Karen, Author at Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup - Page 1665 of 1879

Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

True Blue, Baby I Love You: Sweet Fig Body Lotion Is Another Moroccan Hit

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Packaging junkies — pretty bottle alert! I’m loving this elegant glass bottle of Sweet Fig & Argan Body Lotion ($15) from the new True Blue Morocco collection by Bath and Body Works.

Looks expensive

The heavy glass comes embossed with a dainty diamond pattern at the bottom, and the colorful but minimalist label looks nothing like typical Bath and Body Works hearts/flowers/rainbows/puppies packaging fare. It totes looks like something I’d find in Neiman’s or Barney’s instead.

I’m thinking it has hostess or housewarming gift written all over it. 🙂

Highly moisturizing

The lotion itself works great. My dry skin needs real deal moisturization, and Sweet Fig Lotion delivers the goods. Bath and Body Works added hydrating ingredients like shea butter, argan oil (an oil rich in Vitamin E) and green tea (for the antioxidants) into the mix. The resulting lotion moisturizes like a rich body butter.

A warm, fall scent

To me, Sweet Fig Lotion smells like a mix of white musk, cinnamon and clove. It’s warm and comforting, like a cashmere cable-knit sweater or a cup of hot apple cider — more like a fall scent than a typical summer fragrance.
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Illamasqua Pure Pigment In Conquer Needs to Conquer a Price Reduction

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Good morning, ladies. Yesterday I forgot to mention another interesting Illamasqua product that recently caught my eye, this one a loose eyeshadow.

With its shimmery finish, finely-milled texture and vivid color, blue-green Pure Pigment in Conquer ($26) could almost be a dead ringer for a MAC Pigment.

I think being MAC-like puts these Pure Pigments in good company, but the hits don’t stop there.

Props to Illamasqua for the packaging, too. The cap has a small hole with a stopper to help control how much pigment gets released from the sifter. 🙂

Two points for innovation!

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But two big points OFF for the price-quantity ratio. It’s quite high for the amount of product you get. The small box comes with 1.3g of pigment (for $26), compared to MAC Pigment jars that come with 7.5g of product and cost $19.50.

I don’t know if Illamasqua plans to drop their pricing for Sephora, but I SURE HOPE THEY DO.

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Color selection is a little limited for now; Conquer’s one of only 10 shades currently available on Illamasqua’s website, but things may change once the company has a more direct avenue into the US market later this year.

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I love like Conquer, but I’m not as excited about the Pure Pigments as I am about Illamasqua’s Cream Blushers or Lipsticks, because those are just blowing my mind.

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Illamasqua makes US landfall later this month, but I’m reading that Sephora plans to start selling the line online as of today. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Use a Foundation Brush to Apply Concealer: Tips from a Chanel Master Class

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A Chanel Master Class workstation…

I am *so* hooked on those free Chanel Master Classes…

The one I went to last Saturday was at the Macy’s up the street from me. It was two hours of glorious makeup fun, during which time the other students and I (about a dozen of us) were able to gets some hands on experience with a bunch of Chanel makeup, all under adult (read: makeup artist) supervision, of course. 🙂

Check with your local Chanel counter if you think you might like to attend one. I think they’re a great way to unwind on a Saturday afternoon.

The classes really are free to attend, but the store does sort of expect hope that you make at least a small purchase while you’re there.

I left with the Sparkling Satins eyeshadow quad (LOVE!) and a slew of ideas and application tips like these:

1. Natural brows

I’ve attempted to use brow pencils before but never really liked my results. I always felt they made my brows look too severe, overdrawn and heavy.

But I guess that’s just because I never knew the secret. It’s actually pretty easy to get natural-looking brows with a pencil.

Start with a brow pencil in the correct shade.

How do you know the correct shade? Well, if you have dark hair like I do, opt for a brown pencil, instead of a black one; black pencils often look too severe. In class I used and loved Chanel Precision Brow Definer in Soft Brown ($28), a medium brown without red undertones.

And if you have lighter hair, Chanel just released a new shade of pencil for fall called Blond Clair, which the instructors said works great. Not too dark, it has just enough color to define lighter brows.

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Chanel Precision Brow Definer in Blond Clair

Using the side of a sharpened pencil nib (not the tip), shade your brows. Sharpening extends the length of the usable edge.

To fill in your brows, place the side of the sharpened nib (not the point) parallel to an eyebrow, and fill using small strokes. Try to concentrate color in sparse areas, and use less where the brows are already thick.

Finish by combing the brows with a brow comb. It softens the color and creates a more natural look. Chanel’s Precision Brow Definer conveniently comes with a comb.

2. Buh bye, dark circles

One Chanel instructor suggested using a foundation brush instead of a concealer brush to cover up dark circles, strategically placing concealer into an area she called “the triangle.”

Concealer brushes have thin, pointed brush heads, but they can sometimes leave a caked-on look.
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Illamasqua Cream Blusher Stays On Like Donkey Kong

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On paper, cream blushes are pure makeup genius. They’re easy to apply and to blend (no brushes required), travel well and deliver a beautiful natural flush.

But with great power comes great responsibility.

Many cream blushes also have an unfortunate downside — poor staying power. Some disappear faster than those tykes from Another Bad Creation.

The trick is to find one that lasts, and I think I found one that does: Illamasqua’s Cream Blusher in Rude ($26). It’s a pinkish matte coral that stays put for hours, even in sticky summer heat.

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Won’t budge for nothin’

I’ve worn Rude on bare skin, beneath foundation and on top of it; I’ve even dabbed it on powder. No matter what, it has always stayed put, despite my oily cheeks, from dawn till dusk.

I even mistakenly forgot one night and went to bed with it still on (I couldn’t wait to try it and forgot to wash it off, oops). It was still there come morning, leading me to give it my Vampire’s Choice Award.

If I were a True Blood vampire, I’d soo rock this shizz till the break of dawn, yo!

It’s not marketed as sweat proof, but it might as well be. Even in hella hot weather, Rude doesn’t fade. Where other cream blushes have melted away, like when I’m covered in sweat, pulling a Whitney circa the Bobby Brown years, Illamasqua Cream Blusher’s still going strong.

Pigmentation, texture and scent

Rude is one of 16 Cream Blushers currently available on the Illamasqua website, and like the other Illamasqua products I’ve tried, it delivers rich color.

I think it feels thicker and stickier than cream products like NARS the Multiple, but it feels thinner than a pot of Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow.

And the scent? — In the pan it smells faintly of sugar cookies, but I don’t detect the fragrance when it’s worn on my cheeks.

Not cheap

It’s too bad that such a badass blush isn’t a little cheaper…

A pan of Rude runs $26, venturing into Chanel Glossimer territory, but a little goes a long way, with a single tiny dab delivering a visibly flushed cheek.

And Illamasqua doesn’t skimp on quantity, either, which helps the price go down a little easier. The pan is huge (I can barely wrap my fingers around it when I’m holding it in my hand)!

Considering the quantity of product you get and the quality itself, I think it works out to be a pretty good deal.

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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, July 20

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  1. Mood:

    2. Pretty happy. I have a feeling this week is going to be a good one. 🙂

  2. What’s one of your strengths?

    3. You’ll have to drag me to hell before I give up on something I want. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

  3. What’s your favorite flower?

    4. Lilies — all kinds.

  4. What’s one tip/trick you use to keep your makeup organized?

    5. As dorky as it sounds, organizing by collection name and date helps me keep track of things. I like to keep makeup from a specific collection in a clear Ziploc bag and then stick a label with a name and date on it: MAC Colour Craft, July 2009. If I’m feeling extra ambitious, I’ll throw in an index card with notes on the colors. Totally OCD, I know, but I cover a lot of releases and this helps me access stuff quickly and easily.

  5. Eyes/lips/cheeks:

    6. I’m feeling kinda crafty today — MAC Colour Crafty, that is. Eyes: Mineralize Eyeshadow in Assemblage, Fluidline in Blacktrack, Dazzle Lash Mascara in Dazzle Black. Lips: Lipstick in Madly Creative. Cheeks: Mineralize Skinfinish in Triple Fusion.

  6. Do your pets have nicknames? If yes, what are they?

    7. Tabs has a whole slew of them: Tabarella, Tab Money, Coco Tabby, Coco, Smokey Eyes, Internet Millionz (yup, with a “Z”), The Mau, Tabs Christian…

  7. What are your favorite TV shows?

    8. True Blood, although I can’t watch it right before bed because I end up with freaky dreams. Also, anything by Joss Whedon or J.J. Abrams works for me!

  8. Would you date a guy with abnormally hairy ears?

    9. He’d either have to have long hair to cover those suckers up, or a stellar personality, or both.

  9. Outfit:

    10. Gray summer dress, light blue sweater, blue flip flops.

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. Make an appointment to visit the Fresh store in San Francisco (dang, their body care stuff smells SO GOOD), go to dance class at least once, research house paint and carpet colors, brush Tabs, organize the mountain of paper on my desk.

Hey, ladies. Can you believe it’s already Monday? Last weekend felt like it went by too quickly. Sometimes I wish I could put the Saturdays on slow-mo, so I could draw them out and enjoy the time even more.

I always look forward to checking in with you on Mondays. It’s like coffee with girlfriends at work. 🙂 If you find a little time from your to-do list this morning, let me know how you’re doing by copying the empty list below and pasting it with your answers in the comments. Talk to you soon!

Le list

Mood:
What’s one of your strengths?
What’s your favorite flower?
What’s one tip/trick you use to keep your makeup organized?
Eyes/lips/cheeks:
Do your pets have nicknames? If yes, what are they?
What are your favorite TV shows?
Would you date a guy with abnormally hairy ears?
Outfit:
Weekly goals:

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What Were Your Best and Worst Beauty Experiences of the Week?

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My best: Being blown away by Lancome’s new blue bombshell, the Declaring Indigo collection for fall! Artliner in Indigo Charm, oh, how I love thee…

My worst: I’ve been rockin’ Medusa mane all weekend long. Yes, my hair’s been a frizzy, poofy, unruly mess, ugh! Thank goodness for black ponytail holders and headbands. 🙂

What were your best and worst beauty experiences of the week? Spill the beans in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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