named InStyle magazine's best lip gloss back in 2009,
NARS' Striptease is truly a gorgeous nude colour from outside the tube... if not a little bit of a hot mess. while us darker or olive-based chicks can rock a beige or nude flecked lip as well as any other lovely lady, it's certainly a little more difficult to find the perfect shade that doesn't entirely wash our faces out. this colour is totally understated sex appeal and absolutely
PERFECT on nearly every skin tone.
the formula feels simply amazing; unlike other nude lip products that i've found to be either overly sticky or extremely drying, NARS once again, hits the nail on the head with a smooth, silky feel straight from the applicator. even when applied over highly pigmented lips (ahem), the colour soaks right in for maximum coverage, glitter free. sadly though, overall i was left feeling mad disappointed. despite all of its charming points, NARS really dropped the ball regarding Striptease's scent and consistency.
typically it takes a lot for the smell of a lip product to seriously offend me. fake fruit, plasticy type whiffs and everyone's favourite medicinal cherry scents aren't quite deal breakers for me especially when the product is of otherwise superior quality. surprisingly in this case, it was bad enough that i actually made a run for
sephora today to return it. (☆▽☆);;; imagine spoiled concealer, oily yogurt and the slight after-mist of an ominous fishy odor rolled into one saintly, dazzling $25 lip tube. while i wasn't able to snap a pic, around the top of the tube i could even spy a ring of separated mineral oil from the rest of the colour (you can faintly see this in the photo above, toward the cap). shaking, heating or rolling didn't budge this at all. note that i also snuck a peak at a few of the other tubes and it appeared that yes, this is the norm.
man did this make me sad. very. NARS' lip glosses are a few of my favourite and personally, i have no idea how this slipped past their quality control. naughty, naughty. i'll definitely be sticking with
canmake's nudy glosses from now on.
Labels: cosmetics, lip gloss, makeup, NARS, review
bday haul~ ♥
Monday, August 29, 2011, 12:11 AM
So, Friday was my birthday. Thankfully I had the weekend off & had a blast. We scored tickets to see the Maury Show live (more on that later) in Stamford Fri morning and it was so worth the troublesome NYC traffic~ ♥
Even though my bro had to head back home to Japan the week before last, he surprised me by leaving an awesome haul of cosmetics & gifts for my bday!
August's issues of steady. & Sweet magazines came with adorable バッグINバッグ style pouches~ These are incredibly handy for stashing things in my purse on the go. He also grabbed two 7-11 brand exclusive ParaDo items: an eyemake palette (GN01) & a lip rouge (BE07). I'm totally amazed by the surprisingly high quality as I could almost swear the lip rouge was NARS or MAC. (☆▽☆)
Also, I winded up with goodies from Sephora thanks to the giftcard he purchased for me: I've been DYING to grab NARS bronzing palette which includes their award winning blush, highlighter and Laguna bronzer. As a bonus goodie I also decided to try PACIFICA's new coconut scented bronzing lotion which is as delicious smelling as it sounds.
A huge thanks to my brother for the wonderful gifts~ ♥ I have to admit he was pretty brave to wonder into the cosmetics section ;;;;
Labels: Betsey Johnson, birthday, cosmetics, haul, japan, LEST ROSE, NARS, ParaDo, shopping, steady, sweet
