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A Bangin’ Good Time With the Bright Lipsticks in MAC Bangin’ Brilliant

July 15th, 2016 by Karen 11 Comments

mac bangin brilliant dreampot — The new MAC Bangin’ Brilliant Lipstick in Dreampot ($17)

I can’t remember — is wearing blue lipstick and blue eyeliner at the same time a do or a don’t?

Ah, the age-old question… LOL!

I don’t think there are any hard and fast, absolutely unbreakable makeup rules, so I’m gonna say “yes.” Blue eyeliner with blue lipstick is a total do.

I contemplated this conundrum the other day when I was wearing some teal winged liner (just for the heck of it) and decided to also try on a few of the lipsticks in the new MAC Bangin’ Brilliant collection.

You know that cray-cray lip colors are having a moment when you can visit a small mall and bump into a girl wearing a baby pink polo shirt and green lipstick (true story!), and the MAC Bangin’ Brilliants fit right in with that out-of-the box color movement happening right now.

The 29 new lipstick shades ($17 each) were recently added to the MAC permanent line, along with the Bangin’ Brilliant shadows and blushes.

With these colors, “basic” is about a million light years away. Of course there are bright pinks, oranges and reds, but there also blues, purples, a neon green, a midnight black, a stark white… Seriously, there’s some crazy sh*t up in the mix.

I don’t feel completely comfortable in some of them, to be honest, but if you have that runway stomp-walk kind of swag, they could look super cool.

I dunno… One of these days, I might get the urge to wear a light purple to Costco to buy kitty litter and a jumbo pack of hot dogs.

You never know. Life is short. Might as well.

Matte fuchsia pink Breathing Fire and matte bright red Mangrove are my favorites of the shades I’ve tried so far.

mac bangin brilliant breathing fire — Breathing Fire

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Be a Blue Belle With the MAC Good Luck Trolls Collection

July 14th, 2016 by Karen 25 Comments

Preeeetty sure these little trolls came alive last night and were walking around my condo. I thought I heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet going up and down the stairs…

Wait — I guess that could have been Tabs. 🙂

Who knows? Right now, though, it’s time to relive one of my greatest childhood fears.

THE TROLL DOLLS.

Did anyone else find them terrifying back in the day? There’s just something…eery about those big eyes and that crazy hair, or the fact that they were always butt neked.

I dunno…

But enough about that! Let’s take a look at the MAC Good Luck Trolls collection.

Arriving July 28 to the MAC website and coming to stores and counters August 4 through September 15, it might seem a little out of character for MAC to collaborate with these mythical, cave-dwelling beings of Scandinavian folklore…or it might not! The brand does have a reputation for doing crazy sh*t.

Aaand there’s also a Trolls movie coming out in November.

It’s a 22-piece collection with five Eye Shadows ($17 each), two Beauty Powders ($27 each), four Lipsticks ($18 each), four Lipglasses ($16 each), one pigment ($23), three glitters ($23 each), a Duo Fibre Face Brush ($32) and these two crazy temporary hairspray color thing-a-ma-bobbers called the Chroma Crazes ($20 each).

I feel like MAC misses opportunties sometimes with some of their limited edition collaborative collections, like the MAC Miss Piggy one (it could have been so much more!), but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this one accurately captures the trolls in all their whimsical cheekiness.

So, um, with these colors…first of all, I think it’s important to remember that this is a collection about colorful trolls with gemstones in their bellies. So it’s not a collection about conservative, traditionally pretty, pretty makeup.

I think the pieces are pretty in their own way, but many are also outrageous and playful. If you remember the MAC Playland collection from a couple years ago, it had some CRAZY colors and pastels. Well, Good Luck Trolls is very much along those same lines. We have corals, chartreuses, hot pinks and blues.

There’s a blue lipstick, a blue eyeshadow, a blue lipgloss, a blue temporary hair coloring spray… I’m usually more drawn to neutrals, but for some reason I’m drawn to these blues. They’re BEAUTIFUL.

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Urban Decay Fall 2016: Glitter, Sparkle, Shine and an Epic Full-Coverage Matte Foundation

July 13th, 2016 by Karen 34 Comments

Oh, my gawd! It’s so easy to get sucked into the glittery, shimmery, shiny vortex that is the Urban Decay Fall 2016 collection.

My eyes turned into emoji hearts ? the first time I opened the Moondust Eyeshadow Palette ($49), but to my surprise the thing that made me go “WHHHAAAAA!” the loudest was the All Nighter Liquid Foundation ($40).

urban decay all nighter foundation-6 — Three shades of Urban Decay All Nighter Liquid Foundation for comparison

I’m not a full-coverage matte gal right now. Right now I’m more into dewy finishes and light-to-medium coverage. So I’m fine with my freckles peeking through, but this new foundation could convert me to Team Full-Coverage Matte.

Like, seriously, I used half a pump of shade 7.0, which pretty much a dead ringer for my MAC NC42 skin tone — half a pump, dude! — and I put it on with my fingers, thinking, “Whatever, let’s just see where this goes.”

Somehow, that small amount pretty much covers my entire face. My skin looks even toned, and my pores look smaller, but the finish still looks natural, and not heavy or masky, which is a frequent issues I have with a lot of the full-coverage matte foundations out there (ugh).

If there’s anything in this release worthy of grabby hands, I think it’s Urban Decay All Night Liquid Foundation.

urban decay razor sharp — The Urban Decay Razor Sharp Water-Resistant Longwear Liquid Eyeliners ($22 each)

I mean, there’s also some other cool stuff in the collection, like a new line of liquid eyeliners called the Razor Sharp Water-Resistant Longwear Liquid Eyeliners ($22 each).

They have a brush applicator, which usually spells “wonky-@ss line” for me, but not with these, even when I quickly sloosh a small amount of Snakebite (the metallic coppery bronze) on my upper lash lines. The brush is actually very smooth and easy to use!

urban decay razor sharp swatches-1 — 11 of the 20 Urban Decay Razor Sharp Water-Resistant Longwear Liquid Eyeliners

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NARS Fall 2016 First Impressions

July 6th, 2016 by Karen 16 Comments

Ooh, the NARS Fall 2016 collection makes me wanna unleash my inner artiste!

Look at all those pencils… My goodness. I’m tempted to grab one of my adult color books.

Coming July 15 to NARS boutiques and the NARS website, and sometime in August to Sephora and NARS counters, this one’s mostly about the pencils.

nars fall 2016 eyeliner — NARS Velvet Eyeliners from the left in Black Moon, Mambo, Curacao, Kaliste, London, Blue Lotus, Last Frontier, Las Pozas and Darklight ($24 each)

The big news? The new $24 NARS Velvet Eyeliners, which are coming in nine shades. They’re like smokey kohls…

They get soft and smooth, so you can smudge and smoke ’em out, making them great bases for smokey eyes looks and, of course, you can also use them to line your lash and water lines.

On my water lines, though, I get some transferring onto the skin along my lash lines, which isn’t a big deal to me, because I just end up smooshing and smudging them out anyway (’cause homegirl likes it SMOKAYYYY!), but it’s there.

The collection also includes two NARS contour blush duos, three eyeshadows and two red matte lip pencils.

nars fall 2016 contour blush — The $42 NARS Contour Blushes in Melina (left) and Talia (right)

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Tom Ford Fall 2016 Orchid Collection Nightbloom Powder in Velvet Bloom and Velvet Orchid Lip Color

July 5th, 2016 by Karen 24 Comments

tom ford velvet bloom — Tom Ford Fall 2016 Orchid Collection Nightbloom Powder in Velvet Bloom ($80)

Is this jewelry, or is this makeup? — because sometimes with Tom Ford I just can’t tell!

Do wear it on my face, or do I dangle it from a chain and rock it as a statement necklace? I gotta hand it to Tommy-boy for nailing the whole luxury aesthetic. He’s got it down pat, especially when it comes to limited edition packaging.

Here’s a look at two of the lush and tasty (and expensive) purple and gold tidbits in Tom’s new Fall 2016 Orchid Collection.

The new nine-piece limited edition fall release (yup, fall!) just launched online July 1, and it arrives at Tom Ford counters this August. It’s inspired by Tom Ford’s Black Orchid Eau de Parfum, his first fragrance.

And fragrance plays a big part in the launch, as five of the nine pieces are perfumes, while the other four — two lipsticks and two blushes — are the goodies you can wear on your face.

The Tom Ford Fall 2016 Orchid Collection includes…

Black Orchid Lip Color ($60)

Velvet Orchid Lip Color ($60)

Nightbloom Powder in Black Bloom ($80)

Nightbloom Powder in Velvet Bloom ($80)

Black Orchid Solid Perfume ($190)

Velvet Orchid Solid Perfume ($190)

Black Orchid Eau de Parfum ($115)

Velvet Orchid Eau de Parfum ($115)

Orchid Soleil Eau de Parfum ($120)

I’m a “smoky eye till I die” kinda gal, so I always look forward to the dramatic eye pencils, eyeshadows and all of that fun schtuff I’m used to seeing for fall. So I’m a little bummed that this release doesn’t include any eye makeup for me to lust after.

tom ford velvet orchid — Tom Ford Orchid Collection Velvet Orchid Lip Color ($60)

Strangely, neither of these two pieces here — pearlescent rosy plum Velvet Orchid Lip Color ($60) and sheer, cool-toned pink Nightbloom Powder in Velvet Bloom ($80) — give me that same visceral desire that I usually feel for Tom Ford’s products.

Like the Velvet Orchid Lip Color? Yeah, it has all the hallmarks of a dreamy TF lippy, with its deliciously even application throughout, in and around the curves of my lips (none of that patchy nonsense!), its fabulously lighter-than-air formula, and yeah, the color, which is something I can totally see myself wearing in fall, but I dunno… I guess I was hoping for more.

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The Disney Minnie Beauty By Sephora Collection: Gorgeous Gold and Black Packaging Makes Minnie a Luxe Lass

May 31st, 2016 by Adia Goss 13 Comments

I’m not even a huge Minnie fan!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Disneyland, and the Disney movies from the early 1990s are seriously a part of my soul, but I’ve just never been one to collect Disney paraphernalia.

My goodness, though, the limited edition Disney Minnie Beauty By Sephora Collection is blowing me away. Now I want to start hoarding all things Minnie.

I’ve been playing with the Minnie’s World in Color Eyeshadow Palette ($45), Minnie’s Black & White Felt Eyeliner Duo ($20), Reflection of Minnie Compact Mirror ($26), Brush up on Glamour – Minnie’s Beauty Tools ($58), Minnie’s Inner Glow Luminizing Blush ($22) and the Perfect Red Lipstick ($15) this month, and I have to say that I’ve been so impressed, both with the quality of the products and, of course, the super cute packaging.

Minnie’s World in Color Eyeshadow Palette comes in a sturdy black clutch with gold polka dots, and both the mirror and the eyeshadows are removable, making the clutch totally usable!

There are 20 eyeshadows of varying sizes, and I like the arrangement, like how the middle of the palette has the larger sized eyeshadows in more neutral colors, while the outer rows have smaller sizes for the bolder colors.

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Urban Decay Is Back in Wonderland With the 2016 Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection

May 27th, 2016 by Anna Oh 12 Comments

“I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.”
~ Lewis Carroll

Those are some inspiring words, and they’re words that UD also uses to describe the new limited edition $60 Alice Through the Looking Glass Eyeshadow Palette and $18 Lipsticks, sequels to Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows. With an emphasis on individuality and embracing the things that make us different, this collection is for the beauty risk-takers!

The Alice Through The Looking Glass Eyeshadow Palette ($60)

urban decay alice in wonderland — The gorgeous, intricate box hides the slide-out eyeshadow palette

Even with the neon kaleidoscope eyeshadow colors, I didn’t find the palette difficult to wear. I’ve heard some mixed reviews about the shadow formula, and that’s open to interpretation, but I will say that the best-performing eyeshadows also happen to be the ones that matter the most. I think it says a lot about the palette’s wearability that I was able to come up with an Alice-themed look on my first try!

There are enough smokier neutrals, along with a trio of terrific matte blending shades, to bring harmony to the bright and quirky shades.

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A Closer Look at the MAC Chris Chang of Poesia Lipsticks: The Blue and Yellow Can Be Wearable??

April 29th, 2016 by Jen Clark 21 Comments

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Cloud Gait — MAC Cloud Gait Lipstick from the MAC x Chris Chang collection

My favorite part of the MAC Chris Chang collection has to be the lipsticks…or maybe the eyeshadows… Wait, but I love the Cream Colour Bases too! But for now, let’s just talk about the lipsticks. Every color is unique and different in some way and, in typical MAC style, the formulas are spot on.

I started out excited by three of the colors and a little perplexed by two. How on earth am I, or anyone really, supposed to wear a sheer blue and a sheer yellow lipstick?? If they were opaque, that would be one thing, but they’re really sheer, which didn’t make sense to me. They just don’t look right on my lips!

MAC Chris Chang Cloud Gait Lipstick — MAC Cloud Gait Lipstick

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Gold XIXI — MAC Gold XIXI Lipstick

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in Gold XIXI — MAC Gold XIXI Lipstick

I think I figured it out, though. I remember learning from someone on YouTube that most makeup artists keep a yellow lipstick in their kit, and the reason is because you can layer it on top of other lip colors to create a custom hue! Aha! That’s how you can use it. You can use Gold XIXI to add warmth to another lip color, and Cloud Gait to cool it.

Let me show you what I’m talking about…

Here’s MAC DDDevilish Lipstick from the collection:

Chris Chang x MAC Lipstick in MAC DDDevilish — MAC DDDevilish Lipstick

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