MAKEUP YOUR MIND BY FRANCOIS NARS OVERVIEW

My books fallen apart :(

Original book review including photos here.

Buy from Amazon for £18.84 including P&P here.

NARS GILDA BLUSHER

Buy Gilda here (if you want of course)

Heavy swatch

Gah I feel so guilty. NARS blushers cost £20.50 but I had a £5 voucher from ASOS (diet coke promotion) so I feel a TINY bit better.

 Gilda is described as just coral. It's matte which I prefer but I need to do some more testing before I come up with an overall verdict (literally just opened up the package  when I got back from work).

If you fancy buying any NARS products I recommend you check them out IRL before you splurge as they are quite pricey. And as I've mentioned ASOS now stocks NARS which is great as they offer free shipping and NUS discount/usually promotion going on, but note they do not stock the whole range!

VISITING NARS IN HARVEY NICHOLS

On the last page.....nom nom nom

The pamphlet cover

Booklet cover which housed my sample

So I was mooching around Leeds today, on one of those days where you don't particularly have lots of money and you don't really need to buy anything.

Just when I was about to leave Harvey Nichols where I was just aimlessly at MAC swatching everything. I decided, no I'll go to Nars cause I want to try something out and I will not feel intimidated by the M.A!

Got there and I spotted the M.A who I've seen a few times and told her I wanted to try out Nars' sheer matte foundation. Once she tested it on me, I decided to *shock horror* actually hold out a conversation about how I wanted to know more about Francois :p, the brand and what they carried. The M.A called Jo/Joanna was really really nice which was a pleasant surprise as I presume most of you have experienced ( I have anyway) the either stuck up or pushy sales assistant. But no she was lovely and took her time to show and demonstrate how products worked and what would suit me.

Since I didn't have enough money with me and wasn't prepared to splash out (again) on another foundation anytime soon. I asked for a sample of the foundation which surprise surprise was not available in my shade, so I had to opt for a lighter shade. As well as this she also gave me a foundation pamphlet which has the amazing Francois at the back!! And mentioned they did "makeovers" and makeup lessons which costs £30 but is redeemable against purchase.

So next time your are shopping in Leeds check out the Nars counter! The products are so nice and I might be tempted to book a lesson after the Paris trip........bad l.f!!!

MAKEUP YOUR MIND BY FRANCOIS NARS

Front cover. Photos have been taken using my normal dig' camera, so sorry for quality!

The beautiful Karen Elson

Another favourite, as you can see you have the before and after shots with a in-between clear acetate with the products used labelled and placed in the area used.

Mr. François Nars...If only it was my book..

OK so I've only had this book since last week but so far I love it! My lovely friend got me this for my birthday (she did ask what I really wanted :p) and I had been planning on getting it for awhile anyway.

There's some pretty in-depth reviews out there already so check out Amazon's reviews for more a more detailed analysis. But heck I'm going to do a more brief review for you.

Unlike most make-up books, MYM differs by showing a before and after shots but with a acetate sheet in-between so that you know specifically where products were placed (all Nars of course).

I think if you are a complete newbie to make-up then this book wouldn't be that great for teaching how to apply products as I think the book presumes you know how to apply products correctly. But if you are bored of your look or needing some inspiration then this book does the job since its sectioned by categories such as eyes, lips, neutrals, pastels, colours etc.

The majority of all the looks are wearable for the everyday women with an occasional "runway" fashion look appearing. I also like that the book features models with a range of different ethnicities and different features which stops the book becoming repetitive.

Even though the book is more image led. Which I prefer as I like to visually analyse images myself to recreate, rather then reading instructions on how to achieve a look. The book still has very useful written pages featuring tips and an insight into François's preferences and philosophy's.

Lastly after speaking to a Nars M.A today apparently MYM 2 is coming out in 6 months time and I think will be featuring 'ordinary' women rather then models. Yay!

YOUTUBE VIDEOS FOR BUDDING MAKE-UP ARTISTS

Here are some of my favourite videos that I like to reference back to:

My favourite clip of the behind the scenes action of François's book, 15X15.

I will admit I didn't know anything about the NARS history till a couple of weeks ago. But seriously, FRANCOIS NARS IS A LIVING GENIUS! And what I especially love about him is he still photographs all of his campaigns (it's been 15 years) and his reluctance to appear in the spotlight.

Marc Jacobs at his very best. This man is my idol... enough of Marc. This show got François out of runway retirement and boy did he impress with the 80's madness.

More Francois <3

I always anticipate for MAC's Halloween face charts and 2009 was the first time they made a video recording the transformations.

Pat McGrath is my favourite makeup artist of all time. Why? She's the most in demand make-up guru in the world. Effortlessly creating flawless natural faces at Stella McCartney to Christian Dior's extravagant couture looks. No-one compares. She's in a league of her own.

Another renowned artist and this video again makes me want to pursue a career in make-up artistry.

The lovely Lisa Eldrige who you may recognise from Ten Years Younger, her work for Boots N07 and her spreads in Glamour :)

I'm on a roll! Just more random info for budding make-up artists. I personally don't find finding inspiration that hard but I think that's down to being an art student. Apart from the traditional routes of looking through fashion/editorial magazines for ideas. YouTube is a very useful source as in most cases you can physically see the artists applying the make-up and get a better view of the full finished results.