NARS Sex Appeal, A Grow-er not a Show-er

I'm sure a lot of you are with me when I say when swatches of NARS Sex Appeal started popping up, I immediately decided to pass on buying. I mean, what's the point? It's INVISIBLE, right? Noooooo. It's really not. It is underneath Douceur on the swatch above. You can kind of see it but still not very impressive. What is impressive is what happens when you put it on your cheeks. Ach, Mein Gott! I can't speak for everyone, but for me - light skinned with ruddy cheeks - this blush is absolutely gorgeous on. It somehow counteracts the redness in my cheeks and gives me a really healthy, natural, pinky peach glow.

I took my mom to the Sephora VIB event last night. I saw Sex Appeal and decided to give it a try. So, not looking in a mirror (because I know how I am and I would have found something to love about it regardless) I put some on my cheeks while my mom looked on. What was the response of every girl's harshest critic and greatest champion????  The  woman who constantly says "You have too much makeup. You don't need to buy anymore" changed her tune to "Oh, Erika, that's gorgeous. It's so natural looking and it really perks your whole face up." Really, mom? Well, I looked in the mirror and she was right, so in the basket it went. I also picked up Douceur while I was there because somehow I'd neglected to buy it before. PS - Thanks, mama, for going shopping with me. As always, good times! :)

Rock & Republic Blush & Lip Gloss Swatches

I finally got around to swatching all of my R&R blushes.  If they weren't such a steal, I'd be unhappy with AllNighter and X-rated.  It's not that they're bad, it's just that they don't look good on my cheeks.  X-Rated is just tooooooo red for my already ruddy cheeks.  And AllNighter, well, it's goddamn orange.   I know Immoral is orange too, but somehow, I can work with that one.  I knew when I bought them that I probably wouldn't like them but thought I'd give them a shot since they worked out to $7.50 each.

Here are 3 of the lip glosses.  If you're familiar with the way Chantecaille Lip Chics smell, that's exactly what these smell like to my nose.  They're nice, but they didn't wow me.  That said, I'm not much of a lipgloss girl.  I have a couple that I love & use a lot (Guerlain Pomme du Desir is one) but I don't tend to go out searching for them.  Cougar & Mistress are definitely going up on the blog sale.  I really liked Sexy Beast - it's one of my colors that I buy over and over again in different brands and forms.

Guerlain Blush 4 Eclats - Tendre Aurore

This is my first Guerlain blush and I have to say that I am impressed.  It is so soft but not in the usual powdery way (like Lorac or Stila e/s).  It feels velvety to the touch.  Pigmentation is very good.  I actually really love this color but I think it would be something only suitable for fair skintones.  Darker skintones could use it as a highlighter I suppose.  On me, this blush just gives a hint of color and looks extremely natural.  My cheeks but better.  :)  It could be made more dramatic by using the colors separately or you can apply it blended together and then pick up some color from one of the darker shades and go over the area toward the bottom, keeping it light on top and giving you some contour.  These blushes have the signature Guerlain scent - candied violets - which I happen to love.  It doesn't linger upon application but every time you open the compact you get a nice waft of fragrance.

Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Color Swatches

Today I decided to quickly write about Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Color (blush). I like these quite a bit - not as much as Armani or Rock & Republic but I do like them better than most. There's a very nice range of colors to choose from. All of the ones I've tried are very nice texture and pretty pigmented. My favorite thing about these (and this won't surprise most of you) is that you can pop them out of their individual compacts and put them into a 6-well palette. The newest additions to the line are Lotus Pink & Lush Nectarine and I have to say they are my favorites. They have a different finish to them than the others. They almost have an iridescent sheen. They're gorgeous and both are very flattering on many different skintones. These are $24 each and the empty palettes cost $10.

Soho de Chanel Highlighting Powder & Blush (Swatches)

This just came today. It is more gorgeous and wearable that I thought it would be. It is extremely soft. So soft, in fact, that I can think of nothing to compare it to. The swatches are the best I could do. I didn't want to *DIG* into it in order to get more vibrant swatches. I hope this helps a little, anyway. :)