Brand Focus | Nars

While in Australia what seems like forever ago, I went a little bit crazy and splurged on a tonne of high end cosmetics. Nars and Hourglass namely because they aren't easy to get your hands on here in Cork. I picked up 3 of the most talked about products by the brand and thought I'd share my thoughts overall.

The first product I picked up was the sheer glow foundation. I'm like a magpie when I hear glow, anything that will make my skin look brighter and less dehydrated. And let me just tell you.. It is so worth ALL of the hype surrounding it. It is water based which is great for those with drier skin as it means it won't cling to any dry patches. The name "sheer glow" would lead you to believe the coverage is light but this is very much a medium buildable coverage foundation. Once applied it leaves your skin with the most beautiful healthy glow. For those of you looking for a brighter complexion without it looking "dewy" this foundation is totally worth the splurge. With approximately 20 shades in the range their is literally one to suit everyone. I picked it up in the shade "Deauville" and it is the closest colour match that I've found in a foundation in a long time. 

My one and only gripe with this foundation, is an issue I have with a lot of high end brands -the lack of a pump. I just forked out €40 for this and now you want €5 more for a pump? Ugh - First World Problems!

Next on my list is the cult favourite "Laguna" bronzer. It looks a little dirty in the pan but don't let that put you off. The cooler tone mimic's that of an actual shadow meaning it is perfect for contouring. Think Benefit's "Hoola" with the teeniest hint of shimmer. Not only does it carve out glorious cheekbones, it also gives the skin the most beautiful sunkissed glow without looking caked on.  The fact that it is almost a 2 in 1 product definitely makes spending €38 on it a lot easier to stomach. I have a drawer literally overflowing with bronzers and contouring palettes and this is hands down my go-to favourite since picking it up in December and I haven't hit pan yet *touches all the wood*.

Finally I picked up the radiant creamy concealer in "vanilla". I am a bit of a self-confessed concealer junkie and my addiction has become very apparent in recent months - I want to conceal EVERYTHING. So lets start off by getting any and all misconceptions out of the way first - There is nothing radiant about this concealer. It does not have a luminous finish like that of  YSL's touche eclat for example. This stuff is heavy duty and will hide ALL of your sins. I have tear stains on the outer corners of my eyes, a few broken capillaries around my nose, a little bit of redness on my cheeks and plenty of acne scarring and this stuff hides it like nobody's business. I replaced it with the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage concealer for a while but I couldn't resist going back to this. I don't know how I ever coped without it. 

Nars is now available from BrownThomas.com which is very dangerous indeed - I will without a doubt be expanding my collection in the coming months. The Audacious lipstick in "Anita" is next on my hitlist thanks to Orla from MakeupOverMind for introducing me.