Review: NARS Blush Duo in Albatross & Torrid

I'm very late to the NARS bandwagon I must admit.
I've always admired their products from afar and have picked up their makeup tools (namely their amazing eye brushes such as the #12, #13, #14 and #15 brushes) but haven't really ventured into their makeup other than with their iconic NARS Laguna bronzer.

That said, it was only time before I would eventually dip my fingers into their cult favourites that are raved about by thousands across the world. Today I'm doing a review and swatch on a NARS blush duo (so I can kill 2 birds blush with 1 stone review, so to speak).

NARS Duo - Albatross & Torrid

• This is is blush and highlight powder in one handy compact. The product is encased in a rubbery-texture case that makes it prone to picking up dust and hard to keep clean, all of which I'm not a real fan of, but hey it's signature NARS packaging and I doubt it will change anytime too soon.

See how dirty the case gets?

• Torrid is described by NARS as a coral shade with shimmer. To me, it was a medium coral peach colour with fine golder flecks of shimmer that creates a glow on skin and would sit very well with warm or cool skintones by adjusting the amount of colour applied onto skin. 
• Albatross is a pale golden sheen that can be used to highlight cheeks, brow bones, the bridge of nose and any other part of your body really  - it can look slightly frosty if you are heavy handed, but extra blending work with a small brush will diffuse the frosty look. This looks amazing 30 minutess after application when the product has settled on the skin - it gives it a soft ethereal glow to any skin tone. 
• NARS formula as you would expect is amazingly fine and pigmented, the powder just melts and fuses with skin within a few strokes with a blush brush (I use the MAC 131 duo fibre brush or the Bobbi Brown blush brush). This blush set will not give you blotchy results and if it does, you are doing something very wrong. 
• Lasting power is pretty good on my combination skin but it does fade slowly in the afternoons and a touch up is required if I was heading out after works. 
• both powders come in 5g pans and will last you a long time even with everyday use as a little goes a long way. I say this could easily last me years since I like changing blush shades regularly. 

Swatched on NC30-35 skin

Two of NARS much hyped and loved colours have been combined into a single compact, I can't see how you can go wrong with this limited edition duo.

RRP A$85 at Mecca Cosmetica or US$40 at Sephora (they may be out of stock but it is currently available at Stawberrynet for US$39 with free shipping).  

Review: KMS Dry Shine Styler

If you live in Melbourne, you’ll know how humid it’s been lately despite the mild weather and lack of sun.

And that can only mean one thing for me – frizzy flyaway hair.

I knew I had to do something about this to prevent a bad hair day and am so glad to have this great little product on hand.

KMS Dry Shine styler

• Limited Edition product developed in consulation with KMS California International  Session Styler &Artistic Director Clive Allwright
• The Perfect solution for taming frizz as well as enhancing shine on-the-go. 
• This stuff is truly a handy little tube to have around.  Easy to carry in the handbag and packaged like a glue stick (remember the one you used back in high school?), with a twist at the base, the product out and then just gently swipe some across your hair to combat the dreaded flyaway and frizz and any bits of hair that is just not plain behaving (yes, I’m talking about those small bits of hair that just won’t lie flat on top of head along the parting line).  
• Just remember not to leave this in your handbag inside a car parked in the open sun if you don’t want a melted styling stick.

Depending on which area of the hair you are using this on, you can either rub some of the product onto fingers to warm the product up and apply it to hair (eg. ends and flyaway) or lightly apply the product directly from the tube (for those individual pesky strands). This beeswaxed based styler will tame your mane quick STAT.

It also adds shine and makes them easier to control and style. As a little goes a long way, I use it sparingly. It’s non-greasy and doesn't add much weight to hair at all – perfect for touch ups throughout the humid day. Given the amount you use, this little tube will last you up to a year.

The best thing is that it smells great– a light sweet honey caramel scent that makes me feel a million bucks again.

Dry Shine Styler ingredients listing

RRP A$19.95  for 18g at all great hair salons or you can try your luck at Hairhouse Warehouse or Petra stores. Given it's a limited edition item, be quick to grab one before it's gone for good.

This product was sent for review.

Cleaning Makeup Brushes

If you haven't noticed, I'm quite a bit of a makeup brush fanatic and have over the years, amassed a sizable collection of brushes.

I still add to that collection on a periodic basis just so I can have many of the same type of brush and I don't have to spot clean it every time I use the brush for different colours. But at the end of the day, brushes need to be properly cleaned to remove from it, the product build up and the oil and sebum that gets transferred from the skin to the brush during use.

As I have a lot of brushes to wash, I tend to give them a deep cleanse every fortnight if I've used them frequently and have run out of clean brushes during that time. If I haven't (or am a bit lazy and don't have the time), I'd clean them every 3 weeks in bulk and the whole process of washing and towel drying can take up to an hour.

Freshly washed brushes on a towel

I use all 3 of the below products to do the actual washing of my brushes.

(1) - Clairols Herbal Essence Replenishing Shampoo for coloured/dry/damaged hair. I find that this shampoo doesn't have the silicones that many other shampoos contains, instead it has natural oils to help soften and condition the natural bristles of the brushes. Its something I use on my hair already so I don't need to go out and buy another shampoo for my brushes.

(2) - B&C AHA Cleansing Oil. I use this facial cleanser to help cut through the grease in brushes used with emollient products like foundations and creme blushes. The oil cleansing theory for your skin works the same for the brush bristles and are particularly effective with synthetic brushes which tend to contain foundation and concealers product build ups. 

(3) - Dove Cleansing Bar. I only use this for white bristled brushes where even though clean, the hairs are still stained. I would wipe the wet brushes on the cleansing bar and work it into a nice lather in my palm before rinsing out. This seems to get rid of any stains 99% of the time. I find the MAC fibre optic hairs (eg. the MAC 187 or 131 brush) and white hair facial brushes are the hardest to get back to the pristine white conditions.

 

How I clean my brushes

• Wet brush hairs with water and avoiding wetting the metal ferrule, squirt some #1 to clean the brush. If it is a foundation or concealer brush, squirt a pump of product #1 & product #2 liquid on brush and then brush the hairs up and down the palm of my hand to work up a lather. 
• Squeeze out the excess water from the bristles to remove the product build up. Wash it with a bit more water and repeat with more cleansing liquid again if required until when the brush runs clear when rinsed under running water. If the bristles are still looking stained at this stage, this is where I give it another lather using product #3. 
• Place brush bristles down on a basin/tub lined with a bath towel to soak up extra water. Continue washing other brushes. 

As you can see, my deep cleansing method is quite intensive but it is the most thorough way and it definitely gets all the brushes looking and feeling brand new again. Face brushes generally take the longest to clean whilst the smaller eye brushes can be cleaned very quickly and don't need repeated washes. 

After all my brushes are washed, I take each one and wipe it back and forth across the towel to remove excess moisture and wipe the ferrule down before lying them flat on top of another dry towel to air dry. Because excess moisture is removed with the towel drying process, the smaller brushes are usually dried and can be used again in less than 6 hours time whereas the larger denser brushes (the Sigma HD brushes or kabuki brushes) can take up to 2 days before being completely dry. 

I usually don't use brush guards when drying my brushes because I find that it slows down the drying process but I do use them to reshape the brush when the brushes are almost dried.

So that's how I deep cleanse my brushes. If you have any questions about cleansing makeup brushes or you would like to see a review on a particular brush soon, please send in your requests.

B&C AHA Oil Cleanser can be purchased online at Sasa.com for US$10.70