimmer, high-sheen skin, or intense lip shades, this would be a good release to check out.

Must Try:

My favorites in the range are the 4 lipsticks. Really, I like all the shades. They’re all fab. Especially All Fired Up, an intense fuchsia red. It looks a little more pink/cool-toned in press visuals but the actual shade is slightly warmer/redder. 

Evening Rendezvous is a daring plummy-violet, and Dark Side is just a great Fall/Winter noir lip in a creamier texture. Please Me is beautiful but a re-release (or permanent in some markets), and I do recommend the shade for girls who like softer lips.

Also Cool:

The 5 Colourdrenched Pigments are pretty interesting. I thought they would be like Luster shadows; crumbly and un-pigmented. But they’re dense, slightly creamy-feeling sparkle shadows suspended in matte bases. The only thing is you can't be color-shy. They are extremely bling.

My tip for using these is to pack on a layer with your finger for maximum intensity first, and then using a soft brush to blend out the edges. These don’t get ruined when touched with fingers, the way some of the other regular shadows do. But if you want to use a brush, use a flatter, slightly firmer brush rather than a soft fluffy one so it grabs more pigment. 

All the eye looks I have here were done without any base or wetting the shadows. Night Thrill, the soft blonde gold, is slightly crumbly swatched on the hand, but packed on lightly in a small area like the inner corners, or down the center of the lids, it goes on beautifully.

I decided to do additional eye swatches because this is a pretty new formula that most people aren't familiar with, and I know some of you are afraid to buy shadows based on wrist swatches since the payoff can be different from when applied to the lid with brushes.

I would say only Ascent of Glamour (violet) came off a little softer on the lids, but that was also because I didn't spend much time building it up. And again, I think you get the best effect applying this formula with a finger first.

Optional:

There are 4 pencils with this collection. 2 Lip Pencils, and 2 Eye Pencils. I think the 2 sparkly eye pencils are beautiful. Very smooth and buttery, and the sparkle in them is gorgeous. But I find the shadows compete with them, so you might not need both, or at least you don’t need to wear them together in the same look.

7 Great Ruby Red Lipsticks

If you missed my post last week on Dayre, here is a recap of 7 great reds that I'm currently loving.

L'oreal Colour Riche in Bloody Mary

L'oreal Colour Riche in Bloody Mary

L'oreal Colour Riche is a great range for satin-textured, high-coverage lipsticks. And it seems the updated range is also packaged a little better (I haven't experienced any smooshing against the insides of the tube yet, as the older range frequently did). 

Bloody Mary is a very deep scarlet creme lipstick that is a true red. Not too brown, not too blue, not too orange. 

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm 250 Standout

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm 250 Standout

I'm a long-time fan of Revlon's Colorburst Matte Balm range, and one of the very first shades that I grabbed for when they launched was the deep red, 250 Standout. These aren't as intense as the Super Lustrous mattes but they sure do the best job of marrying matte intensity with hydrating comfort.

Revlon Super Lustrous Matte in Revlon Retro Red

Revlon Super Lustrous Matte in Revlon Retro Red

You can't mention drugstore mattes without mentioning Revlon Super Lustrous Matte lipsticks. And while the darling for the last few years is the classic Really Red, my personal fave is actually the newer shade, Retro Red.

This is a deeper blue-based red which is much more intense and creamy than Really Red, which is a waxier, thinner, older formula that actually doesn't build up very well. Retro Red is less brown-toned, opaque enough to stay truer on dark or brown-pigmented lips, and and will not look orange on darker skins.

Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in R17 Red Flame

Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in R17 Red Flame

Laneige is better known outside Asia for their skincare items, but if you ever get the chance to try out their Serum Intense lipstick range, make sure you check them out because they are the most gorgeously glossy and hydrating lipsticks. And the best thing is they don't go on all sheer. The color actually builds up to a good intensity.

MAC Russian Red

MAC Russian Red

No lover of deep matte reds can be unfamiliar with the queen of deep reds for long. Russian Red was created in the 90s by MAC founder Frank Toskan for the Material Girl herself. Madonna wore Russian Red throughout her Blonde Ambition tour and that helped kickstart MAC's journey from a little-known artists' brand into the mega-brand it is today.

This is one of those deep reds that never looks garish and bright. It's just a touch darker than crimson, and there's a certain regal beauty to it. Whether you have dark skin, dark hair, red hair, or are as platinum as Mads herself, this is a shade that will probably look good on you.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture 55 Rouge Anonyme

YSL Rouge Pur Couture 55 Rouge Anonyme

On the slightly lighter and brighter side of things, there's Yves Saint Laurent's Rouge Pur Couture No 55 Rouge Anonyme. This shimmery red has both warm AND cool undertones, so it manages to be vibrant and neutral at the same time.

It's not as opaque as many Rouge Pur Coutures but it is a great, creamy, easy-to-wear shade for those who don't like things too deep and serious.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Charlotte

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Charlotte

One of my absolute favorites this year has been NARS' Audacious Lipstick in Charlotte. Actually there are LOTS of shades I love in the Audacious range. But for Fall/Winter, Charlotte is it.

This dark cherry-oxblood shade is so chic. And when reds go deep, they actually work like neutrals and go with most hair and skin colors. I love wearing these with soft shimmery taupes and soft greys on the lids.

Tom Ford Lips & Boys in Leonardo

Tom Ford Lips & Boys in Leonardo

The last shade I've been loving recently is Tom Ford's Lips and Boys lipstick in Leonardo, which is a re-release of Smoked Red, a subtly shimmery deep cherry red. It's not as intense or opaque as Nars Charlotte but it's a gorgeous cool-toned red that looks very sultry and makes the teeth look white.

Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Soft Gold Smoke Tutorial

Simple evening look with Bobbi Brown's Old Hollywood collection, Old Hollywood Lipstick, and Siren Red lipgloss.

Took a shot at the Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood collection, and instead of doing a typical 40s-50s look, I kept with the flicked eyeliner, flushed cheeks and red lips, but updated it with a shimmery smoky lid in a “cat-eye” shape instead of a “kitten eye”, dewy skin, and dripping-wet lacquered lips.

Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Eyeshadow palette: chockfull of subtle neutral shades. It's not extremely pigmented, just so you know!

One thing I’ve fallen for is the Long-wear Cream Shadow Stick. They’re all incredibly smooth and pigmented, plus you get plenty of time to blend and smudge them out before they set. Here I used Tuxedo Black. If you’re not able to get hold of it, use a creamy black pencil.

This bit of black along the lower lash line makes the “cat eye” look. The main difference between “kitten” and “cat” eye is whether you bring liner down along the lower lash line. Traditional kitten liner runs only along the upper lashes. Liner along the lower lash line creates an exaggerated almond shape which is more sultry and catty.

See the rest of the tutorial here or click the image below to see the swatches of the Old Hollywood collection!

Key pieces and shades in the Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Holiday 2013 collection.