Dream Product: NARS Blush Bronzer Highlighter Trio

I had a random free day today after my initial plans were cancelled ... so with any day that i'm at a loose end I usually end up in town spending money I don't have.

A browse in Space NK led to this amazing purchase and it almost went unnoticed until I was walking out of the door.  I spotted a little purse/clutch like package on the NARS display and a closer look had me nearly hyperventilating for this little clutch of goodies was indeed my favourite NARS products rolled into one.

NARS Laguna bronzer (my absolute holy grail of bronzers), Orgasm blush (always a fave) and Albatross highlight (utterly lush) - All 3 of these products in the one zipped compact is a dream for me.  I usually use Orgasm as my holiday blush and I rarely go a day without wearing Laguna so to have these together is ideal, Albatross is the icing on the cake that will take any daytime look to a shimmering evening look in seconds.  This is going to make packing so much easier and lighter in the make up department.

This is a limited edition product and is priced at £39, I really did think this was quite the bargain.  A blush and highlight costs around £20 from NARS and bronzer is £24 so I felt it was a pretty good deal.  I snapped it up as soon as I heard the price. I was supposed to be buying new trainers for the gym today but that can wait until next month ;)

Has anyone else been tempted by this trio yet?

x

Review: Barry M Natural Dazzle

I know this review has been done quite a bit already by other bloggers but thought I would let you know my experience with it.

This has been described by others as a dupe for Nars Laguna. It isn't. The only similarities are the packaging and that it is a bronzing product. Here is Barry M on the left and Nars Laguna on the right - colours are very different.

I have also noticed the Natural Dazzle being described as a warm colour - I disagree with this. It has a lot of red and blue-ish undertones which to me is cool - I don't really suit cool colours. It is almost a plum-like colour compared with typical bronzing products.
The compact itself; look how dirty mine is, a sign it has been well used already ;)
I've probably mentioned before, I am naturally very pale. When I first started using this compact I was pale and wearing no fake tan so this is how the experiment began. On my pale skin, as a bronzer it looked dreadful, I did not look bronzed at all - more red, dirty and very bad at applying make up! Then I tried as a contour which I could see would work but on my pale skin it still looked dirty. I really had to buff and blend it for a while to make it work for my whiter than white skin.

However, this didn't put me off. A week later and I was faux tanned for my trip to Italy I decided to try again and the results were far different as you can see... (sorry not trying to be camwhore but want to try and show the definition it can give)
Again, I did not use it as a full bronzer as i really believe the colour is no good for that so I used it as a contour and the results were great. It really adds some definition to the face and helps to accentuate the cheekbone area. I used in conjunction with a dusting of my Laguna and blush and loved the results. I have now been using everyday so was super happy that we were given another one of these at the Barry M event! Although at £9.50 I wouldn't have begrudged paying that if I had to!

I will have to make sure I am tanned to wear this product and will avoid when pale. I hope at some point Barry M expand this range and include other shades more suitable for pale skin types.

Hope this was helpful, let me what you think of it too xx