Sunday, August 7, 2011

July Favorites


          July was a month of excitement and experimentation. Companies let loose their Fall 2011 floodgates and the Nordstrom Anniversary sale went into full swing. I scoured the web and scurried to stores to pick up my precious new goodies. It was an enjoyable, but hectic time. I'm looking forward to the slower pace in the coming couple of months. My purchases this month are all NARS. Because there were too many NARS products I had to have, I had to pass on my other interests. Some products I thought were great but passed on were: Chanel Fall 2011 lip colors, Bobbi Brown Tortoiseshell  Sand palette, and the Urban Decay 15th anniversary palette. Sigh. There's always next season!

         My favorites this month are a mix of new and old things. I've gone back to my smokey eye and nude lip standby. It's a very happy (makeup) state of mind for me.


1. NARS Grand Palais eyeshadow duo - (Reviewed here) This had me playing with my crease colors this month.
2. NARS Bright Lights, Big City eyeshadow palette - (Photos here) I love this palette. The colors are perfect for a smokey eye. I can use all six colors at once!
3. NARS Vestale Nail Polish - (Reviewed here) This is going to be a favorite of mine for a very long time. I'm wearing it one my toes as we speak.
4. NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara - This is really waterproof, doesn't flake, and provides good volume. It's not my all-time favorite mascara, but I like it.
5. NARS Smudge Proof eyeshadow base - I'm favoring this over my UDPP lately.
6. NARS Pago Pago Lipstick - I haven't reviewed this yet, but it's a beautiful light lippie from NARS Fall 2011.
7. NARS Greek Holiday Lip Gloss - I use this to add a dab of shine on my otherwise flat nude lips.
8. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Zero/Whiskey - This came with the Naked palette and got little use. I rediscovered it this month. Because I've been wearing smokier eyes, a thick smudgy black line is ideal. Zero does the trick. I think NARS Smudgeproof holds on to pencils better than UDPP, and I don't have to worry as much about the thick line creasing.
9. Bobbi Brown Bare Pink Rich Lip Color - This is one of my favorite lipsticks ever. The formula is awesome.
10. Bobbi Brown Blondie Pink lipstick -  The color is a slightly darker nude than my other two lipsticks this month. I'll use this when I don't want to look as washed out.


          Next up are my face products. This month I finally came to the realization that I'm allergic or sensitive to blush. I've had small bumps / breakouts on my upper cheeks for a long while now. I finally realized that the big culprits were sunscreen and blush. It took me so long to figure out the sunscreen part. Sunscreen is marketed in such a positive light that I never suspected it until recently. It's also quite hard to avoid since it's present in almost all lotions and foundations.  I stopped using blush and cheek products and there has been improvement. It's frustrating because I really enjoyed using blush. Without it, my face looks drained of color. I've tried adding in a little bronzer for color. I think I'm slightly  less sensitive to bronzer than blush. Perhaps it has something to do with the red pigment. Because of this, you won't see any blush products below.

Face products
11. Dior Aurora bronzer - (Reviewed here) I love this bronzer. It has a little color so I've tried brushing some at the apples of my cheeks and avoiding the more sensitive areas that are nearer to the hairline.
12. NARS Laguna bronzer - (Swatch here) This is another favorite bronzer of mine. I'm too nervous about my sensitivity so I try not to use it everyday. I have, however, discovered that it makes a nice crease color on the eyes.
13. Bobbi Brown Pale Yellow Pressed Powder - I shopped this out of my stash. I use it to set my Sheer Glow Foundation. It's very finely milled and works well.
14. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Ceylan - My everyday foundation. I love the color and the coverage. It doesn't have sunscreen which is probably why it agrees well with me. It also photographs quite well.
15. NARS Luxor Multiple - I've become interested in multiples as an alternative to normal blush. This is more of a highlighter than a blush, but it helps give some dimension to my face.

There you have it: my favorites for July. The no-blush situation is kind of sad, but I always liked eye makeup better anyway =). Thanks for reading!

Love, Dovey.

20 comments:

  1. I saw the first picture, I saw NARS everywhere and I went like this =D

    I am quite interested in the Luxor multiple and love your bronzer choices. Glad you like the BB Pale Yellow Powder, it's pretty famous but i dont hear anyone talking abt it at the same time????

    I hope your skin issues get resolved!!! I would be pretty upset abt no blush, I would look dead, and I have so many i love! there must be an ingredient you are sensitive to that maybe some brands use rather than others..
    maybe natural choices? like Dr. Haushka? Gluck dear! =)

    Loved reading ur list

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  2. Love all of your NARS! I've been having a NARS moment lately myself; can't seem to stop buying more and more of it! The Luxor Multiple has been on my wish list for ages, but I have so many other highlighters that it's never made it into my shopping cart.

    It's very odd about your blush issue. I wonder if it was just one particular brand that was making trouble for you? I hope it clears up and you can find a brand that works for you! =)

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  3. I love Dior Aurora! That's unfortunate about the blush :( Hopefully it's just a temporary sensitivity or something.

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  4. Look at all of that NARS! So beautiful. And sorry to hear about the sensitivity. I recently bought an eye cream (with sunscreen) that irritated my eyes so bad that I had to call in sick from work the first time I used it because I thought I had pink eye. Sorry, gross and TMI but I guess what I'm trying to say is I can totally empathize.

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  5. Look at you missy with a ton of favorites! July was good to you! <3

    I am so glad we share the love of NARS!

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  6. Great July favs! All of the NARS products...*o* Aw, no blush? That's ok...at least you'll save money?

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  7. You and me both...NARS Junkies! Thanks for the post!

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  8. I wish Sheer Glow came in a shade that worked for me. :-( I really liked the formula. Great post!

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  9. Hi C&M! I break out from blush, too, but I can't quit it... Can you do a review/swatches of that Luxor Multiple... it looks like such a beauty :) I'm kind of getting into cream highlighters lately.

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  10. I really want to try multiples. Luxor and South Beach are on the top of my list!

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  11. I really look forward to your monthly favourite posts because it's always filled with such lovely products! The NARS Bright Lights, Big City eyeshadow palette looks absolutely gorgeous!

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  12. I absolutely adore that you like NARS products; it helps me figure out what to purchase next. Great favourites and I'm glad you found a way around your sensitivity to blush.

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  13. Ahh so much NARS! You make me jealous girl :)

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  14. It sounds absolutely absurd, but have you thought about making a chart of all the ingredients that could potentially be bothering you? It takes some time and dedication, but I have *VERY* sensitive skin and doing that has really paid off.

    Love your favorites posts!
    ♥ Jessica

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  15. Lovely choices!

    Sorry to hear about your allergies. I have bad allergies too that seems to get more sensitive as the years go by. Hope you identify the ingredient you are allergic too. For me it's just trial and error, and hoping for the best.

    The Bobbie Brown Blondie Pink lipstick looks and sounds lovely. I've always wanted to try it!

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  16. Hey Dovey! Make sure that you are cleaning your blush brushes frequently because that can cause breakouts. I think we are supposed to clean them at least once a week if we use them everyday.

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  17. Hi Everyone, Thank you for all your wonderful comments; they made my day! I'm quite deliriously sleepy now, so I will plan on writing a fuller set of responses tomorrow =)

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  18. Lilladylife - thanks for the fun comment! I had no idea BBs yellow powder was well known, I got it during my BB obsession phase. Well, I still am obsessed =P

    Kayla - i know what you mean about wish lists. He's so many great products, you can't help but have a huge backlist!

    Larie - I know! Aurora is a product I'm glad i splurged on

    JC - not gross, I totally feel your pain. When you love makeup as much as we do, it's tough to be hindered by bad reactions

    Laurajean and Jamilla and stealmyheartlove -me too! I love having a little community of nars junkies like me!

    Tiffyama - that really is the silver lining. That thought actually has crossed my mind. I'm gonna go nuts over eyeshadows now!

    Perilously pale - I know, colors are so tricky. Fnding a good one is hard.

    Sarah S - coming right up!

    Kelly - both sound like great choices to me =)

    Nat - thanks for that, it made me happy!

    Alex, aw =P

    Jessica. Not crazy. Totally brilliant. I need to get unlazy and do that, stat.

    Penelope - I guess reactions are more common than I thought. I should really be more proactive.

    Tasha - hehe, I know. I had hopes that it was just my brushes, but I've been fanatically cleaning brushes every day for months now =P

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  19. Great faves! I love Nars! My go to eye liner right now is the Aigle Noir shadow pencil and I'm loving the lip gloss in Easy Lover and Organs blush is my all time favorite!! We just found your blog and followed. We'd love for you to visit our blog and follow back if you like.

    Jayme & Mendi @ Her Late Night Cravings
    http://herlatenightcravings.blogspot.com/

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  20. I loved looking at your favorites, Dovey. Too bad about the blush. If you wanted to wear sunscreen have you thought of a mineral powder, like Laura Mercier or Jane Iredale? Both give a nice finish to the face with around SPF 20, I think. JI also makes some really pretty mineral blushes that get tons of love on MUA.

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