NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover & NARS Blush in Super Orgasm (both minis!)

Both of these were deluxe samples from buying something else, and they’re both amazing! It’s hard to see in the photos, but the blush gives the same natural pink flush that I love from my full size Orgasm blush but with big almost terrifying gold glitter. Glitter like this isn’t for everyone, but it’s fun for throwing on for an errand-day date or to brighten up an otherwise neutral make-up look. And look how small and cute it is!!!

My favorite of the two is definitely New Lover. I put this bad boy over NARS Tolede lipstick and it ads a whole new dimension. It adds shine but it doesn’t make my lips look wet and goopy, and I love love love gold, so the fact that this has a gold sheen to it makes it even more glorious in my eyes. I’m just wearing it alone here, but I’m serious, if you have a nude/pink lipstick you want to punch up, put this bad boy/girl over it and UNF.

Small sidenote: I’m in Austin right now for my sweet middle baby sister’s college graduation! I know a lot of people are graduation this weekend, so whether it’s for undergrad, grad, doctorate, what have you, congratulations!

I got this last fall on a whim after seeing it a few times. I was going to a wedding and wanted something festive to go with my simple dress. The color is amazing and vibrant, a nice deep raspberry shade, but the formula makes me wish I hadn’t dropped so much monies on it.

It’s pretty thin for one. Now, I like thinner polishes sometimes because it’s easier to get a smooth layer without any lumps on the nail tip, but there is such a thing as too thin. It’s hard to tell in this photo, but I have three layers on polish on, and in the light you can still see streaks. I don’t mind doing three layers instead of two if I love a color, but it better be opaque by that third coat.

It also chips fairly early. I used a cheaper NYC topcoat instead of Seche Vite, so I didn’t expect it to last a full week or anything, but I put this on Sunday night and by Monday afternoon I could see the tip wearing down, and by Tuesday there were some full on chips and cracks in the polish. Disappointment city.

Despite all that, I already own it and the color is beautiful, so I might as well use up this bottle. I’ve had great luck with some other Butter London polishes (I’m looking at you, Rosie Lee), but I’d look for a dupe of this one if I were you.

I took a hint from my good friend Becca and picked up the GlamGlow Super-Mud Clearing Treatment mask that I sampled a month or so back. You can get it for almost half off on Amazon, and that’s what I did. Here is a play by play recount of what happens when I wear it for your viewing pleasure. This mask sucks the junk right out of your pores, so if you’ve got a lot of pore congestion like I did when I used it, you can see it all right out in the open. It’s kind of gross, so be warned, but if you like to see a product with immediate results, this is extra fun (and effective!). If you have trypophobia or a fear of pods/clusters, some people don’t like the exaggerated look of the pores, so be careful going forward if you’re sensitive to that!

Here’s me straight out of the shower, wet hair and all. I’m hiding as best I can while still showing a little bit of my nekkid face.

Here’s the mast right when you put it on. It goes on a dark gray but starts to dry down to a light gray-green almost immediately. Even though I got this at a good price, I still only spot treat on my worst areas (nose and chin).

This is the 5-minute mark. It works fast, especially if you’ve got gross stuff hiding in your disgusting pores like me.

Ten minutes in and it’s getting good. The sides of my nose are always the worst along with a few spots on the bridge and bulb.

I waited it out until the 20-25 minute mark for the last set of photos. You can see how much oil and greasy gunk came out of the crease above my nostrils. It’s not even the little circles above the pores. They all join together. Nice.

I hope everyone can still look at me the same after seeing all my dirty grossness. When I was looking for product reviews on this I really wanted pictures like this so I hope I can do someone out there a favor. This mask is kind of pricey for the amount you get, especially at full value, but if you use it as a spot treatment and not a full face treatment every time, you can make it last quite awhile. It has other benefits besides clearing out congested pores, like helping with texture and discoloration, but I love it for the pore clearing properties.

When I first wash it off my skin is a little red and my pores are still a little stretched out, but once my skin has few minutes to recover, my pores are noticeably cleaner and smaller-looking.  They stay that way for days and with repeated uses, it takes longer for them to fill up. I use this about once a week to keep them under control.

If you’re interested, definitely soften the blow to your pocketbook and looking on Amazon.com for places that offer it cheaper than Sephora or department stores!

Derek Cardigan 7010 Frames in Smoke & NARS Tolede Lipstick

I promise this is my last pair of glasses. When Coastal.com had a sale a few weeks back, I couldn’t help it. I now have one of every style I’ve ever wanted. Since these are newer they’ve been getting a lot of wear in my eye wear rotation. I’ve also been wearing my new NARS Tolede Satin Lipstick almost every day. I bought it when I was picking up a gift for my sweet Becca’s birthday, and I’d had my eyes on this one for awhile so I tossed it in my bag. I have a NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil but I’ve never owned a NARS tube lipstick. What have I been doing!? It’s a beautiful rosy color that almost perfectly matches my lips, and the texture is like heaven. I really hate the term “my lips but better”, but dammit that’s what this is. MLBB.

I feel like my everyday lip colors have less staying power since they aren’t as bold as one of my reds or berry colors, but when I wear this Make Up For Ever clear Lip Line Perfector underneath Tolede, it lasts a good 6 hours and has even fade when it does wear off. I used to use the Maybelline clear lip liner and it works good, but the MUFE one gets my lips so tacky that anything will stick forever! I like it even better than my MAC Lip Prep & Prime (but not by much I swear).

I hope everyone’s had a good week! I’m really looking forward to this weekend. I’ve felt like every day was Friday since mid-week and it’s been throwing off my groove.

Revlon’s True Red blended into Revlon’s Wine Not

Nyx’s San Paulo

Revlon’s Black Cherry

NYX’s Castle

Butter London’s Fairy Cake Lippy Shimmer

I was really nervous about posting these because they are SILLY. I stayed in last Friday watching Netflix all night and got the urge to take big, blown out vanity shots. I did full make-up and lots of different lipsticks and just had fun with it. I have a soft spot for high-flash, sort of party style photos. My hair is dirty and and out of sorts, but I loved it! I hope you don’t mind the overload of selfies, but I think self preservation and self love is awesome and this is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile and didn’t do because I was worried other people would think it was self-indulgent and dumb. I’m not a real photographer by any means but I had a great time just getting dolled up and focusing on myself.

Non-Lipstick Makeup:

Makeup Forever HD Foundation

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Peach Satin

Nars Illuminator in Copacobana

Korres Blush in Natural (for contouring/bronzer)

Sephora Collection Smoky Kohl Liner in Black

Eyelure Katy Perry Eyelashes in Darling

Boots No7 Radiant Glow Concealer in Light (for undereye circles)

NYX Natural Eyeshadow Palette

Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil