Karen

Lip Look: Crushing on Three Custom Colors Papaya Crush!

April 8th, 2008 by Karen 28 Comments

three custom color specialists papaya crush lipgloss wand

“How did you know, ’cause I never told. You found out, I’ve got a crush on you.”

–The Jets, Crush on You

From the second I awoke on this gloomy, overcast morning, the song Crush on You (by The Jets) was stuck in my head. “What did it mean?” I wondered.

Low and behold, after applying my face and eye makeup, what was the first lipgloss to catch my eye? — Three Custom Colors Papaya Crush ($18.50), a sheer, coral-red liploss with just a touch of gold shimmer. Crush indeed.

Papaya Crush is less pigmented than Three Custom Colors’ Dahlia but shares the same thin texture.

In the picture above I’m wearing two coats, which was just enough to achieve a subtle pop of coral color without going over-the-top. If you’re color shy but have been wanting to try a cute coral lipgloss, Papaya Crush should be a good way to get your feet (lips?) wet.
[Continue reading…]

L’Oreal Cosmetics Fun Facts

April 7th, 2008 by Karen 46 Comments

loreal cosmetics hip

When you think of L’Oreal, do visions of candy bars dance through your head? Don’t be alarmed if they do. As a matter of fact, after this post, you may never again be able to look at a tube of Voluminous Mascara without picturing a Nestle Crunch bar.

Swiss food giant Nestle owns a 28 percent stake in L’Oreal. Today Nestle, which owns bits and pieces of dozens of different companies, sold an $11 billion chunk of contact lens maker Alcon. What does this have to do with L’Oreal? Well, rumor has it that Nestle intends to use the proceeds from the Alcon sale to stage a full takeover of L’Oreal. Yes, Nestle is sweet on makeup.

This afternoon, in the pursuit of “makeup knowledge,” your girl 1) ate a Nestle Crunch bar and 2) uncovered a few fun facts about L’Oreal.

makeup and beauty blog l

Did you know…

L’Oreal’s largest single shareholder is 85-year-old French heiress Lilian Bettencourt, daughter of L’Oreal’s founder. Worth an estimated $22 billion, Bettencourt is also the world’s richest woman.

Swiss food company Nestle owns 1/4 of the company.

L’Oreal is the world’s largest cosmetics company.

L’Oreal is also the top nanotechnology patent-holder in the United States.

L’Oreal was founded in 1907 by Eugene Schueller, a young French chemist who developed an innovative hair-color formula. He named his improved hair dye AurÃ©ole. With that, the history of L’Oreal began.

L’Oreal employs 50,500 people (only 24 percent work in France) in over 130 countries.

Spokespeople for L’Oreal have included Aishwarya Rai, Matthew Fox, Ben Affleck and the Spice Girls.

L’Oreal consists of over a dozen global brands split into five groups: consumer products, professional products, luxury products, active cosmetics and The Body Shop.

[Continue reading…]

Bobbi Brown Quick Face Collection: Long-Wear Cream Shadow Swatches

April 7th, 2008 by Karen 29 Comments

bobbi brown cosmetics quick face long wear cream shadow final final
For most of us, Monday means having to go back to work (drat!), but it doesn’t also have to mean forsaking cute makeup. Take a gander at the Long-Wear Cream Shadows from Quick Face, Bobbi Brown’s (le queen of the neutral makeup) latest collection. What do ya think?

Matte and shimmerless, these bad boys apply easily by finger or brush (I used the MAC 252). I felt they did an admirable job adding subtle definition to my eyes. Wear each color by itself or beneath layers of other powdered shadows.

There are five colors in the collection:

Cement – grey beige
Malted – mocha beige
Navajo – creamy pinkish white
Slate – medium grey
Stone – beige brown

[Continue reading…]

Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean Breeze Perfume: Fresh, Citrus and Floral

April 6th, 2008 by Karen 22 Comments

Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean Breeze

Spring Fragrance Quest continues this weekend with Elizabeth Arden’s new Mediterranean Breeze perfume.

I spent most of last night with my nose buried in my forearm, breathing in its fresh, citrusy, floral scent. I was watching Wesley Snipes slay vampires in the cinematic masterpiece that is Blade II (LOL), periodically sniffing my arm like a crazy person. Seriously, this stuff is fragrance ecstasy and made me lose control of my vocal chords a few times, causing me to scream at the TV: “Oh gawd!” “It’s just too good!” “Soo frickin’ good!” etc., etc.

Mediterranean Breeze is a lighter, more citrusy followup to Elizabeth Arden’s original Mediterranean perfume and evokes a similar beach-y, vacation-in-a-bottle feeling. The scent opens with a burst of white nectarine, bergamot and grapefruit. Then come the floral notes: Corsican violet, wild jasmine petals and sweet almond flower. Finally, it dries down to warmer cedarwood, sandalwood and musk.

The citrus here really takes Mediterranean Breeze to the next level. In general, I’m not the biggest fan of sweet fruit fragrances, but the bergamot and grapefruit add sophistication to Mediterranean Breeze. They’re citrusy, but not overly sweet.

Something about the fragrance reminds me of fresh, clean water (similar to Aqua di Gio Women and Cool Water Woman), like I’m sipping lemonade on the verandah of a fabulous Spanish villa overlooking the sea.

MBB field trip! (I wish!)
elizabeth Arden
[Continue reading…]

Bobbi Brown Lip Crayons: Practical Colors for Work

April 6th, 2008 by Karen 34 Comments

bobbi Brown Lip Crayons post 040608

Depending on your line of work, you may not be able to get away with bright colors like MAC Russian Red. The workaday world forces many of us to tone down our look from time to time. Maybe it’s the makeup gods toying with our emotions, but bold, bright colors like MAC Russian Red aren’t always appropriate at the office. So, what do we do when “The Man” forces us to skip the uber-shiny bright reds and glitter that we love so much?

Enter Bobbi Brown. If you need (or prefer) neutral, practical colors, take a look at the limited edition Lip Crayons ($22) from Bobbi Brown’s latest release, the Quick Face Collection. These chunky monkey, semi-matte lipstick pencils are glitter- and shine-free. They’ll do ya right.

Check out these three conservative, work-friendly shades:
[Continue reading…]

MAC Makeup – MAC Russian Red Lipglass Face of the Day

April 5th, 2008 by Karen 45 Comments

mac cosmetics russian red lipglass fotd 4

Do you ever find yourself obsessed with makeup and style from a certain era? A few years ago I went through a 1940s phase, and I wore this Dita Von Teese inspired look every day for months!

Because MAC Russian Red Lipglass is so va-va-voom, I went with simple, neutral eyes using MAC Ricepaper Eyeshadow, MAC Soba Eyeshadow and fatty black eyeliner, courtesy o’ MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack. I also like this same basic look with cheeks and lips in either plum or pink. Or, if you can pull it off, pale pink cheeks and beige lips look great, too (tres Angelina Jolie).

mac cosmetics russian red lipglass fotd 1

[Continue reading…]

Chanel Sublimage Eye Cream: Mad Money Moisturizer

April 4th, 2008 by Karen 24 Comments

Product: Chanel Sublimage Eye Cream
Price: $175 (!) for 0.5 oz jar (!!)
Use: A top-notch eye cream
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B-

I wish I’d known how outrageously expensive Chanel’s Sublimage Eye Cream was before I dipped my paws into the wee sample jar (0.13 oz). For two weeks I’d been gleefully applying it morning and night, impressed by its ability to reduce the appearance of my ever-present dark circles. I was ready to crown it as the stuff of eye cream fantasy when I found out the price.

Brace yourself.

It’s $175! Holy credit card debt, ya’ll!

What a shame, too, because I love this cream. Sublimage moisturizes remarkably well, doesn’t irritate the sensitive skin around my eyes, reduces puffiness and decreases the appearance of my dark circles. Those are the benefits I noticed, but Chanel also claims the cream targets wrinkles, fine lines and helps restore skin’s natural firmness. It’s thick and rich yet absorbs surprisingly well, and I think it smells faintly of vanilla ice cream, yum.

If I were blessed with the power of rhyme (I’m not), I’d write a rap about it and ask Timbaland to make a banging remix that I could dance to all day long. I love this stuff that much. I love it even more than my previous eye cream crush, MAC Moisturelush ($30, 0.5 oz jar), and that’s saying a lot. I feel Chanel’s Sublimage moisturizes as well as (or better than) MAC Moisturelush does but soaks in faster and requires less work to apply.
[Continue reading…]

MAC Lipglass in Russian Red: A Bold Lip Look

April 4th, 2008 by Karen 32 Comments

mac Cosmetics russian red lipglass

Dang, that’s red…

And sheer?

No, not sheer.

Subtle?

No, not subtle.

Bold, bright and sexy?

Hell, yeah!

There are things in life that every girl should try at least once. Make one of those things MAC Russian Red Lipglass ($14). Nothing says “I kick booty” like entering a room with knock-out red lips does. Russian Red’s blue-based (blue undertones) lipgloss brings your lips to full attention, soldier! To work it well, you’ll also need…

Confidence. Russian Red’s shine and bold color aren’t for the faint of heart. People WILL stare. Revel in the attention!

Lipliner, and a healthy dose of patience to apply. Vivid colors like Russian Red make it easy to spot uneven lipliner and lipgloss application, so take your time. To achieve a crisp, defined red lip, I first line my lips with MAC Red Enriched Cremestick liner, taking special care to balance the left and right sides. With a crisp lip line in place, I slowly apply two coats of Russian Red inside the lines. Why two coats? Because if you’re gonna go red, you may as well go big.

Maintenance. I’ve found that Russian Red requires tender love and care. Wearing it, I have to check on my lips constantly because, seriously, it gets all over the place. One windy day, while wearing Russian Red gloss, some of my hair got stuck in the gloss. I haphazardly pulled free the strands of hair and tucked them behind my ear. I didn’t realize until half an hour later that it had left faint red streaks of gloss on my cheek. Lovely.

Another time, I accidentally dribbled a few drops of coffee down my chin. When I went to clean up with a napkin I momentarily forgot that I was wearing Russian Red. One quick swipe later … yup, crazy clown lips.

[Continue reading…]