As a well-meant but embarrassingly inadequate apology, I give you the four Nars duos I’ve been meaning to review since Obama became president.

Nars has to have the sleekest packaging in the industry. Each compact comes in a box with a cardboard thing inside that keeps it secure. I apologize for not having pictures of these when they were brand new. Like my faith in love and romance, the boxes for my eyeshadows are long gone. The products themselves are encased in these black rubber housings whose only fault is that they are virtually impossible to clean. Gunkie Sheldons may find this annoying if not downright disturbing.

The mirrors are clear, accurate, and spacious, making the compacts truly nifty and travel-friendly.

Elsa was the first Nars duo I ever bought, and I have to admit, it hasn’t been my favorite. Both colors are very pale, the left being a lilac, and the right a baby blue. The color payoff itself is decent, the blue being a little bit more opaque, but I do wish the textures were a little bit smoother. Fallout isn’t a problem despite the shimmery finishes though. These do make for good highlighters, but this compact isn’t exactly the first thing I reach for when I need the luminosity.

Cleo was given to me by my gunkie sister-in-law. The left is a very pale green. I find it to be a little chalky. However, it’s not so soft that it crumbles. It actually goes on quite smooth. The right is a taupey emerald with green shimmer, a combination that I think works excellently with the other eye shadow. It has medium opacity and feels buttery and smooth with the shimmer staying put and infused properly into the powder.

*I used this in a very simple FOTD.

My love for Habanera knows no bounds. It is absolutely my MOST FAVORITE eye shadow compact ever! Seriously, if it were a man, I’d be TAP TAP TAPPING IT ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT.

I usually loathe frosts, but this here beautiful sea foam green is such a soft, elegant color that catches light but isn’t all disco-disastrous. It’s very smooth, opaque, and applies like a fucking dream. The dirty plum it’s paired with is proof that sometimes, dirty is good. It’s a weird, plummy brown that’s more understated than what you’d expect from the way it registers in the pan. It’s not as smooth as the frost, but the texture is nonetheless low-maintenance and fallout-free despite the shimmer, which echoes the pale goodness of the frost.

I really, REALLY want to meet the genius who put these two strangely complementary shades together and kiss him/her all slobbery and awesome!

*Here’s a smoky eye with JUST Habanera. Yeah, it’s that awesome.

As you can see, Kalahari’s eye shadows aren’t that much different from each other. In the pan, they look very different, but when swatched, they can hardly be told apart. Both have beautiful, smooth textures, and are very pigmented despite being pale golds. I would say that the pink undertones in the shade on the right would suit cooler or more neutral skin tones, and that’s about the only distinguishing factor between the two eye shadows. On my NC 25-30 skin, these are too pale for me to be able to use either alone (as in a single-color eye shadow look). I wish I could say that these being neutrals, I reach for them frequently, but actually, the fact that the shades are so similar instead of complementary means that one would have to reach for yet another eye shadow. Kind of defeats the purpose of them being supposedly nomad-friendly, I think.

Nars’ Duo Eyeshadows are 1,750php each. That’s 875php for each eye shadow. Nars’ individual eye shadows are larger and more expensive at 1,150php. I can’t imagine using up that big a pot of eye shadow though, so I think the duos are the better buy. Some are hits, and some are misses. I strongly suggest swatching the shades before purchasing.

Bye, gunkies! I really am sorry I’ve been away. Even my armpits are apologetic. Please accept!

Mine and Ms. Yuki’s model for the day was Zubi, who’s impossibly bubbly and fun to work on.

Ms. Yuki is HILARIOUS, you guys.

Unfortunately, they don’t allow us to bring products from other brands anymore, except for brushes. Not really a problem since MUFE’s line is quite impressive.

The look for the day was Arabian-themed bridal. Ms. Yuki’s work was insane.

Here’s my interpretation.

My classmate… Donna, I think it was, and her model.

Zubi’s got a gorgeous smile.

Later, she was like, BITCH, THIS BE MY ANGLE.

And there I am.

BTW, guys, if you haven’t checked out MUFE’s new lipstick line, Rouge Artist Natural, GO. NOW. Seriously, I am freaking IN LOVE with them. They’re especially a must-have for bridal makeup artists. The line is ridiculously big and everything is gorgeous. I’ll try to do a review one of these days.

Face Gunk:
1. MUFE HD Foundation
2. MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer
3. Palladio Rice Powder
4. MUFE Sculpting Kit

Eye Gunk:
1. MUFE 12 Flash Color Case
2. theBalm Shady Lady in Jealous Jordana
3. Stila Eye for Color Eye Shadow Palette
4. M.U.D. Eye Color in Daisy
5. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
6. MAC Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Undercurrent
7. Nars Larger than Life Volumizing Mascara
8. MAC Opulash Mascara in Army of Amazons (Wonder Woman Collection, LE)
9. MAC Eyeshadow in Espresso

Eyebrows…
10. LM Brow Definer in Warm
11. E.L.F. Eyebrow Kit in Dark

Falsies…
12. Generic pack of ten top lashes

Lips:
1. theBalm Shady Lady in Jealous Jordana
2. M.U.D. Eye Color in Daisy

Sorry this was so late. I wanted to do more Halloween looks, but unfortunately, I’d been having trouble with HD editing and disk space. Also, our Internet connection.

Face Gunk:
1. MUFE Face and Body Foundation
2. E.L.F. Under Eye Concealer and Highlighter
3. theBalm Liquid timeBalm Concealer
4. Palladio Rice Powder
5. WnW Mega Glo Illuminating Powder in Starlight Bronze
6. MUFE Sculpting Kit
7. MAC Beauty Powder in Her Own Devices (Venomous Villains, LE)

Eye Gunk:
1. UDPP in Original
2. NYX Eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown
3. UD Naked Palette
4. Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Deepest Black
5. Prestige Waterproof Eyeliner in Teakwood
6. Prestige My Biggest Lashes Mascara

Eyebrows…
7. MUFE Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector

Lashes…
8. Generic pack of ten top lashes

Lips:
1. MAC Lip Pencil in Spice
2. MAC Lipglass in C-Thru

Inspiration Pics:

FIERCENESS COMES FROM WITHIN.

I erased his brows with a glue stick. On my own face, this method is the best and easiest, but for bushier eyebrows, I think the spirit gum/plasto wax/correctors would be necessary.

You can’t have him. He’s MY boyfriend. He just doesn’t know it yet.

I need to do more drag looks! This was such fun! Thanks for reading, gunkies. Haven’t seen the movie, but I’m sure it’s awesome. There is lip-synching to a rock song involved. And no, that is not a paradox.

I blended the crease out a much more than I should have. I didn’t realize that the original was a lot thinner. My bad! Anyway, the rest of the steps should be the same, though a pencil liner or a more precise brush would probably work better for recreating the crease.

Face Gunk:
1. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light
2. MUFE HD Foundation
3. E.L.F. Under Eye Concealer and Highlighter (concealer side)
4. MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer
5. MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer
6. Stila Sheer Pressed Powder
7. MAC Blush in Her Blooming Cheek

Eye Gunk:
1. UDPP in Original
2. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer
3. MAC Eyeshadow in Espresso
4. MAC Eyeshadow in Cork
5. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
6. Stýli-Style Colorlash mascara in Blackest Black

Eyebrows…
7. MAC Eye Brows in Lingering

Fake Lashes…
8. Andrea ModLash #33

Lip Gunk:
1. MAC Lip Pencil in Subculture
2. MAC Lipstick in Jubilee

Let it be said that I don’t hate the brand! Quite the opposite in fact. When it comes to neutrals and No-Makeup makeup, LM has some of the most gorgeous products. I sigh and lovingly swatch half the products on display every time I pay Rustan’s a visit. The only reason I don’t splurge on LM gunk is because I would rather spend money on crazy WTF colors than neutrals that would serve the same purpose as the ones I already have in my collection.

I thought it was about time I tried a more Lisa Eldridge approach to doing my eyebrows. She seems to have a propensity for a more natural look when it comes to eyebrows; unless a look calls for it, she never draws them on very structured and precise.

Nobody does natural better than Laura Mercier, so I headed over there and picked up this brow powder duo.

I went for Deep Blonde because I thought the shades would be the most versatile for my ever-changing hair color.

The packaging is lovely. It’s sleek, compact, and has a nice mirror that doesn’t bend or disfigure images. I do wish that it came with some sort of applicator, even a slightly substandard one. This is a product that perhaps wasn’t designed for on-the-go application, but still! They put a mirror in there for a mirrorless situation; If I didn’t have time to do my makeup in front of a more comfortable mirror, I definitely wouldn’t count on me remembering to stuff a brow brush into my makeup kit. I mean, even E.L.F. put one in their eyebrow kit.

Both the shades are subtle, taupey browns. They are pigmented enough to show up but not so much that they won’t look natural. The wear is also quite excellent. I usually like to extend my eyebrows to a tapered point and sometimes have a problem with the ends disappearing as the day progresses. I did not have that problem with this duo. I mostly use the darker side, though I mix a bit of the lighter one to feather out the inner part of the brows.

Here’s what it looks like on me (click here for the full FOTD). It’s very inconspicuous, though it still makes a huge difference. My face just doesn’t look complete without filling in the brows. This does the job and at the same time, has people wondering, “does she or does she not have eyebrows on?”

Laura Mercier’s Brow Powder Duo kits are 995PHP each. If I didn’t wake up so late all the time, not leaving even a few minutes to do my makeup, this would be my everyday eyebrow product.

I got one in a color I knew I would love as soon as its teal gorgeousness popped up on my computer screen.

I really love how MUFE makes their packaging extremely convenient for us gunkies. Each tube is the color of the product inside it, so it’s easy to grab a specific one from Narnia- I mean, my drawer. (Comment on my inaccurate metaphors and see how rabidly I eat your face.)

I got the shade No. 5, which is a straightforward blue on the outside, but a happier teal on the inside.

It comes with a felt tip applicator that I do not love. The length is kind of awkward for me. Sam of Pixiwoo thinks it’s too short; I think it’s too long and thin. I guess this is just a matter of preference. I’m sure a lot of people will find the length comfortable. I prefer to apply it with a tapered eyeliner brush, but for convenience, the applicator is what I end up using most of the time.

The product looks like a much deeper blue than it is when applied. I actually thought I had picked up the wrong shade in the store. This is why we swatch, people!

Now is the time to gasp. Yes, the color is THAT gorgeous. It’s this amazing teal with a healthy dose of shimmer. The formula feels a little watery, but a little shake of the bottle will give the product much better opacity. It applies smooth, opaque, and with shimmer that shows up tastefully. It’s very, very easy to work with.

The lasting power, for which this waterproof liner is known, is quite impressive. This thing will not budge unless it is taken off with a very good makeup remover. Even with my MAC Pro Makeup Remover, the liner still left a bit of a stain which took a little bit more effort (and another cotton ball) to remove.

As for its waterproofness, I must say that I was a bit disappointed. I went and saw No Other Woman wearing this, knowing that I would be sobbing my way through half the movie, and to my disappointment, the liner did smudge a little. I might have rubbed it with a tissue, but definitely not hard enough that it should have moved a supposedly budge-proof product. However, undisturbed, the liner will stay put until it’s removed.

Here’s how I wore it that day. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of it smudged. You’ll have to take my word for it, inaccurate metaphors and all, hohoho.

MUFE’s Aqua Liners retail at 1,380PHP each. The many shades are absolutely gorgeous, and the formula is one of the best I’ve seen in a liquid liner. Seriously guys, you have to check these out!

What’s on my face?
❤ Eyes: MUFE Aqua Liner #5
❤ Eyebrows: LM Brow Powder Duo in Deep Blonde

I’ve got a couple of reviews lined up, including the gunk highlighted in this here FOTD. Stay tuned!