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Imagine my ecstasy when I saw the NARS counter in the Philippines. Oh yes, when I saw the counter, I had an Orgasm.

No, really.

I had myself an Orgasm.

The NARS Orgasm blush that is. This is THE blush that everyone knows from NARS, a definite cult favourite.

You can’t find it here in Singapore (boo!) so I HAD to get it when I saw the counter tucked away near the entrance of Rustan’s. Ahhh…The thrill of picking up the makeup and then trying it out for real. Shopping for your makeup online just isn’t the same.

The blush comes in a simple black rectangular packing with white letters emblazoned across it (same as their eyeshadows and other products really). Open up the lid and the colour of the blush startles you a little. It looks like a bright pink for the uninitiated, but really is a pink with peach undertones. Gold shimmer twinkles in the pan as you tilt the blush and you wonder, with one eyebrow raised, if the colour will suit you.

But sweep it on wherever you desire and the colour shows up immediately (no questions about how much I love their pigments). That being said, all you need is to gently brush the blush across your cheeks and viola, instantly glowing cheeks.

Out of the pan, the colour shows up as a light pink with a golden tinge, thanks to the gold shimmer. Despite it looking like a kid just tipped the entire jar of shimmer into the pan, the shimmer is really not that obvious. In fact, I really like how the shimmer adds a subtle glow to the skin. Like they said, it’s a perfect pinky-peach flush.

Well, if any one now ever comments on how radiant I look and I’m using the NARS Orgasm blush, I now can break into a cheeky little smile and say, “Oh yes, it’s Orgasm.”

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! It’s the first day of the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. So what better day to talk about the new NARS Spring Collection than on the first day of the Spring Festival!

NARS is one of my favourite makeup brands because the pigments are amazing. My collection of NARS items is small. I only possess the NARS Orgasm blush and bronzer on top of the awesome Pandora eyeshadow palette because they dont carry NARS here in Singapore, otherwise I totally would have more. I got the bronzer and blush from the Philippines while Arissa personally hand-carried the Pandora eyeshadow from the States.

So when they introduced their new Spring collection 2010 consisting of lipsticks, liners, glosses, shadows and polishes, you can imagine my excitement. A chance to own ALL of these at once! OooOoooo….

From the website,

The NARS Spring Collection starts with lips that signal the season, from the deceptively demure Easy Lover Lip Gloss in hot pink, to the nearly nude subtlety of Lipstick in Cruising. For eyes that demand center stage, NARS mixes rosy gold with luscious boysenberry hues and sparkling sienna with moss flecks. A sky blue Glitter Pencil makes the eyes pop. Highlight your mesmerizing new look with Orgasm Illuminator and finish with the next cult nail color, Purple Rain.

I love how the colours are cheery, bright and fresh; obviously meant to make you look as pretty as a spring flower.

The collection can be viewed at Sephora.com. Hooray for online shopping!

What do you think of the new NARS Spring Collection?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

New year, new start.

If the new year was an indication of how the rest of 2010 will be like, I spent most of it at home, eating and nua-ing in bed watching Zombieland. Haha.

New Year’s Eve was slightly different. My New Year’s Eve was spent doing some cardio.

Dancing is always good to burn up the extra calories from the festive eating.

And then making monkey faces to say good bye to 2009.

Of course, going out on special occasions always means a great excuse to dress up. I made me a special pair of bling eyelashes and I got to wear them out!

Eye of the day
M.A.C Paint Pot in Rubenesque
M.A.C Mineralise eyeshadow Gilt by Association
Kate Gel Eyeliner
NARS eyeshadow in Pandora

They matched well with the theme that night: Black with a Touch of Gold. Thank goodness for all the inspiration from monoxious.com. Spending all that time with them, gave me loads of ideas how to dress up that night.

Christmas is barely days away! Have you been naughty or nice through this year? Hopefully you’ve been nice and made it to the nice list!

Not too long ago I had a shoot where I had to be “naughty”. With big hair, glitter sparkles, dark eyes, dark nails and red lips, I was a rockstar drummer.

Although most of the other makeup was the make-up artist’s, the eyeshadow was mine. Proudly showing off to her the NARS eyeshadow I had gotten with the help of a close friend, she agreed that the pigmentation was fantastic and proceeded to use it for my look. I love the intensity of it!

Face of the Day

Face
Makeup Forever products

Eyes
NARS eyeshadow duo in Pandora
M.A.C mineralise eyeshadow in Cinderfella
Kate Gel eyeliner in Black
Maybelline XXL volume+length mascara

Outfit
White balloon tee: Forever 21
Gold multi-layered chain necklace: Forever 21

To me, sleep is important. I am so not a morning person! I would imagine that the countless working women across Singapore who share the 7.55am train as me to work have the same sentiments. Most of them commute sans makeup; few and far between take the trouble to apply eye-shadow, mascara, blush, the works.

But recently, I have been hardworking and other than merely slapping my all-important sunblock on my face, I’ve been applying mascara and blush to achieve a fresh radiant look. All within 5 minutes.

Here are my 3 steps to a 5 minute face:

Step 1. Sunblock sunblock sunblock.

This is one step you SHOULD NEVER EVER skip especially since we live in sunny Singapore so close to the Equator. Sunblock prevents the formation of age spots, freckles and blemishes from sun exposure.

I use La Roche-Posay SPF50+ sunblock which has been voted Best Sunblock in various magazines. Not only does it serve as its main purpose as a sunblock, it also gives my face a sheen as if I’ve applied tinted foundation.

Step 2. Blush

Sweep on a light pink or peach blush on the apples of your cheeks to brighten up your complexion. Pick a light colour for daily use because you dont want to end up looking like a clown or Pikachu! Keep the application light and use a fluffy brush for application on the apples of your cheeks.

Recommended products:
M.A.C Pinch-o-peach
powder blush
Nars Orgasm blush

Step 3. Mascara

I know that mascara seems the most cumbersome of the three to apply and would take you beyond the 5 minute limit promised above. The curling of the lashes to achieve a doe-eyed/wide-eyed look is the most time-consuming. But here’s a little secret I discovered to save you precious zzZzzZz time.

Tip: Curl your lashes the night before you go to bed.

This saves you the hassle of having to make sure your lashes are curled to perfection early in the morning. All you have to do when you wake up is thus apply 2 coats of your favourite mascara and you’re ready to go!

Recommended products:
Maybelline Define-a-lash mascara
Maybelline XXL volume+length fibrewig mascara

To help you with your 5 minute face, Im giving away these items! Please note that all giveaways are limited to Singapore and Malaysia addresses.

#1 – Everyday Minerals Sprung Blush Reserved

#2 – Everyday Minerals Kaolin Powder Sunlight Finishing Powder Reserved
This is an oil-absorbing Kaolin clay and light-reflecting Mica by Everyday Minerals. Use it a primer or finishing powder to help your skin tone have a softer and smoother radiant finish!

#3 – Bio-essence Tanaka White Skin White Perfecting Stretch Mask Reserved

#4 – ReFine Softening & Moisturizing NanoGel Treatment
These patches can be applied to your cracked heels, elbows or knees, just a few of the places tend to ignore. The patches contain Nano-AEP & Jojoba oil for softening and replenishing the moisture in your skin.

Application: Apply to elbows, knees or heels before sleep. To use overnight after your shower. Remove gel sheets the next morning.

You know the drill. Leave a comment with your name and email if you’re interested!

It’s my birthday month first week of next month! Be sure to come back to check for special giveaways. Im tying up with a blogshop and she’ll be sponsoring 3 items for you to grab on top of other goodies. Yay birthdays!