NARS Hungry Heart

A lot of people post disappointed reviews of NARS Hungry Heart. I like it, but i knew what i was getting - i had seen it and tested it in sephora before i bought it. I suspect that people who ordered it sight unseen might have thought they were getting something a bit different.

So what is this Hungry Heart? It is a dual pan containing, on the left, an ivory powder with gold shimmer, and on the right, pale pale neutral-cool pink, called "Pink sand", with gold shimmer.

NARS makes some items denoted as "highlighting blush" -- in reality highlighters -- and i would say that "Hungry Heart" would fall into that category. NARS powder blushes as described both as being sheer and pigmented. This are not very pigmented - you can see the glitter in this photo - but i think the colors are even paler than they appear here.

I'm fairly pale and both of these blend into my skin tone without adding much color, although the pink has a bit more than the ivory. Both have golden shimmer and work well as highlighters, although i would suggest a light hand to avoid looking like a disco ball. I would recommend the ivory with warmer toned makeup, and the pink with cooler.

On some makeup blogs, i've seen people piling this stuff on, so they can see the "color" and then complaining how chalky or dusty it looks. Well, as some might say, "duh." This stuff is NOT meant to be slathered on thickly. The shimmer will look best if applied lightly, so it catches the light but isn't a thick coating. This usage may seem too subtle to some, but i have to say that i am often surprised to read product reviews for products i own, written by women with coloring similar to mine, who complain about how much of a blush, highlighter or bronzer they have to load on so they can see it -- when i have the opposite feeling, that i have a hard time applying it lightly enough so that i have only an appropriate hint of color.

I suspect that in part it's a matter of how much light there is and what the light source is where one puts on one's makeup. For day wear, I do my makeup in front of a window that gets northern, that is natural but indirect, light. For night, i put on my tried and true base (i.e., primer & foundation), then test the rest of my makeup under different light sources wherever i may be. That way i'm not just putting it on under unflattering fluorescent light and thinking that's how i look - I try to spot check under warmer or yellower light (similar to old incandescent light) as well.

Anyway, back to Hungry Heart. I think it's a lovely highlighter if you have realistic expectations: the powder is smooth and the shimmer is fine - no big chunks of glitter, as in some blushes, like Super Orgasm - so it isn't gritty; the colors are compatible on most skin tones - since i'm very fair, i can't speak for dark skin, but if it isn't applied so thick that the powder becomes obvious, it could work. I would recommend testing it before buying, if there's a sephora or department store you can get to.

For some realistic swatches and a list of suggested uses, see the Beauty Gala blog

Happy New Year

Well, between Halloween and New Year's I was busy and neglected this blog. So sorry.

There have been way too many MAC releases, and with so many sold-out limited edition products there's not too much reason to give an over-view of them all. But I have been hauling.

MAC for Gareth Pugh - Released on Nov 23

So many items looked so impressive... but so were the prices - and a bit too impressive for my wallet. Out of 17 Limited Edition products, I only bought two:

-- Vacant Lipglass - Sheer light lavender gray with violet pearlized pigments
-- Outrage Lipglass - Sheer berry with blue pearlized pigments

Yup, subtle (or maybe not so subtle) glitter glosses. Vacant is too sheer to be impressive on its own, but it definitely adds sparkle over a lipstick. Outrage is sheer, but has enough color to be noticible - and the blue glitter takes it out of the ordinary.

Then MAC released three Limited Edition collections on December 26!

1. MAC Metal-X Collection

     I wasn't all that excited and didn't get any, then I was sorry when the only one I liked, 

     Vintage Coin, sold out fast.
 

2. Tour de Fabulous

     This was going to be Glamglass back in July, but I heard they had problems with the formula 

Tinted LipGlass - yeah, they aren't GlamGlasses

-- Comfort & Joy - Mid-tone frosted dirty mauve

 I have several variations on this color, a sort of greyish lavender, since MAC seems to come out with them fairly often.

(I keep thinking I got one more from this collection, but it's not listed in my inventory)

Lip Pencil
-- Just Wonderful - "Dirty mauve" - actually gilded dark muted rose - mauve would be bluer

I use it as a liner with both darker and lighter related colors, being sure to blend it in well so there is no obvious ring around my lips. I even wear it on its own. It reminds me a bit of my true love, Aristo-Cat, from MAC's 2010 Fabulous Felines Collection.

3. MAC & Daphne Guinness Collection

Blush Ombre

These were re-promotes from MAC Spring Color Forecast 2010. There were 2 warm colors in that original, a peach & a beige, but this collection only released the cool colors.

-- Azalea Blossom - Light cool pink
-- Vintage Grape - Mid-tone violet pink

And guess what - there is NO glitter in either of these babies. But in each one the color gradates from pink on one side to violet on the other, Grape being darker than Azalea. And I am a sucker for multicolor products, and almost anything violet.

The glosses were all quite light - and I have enough light glosses to wear over lipsticks, so as nice as they were, I passed. And I have several other colors similar to the lipsticks in this release, so I passed on them, too. The pigments were lovely, of course, but, again, I have similar colors. And the nail polishes - MAC makes nice colors, but the formula just isn't very good, streaky and needing more coats than most brands and yet they are so expensive. Fortunately the colors are usually dupe-able - when they aren't and I'm in love, I buy one - and these looked dupe-able.

And then 2012 came in, and MAC just couldn't stop releasing Limited Edition Collections!

1. MAC for Iris Apfel

The promo photo of Iris is terrific:

but the collection is mostly bright reds, and pinks, and oranges, with blue and green eye shadow, colors I don't wear a lot, and I already have more reds than I can wear, because I rarely wear red...

2. Naturally Collection

This consisted mostly of "natural" "nude" colors.

The lip products were terrific, but I only need so many nude lipsticks and glosses in my collection, so I passed on them.

The Mineralize Blushes were good, too, a cool pink, a warm pink, and an apricot. But I don't wear blush often, and I think I have enough in my makeup kit, so I passed on them, too.

The Mineralize Eyeshadows suckered me in with their swirly colors, however. Of five, I bought three:

Cloudy Afternoon - Cream with gold, grey, and pink veining

Daylight - Peach with mid-tone blue lavender veining

Summer Haze - Palest gold with deeper gold veining

Sometimes MES are hard and chalky, but these babies are soft, bee-yu-tee-ful! ...and sparkly!

And my greatest love from the collection:

Mineralize Skinfinish

-- Blonde - Soft pink to rose degradé

-- Redhead - Gold to salmon pink degradé

These are repromoted from a previous collection — there was also a "Brunette", which was beige to bronze — I'm sorry it wasn't included. These MSFs are shimmery, perhaps even frosty, but blended well on the skin, they are not a glitter-fest, thank goodness. I'm not too old for glitter, but i don't want it all over my face. So BIG LOVE here! I've been happily wearing them as blushes, although a MUA at my local MAC thought they were highlighters.

And now February is coming. At least they're not all being released on the same day...

1. Shop Shop Shop, Cook Cook Cook - released on 9 Feb

There are 26 Limited Edition items!!! Whew! But there are a lot of bright and pale pinks and bright oranges again, so not for me.

LIPS: 5 Kissable Lipcolours (liquid glossy lipstick)

        5 or 6 lipsticks

        4 barely tinted Tendertone Lip Balms which are fruit scented and have some shimmer 

EYES: 3 Eyeshadow Quads and 3 off-black FluidLines.

CREME BLUSH: 3 - orange, neon pink, and plum pink.

NAILS: 3 polishes - green, neon lime, and orange.

I only ordered one item - Kissable Lipcolour in Flaunting It - opaque grey mauve pink with subtle white micro-shimmer. I dunno, maybe i'll go back for the lemon-lime balm, Tread Gently, if it doesn't sell out.

2. MAC for Vera - released on 16 Feb

This is NOT Vera Wang - she has her own cosmetics line.

This is NOT Vera Bradley of the very preppy and expensive printed cloth bags. 

This IS Vera Neumann, an artist & textile designer, who began selling her designs in the late 1940s. Her signature, Vera, and a little ladybug were always in one corner of her silk scarves. My mom had them back in the late 1950s & 60s and I even had one or two of my own in the late 1960s, in designs based on Vera's paintings in odd color combinations.

I only got three things, I'd LOVE to order more, but I'm trying to save money for a vacation.

- 5 Plushglasses, two pale, two bright - and one violet with sparkles, which I ordered.
- 6 Pearlglide Intense Eye Liners - these are terrific - lots of intense color, lots of shimmer, and they go on so smooth and creamy, yet stay so well. I ordered the purple, but i'd like 3 more...

- 3 Crushed Metallic Pigment Quads - one has bronze, gold, and copper; one has four yummy shades of pink; and one that has 2 purples & 2 teals - which I ordered, 'tho I was jones-ing for all three.

There are two Pearlmatte Face Powders, adorable blushes with blocks of matte and shimmer colors, Sunday Afternoon in 3 pinks and Flower Fantasy in peach and coral.

I didn't order either one, but I really want both...

And two Nail Lacquers, a lilac-pink and a creamy coral, which both seem dupe-able.

So what have you been hauling? Got glitter?

Never Too Old For Glitter

Hi, glitter babes!

I'm new here, but not exactly new to makeup.

Who am I? I'm over 60, overweight, post-menopause, Caucasian/white or whatever it's called these days (my skin is clearly not *white* and my ethnic heritage is not from the Caucasus). I have very few wrinkles on my face. But i do have rosacea on my cheeks and dark patches on my jaw lines. I was never a sunbather: I got my overexposure acting in Renaissance Fairs. I don't have puffiness or bags  or dark circles under my eyes, but i do have some fine lines & wrinkles there. I also have droopy eyelids and some crazed lines on my eyelids close to my nose.

Now that I'm gettin' up there, I have gotten into skin care. I don't know if it is really relieving any of my skin problems, but it definitely makes my skin feel better.

I don't have a love-hate relationship with makeup; I have a love-indifference relationship. I go through periods of enjoying it - and then periods of ignoring it. I especially enjoy wearing makeup in odd colors and interesting textures.

The name of this blog is a bit of irony. While I certainly hope I don't overdo it, I actually enjoy a little judiciously placed glitter when I'm in the mood. This blog will be about my experiences diving back into the world of cosmetics and skin care, playing and having fun, and also building more practical applications.

Are you too old for glitter?

If you still love glitter, please share which are your favorite glittery cosmetics?

If you think you're too old for it, I'd love to hear why.

Glitter and Ice

Well, my pretties, I meant for my first post-intro post to be practical, but... I picked up my MAC Glitter & Ice Collection pre-order yesterday. I haven't had a chance to make myself up with it all, I just tested them in the shop, and I'm excited. What can I say? Glitter!!

This MAC collection features Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir looking absolutely dazzling.

The collection comprises:

    6  Dazzleglasses

    6 Lipsticks
    6 Technakhol Liners

    6 Beauty Mineralize Eyeshadows
    3  Paint Pots

    2 Beauty Powders

    3 Nail Lacquers

    Lashes #7

Note that descriptions in quote or in parentheses are from the MAC web site. 

LIPSTICK

- Eloquent Air, "sheer white silver", Glaze finish

- Soft Sable, "cool frosted taupe", Frost finish

- Double Spin (pale mauve pink), Cremesheen finish

- Whirls & Twirls (sheer pink with gold pearl) , Glaze finish

- Such Flare! (true red), Matte finish, which seemed to me to be a somewhat blue-red

- What Joy! (deep berry), Satin finish with some slight sparkle

I got Eloquent Air (hey, it's winter and I need an icy silver lip) and Soft Sable, which to me seemed to be somewhat nicely mauvy. It's a pretty chilly color, but workable.

The reds were out of the question for me. I tried on Double Spin - I had thought I'd get that, because I like the lilac cast it has, but it was so pale and so opaque that I think it was not a good color on me. Perhaps a PPP with pink undertones, or a darker beauty who enjoys the contrast could make it work. I also tested Whirls & Twirls, because i like pinks with gold pearls, but it looked way too cold on my - it certainly suits the collection, but I don't need a cold pink.

DAZZLEGLASSES

- She-zam (sheer silver with silver and red pearl)
- Pleasure Principle (clear white [with] violet, teal, and white pearl)
- Glitter & Ice (light nude with white and gold pearl)
- Dressed to Dazzle (pale dirty pink [with] red and gold pearl)
- Spanking Rich (raspberry pink with red and gold pearl)
- Love Alert (raspberry red with red pearl)

I got Pleasure Principle and Dressed to Dazzle.

I had expected to get Pleasure Principle and She-zam, but they seemed far too close to me, and Pleasure Principle had more multicolored sparkle. Glitter & Ice ("light nude with white and gold pearl") was very pale and sheer, and how many pale sheer sparkly glosses do I really need? (Don't answer that!) I don't wear red or raspberry lipsticks much and I think I have enough of those colors in my makeup stash already - but if you like pinky reds one these might be for you. Then I tried on Dressed to Dazzle and it was almost a MLBB color, well, with much more sparkle, and I can see wearing this daily.

TECHNAKHOL LINERS

- Silver Skates (silver with pearl)
- Practice Makes Perfect (blue with pearl) , a dark warm blue
- Fancy Moves (purple with pearl)
- Seasonally Spicy (brown with pearl) - I'll stick to my Laura Mercier copper brown, and if I need another, I'd pick up MUFE 16L
- Going for Gold (gold with pearl)
- Smooth Manoeuvre (black with pearl)

Ouch! These were all so dry they actually hurt my eyelids! I was hoping to ge a couple of them, especially the silver, but there were all a definite pass for my sensitive eyelids.

MINERALIZE EYESHADOWS

- Fresh Ice (white silver melange)
- Frozen Blue (blue silver melange)
- Hold That Pose! (pale mauve melange)

- Winterized (dirty purple with silver, indigo, and pink melange)
- Shimmermint (pale green melange)
- Snow Season (soft taupe melange)

I find the marblized MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows all a bit frustrating. They look so glorious in the pots. But how they apply can be more than a bit hit or miss. Often when the colors are blended they end up looking muddy.

These in the Glitter & Ice collection are all quite frosty. I already have some frosted white and silver shadows in my own collection, so i didn't test Fresh Ice. I also never wear blue shadows (teals and turquoise, sometimes, but not true blues), so I passed on Frozen Blue. I tested Winterized on my hand, and it looked muddy to me. I don't recall if i tried out Hold That Pose!

I did test Shimmermint and Snow Season and may go back for one or both if they don't sell out fast. Most of the greens I own are on the warm lime side, so I could use a cool green. I used Shimmermint to line my lower lid - there was perhaps a little glitter fall out, but it was not extreme and easily brushed away. I put Snow Season on my upper lid from lash to brow and it was a winner.

PAINT POTS

- For Effect (black with pearl)
- Morning Frost (shimmering champagne taupe)
- Let’s Skate (pale pink with pearl)

For Effect was just too black and silver for me. I don't wear black liner or black shadows myself - I think they look too hard and heavy on me. I really wanted Avenue from the MAC Me Over collection - which was warm brown/black with gold glitter, but I missed out on it :-(

Morning Frost was a terrific taupe. I tested it and it looked great. I have other taupes in my stash and I don't wear taupe so often that I felt the need for another, but this is a goody, a really great frosted taupe.

Surprisingly to me, I did get Let's Skate. In the pot it is a pale pale pink, shrug. But on I felt it really brightened up my eyes, and it has a surprising amount of glitter. It makes a great base for other colors.

BEAUTY POWDERS

- How Beautiful! ("pale shimmering beige")
- Snowglobe ("frosty pink beige")

These are both more highlighters than face finishers because they are so frosty. I loved them both, but I have bought several Beauty Powders and highlighters this year, so I felt I didn't need to buy another that was not such a different color from those I already have. If you don't have any Beauty Powders and don't have enough highlighters, these are quite nice.

And finally

NAIL LACQUERS

- Unconditionally Fabulous ("super sparkle white") is clear and colorless with fine multi-colored pale glitter.

- Festive Finery ("dirty mid-tone greyed violet") has a cream finish and on me looked faintly as if it had a slight brown cast. I really liked it, but decided to pass on it.
- Get Noticed ("true bright red") is a cream polish that is not at all true red; it is a medium-dark red with blue undertones, and, well, as you have probably gathered by now, I don't wear red polish (burgundy and plum, yes, red, no)

Naturally i bought Unconditionally Fabulous. It is nice on its own (I do love glitter polish), and it's also great as a top coat over Festive Finery or Get Noticed or another dark or intensely colored polish.

[I wear glasses, so false lashes are likely not gonna work - but they look cool]

So out of 33 products I got 6. I also bought MAC Superslick Liquid Liner in Nocturnal, which is a bright metallic silver, for my own Glitter & Ice feel.

I need to add some photos. Maybe the Great Pumpkin will give me a camera this holiday season.

I recommend Temptalia's beauty blog. Here's her overview of the Glitter & Ice Collection She also has separate posts for each type of cosmetic with her swatches and tests - look for her links to them. My experiences and opinions don't match hers, and yours may differ from both of us.