NARS Spring 2023 Orgasm Collection Swatches

NARS Orgasm Rising Eyeshadow Palette, Orgasm Four Play Blush Quad, and Orgasm Rush Multiple Swatches
NARS Orgasm Rising Eyeshadow Palette, Orgasm Four Play Blush Quad, and Orgasm Rush Multiple

If you know NARS then you are not surprised that they have released yet another Orgasm Collection. However, if you are new to the brand, let me welcome you to business as usual for NARS. Clearly, this works for them or they wouldn’t continue to do it. Every brand has its claim to fame and the Orgasm powder blush (and every variation on it that they can come up with) is NARS’ golden goose.

With this Spring 2023 collection, NARS has ditched the matte black packaging in favor of shiny pale pink. The packaging doesn’t feel as luxe as the matte black in my opinion, but it is nice. It isn’t super lightweight (so it doesn’t feel cheap) but it doesn’t have much heft to it either. I think the packaging looks nice, but it’s not a show-stopper.

I always stay tuned in to the NARS new releases and their collections are always exciting for me (even with the repetition lol). As you’ll be able to tell from my images, these pictures were taken in Ulta. I think this is a nice collection and I wasn’t disappointed with anything in terms of quality, the options were just too similar to things I already own and love. Even though I decided not to make a purchase, I thought it’d still be fun to share some swatches with you. Enjoy!

Continue reading “NARS Spring 2023 Orgasm Collection Swatches”

MAC’s Most Inconsistent Eyeshadow Formula – Dazzleshadow Extreme

Now, you guys know how much I love MAC, but I can admit that the brand has missed the mark with this eyeshadow formula. They really should have spent more time refining it before putting it on the market. The worst part to me is that they are still using this formula in palettes, so they seem to be running with it. There do tend to be inconsistencies in other finishes (from other brands as well, not just MAC), but given that there are only 10 dazzelshadow extreme shades, they really should perform more similarly to each other than they do. The shades that I have tried are Objet D’ Art, Couture Copper, Joie De Glitz, Celebutante, and Incinerated and between these 5 shades, they feel like 3 (maybe 4) different formulas.

MAC Dazzleshadow Extreme Eyeshadows Objet D' Art, Couture Copper, Joie De Glitz, Celebutante, Incinerated Swatches and Review
L to R: Objet D’ Art, Couture Copper, Joie De Glitz, Celebutante, Incinerated

Objet D’ Art and Joie De Glitz perform the same in that they have a gritty texture with noticeable sparkle and a good amount of fallout. If you are someone that doesn’t mind doing your eyes first or cleaning up fallout, I actually would recommend these two. I’m not sure how anyone at MAC felt right describing Celebutante as extreme. It has a very soft finish, it looks much shinier in a swatch than it does on my eyes. I would say it is satin at best, there is nothing metallic or extreme going on in my experience. If you like a more subtle eyeshadow, I do think this one performs nicely and I had no issues with fallout. It just doesn’t deliver what it should since it is grouped under the dazzleshadow extreme finish. I did purchase Celebutant from the Cosmetics Company Outlet, so I guess it is possible that it was part of a bad batch that got sent to the outlet as overstock.

Couture Copper is smoother than Objet D’ Art and Joie De Glitz and doesn’t have a noticeable sparkle to it but does have more shine than the typical MAC finish you may be used to. It is also more finicky to apply than Objet D’ Art and Joie De Glitz, applying best with fingers. I still like and use Couture Copper, but there are better more user-friendly shadows. The reason I said there are “maybe 4” formulas is that while I think that the formula of incinerated is most similar to Couture Copper, it has a thicker texture that makes it the hardest of all shades to work with. Hopefully, there isn’t much more variation in the formula of the other 5 shades in this line, but at this point, I wouldn’t be shocked.

Have you tried this formula? What do you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below.

MAC DazzleShadow Extreme Swatches (L to R):

  • Objet D’ Art: Electric ochre with silver sparkle
  • Couture Copper: Bright copper
  • Joie De Glitz: Olive green
  • Celebutante: Rosy pink with red sparkle
  • Incinerated: Brown with red pearl
Continue reading “MAC’s Most Inconsistent Eyeshadow Formula – Dazzleshadow Extreme”

Makeup So Good That I Want To Buy More

UPDATE October 2022:  Looking for me? Military life has us moving again, as it does. So while I won’t be posting, if you have questions you can always leave a comment on any post or email me at editor.nikkifromhr@gmail.com.

Dior 689 Mitzah, NARS Liberte, Pat McGrath Belle of the Ball Swatches
Dior 689 Mitzah, NARS Liberte, Pat McGrath Belle of the Ball (LE)

If you watch beauty videos on YouTube you may have seen this concept popping up where people are highlighting makeup that was so good they needed more. I thought I’d run with that idea but instead talk about a few things that I’m not going to buy more of despite really enjoying them. I’m no stranger to buying multiple colors of the same formula and as you’ll see in the last two, I already own multiples. I’m just trying to buy makeup differently moving forward.

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Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette (689 Mitzah), $62**

Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 689 Mitzah Swatches on Medium Dark Skin
Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 689 Mitzah

I have posted a full review with swatches if you want my full thoughts on this palette. I have owed several Dior 5 Couleurs over the years and I’m never disappointed. Every time I wear Mitzah, I’m impressed by how smooth they are on my eyelids, while still having enough shine to stand out. Lately, I have been reading and watching reviews of the 579 Jungle version because I love green eyeshadow but as with most colors, all greens don’t work for me.

$ 0.00
Sale
Price
$ 62.00
Regular
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Dior 5 Couleurs Couture Eyeshadow Palette 579 Jungle 0.24 oz / 7 g**

While I do think that the two greens in this palette would work out great, I really think I’d mostly only use the 1 green shimmer shade and the rest of the palette would be a waste for me. In the reviews I’ve watched, the dark green matte does seem to show as green, so that was good to find out, but I hardly ever use shades that dark. Buying this palette would just take time away from enjoying the Mitzah palette.

The Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palettes can be purchased for $62.00 at nordstrom.com** and sephora.com.**

Continue reading “Makeup So Good That I Want To Buy More”

Makeup Fails and Just OKs (NARS, bareMinerals, Armani, Urban Decay, and Covergirl)

NARS Copper Mini Voyageur Eyeshadow Palette, bareMinerals Bare Pro 16HR Powder Foundation in Medium 35 Warm, Armani Lip Power Long Lasting Satin Lipstick in 400, Urban Decay Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator in 60 Medium Dark, and Covergirl Clean Fresh Tinted Lip Balm in Red Maple Bloom Swatches

Sometimes products just don’t work out and it can be important to share those items even if I don’t want to do a dedicated review for them. These are just some quick thoughts on these products since I won’t be continuing to test them out for more in-depth reviews. Today I’m talking about the NARS Copper Mini Voyageur Eyeshadow Palette, the bareMinerals Bare Pro 16HR Powder Foundation in Medium 35 Warm, the Armani Lip Power Long Lasting Satin Lipstick in 400, the Urban Decay Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrator in 60 Medium Dark, and the Covergirl Clean Fresh Tinted Lip Balm in Red Maple Bloom (limited edition shade, but permanent formula).

Continue reading “Makeup Fails and Just OKs (NARS, bareMinerals, Armani, Urban Decay, and Covergirl)”

Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 689 Mitzah (Swatches)

I know that small eyeshadow palettes from luxury brands aren’t for everyone, but they are definitely a favorite of mine. I love smaller eyeshadow palettes and quads in general, but Dior eyeshadow palettes never fail me. I just find them easy to use and flattering to wear.

The empty tray on the right usually holds a double-sided sponge tip and a double-sided brush. Sorry I’ve already gotten rid of them and don’t have them to show you. I haven’t used them since I tried my first Dior palette back in 2016 or 2017 so I wouldn’t be able to tell you much about how they work anyway.

Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 689 Mitzah Swatches on Medium Dark Skin
Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette 689 Mitzah
Continue reading “Dior 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in 689 Mitzah (Swatches)”

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Luxury Eyeshadow Palette

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Quad Swatches and Review
Pillow Talk Dreams

As usual, I am late for the party. I’m sure by now you have seen several other reviews about the Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Quad. It did appeal to me when it was first released, but I was trying my hardest to resist buying more from the brand. I only have a handful of products from Charlotte Tilbury and while I like all of them, they just don’t hold my attention as much as other products that I have. The quality and performance are there and I do like the packaging, they just don’t seem to rise above other favorites of mine. So, I told myself this one would be no different so I shouldn’t bother spending the money. Then along came a sale and here we are 🤔.

Continue reading “Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Dreams Luxury Eyeshadow Palette”