NARS Never Say Never Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

Something very lucky happened to me the other day, I won my first give away prize! It was a NARS lip pencil in any shade I liked, courtesy of the lovely Latasha from Today I Adore. Having never tried any of NARS' products (but always wanted to!) I didn't know what shade I wanted straight away. So, I had a route around on the internet for some swatches and settled on this gorgeous rosy pink, but almost blue/purple toned shade. It's the perfect colour for me, and I'd compare it to MAC's Plumful lipstick, but matte instead of a lustre finish, and much more opaque. All the better because the colour is too nice to not be seen to its full potential!

As you can see, it gives a gorgeous raspberry type colour to the lips, not too red or purple toned, just somewhere in the middle. The finish is matte but it's described as velvet matte, which I can totally understand! The matte effect isn't drying at all, and like the description my lips feel smooth and soft after applying this. I feel like it's appropiate for day wear as it's not too bright. I think it goes with any kind of make up look, and definitely suits any kind of skin tone! I'm very pale, and I think it works well with my complexion. 

Final note, as I explained earlier about MAC's Plumful lipstick: if you love that lipstick but wish it was just that little bit more opaque and longer lasting, this is your solution!

You can find this for sale at Space NK here

Do you like this colour? Have you tried any of NARS' lip pencils before?

Jen x

Essie Sleek Stick nail stickers in 03 so hautel

I received these stickers in my Latest in Beauty Nail edition box. I hadn't ever tried nail stickers before, but I thought I might as well give these a go since I had them and see what they were like! They came in the packet below, and included a tiny little file inside to file off the sticker.

As you can see - the detailing is really nice. The stickers are an orangey red colour, with tiny little gold stud detailing. Applying them was really easy. I matched up my nails with the stickers until I found the correct fitting ones, then peeled them off the sheet and stuck them down onto my natural nails. The next thing I did was take my nail file and file downwards on the tip of my nail and on top of the sticker, to file away the edge and enable me to peel the excess sticker off. Once I did this I just filed around the free edge to make sure there weren't any jagged edges. That's it! No need for a top coat unless you want to put one on for piece of mind that they'll stay put. 

The details on the packet didn't indicate the wear time of these stickers, but I'd guess they're meant to last around a week. My nails tend to chip really easily normally anyway, so I'll be surprised if I get 2 or 3 days out of them without them peeling off or coming away at the edges. I won't be cynical though! I do really like these stickers for the easiness and quickness of getting them on, so if you haven't got much time to wait around for nail polish to dry these are pretty good!

Would you consider wearing these?

Jen x