Purple Manicures and Makeup for World Cancer Day 2014!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Tuesday to you all!  I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far.  Looks like it will be a snowy one here in NYC!  With NYFW fast approaching (2 days!) let's hope it clears up soon!  

But first, today I have a purple post for you all in honor of World Cancer Day.

World Cancer Day helps to raise awareness and money for the fight against cancer.  Most of us probably know people who have battled the disease and I've lost family members and had survivors surround me. According to their website:

"World Cancer Day takes place every year on 4 February and is the single initiative under which UICC, its members, partners and the entire world can unite together in the fight against the global cancer epidemic. World Cancer Day is an initiative of UICC, through which we aim to help save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about cancer, and pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the disease. "

Since Purple is the color of cancer awareness, I'm sharing some of my favorite makeup and nail looks that feature purple!  Now, without further ado, onto the polish (and makeup!)

 Above:  Dance Legend Cosmic Rainbow

 Above: Deborah Lippmann Harlem Silks From Bombay 

 Above:  Deborah Lippmann Stronger 

 Above:  Dior Poison and Perle

 Above:  Enchanted Polish Magical Mystery Tour

 Above:  Enchanted Polish Octopus's Garden

 Above:  Illamasqua Dotticure

 Above:  Jordana purple Eyemakeup

 Above: Lime Crime Lipstick in Poisonberry

 Above:  Milani Vivid Violet and Sugar Crush

 Above:  Nars TrainBlue Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

 Above: Nfu-Oh 51

 Above:  OPI I Vant To Bite Your Neck topped with 18k Gold Top Coat

 Above:  Polished by KPT Ophelia's Love and Nostalgia

 Above:  Pretty and Polisehd Anamagi

 Above:  Multiple Glitter Manicure

 Above:  Revlon Matte Lip Stain Balm in Shameless

 Above:  Stila Pigment Eyeshadow in Tie Dye

 Above:  Urban Decay Vice Palette Looks

 Above:  Zoya Savita

Above:  Urban Decay Glinda Palette

So there you have it!  Purple eyeshadow, nail polish and lipstick galore!  Be sure to check out the World Cancer Day Website to see what you can do to make a difference and proudly wear your purple today!

What did you think of these looks?  Would you try any?

NARS Madness Nail Polish for Summer 2013 Swatches and Review!

Good morning my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Tuesday to you all!  I hope you are all having a lovely week so far.  It's absolutely gorgeous weather in NYC right now so what better way to enjoy the lovely weather than with the first Summer 2013 nail polish of the year to show you!  NARS is releasing a gorgeous 1970's inspired collection this summer and the nail polish is simply stunning.  I was sent this nail polish to test out by NARS PR and it's really beautiful.  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

Above:  3 thin coats of NARS Madness

Madness is a gorgeous vibrant bright orange jelly nail polish.  NARS describes it as being an electric orange and that's pretty spot on.  My nails literally look like they are glowing!  Since this has a jelly finish, I did three thin coats to get full opacity and it still has that thick, squishy like appearance that jellies have.

All in all, this is a beautiful summer polish!  It's insanely bright without being a neon and the translucent jelly finish just gives it a lot more depth.  The formula was a bit thick which is usual for a jelly and why the three thin coats seemed to work best.  NARS Madness will be released on April 15th for $19.00.

What did you think of this polish? Must have? Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

Lacquered Lover Backstage at Carmen Marc Valvo with NARS and Ted Gibson!

I'm so sorry for the delay but I'm finally catching up on my NYFW posts!  I was lucky enough to be invited backstage to see the hair and makeup look with Teb Gibson and NARS for the Carmen Marc Valvo show this past Fashion Week.  The look they were going for was "baroque punk" to match with the black and textures of the collection.

 

Above:  The makeup look created by NARS

According to the interview I had with James Boehmer, NARS Director of Global Artistry:

"The whole look is about a baroque influence.  So Carmen started thinking about Oscar Wilde and it went into this sort of punk idea.  So for the girls we wanted them to have a lot of strength so we are doing a messy but pretty punk eye.  So it's sort of a little bit of contour and highlight on the eye and then we are taking a new product for NARS that's coming out for Fall  which is our eye paint and we're literally sketching a messy black eyeliner in the outer corner, lots of mascara and then to make it feel more ethereal we're using the multiple stick in Luxor to really highlight the cheekbones.  So this gives a very fresh ethereal feeling to contrast with the dirty punk eye.  And then the lip is really about balancing the color on the eye, it's not too dark and not too bright so we're using Salsa lip liner to shape the mouth  and then powdering it and then we're using Luxemborg satin lip pencil which is a new color we are launching for Spring.  It's a Cassis, vinyl color and then the very last thing we are doing in the lineup is taking Triple X which is a clear lipgloss on the eyelid which gives it this really otherworldly finish.  Especially with the lights on the runway, it will illuminate the eye and the lip has a little bit of sheen so the lip will be illuminate as well.  It makes it not quite so hard, a little bit of prettier punk.  It's a very black collection with a lot of texture so we wanted to play with the texture in the makeup."

For the hair, lead designer Devin Toth for Ted Gibson told me that "Essentially the look for today is baroque punk and it was inspired by the collection.  Carmen and I decided that the collection is very black and embellished and it's very dark but not gaudy.  So what we decided to do was first flat iron the hair, we didn't use product or blow dry the hair and then to tame it we used shine lotion and fix it gel used our fingers to bring all the hair up in a high pony tail.  Once we bring it up, lots of fix it, lots of tame it, we secure the pony tail with a tight bungee.  Once it's up there we dry it off because it's kind of wet when we get it up there and top it off with a lot of hair spray.  And then to add to the punk look we use hair chalk to add some gradient color to the bottom of the tail.  Then we seal that with a little bit of hairspray so the chalk doesn't fade.  What we're going to do is let this cool off and then we'll take the elastic out and shake out the hair to give a messy look and rough up the top.  Then we will have this great indentation in the hair right below the ear.  Carmen felt that was really beautiful.  It's for the girl that just wakes up, maybe has some color gradient at the bottom, puts in a pony tail and some gel and before she gets to work, takes out the pony tail to have a tousled look around the face."

The overall look was stunning.  Here are a few pictures from NARS PR of the full look:

For a list of products used by NARS to create this look and links to purchase them, see below:

FACE

· Multi-Action Hydrating Toner

· Luminous Moisture Cream

· Total Replenishing Eye Cream

· Aqua Gel Luminous Oil-Free Moisturizer

· Concealer

· Copacabana / Luxor Multiple (Maldives Multiple / Nepal Single Eyeshadow for darker skin)

· Sheer Glow Foundation

EYES

· Mambo Eyeliner Pencil

· Black Moon Eyeliner Pencil

· Black Valley Eye Paint (New for Fall 2013)

Available: US - September 1 2013 / Global - October 1 2013

For a similar effect, try Carpates Eyeliner Stylo

· Copacabana / Luxor Multiple (Maldives Multiple / Nepal Single Eyeshadow for darker skin)

· Himalayas Single Eyeshadow

· Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow

· Larger Than Life Volumizng Mascara

· Triple X Lip Gloss (applied to eyelids)

LIPS

· Sheer Glow Foundation

· Salsa Lip Liner Pencil

· Snow Loose Powder

· Belle de Jour Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

· Madère Pure Matte Lipstick

· Luxembourg Satin Lip Pencil (New for Spring 2013)

Available: US - March 15, 2013 / Global - April 1 2013

For a similar effect, try Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

All products, except where noted, are available at narscosmetics.com.

 

What do you think of this makeup and hair look?  Wearable?

Lacquered Lover Backstage at Creatures of the Wind with NARS and CND!

This past Thursday I was lucky enough to go backstage at the Creatures of the Wind show to see the makeup look that NARS created for the show.  James Boehmer, Director of NARS Global Artistry, told me that they were using "nudes and geometric patterns in a strong way by creating a triangle on the eye" as the basis of the look for the show.

Above:  James Boehmer creating the look on a model

Above:  The triangle shape on the eye

According to Mr. Boehmer "It's like a cat eye in an unexpected color.  At first glance the girls look like they don't have a lot of makeup on.  Making the skin very matte, not a lot of skin care in this look.  Rose gold eyeshadow on top of the eyes to layer and make the texture stand out.  The shoes are an amazing patent leather rose gold pearl which was the color that I wanted to mimic on the makeup.  This eyeshadow looks good on every skin tone.  To get the shape, take an angle brush and carve out the shape on the top and bottom.  When the girl looks straight ahead it's a straight line and then just powder around so the skin isn't reflective to make the eye color stand out.  Just a bit of lengthening mascara on the top and bottom helps to make the eyes really defined.  A new product for fall, brow gel, helps to make the brows look a little more sprouty and gives a tiny bit of a sheen to the brow.  I want the skin to look totally clean and the lips just have a little nourishing eye cream to finish the look."

Here are a few photographs courtesy of NARS of the finished look:

The following products were used to create this look:

FACE

·        Sheer Matte Foundation

·        Loose Powder

·        Radiant Creamy Concealer (New for Spring 2013)

Available: US - February 15 2013 / Global - March 1 2013

For a similar effect, try Sheer Glow Foundation

EYES

·        Maldives Multiple

·        Copacabana Multiple

·        Nepal Single Eyeshadow

·        Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow

·        Loose Powder

·        Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara

BROWS

·        Brow Gel

Available: US / Global - August 1 2013

For a similar effect, try Sheer Glow Foundation

·        Belle de Jour Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

·        Madère Pure Matte Lipstick

The nail look for this show was created by CND using pre-made shellac nails.  According to CND "The designers conveyed to us the woman who wears the clothes are young and wanted to convey the youthfulness.  We wanted to keep the shape round and sporty.  For the colors, we chose color blocking which I love because it sets the base for the electric squiggles.  Just 4 different colors, orange, teal, blue and brown but when you layer them over different colors it gives more color options.  This is done with a detailing brush that this can be achieved which an ultra fine tip sharpie marker.  This style conveys energy, static energy, that is movement and is a very deliberate style with the squiggles going vertical to add length to the shorter nail style."

Here is a final look from the show in the amazing Creatures of the Wind clothing with full makeup and nails, image courtesy of NARS:

What did you think of this look?  Wearable?  Would you try it?

NARS Disco Inferno for Spring 2013 Swatches and Review!

Good afternoon my fellow lacquered lovers!  Happy Wednesday to you all!  I hope you are all having a lovely week so far!  Today, I have a gorgeous new polish from one of my favorite brands, NARS, to show you.

 

 

Yes what you are seeing above is the same nail polish in different lighting and on its own vs. black!  Amazing right?  Now, without further ado, on to the polish!

 Above:  3 coats of NARS Disco Inferno with flash

 Above:  3 coats of Disco Inferno

Above:  Disco Inferno macro bottle shot

NARS describes this shade as being an iridescent silver green and that's pretty on point.  This is a sheer polish that's a light silver with tiny silver micro glitter that flashes green and a hint of purple depending on how the light is hitting it.  All the pictures above are three coats and you can see how different it looks depending on the lighting!  However since it is sheer, you can see that in direct lighting, there is some visible nail line.  An easy fix for that is putting 1 coat of a nude underneath.  However I wanted to try it out with a dark color so see below:

 Above:  1 layer of Disco Inferno layered over 1 coat of Kata

I am seriously in love with how this looks layered over black!  I used 1 coat of NARS Kata from the Kuroko Kabuki mini set which is a plain black creme and then put 1 coat of Disco Inferno on top.  It's amazing!  The iridescent and duochrome really shines when over a dark color plus you can see the glitter!

All in all, I think this was a great polish.  There are others that are close like Butter London Knackered however this is without the holographic glitter and has more of a flash over a dark color.  This also has more tiny silver glitter to it that really makes it multi dimensional.  If you are not a VNL fan like I'm not, then definitely layer this polish.  You could probably achieve full opacity at 4 coats but then you don't get the amazing flash you do when you layer it!  I'm looking forward to layering this over dark blues and purples to see how that changes the look!  This polish is now available on NARS website and at their stores for $18.


What did you think of this polish? Must have?  Any dupes?

The products in this post were sent to me for my unbiased review. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.