Friday Five : NARS Concealer edition

           Happy Friday! The new NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers have been the objects of my obsession for the past couple of weeks. As a big fan of NARS foundation and concealer products (amongst other things), I was excited to see the first product reviews trickle out (and I'm looking forward to reading more). They're now available online, however I'm planning to wait a bit longer before purchasing. In the meantime, as I mentioned on Instagram, I've been giving my NARS Concealers in Vanilla and Custard a lot of love. Hopefully, I'll stave off temptation a while longer this way! On that note, here are my five favorite reads of the week, which cover the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers, as well as other new releases:

1. A sneak preview of Marc Jacobs' nail polish collection for Sephora on Fashionista.
2. Café Makeup has swatches of the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers.
3. Burberry Beauty for Fall 2013, including new nail polish, is listed at Temptalia.
4. The Beauty Look Book has swatches of the new YSL Rouge Volupté Shines.
5. See my and other beauty bloggers' beach favorites in the Condé Nast Traveler!

          Thanks for reading and have a great weekend! Are you planning on picking up the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers? What concealers are you currently using? Do you have any beauty-related weekend plans?

Love, Dovey.

Sephora Friends and Family haul

          Today I'm presenting my purchases from the Sephora Friends and Family sale this year. I was inspired to post by Beauty Vigilante, who shared her haul as well. It's fascinating to see what essentials people pare their lists down to. It says a lot about them, don't you think? I tried to stick to big-ticket basics like foundation and foundation and tools. Recently I've had the notion that I'd fallen a little out of love with NARS. However, judging from the number of black cardboard boxes in my Sephora haul, this was clearly not the case!

          Recently, I've been exploring foundation. I've used most of my NARS Sheer Glow in Ceylan (Light 6) and love the formula, however I felt the color washed me out because it lacked pink. I therefore picked up NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Deauville (Light #4) which has a mix of yellow and pink undertones. Secondly, I've wanted to try MUFE HD foundation for a long time, because of it's photogenicity. I ordered MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Foundation #118 (Flesh) in a value kit that came with the HD powder, primer, and kabuki brush.

          In terms of eye products I ordered NARS Manchourie eyeshadow duo, NARS creamy concealer in Vanilla, NARS Smudgeproof eyeshadow base, and Sephora Professionel Smoky eye brush. My favorite product so far is the smoky eye brush that I first read about on The Non-Blonde. I didn't know what I was missing until I got this a couple days ago! I was also quite excited to get NARS Manchourie eyeshadow duo. I've been using this as liner for the past two days, and will try to post a review and photos this weekend.

          To satisfy my nail needs, I picked up NARS Orgasm and NARS Bad Influence nail polishes. Both had been on my list for a while. I was sad since I had missed out on Bad Influence, however it recently reappeared on Sephora's website for steal at $8! I also picked up the Tweezerman petite manicure set. It seems like a travel friendly kit, and I was much in need of a pushy tool and a hangnail clipper.In post-sale retrospect, I think I should have ordered more nail polish! I could have used some pink Sephora by OPIs.

          And.... this is for my mom, per her request. It's Christian Dior Capture R60/80 XP Wrinkle correction eye cream. Does anyone know why all Dior products have ridiculously long, difficult to remember names? Also, on a funny side note, the product is listed on Sephora as "wrinkle restoring cream". I'm not sure people would want their wrinkles 'restored'!

          I also received a 500-point BUXOM perk, that I'm enjoying now, as well as a 12 oz. bottle of Philosophy Purity face wash as a 100 point perk. I probably have enough Purity at this point to wash my face well into next next year! I also find the fact that I have 600 points sitting around to be somewhat disturbing, but I should probably not dwell on that fact... Products that I barely passed on during the sale were more Sephora Professionel brushes, NARS Orgasm multiple, NARS Brumes eyeshadow duo, and more nail polish.

          Thanks for reading! Is everyone else enjoying their Sephora Friends and Family hauls? Care to share any surprise favorites?

Love, Dovey

Makeup Minis currently in rotation

         Here's a peek at the mini and sample size cosmetics I'm currently using. Like most beauty enthusiasts I have a large backlog of mini products I need to use. I'm pretty diligent about going through samples, but I still have many.  In fact, I have a bag full of mini and full-size mascaras contains at least 20 tubes! For a while I used to do "Project 10-Pan" on my minis. It successfully cleared out a lot of clutter and I learned a lot from trying many different products. I no longer partake in "10-pan" but I have developed a habit of using minis in my everyday routine. I thought it would  be fun to start a series where I share and review what mini cosmetics I currently have in rotation.


1. Love, Chloe Eau de Parfum- This smells like rose and powder. I'm a fan of florals, however it's a little too sophisticated for me. I prefer simpler and brighter smells.

2. NARS Orgasm Illuminator- This sample is really midget-sized, but I've been using it forever. I love the natural sheen it gives me. I had also accumulated two full-sized tubes and a larger mini-size tube. They would have lasted me at least 5 years, so I gave them away to my mom and aunt. If I ever finish a tube of the illuminator, I will most likely purchase a new one. I'm on the fence with skin-sensitivity. My skin doesn't react strongly against it, however I haven't ruled out a mild response.

3. Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes pencil in 0L- I keep this in my makeup bag for touch-ups. I have a full-size version as well. The staying power is good on top of primer.

4. LUSH Vanishing Cream- I asked for a face cream sample at LUSH because I'm still looking for a moisturizer that I'm 100% comfortable with putting on my skin. I tried the Philosophy miracle worker sample that came in the Sephora VIB packet but had reactions to it. Sigh. So far, Vanishing cream is working fairly well so far.


5. Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara in Black- It's OK, but I'm a little underwhelmed by the volumizing capacity. I have to put on at least 5 coats before I'm happy. That said, I'm someone who really packs on mascara because my lashes are thin. I don't need a lot of length added, just volume. The name says "volumizing" however I find that this mascara is better for added length instead of volume. On the plus-side, the formula doesn't clump even after adding numerous coats. On the down-side the formula smells distinctly like chemicals. You can probably tell from my review that I won't be interested in purchasing a full size version.

6. Smashbox Photo-op under-eye brightener- This adds a subtle sheen in the undereye area. There's not a lot of pigment so it can't be substituted for a real concealer. To be honest, it doesn't really do much for me. You can still see the light shadow of my barely visible under-eye circles. However, I saw this on my friend once and it looked nice on her.


So that's all for today's Mini series. Do you use up your minis as well? Any good or bad finds?

Thanks for reading!

Love, Dovey.