Category — NARS

This season fluorescent colors are the trend for fingers and toes. When I browse the beauty supply nail polish aisles, I have thoughts of 80’s pop princesses, bright surfer jams (remember those?), and jelly bracelets. Nail polish colors are shocking again. Neon pink, sun yellow, lime green, electric blue: all shades of the rainbow are accounted for.

While many women are shy with their manicure color, toes have the obvious advantage of being below the typical “looking” range. And these bright colors beg to be shown off in sandals or bare against the sand- and they look even better with a faux tan!

(Click for a bigger picture.)

For a quick pick-me-up, I’m now sporting Schiap by NARS. This polish is part of their 2008 collection and fits the bold and bright nail trend to a T. Schiap is a “Shocking Pink” creme that shines like patent leather. I used 2 coats to get even and thorough coverage. The formula applied nicely and dried pretty darn quick. A clear top coat really made the color pop.

The cost is a bit of a splurge, but you should get many, many, many applications out of this bottle.

NARS polishes are available on NARScosmetics.com for $18 a bottle.

Readers- Have you tried any of the super brights for nail polish this year?

The Product: NARS Makeup Primer lotion with SPF

Bionic’s Review: I applied a pea size amount underneath my makeup each day for two weeks. The lotion sunk into my skin and smoothed the appearance of enlarged pores. Plus, I love the SPF 20 (can’t have too much of that these days!). My mineral makeup blended out more easily with this product; and even with Tinted Moisturizer overtop of the primer, I did not get greasy or over moisturized.

I did notice that my makeup seemed to stay put for the day (no wandering off now!). I have never used a makeup primer before this product (just standard face lotion), and hence, never really understood what all the fuss was about. Now I understand. I can use a little less of my makeup product since the primer allows for improved and even coverage.

The NARS primer is also available in a non-SPF formula (white tube). Both are packed in a modern “rubberized” tube which makes it nice and grippy. The twist top tube is sanitary and helps keep out contaminants.

One other note, when I opened the NARS tube, I immediately feel in love with the slight creamsicle scent of this primer. It’s fresh, fruity, and perks me right up in the mornings. I will certainly be keeping this product around for everyday use and plan to repurchase.

Purchase: You can buy NARS Makeup Primer With SPF 20 & PA++ at Beauty.com, $33 for a 1.7 oz tube.

Any readers out there who have tried the NARS Primers or another brand? Do you find them beneficial?

This look is based off my daily makeup look, which I keep pretty low key. It’s your basic natural makeup application. I like to play up my eyes a bit, keep my skin breathing with a slight glow.

• Started off with NARS Makeup Primer (as a bonus it has SPF 20) across my face and neck.
• I used Ferro’s mineral makeup Radiance Foundation (my color: Light-Medium Beige) on any places I need coverage- around my nose, eyelids, under eyes, chin.
• Using Ferro’s Rose Crystal Mineral Veil for shimmer, I applied it *lightly* to my cheekbones and across my entire eyelid up to the brow bone (it makes an excellent highlighter).
• For color flush on my cheeks, I used Ferro’s Bronzer in Glow Baby. Whatever was left on the brush was tapped onto my chin, nose, and across forehead.
• Since everything else is very neutral, I used Coastal Scents eyeshadow in Paisley (a light purple) on my eyelid. This shadow is a light wash of color, almost what you would imagine from a watercolor paint.
• Finish with one coat of Lancome’s Definicils mascara in Black.

Here’s the look on my eyes. See, the purple is very neutral and just brings out the eyes a little. Perfect for daytime! (And yes, I look a little crooked in this photo, oops!)

Suggested Reading: Bionic’s Review of Ferro Cosmetics, Amped Up Natural makeup look, and Rockin’ the Glow with Mineral Makeup.

As you know, I’ve been trying some cream blushes lately, so I felt reviewing NARS The Multiple in Orgasm was a must. The Multiple is billed as all-over face color for all skin tones. After my trials, I believe this product would work best on fair, light and medium skin tones (I’m light skinned for what its worth).

The color is in stick form, and twists up. I absolutely love the packaging! Luxurious and strong- it doesn’t feel like it’ll break if I drop it on my bathroom counter.

The color is a peachy-pink with subtle gold shimmer. This is an extremely buildable color, so start with a little, then blend. Add a little more if you desire. I’ve used this blush on my cheeks (of course), a little on my chin (to beat those winter blahs) and even a light sweep on my eyelids for a quick monochromatic look for daytime.

Here’s a swatch of the color on my hand (under Tungsten bathroom lighting):

And here’s The Multiple on my face:

In summary, this is a good staple for your makeup case. It’s a little pricey, but I’ve hardly used any of the stick at all (after a month of use). A small application really provides a nice glow to your cheeks. The color does not seem to “gather” or clump on my face, it settles nicely and wears well through the day. I apply it directly over my foundation and then a light dust of translucent powder to set it in place.

You can purchase NARS The Multiple online at narscosmetics.com for $36.50 and there are 14 shades available.