Makeup

Golden Glitter Glistens in the New It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Blush in Sweet Cheeks

August 24th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

it cosmetics bye bye pores blush sweet cheeks — It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Blush in Sweet Cheeks ($24)

I love my pores. They’re a part of who I am and, ya know, they do all the hard work that pores do (like housing hair follicles).

That said, I really don’t need to be reminded of their existence all day long, so I’d much rather wear a line of blushes called “Bye Bye Pores” than “Hi Hi Pores!”

Sweet Cheeks is the newest shade in the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Blush fam, and it comes out this fall.

It Cosmetics has some fantastic permanent collection blush lines, including my faves, the Confidence In Your Glow Blushing Bronzers (a.k.a the Neapolitan ice cream ones) and the CC+ Radiance Ombre Blushes, which are SO GREAT. They’re easy to blend, long lasting and look incredibly natural.

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The New NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Stick Doesn’t Stick to the Status Quo

August 23rd, 2017 by Karen 7 Comments

These new NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Sticks have me completely rethinking what I thought about stick foundations, which had previously brought up bad memories for me of thick, heavy, cake-face coverage and suffocating pores, but this new NARS incarnation feels light and looks like a tinted moisturizer…BUT IN CREAM STICK FORM.

You’re blowing my mind, NARS!

The Velvet Matte Foundation Sticks are sheer satin cream stick foundations now available in 20 shades at NARS counters and Sephora for $45 each.

The shades include…

Siberia (Light 1) — light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones
Mont Blanc (Light 2) — light with pink undertones
Gobi (Light 3) — light with yellow undertones
Deauville (Light 4) — light with a neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones
Fiji (Light 5) — light with yellow undertones
Ceylan (Light 6) — medium with yellow undertones
Punjab (Medium 1) — medium with golden, peachy undertones
Vallauris (Medium 1.5) — medium with pink undertone
Santa Fe (Medium 2) — medium with peachy undertones
Stromboli (Medium 3) — medium with olive undertones
Barcelona (Medium 4) — medium with golden, peachy undertones
Syracuse (Medium-Dark 1) — medium-dark with brown undertones
Tahoe (Medium-Dark 2) — medium-dark with caramel undertones
Cadiz (Medium-Dark 3) — medium-dark with caramel and red undertones
Macao (Medium-Dark 4) — medium-dark with yellow undertones
New Guinea (Medium-Dark 5) — medium-dark with red undertones
Trinidad (Dark 1) — dark with warm yellow undertones
New Orleans (Dark 2) — dark with yellow undertones
Benares (Dark 3) — dark with golden undertones
Khartoum (Dark 4) — dark with espresso undertones

nars velvet matte stick foundation swatches — Swatches from the top: Mont Blanc Light 2, Deauville Light 4, Ceylan Light 6, Vallauris Medium 1.5, Stromboli Medium 3, Syracuse Medium/Dark 1, Cadiz Medium/Dark 3

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Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara for Lash Lengthening That Lasts All Night Long

August 23rd, 2017 by Karen 24 Comments

urban decay troublemaker mascara brush — Urban Decay has a new mascara called Troublemaker, coming to counters next month.

If Urban Decay really wanted to start sh*t with their new Troublemaker Mascara, instead of calling it “sex-proof,” why not say that it’s tough enough to handle your next mission to MARS? Or that it’s worthy of wearing while you defend your thesis? Or that it can handle all of the many obstacles you’ll encounter on your path to earning an Olympic Gold Medal?

There are just soooooo many other ways brands can appeal to women without tying something to sex.

OK, stepping off my soap box!

Troublemaker is a $24 lash lengthening and separating mascara coming to UD counters in September (there’s also an $11 on-the-go sample size if you aren’t ready to make a full commitment). It’ll be available in only one shade, a rich, dark matte black, a color that Urban Decay says they achieved by mixing two types of black pigments together.

I can appreciate this because, as any girl who went through an all-black wardrobe phase knows, there are many, many different shades of black.

urban decay troublemaker mascara before after — Bare lashes on the left, and two coats of Troublemaker on the right

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Tom Ford Burnished Copper Creme Colour for Eyes: 5 Reasons to Fall Hopelessly in Love

August 22nd, 2017 by Karen 9 Comments

1. It’s the perfect color for your dream ? dragon

If I had a dragon, I’d want her (because she’d be a girl, obvs) to be the same exact color as Tom Ford Burnished Copper Creme Color For Eyes — a beautiful deep khaki with hints of gold.

And speaking of dragons…OMG, Game of Thrones! Can we talk about it please? Because I’m still shaken from last Sunday’s episode, and I need to release all the feelings.

2. The finish is unreal

It’s like purposefully weathered metal. Not super metallic. More like buffed to a fine patina. The shine is dampened down, but it’s definitely there, and it’s unlike anything else in my makeup collection.

3. It wears so well that you can even skip primer

Yeah, man! Burnished Copper’s BFF is bare freakin’ lids. No matter how I work it (sheer or layered or with other eye products), I get a full day’s wear sans creasing or drama. Yeah, you can wear a primer with it if you want to (I recommend NARS Pro-Prime if you do. It’s the best!), but if you’re feeling lazy, 1) I can relate, and 2) Burnished Copper doesn’t really need one, so save yourself the effort, and use all that extra energy to do a quick dance in your chair.

Go ahead, I’ll wait. 🙂

tom ford burnished coppe closeup — Wearing Burnished Copper on my lids and MAC Saddle in my crease. The liner is Tarte Sex Kitten Liquid Liner.

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Makeup From the Year 2000!

August 18th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

I was de-cluttering the books in my bedroom last weekend (KON MARI 4 LIFE) and found my old copy of Kevyn Aucoin’s Face Forward, which I’ve had for eons.

Look what fell out when I opened it up!

Well…other than the random Valentine’s Day stickers.

Why did I put a sheet of stickers in this book?

It’s an ad I tore out of an issue of In Style magazine in THE YEAR 2000 because I liked the makeup.

And I know it’s from 2000 because when I flipped it over…

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Hello From Tokyo! Shiseido Online Skin Care (and Tote Gift With Purchase) Available Now Through August 27th

August 18th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

“Hello from Tokyo!” says my tote bag.

Um…I wish I was saying hello to you from Tokyo. Instead, I’m waving to you over the interwebz from my cluttered hallway while holding this Shiseido Hello Toyko tote.

The cute characters in the print remind me of those gummy candies at the Asian store.

Ooh! — what if the tote came with peach gummy rings!? That would be awesome.

It’s an online exclusive gift-with-purchase available now on the Shiseido website, and you get it, along with a skin care sampler set with extra big sample sizes, with any $75 purchase (excluding gift sets).

There are four skin care sets to choose from, too (but only the one tote). There’s one set for fine lines, another for brightening, one for fading dark spots, and a set for clear skin.

Most of Shiseido’s products are available on their website, so there’s a lot to choose from. One thing I use and love is their Ibuki Quick Fix Mist ($25). It’s a setting spray to keep greasy skin in check.

I also love their face and body sunscreen — the one in the blue bottle. It’s lightweight, isn’t sticky, and it photographs well.

I think their lash curler is pretty good, too.

The Ibuki Smart Filtering Smoother ($23), Synchro Skin Foundation in Golden 5 ($45) and Facial Cottono ($10)

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Chanel Urban Ombre Premiere Cream Shadow From the Fall 2017 Travel Diary Collection

August 17th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

I’ve never met a Chanel Ombre Premiere cream shadow I didn’t like…until now.

Le sigh.

Urban is a blackened navy blue sheen in the Chanel Travel Diary collection, and it isn’t my favorite thing in the launch.

I’ve loved pretty much everything else from the collection so far (it’s been my favorite Chanel fall collection in years), but for me this cream shadow falls short.

chanel urban swatch — Chanel Urban is so gorgeous, but sooooo hard to use!

It feels drier than the other cream shadow in the launch, Memory (WHICH IS BOMB!), so when I smooth it across my lids, it catches some spots and skips over others. Unlike all of the other Ombre Premieres I have, wear and love, this one is the hardest to blend.

It’s Patchy City, so I’d drive by this one this year.

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The New Chanel Travel Diary Collection Rouge Coco Lipsticks in Experimental and Daylight

August 17th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

chanel experimental daylight — Experimental and Daylight

5 Road Trip Essentials

A GPS — So I can navigate. Because I’m not about to twiddle my thumbs while El Hub drives around aimlessly and refuses to ask for directions. Nope. NOT GONNA DO IT.
All the tunes — Don’t forget your Prince and Fleetwood Mac compilations, because both are necessary for trips lasting more than two hours.
Snacks — Obvs.
Comfy stretchy pants — Self-explanatory.
Lipsticks — Always! And if they’re Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks, even better. 🙂

The Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection has two marvelously moisturizing Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks in it ($37 each), and yes, I did a whoop-whoop car chair dance of joy when I saw bright red poppy Experimental on my lips for the first time.

chanel experimental lipstick — Rouge Allure Coco Lipstick in Experimental

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