The Orgasm Dupe

I know there's probably a lot of posts out there similar to this but after looking at my blush collection a few days ago, I realised they all looked the same! There's obviously a certain colour I gravitate towards and I also prefer shimmer. But I never chose any of these blushes with Nars Orgasm in mind. This is probably why I wasn't so impressed with it when I finally did buy it. I even went onto the Temptalia dupe list to check out what else is similar. I kept seeing Luminous by Milani popping up, and this just happens to be the only Milani blush I own! I've also heard that Rose Gold by Sleek is supposed to be a good dupe too which I was going to buy a few months back but it was out of stock, it would probably be a waste of money for me to buy it now. Although it's a great alternative if you don't want to splash out the money for Nars which, I wouldn't recommend for this colour simply because there are SO many around. 

So the dupe's that I've found in my own collection are:

Milani Luminous blush

This blush is very similar to Orgasm but the finish is quite different, where as Orgasm has a pink blush with gold shimmer particles the gold in luminous is much more subtle and has no particles, the two colours blend together. It's much less glittery and the colour has more orange undertones.

Benefit Bella Bamba

I love Bella Bamba because it is such a pigmented colour and has such a soft texture which I love. The shimmer particles in this are a little more subtle than that of orgasm and while it has a slight golden glow it's not as obvious. It seems pinker in colour too.

Philosophy Healthy/Happy duo 

While this colour may look similar in the pan it's much different when swatched, I would say this is more of a burnt orange shade. This doesn't have shimmer particles in it, it's much more of a sheer subtle sheen, more similar to milani luminous than orgasm

 Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Glisten

I would say this colour is just a tad darker pink than orgasm, the finish is very similar with less gold. Again with the shimmer particles, although they can be seen up close they are much less obvious.

Too Faced Who's Your Poppy? blush which I got in a duo with last year's holiday collection

This is the most similar from all the blushes, looks exactly the same when swatched. The same pink tone and the same finish with the right amount of gold shimmer. Although this has the same texture as Bella Bamba the finish overall is the best dupe for Orgasm.

L-R Orgasm, Luminous, Bella Bamba, Philosophy, Glisten, Who's your poppy?

I really think I need to be a bit more adventurous when picking blush shades from now now on! Any Recommendations? Do you have any good dupes for higher end products?
 

My first NARS product!

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this duo, I bought it from Sephora when I was out in the states. It's one of those things I'd wanted for a long while but the price always put me off buying it in favour of products that were new or limited edition. I was originally planning on buying the Orgasm and Laguna separately but they are just so expensive I went with the duo. I know that this is a little more expensive than an individual but it's also cheaper than buying them both separately even though you get less of each in this. I didn't want to spend out all that money and realize I didn't like either of them if you know what I mean. If I end up liking one more than the other then I would definitely repurchase the big one. 

I'm guessing most of you will own either of these already being so famous in the beauty world. I had to try it for myself after hearing so much hype!

The one thing I do love about NARS is their packaging. The matte finish looks so sleek and I've noticed a few other brands following this trend. The only problem is that it gets dirty so fast. I knew it would happen though even after wiping it over and trying my hardest to not get anything on it. Eventually I gave up lol It's what's inside that counts after all! Right?

I already have so many shades that are similar to Orgasm but it's my favourite type of pink and I do love shimmery blushes. This one is quite subtle though when I use it lightly and I think it looks best this way. It's not overly shimmery either, just enough for a glow. I'm not too fond of chunky glitter pieces. 

I love Laguna as a bronzer because it's not too light and not too dark. With Benefit's Hoola bronzer I find that it's too dark for my skin tone and doesn't blend well with it. I also like to use this lightly as a contour shade with Orgasm on the apple's of my cheeks. I like that this bronzer isn't completely matte either, it has very fine shimmery particles and blends with skin nicely.

I'm glad I finally purchased this and I do love it but it hasn't blown me away like it seems to have everyone else.

What do you think? Do you own either of these or are you thinking of purchasing them?

NARS products are available from www.houseoffraser.com www.narscosmetics.co.uk and from Sephora in the US.

This duo retails for £29 or £21 each

NYX Bourgeois Pig Blush

NYX is one of those brands that is difficult to find in the UK. There are some sites here that sell their products but I like to see a product before buying it. So when I visited ULTA a few weeks back I made sure to check out the NYX section. I'm a blush addict so knew I'd be picking up one, the colour I decided to go with was "Bourgeois Pig". This is a medium pink matte shade. I usually go for shimmering shades in a blush so thought this would be something different. I think this shade is great for an every day blush and gives just enough colour to not look too overdone. I loved the packaging of these blushes, they're quite compact so great for putting in your makeup bag. I only like to use a little of this during the day but it is a buildable blush. I was impressed with the colour pay off of this considering how cheap NYX products are. This blush retails for $5.99 from ULTA or you can purchase NYX products on www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk

Her Nirvana

In January this year, Benefit Cosmetics launched their new boxed blush "Hervana". I managed to pick this up in Debenhams not long after it came out, with my beauty points I managed to get it for £13 so I was pretty happy with that. The word Hervana is a cross between Her & Nirvana. The four shades that make up Hervana are lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose and berry delight. Benefit describes this as "orchid blossom finish to cheeks with a low amount of pearl" The first thing I noticed about this blush was the smell, it has a very sweet kind of berry-like smell to it which I love! Although the smell doesn't really bare any purpose to the product itself it's little things like this which sets the Benefit Brand apart from others. When applied I noticed that this blush was quite a light subtle soft pink colour that is easily buildable. Included is an angled brush too which I don't use but is nice to have if you are out. I prefer to use my travel size MAC 129 brush as I find this is small enough to get into the corners but also big enough to not pick up any concentrated colour. These shades can be used individually if you have a brush small enough and find a way to apply them although I haven't tried this. I'd also recently found out that this blush is a multipurpose blush which can be used on both lips and eyes. Although I wouldn't use this product on my lips it is nice to know that you can use it anywhere on the face. What do you think of Benefit's new boxed blush?

USA Makeup Wishlist

It's just under two weeks before I jet off to California to go visit my boyfriend so thought I'd share with you some of the things I plan on buying that we don't get over here.
1. EOS Lip Balms - Available from CVS
2. Maybelline 24 hr Color Tattoo - CVS
3. TheBalm Nude Tude Palette - Sephora and www.thebalm.com
4. Physicians Formula Happy Booster Powder - CVS
5. Fairy Drops Mascara - Sephora
6. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush - CVS
7. NYX Jumbo pencils and other products - Ulta and Bed Bath and Beyong
8. Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush - Sephora
9. Hard Candy Products - Walmart
10. Revlon Photoready Airbrush Foundation - CVS
11. Nutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation - CVS
12. CoverGirl Cheekers - CVS
13. Bath and Body Works Products - B&B and www.bathandbodyworks.com


Hope you all enjoyed you weekend!

All you need is faith and trust…

And a little bit of pixie dust!

Ok I admit it, I LOVE Peter Pan and I always ride Peter Pan's flight when I'm in a Disney park with all the other 'kids' (best ride ever, no?)

So when I came across this palette about 4 or so weeks ago, I knew I'd love it. I mentioned it in my ASOS haul but hadn't yet had a chance to play around with it. This is my first PIXI purchase and I've been wanting to try their products for a while. The packaging is what drew me to this to begin with, I love that it's not the usual cartoon version of Tinkerbell we always see. The box itself is a light shade of yellow where as the palette itself is classic pixi green with the same drawing by Disney artist John Quinn. What I like about this brand is the hands-on approach the creator Petra Strand has.

This palette is quite a neutral palette in terms of the colour selection which is good for people who aren't that into colour and I think will appeal to a bigger audience. I know some people will probably think that the packaging is quite childish and/or tacky but if you really like the product inside I'm sure the packaging can be overlooked. The palette itself is quite small and compact, and easy for travel. It comes with a double ended eye brush, double ended lip brush and a blush brush. Although these brushes may not be the best in quality I think it's nice to have them for when you are on the go. 

All the eyeshadows featured in this palette are shimmery, so if you aren't into that or prefer something more matte this palette may not be for you. As far as colour payoff goes, the pigmentation is pretty good in the eyeshadows. The blush palette is made up of 3 different shades, all quite shimmery and more like highlight colours. Unless you are using a small brush it would be quite difficult to use the shades individually. 

I really liked trying out the lip colours for this as I'm not usually into lip creams. I applied them using the brush provided in the palette and although they didn't give a lot of pigmentation I like the sheen and colour they gave my lips without looking overly done

{Eyeshadows}

{Blushers}

{Lip Creams}

I love that PIXI has teamed up with disney to create a palette themed around one of the most famous pixie's, Tinkerbell.  The PIXIGLOW Fairy Face Palette retails for £36 and can be found at www.boots.com, www.pixibeauty.co.uk, www.asos.com or alternatively you can visit their Flagship store just off Carnaby Street. For anyone in the states, PIXI products are also sold at Target.

What are your thoughts on the PIXI GLOW Fairy Face palette? Have you purchased from the PIXI brand before?