Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Are they dupes? Comparison Swatches and pictures - NARS Outlaw vs Wet and Wild Berry Shimmer

Since good ol' Wet n' Wild brought out its Silk Finish Berry Shimmer blush, there's been a lot of talk about whether that particular WnW color is a dupe for NARS Outlaw. Now, it so happened that I had Outlaw, which I swapped for awhile back, but NARS blushes were breaking me out, so I though I'd get the Berry Shimmer and see if they were really dupes! I totally wanted them to be, and were they?



Click for full sized pic.


Well this photo above makes them look pretty close in the pan. To be fair, they are both definitely in the same colour family - both of them are bright berries that have a touch of dustiness in them. The WnW, however is more of a screaming berry tha, while the NARS is more dusty. And the NARS is more cool-toned than the WnW - it's obviously more blue-based.

Now, for some swatches:





L - R: WnW Berry Shimmer applied lightly, NARS Outlaw applied lightly, WnW berry shimmer applied heavily, NARS Outlaw applied heavily. These were taken in shaded natural light.

Click for full sized pic.

Now, it becomes pretty evident that although they're close, they aren't by any means dupes, like other people have been saying. Sure they're in the same colour family, but there's a definite difference when swatched, as is evident from the picture. While they're both berries, the WnW is a warmer berry, while the NARS is a cooler berry. Also as I've mentioned before, the WnW is brighter, while the NARS is a more muted, 'dusty' colour - of course this is relative, since both the WnW and NARS are pretty bright anyway. Both of them have gold shimmer, so for anyone who hates shimmer blushes, I'm afraid you're out of luck. But I love the way the shimmer is done in both blushes though, it's glowy without being overdone.

So I guess if you wanted a cheap-ass dupe of NARS Outlaw, I'm sorry people, this isn't actually a dupe, but it's pretty darn close. Especially if you're a warm-toned girl. In fact, if you're a warm-toned girl, this might actually suit you better than the NARS, since the NARS is definitely cool-toned, and might wind up looking 'bruise'-like on warmer skin. Outlaw is definitely a color that's better on cooler skin, IMHO, so if you're warm, you've got yourself a deal with the WnW - same berry color with similar gold shimer, just with a warmer undertone. However, if you're really cooltoned, I'm afraid the NARS is still the more $$$$$ way to go.

That's not to say the WnW isn't pretty in it's own right. I totally love it, it's an awesome color, and definitely a must-buy the next time you head to your local Walgreens. I'm just saying as a dupe it isn't a 100% dupe.

And another thing I noticed that might surprise people - Berry Shimmer was insanely pigmented, much more than NARS Outlaw in fact! *Cue gasps of surprise and mood music* For the heavy swatches, I had to dig into my Outlaw to build up the swatch, but the Berry Shimmer heavy swatch was just a few strokes of color! Yes, yes, yes, we all know NARS blushes are so insanely pigemented that very few beat them, but guess what, WnW has decided to load their blushes in the pigment department, and they have come out on top! I myself was very surprised swatching this, because while I've had really good experiences with WnW blushes in the past, this was just totally AWESOME. A skunk will definitely be required for application - don't say I didn't warn ya!

The only gripes I have about WnW are the packaging. The plastic window in the casing likes to come off and dig into the blush (be careful if travelling with it), and the small brush it comes with is really useless. The brush issue isnt a problem for me, since i use my own brushes anyway (which reminds me, I must do a post on face brushes soon), but I'm always worried about my WnW blushes getting all banged up if the plastic window screen comes off. It's not that sturdy for travelling, the NARS has much better packaging in that respect. But then again, it's not perfect either - anyone who has owned a NARS anything will know that that rubber casing likes to attract loose powder and lint, so it looks really dirty after awhile. Wiping it down with a wet baby wipe to remove the gunk built up on it should do the trick though.

I love my NARS, of course - in fact I was wearing Outlaw everyday for a week straight before I started breaking out due to the Isopropyl Palmitate (that's how much I love it), and to a lesser extent the Tocopherol, so I'm always glad to have an alternative that doesn't break me out :) Of course, YMMV, so just because it breaks me out doesn't mean it breaks you out etc etc etc...But I just thought I'd mention it, because so many other bloggers tend to get drunk on the NARS kool-aid and start raving about it, when actually some of the ingredients in their blushes are potentially pore-clogging - it's just good to put it out there. Of course, tons of people wear their blushes and it doesn't break them out - but for the rest of us, there's always Berry Shimmer.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Yay, a new blog! And NOTD: Nails Inc Jermyn Street

Ok, so right now I'm busy with work and all, but holidays are coming up soon, and soon I will have time to post. For now this is going to be limited to makeup posts (no FOTDs, sorry), and NOTD posts, because I'm a huge slacker, and there are plenty of blogs doing the let's-swatch-every-new-collection-that-comes-out thing. This is going to be my online reference place - for things I like or hate - basically things I have something to say about.

I'll probably start with some NOTD posts, because that's what I'm into right now. With any luck I'll document my swatches (dupes, personal stash) at some point. I could post everything on MUA, and I will, but it's just nice to have my own personal space for reference, where everything I have is in one place.

Anyway, without further ado, here's my first constructive post ever: an NOTD from awhile back - Nails Inc Jermyn Street, which I bought sometime in the not-too-distant past, when I went on a total Nails Inc haulage! (Yes this is the disclosure bit - I bought this myself! Not paid to write this or affiliated to any company blah blah blah...Dude, duh. My blog, just born, is not famous enough to get freebies. And with how slack I am it's never going to reach the pinnacle of blog famedom.)Of course, I just HAD to get this, it's one of the standouts of their line, and purply-taupey-brown? Mmmmmm...that's my favourite eyeshadow color, and it would make a good nail colour too!

I really love Nails Inc polishes, every single one I've used has had the bestest application ever - smooth, even, just the right balance between thin and thick, and some of the colours (especially the darker ones in my experience) are so awesomely pigmented that you could probably Konad with them. Now I'm a nail noob, and I'm nowhere near the gods of the nail board on MUA, but I've spent enough of my dough on nail polishes to know an awesome one when I see it. And this, ladies and gents, is totally AWESOME.



Click to see full-sized pic.

This is 2 coats, no topcoat, under crappy lamplight. And yes, it's a crappy pre-clean-up pic, so sorry about the frazzles et al. The colour is pretty close, though, despite the lamplight, if I do say so myself. It's even got a hint of purple too, a slight one.

Applying it was effortless, although I do have one teensy gripe - the CAP!! Why does such a beautifully formulated nail polish have to have a sucky cap? The cap is big, so maneuvering it requires a bit of work - I don't know why, but somehow having to handle a cap this bag kind of reduces my dexterity, so I get more polish on my cuticles etc than I normally would. Well I did say I was a nail noob! Otherwise, Nails Inc is awesome, and I totally want to buy more of these to add to my already-growing stash of them.

And the color? I really love this one - it's in the same color family as OPI's YDJK, and $OPI's Metro Chic. It's more brown than Metro Chic though, and much lighter, browner, and less grey than YDJK. It's yet another addition to my taupey-mushroomey-brown-with-a-hint-of-purple color family, and I'm loving it to bits. It's a gorgeous creme finish, smooth and opaque in 2 coats, and basically just 10ml of creme awesomeness. It takes 2 coats to be totally opaque though, so I'm not sure if I'd want to Konad with this. Maaayyyybe one day I might try. But for now I can say that my eyeshadow matches my nail color! Haw haw!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Dirty Jeans using Glamour Doll Eyeshadows

What's up?  Well it's been a long while since I've posted on here!  Sorry I've been MIA. 

Here's another one of my Glamour Doll Eyeshadow looks:


Items used from Glamour Doll Eyes:
GDE - Dirty Jeans [inner corner]
GDE - Chocoholic [brown on outer corner]
GDE - Cloud Coverage [white as highlight]


If you want to know how to get this look, just check out my youtube tutorial below. ;)


You can find other makeup tutorials @ http://www.youtube.com/user/MakeupNme