little white truths

I've been meaning to do a 'now playing' post for a while, I just had so many draft posts sitting there that I wanted to get through a few of those first. Plus I've been busily working on getting through the products on my Project Pan list, so I haven't been dusting off other products and giving them some love.

But I'm royally sick of my Project Pan products so it was definitely time to have a play with some other products I own. Happily it didn't take me long to pick the five products I wanted to use next - usually it takes me far longer than it should!


Nars Eyeshadow Duo in St Paul de Vence

I've included one of my Nars duos in most of my 'now playing' posts because they're reasonably new and I want to review them. I've held off on reviewing them so far though because I've wanted to compare them to other shadows I own and also to each other. I may end up reviewing this one first because I'm pretty sure of how I feel about it: it's the worst of the four duos I own in terms of quality, which is a pity because I really love the colours (at least as they look in the pan).

But before I review it I wanted to give it a really good go and use it consistently, trying it with different primers etc to see if I could get it to work better for me. The problem is the colours aren't that pigmented and they're a little powdery, but we'll see if I can't find a way to like this duo more: it really is a pretty one and it's one of Nars' more wearable duos I reckon (so many just aren't good if you're over 30 and want an office-appropriate look).


Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadows in Painted Purple and Edgy Emerald

I bought these ages ago for about five bucks each at Priceline, and I really wish I had chosen different colours because I never use these. I'm not such a bright eyeshadow person because I have puffy eyes and don't want to draw attention to my upper eye area.

Still, the quality of these is amazing and I've heard they work well as eye primers, so I'm going to see if I can find a use for them. If I can't, they're next on the chopping block and I'll send them to a better home because there's no point having them sitting in a drawer and getting hard - I might as well give them to someone who'll use them.


Mememe Cosmetics Blush Box in Pink

I have this and the coral version and I think they're the oldest blushes I own. Full review here, but note I want to edit that review because it was one of the earlier posts I did and I'd like to go into more detail (and do better photos). I've chosen this blush for this post in part because I want to review it again, and also because I never use it and I wanted to dust it off and get my money's worth.

It's a decent blush, I just have better ones so it's not getting used. Over the next couple of weeks I'll see if I can find a way to love it again. This might mean pairing it with another blush or playing around with it as an eyeshadow. We'll see!


Australis AC ON TOUR kit

Yes, I bought this because of the online hype about it, and also because it was consistently sold out in Priceline so when I saw it sitting there I just had to have it. Unfortunately I don't like it at all, although I've only used it a handful of times so I haven't written a full review yet and I'm trying to keep an open mind for the moment.

The main issue with this for me is the dark shades: they're muddy and ridiculously patchy/difficult to blend, plus they sit in pores so they give me little dark dots on my face. Oh dear! The yellow and shimmer powders are better, but they're not as wonderful as the online reviews would have you believe - at least in my experience.

Anyhoo. I'll have a play with it in the next couple of weeks and see if I can't find a way to make it work for me.

In sum

I'm happy with my selections for this round of 'now playing' because at the end of it I hope to have a firmer view of some of the products I've chosen. If I can't find a way to use the Australis and Maybelline products, I'll send them to better homes because there's no point having them sitting around taking up space. I really hope I can get the Nars duo to fare better because I do love the colours, and it'll be nice to edit my review of the Mememe blush and get some better photos up!

I'll check back in soon with what I've discovered : )