So, I’m trying to figure out what makeup look to wear to the midnight Sex and the City show tonight. Purple + smokey eye = a lil’ bit out of my comfort zone, but I thought I’d give it a whirl.
Sonia Kashuk Sheer Lip Glossing: Oh, That’s Rich
Hot drugstore gloss alert! Sonia Kashuk’s Lip Glossing with No-Feather Pencil ($7.99) creates color-rich, high-shine lips … but there’s a catch (isn’t there always?).
Take a close look at the above picture. See how only half the tube contains gloss? The other half hides a lip pencil, which works a’ight, but it’s not on par with the gloss. If I could, I’d split the tube in half, take the gloss and ditch the pencil, but these two are a package deal, like the Sex and the City girls.
The lipgloss packs intense color and shine; it’s almost hard to believe it’s a drugstore product. I like the light vanilla-lemon fragrance. As far as taste, it’s not a flavored lipgloss. The semi-sticky texture lasts about three hours per application. I have four of the 14 shades, and I LOVE THEM!
- Sassy – shimmery peach
- Precious – creamy coral
- Vivacious – shimmery hot pink
- Scandalous – creamy red
Sassy
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Clean and Clear Advantage Invisible Acne Patch
When work deadlines and sleep loss collide, like they did for me last week, I expect to get a few zits on my face (sigh). My latest little sebaceous gift included a painful pimple right beside my left nostril. Like most women, I usually dread pimples, but this zit (I named her Eva) gave me the perfect excuse to try out Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch.
The product contains salicylic acid (2%) and creates a defensive barrier for pimples (like a transparent Band-Aid). It’s also makeup friendly, designed to be able to apply concealer and foundation on top of it.
Check out the handy-dandy, travel-friendly applicator pen, which I found fun to use. Twisting the bottom (it makes clicking sounds) deploys the product. It oozes out of the applicator tip.
Application is a cinch … like painting pimples. I coated Eva with a thin layer of clear goo which took about two minutes to dry. As it dried, I could could feel the skin around the area tightening somewhat. Once dry, the surface has an almost invisible, smooth, rubbery texture.
The product contains a smoothing ingredient Clean and Clear calls Chitosan PCA, a film-forming polymer that pulls up low points and pushes down high points on the skin.
I had a lot of fun testing this product. Over the weekend I tried it out with a few different concealers and found that MAC Select Moisturecover (a liquid, not a cream concealer) looked more natural and smooth on top of the Invisible Patch than other concealers did.
It took a bit of trial and error with Clean and Clear’s Invisible Acne Patch to determine the ideal quantity to use. It was easy to over-apply, which left me with thick, flaky, visible layers that peeled right off (eww!).
(Sidenote: At one point in my testing, I was two seconds away from taking a close-up photo of Eva in all of her Invisible Acne Patch glory when I realized that ya’ll don’t need to see my zits.)
This stuff works well for an over-the-counter acne treatment. I started using it on Friday, and by Sunday Eva looked smaller, wasn’t as red, nor was she as painful to the touch. She should be gone by the end of the week, hooray!
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What’s the Biggest Risk You Ever Took with Your Makeup?
What’s the biggest risk you ever took with your makeup?
Mine was orange lipgloss. It terrified me at first, but I’m addicted to it now. I also took chances on blue eyeshadow and bright colored lashes. One of the things I love about makeup is that even if a look doesn’t work out exactly how I hoped it would, makeup isn’t permanent. If I don’t like something, I can always wash it off!
What’s the biggest risk you ever took with your makeup? Let me know in the comments. And try your luck with the Makeup and Beauty Blog slot machine (click BET MAX above to start). You’ll need to have Flash installed on your computer to play. Have fun and good luck!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Face of the Day: Chanel Oasis Quad and Leopard Lipstick
Today felt like a bold lip kinda day for me, so I decided to take Chanel Leopard Hydrabase Lipstick out for a spin. I didn’t want Leopard to be lonely, so I paired her with her new best friend, the Chanel Oasis Quad (from this year’s summer collection)!
This coral and brown eye riffs on the blue and green eye I did a few weeks ago. I used the same basic eyeshadow layout this time but switched out the blue and green shadows for neutral tones to balance with the coral-red lipstick.
Two layers of eye makeup bring this look together. Don’t worry, girl! It’s still easy. 🙂
The first layer of eye makeup…
- MAC Bare Canvas Paint on the brow bone
- MAC Perky Paint Pot on inner lid
- MAC Quite Natural Paint Pot on the outer lid
The second layer of eye makeup…
- MAC Shroom eyeshadow on the brow bone
- Chanel Oasis Quad in the coral shade on the inner half of the lid (on top of Perky)
- Chanel Oasis Quad in the brown shade on the outer half of the lid
- MAC Showstopper eyeshadow in the outer corner
- Lancome Noir Le Stylo Waterproof eyeliner on the upper and lower waterlines
- Chanel Oasis Quad in the khaki underneath the lower lashes
Beauty Snacks: Sites of the Day, May 27
Shake Your Beauty
Tia Williams: Novelist. Fashionista. All around bad-ass beauty blogger. Look up “beauty blogger” in the dictionary… that’s all I’m saying. There she is.
Tag Galaxy
Do you have a muse? When I need a little makeup inspiration, I visit Tag Galaxy. They’ve got this snappy Flickr gizmo/photo search engine that presents a visual representation of your search results. When you input a term (like makeup), the resulting photos from Flickr’s gargantuan library fly in to skin a group of revolving planets right before your eyes! Move over, NASA.
Songza
Don’t you hate being stuck at work when you want to hear Play that Funky Music White Boy but can’t because you forgot your iPod at home? No problem! Look no further than internet jukebox Songza. Just type in a song’s title or artist, and it streams like on-demand radio. Did I mention it’s free?
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MAC Wipes: Take It Off! Take It all Off!
I’ve scoured the earth searching for the ideal makeup removing wipe. Okay, well, maybe not the earth, but I have scoured the Bay Area, and I have yet to find a wipe that doesn’t smell weird, doesn’t hurt my eyes, doesn’t cost too much or doesn’t dry out too quickly due to packaging design flaws.
Although I’ve tried wipes by so many other brands, I always resisted buying MAC Wipes because I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $24.50 per pack.
Then, a few weeks ago, before a trip to the MAC Pro Store, I did some long overdue makeup math. I’d just run out of Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes ($9 per pack of 25) and realized that the cost of the bulk pack of 100 MAC Wipes for $24.50 came out to just 25 cents per wipe (versus 36 cents/wipe for Neutrogena’s). Hello, bargain!
That day I bought my first pack of 100 MAC Wipes, and I’m glad I did.
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Kashuk Tools: 3 Bargain Makeup Brushes that Rock
Bargain brush goddess Sonia Kashuk’s gone and done it again. Her Synthetic Flat Top Blusher Brush won me over a few weeks ago, and now I can’t live without several of the brushes from her Kashuk Tools line. I’ve been reaching for the Powder Brush ($19.99), Large Eye Shadow Brush ($12.99) and Angeled Eye Shadow Brush ($9.99) so often that I might as well have all three surgically attached to my hand.
Here’s why I love ’em, and why you might, too. 🙂
Kashuk Tools Powder Brush
Use: To apply loose or pressed powder to the entire face
Price: $19.99
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A
Confession time! I keep this brush on my work desk and periodically rub it all over my face for no reason other than to feel its softness against my skin. It sends me into a state of minor ecstasy. I’ll make ooh, ahh sounds, like when I’m eating dulce de leche ice cream. In general, I try to do this when nobody’s looking, but the other day El Hub caught me and said the act looked “kinda pervy.”
But Sonia’s powder brush has even more going for it than its amazing softness. It applies powder evenly on my skin, powder that doesn’t look caked-on, and leaves a lovely, natural finish I just adore.
If you’re tempted to save a few dollars by purchasing the $11.99 white-handled Powder Brush 01 from Sonia’s other Brush Collection line, resist the urge. I’ve used the white-handled brush, too, and it’s not nearly as soft.
Large Eye Shadow Brush
Use: To apply eyeshadow to the entire eyelid area
Price: $12.99
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+
Sonia’s Large Eye Shadow Brush multi-tasks like a mo-fo. The Kashuk brush brigade designed the thick, soft brush (with a slightly rounded edge) to apply eyeshadow over the entire lid — much like the MAC 252 Large Eye Shader Brush ($29). While I absolutely love the MAC 252 for fast, single washes of color over the entire eye, it doesn’t multi-task quite like Sonia’s Large Eye Shadow Brush does.
Not only do I use Sonia’s Large Eye Shadow Brush for color washes but also to apply color to specific parts of the eye, which I can’t really do with the 252. The rounded shape of Sonia’s brush fits nicely into nooks and crannies — ideal for the crease, under the brow bone or in the outer V.
In a pinch, it even works as a blending brush, too.
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