Five Favs #2 | Blushers

If you recall, last month I started a new blog series called #FiveFavs, I didn't commit to how frequently I'd be writing instalments, but that they'd have different themes.  Well, this time it's all about blushers, and the ones I reach for the most.  I must admit, I do reach for more than this 5, but I had to limit it somehow, otherwise it'd be an endless post.

1.  NARS Dolce Vita*

I absolutely adore this blusher, it's pretty much matte and a beautiful deep berry tone, which is typically my favourite shade to wear on my cheeks.  The quality is fantastic - just as I like in a blusher, not crazy pigmented like Sleek blushers can be and other similar ones, but nice, and easy to work with and blend on the cheekbones.

2.  Sephora blusher in Healthy Rose

This really is a very pretty shade, and perfect for spring.  It's sort of a soft peachy-coral with a hint of pink and a bit of a duskyness to it.  It's also completely matte, which I love - sometimes I love a matte blusher, as it looks really natural, and other times I love having a shimmery cheek, but this is a blusher for natural looking cheeks.

3.  Smashbox blusher in Chiffon

This really is a gorgeous shade, very similar to NARS Orgasm.  It's rose gold with a nice shimmer/sparkle.  I wouldn't call it a dupe as it's pretty much the same price, but if you didn't want to buy the NARS one, for whatever reason, this is a great alternative.  It's a great texture, nicely pigmented and very, very pretty on the cheeks.

4.  Eddie Funkhouser blusher in Peep Show*

This was in a Wantable makeup box some time ago.  I'd never heard of Eddie Funkhouser before and haven't since, but this blusher is something special.  Yes it's a bright pink, but it's pigmentation balance it's great, not too much and not too sheer, and it looks really pretty on the cheeks, almost like you've just come in from outside.  And, it's matte, so a winner for me.

5.  MAC Mineralize blusher in Gentle

The newest blusher in my collection and the one I've been wearing almost every day for the last 2-3 weeks since I've had it.  It's leaning towards berry-toned, and has a soft goldish shimmer, but it's not rose gold, which I like.  I feel like too many blushers have jumped on that bandwagon in the last couple of years, it's nice to see a shimmery blusher that's a bit different.  This sits on the cheeks beautifully, looking soft and 'gentle' with a very soft shimmery glow.

So there's my top 5 blushers as the 2nd instalment of my #FiveFavs series.  I have quite a few others planned, but if there's any you'd like to see, like foundations, palettes etc, anything really, just leave it as a comment below :)

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*Some of these blushers were PR Samples

NARS eyeshadow - Ashes to Ashes

NARS single eyeshadow £18 from counters and online

Back at Christmas the lovely Laura and I (from A Scottish Lass) organised a beauty blogger secret santa, as is our tradition every year we swapped with each other.  Well,  Laura clearly blew the budget as she bought me a NARS single eyeshadow, lucky me!

The shade she chose is 'Ashes to Ashes' - it's a near-matte brown (it has a subtle silk sheen) which is a gorgeous soft, gentle brown.  It works beautifully all over the lid for a simple look, or as a base for a neutral or smokey-neutral look, and it works well as a transition shade.  It's lasting power is fantastic, if you plonk it on top of some primer, and a creme eyeshadow it'll last all day.  

My favourite way to wear this is by itself (as in, with no other eyeshadows), I team it up with my classic Chanel liquid liner and some decent mascara and voila, my makeup is done!  I have been wearing a lot less makeup recently, I've hardly worn foundation in weeks, instead I opt for brows and eyes with some lip balm for a simple wearable day look - I could do a post on my morning makeup routine for work if you like?

What's your favourite NARS single eyeshadow? 

This months Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Ash from A Beauty Moment

 

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NARS pro-prime eyeshadow primer

Hey guys!  I hope you're all having a great day :)  YAY for Fridays!  Tonight I'm heading out to see Django Unchained, super excited about it!

When it comes to eyeshadow primers, I've always used the Urban Decay eye shadow primer potion.  I discovered it many years before blogging and youtubing and couldn't believe I'd been missing out!  Back then I didn't wear much makeup and one of the reasons is because eye shadow would crease on me within about 1 hour of putting it on, so why would I bother?  I bought a little palette with the potion when I was on the ferry heading to Ireland and that really was the beginning of my love affair with makeup.  After years of being loyal to the primer potion, I wanted to try a range of others to see if any were better/cheaper etc.

They say "No smudging, creasing or caking. This lightweight eye primer is the insider trick of the trade, creating a seamless canvas that keeps cream and powder color looking brilliant, fresh and just-applied all day long. A polymer and mineral-powder blend establishes a firm grip on color ensuring hours and hours of gorgeous wear. Fortified with a special deep-sea extract and an antioxidant rice extract, the Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base dries on contact and keeps the delicate eyelid smooth and prepared for color application."

One of the beauty guru's I watch on YouTube is MissGlamorazzi, I'm sure many of you have heard of her/watched her vids, and she has raved about the NARS pro-prime eyeshadow primer for some time now.  She has the same issue as me, very oily eyelids (plus mine are quite hooded too), so I thought I'd give it a go.

My Thoughts

This little beauty will set you back £18 (UD primer potion is £14.50) which is a lot of money, but the question is how does it compare to it's cheaper counterpart?  In all honestly, very well.  With the NARS primer I get around an extra 1-2 hours out of my eye shadow before creasing.  Shadows apply very vividly and look beautiful for the whole time they're on your lids.  Is it worth the extra £3.50? Yes, for me, someone who has such oily and hooded lids, getting an extra couple of hours out of my makeup is a big deal, it' usually the difference between noticable creasing at midday with Urban Decay, to about 2pm with NARS.  It's not until about 6pm that it starts to look terrible, and at that point, I've had around 10-11 hours wear, so not too bad.

For me, this I will definitely be re-purchasing, I've found that I reach for it every day over the others I have (Elf, MUA, UD), it's simply the best I've tried.

What's your favourite primer for your eyes?

This months big pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Angelica from One Little Vice - be sure to head over to check out her beautiful blog <3