Makeup

Chanel Palette Essentielle: Fab, Facile Face Palettes for Dewy, Fresh-Faced Looks

August 16th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

chanel beige intense palette essentielle — Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense ($61)

Way to stay ahead of the curve, Team Chanel! The three new Chanel Palette Essentielles from the Travel Diary Fall 2017 Collection go against the grain of the “more is more” trend taking over the mainstream makeup world right now.

They strip face makeup down to the bare essentials — a cream concealer, cream blush and a cream highlighter. That’s it. As a makeup junkie who now wholeheartedly embraces minimal looks, I like it.

Travel Diary is Chanel’s LE fall collection, and it’s inspired by a California road trip that Chanel Makeup Designer Lucia Pica took with her friends up the California coast.

Based on these face palettes alone, even though I’ve also liked everything else I’ve tried from this collection, I can tell that Lucia totally gets me. I mean, did homegirl peek into my makeup bag?? Because these palettes are exactly the kind of palettes I’d want to bring if I were road-tripping.

chanel beige medium palette essentielle — Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Medium ($61)

There are three of them — a light, medium and darker option — and they’re all available now with the rest of the collection at Chanel counters and online.

Peach-toned concealer obliterates dark circles! NEWS AT 11!

There’s so much I love about these palettes, starting with the peach-toned concealer… It OBLITERATES dark circles. It’s brilliant.

I was a little concerned about the texture at first, because it feels dry — similar to Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which I’ve never had great luck with (looks heavy on my skin and settle into my lines), but this version looks much more natural. I can’t tell where the concealer stops and my skin begins.

chanel palette essentielle beige intense — I’m wearing Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense under my eyes and on my cheeks, the Chanel Road Movie quad also on my eyes, and Chanel Rouge Coco in Daylight on my lips.

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I’m Road-Trippin’ Over the Chanel Road Movie Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Palette

August 15th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

Holy highway, Thelma & Louise! I just realized that I don’t have a favorite road movie!

How’s that even possible? I’m such a movie fiend.

Oh, well. Thank you, Chanel Road Movie eyeshadow palette, for that realization.

Hmm… What about Speed starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves? It’s not really a road movie, but I love that cheesy classic (Thelma & Louise is another great one, of course).

Colors of the California coast

Road Movie ($61) is one of two limited edition quads in the Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection that were inspired by colors of the California coast, and I can definitely see the colors of the state along the coast between LA and Big Sur.

There are deep, oceanic navy blues and teals in this eye quad, but let’s get real — the water is usually darker, murkier and scarier than we ever see it in makeup, LOL!

The quad also has a satiny golden brown, which is a powder shadow version of Memory, the cream shadow in this collection, and a matte tan that looks like golden Cali sand.

chanel road movie eyeshadow palette — That’s Road Movie on my lids and lash lines, Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense (from the Travel Diary Fall Collection) on my cheeks, and Chanel Rouge Coco in Experimental on my lips (also from Travel Diary).

Packed with pigment

Powerful pigment isn’t the first thing I think when it comes to Chanel quads. The brand usually pulls back on the pigment — but not too much — which makes it easier for mere mortals like me to blend them and sheer out the edges. That’s one of the reasons I love Chanel shadows so much for everyday looks. They’re juuust pigmented enough.

This quad? Road Movie has Make Up For Ever-caliber color. The shadows are intensely pigmented, especially the blue and teal, but they’re still surprisingly easy to work with.

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Pixi MatteLast Liquid Lip: Lightweight, Long-Wearing $14 Liquid Lipsticks

August 15th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

My friends, we are living in an era of crazy lip colors.

Yes, it’s true. And I love the craziness! — the
greens, blues and other-worldly purples. It’s opening minds — boom! — and more and more makeup mavens are thinking about beauty in unconventional ways.

Still, sometimes I get a hankering for an old-fashioned flattering pink or coral like the ones in the new Pixi MatteLast Liquid Lip line. They’re $14 each and available now.

All five are fabulously wearable and fairly comfortable for a liquid lipstick.

The Pixi MatteLasts have a thin, watery consistency similar to the NARS Powermatte Lip Pigments (which are THE BEST liquid lipsticks out there right now IMO), so you only need a few drops for full coverage. As long as you’re careful to apply the littlest amount, they don’t feel suffocating or heavy, either, like most other liquid lipsticks feel.

The unscented, unflavored formula is also easy to apply quickly, which is fortuitous in this case because, wow! — these dry in less than a minute.

I still prefer my NARS Powermattes, though, because even though the Pixi MatteLasts feel fairly lightweight on my lips, the NARS Powermattes feel even lighter, and they’re much, MUCH more moisturizing.

Despite being a little drying, the MatteLasts are still pretty good, and they cost $12 less than the NARS version.

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About Those Glittery New MAC Dazzleglass Shades…

August 15th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

A couple days ago I posted a pic of some new MAC Dazzleglass lipglosses that were added to the MAC permanent line last month, and I didn’t anticipate the powerful pull o’ the Dazzleglass glitter, because I was inundated by requests for me to list their names.

So here goes…

mac dazzleglass nemac dazzleglass neww — From the top: Extra Amps, Like Venus, Baby Sparks, Sugar-Rimmed, Moth to Flame, Rags to Riches, Money Honey, Smile and Steppin’ Out

Of course I like the pink, peach and coral ones, LOL! There are also some edgier colors too, like a blue (Comet Blue), a few purples (Funtabulous, Date Night and Boys Go Crazy), a white shade (Pleasure Principle), a copper (Get Rich Quick) and a red (Love Alert).

If Love Alert and Sugar-Rimmed look familiar, that’s because they also appeared in earlier MAC LE launches.

The new ones are just like I remember them (err, the other ones). They’re extra glittery and shiny, with glitter flecks bigger than the glitter in a MAC Lipglass, but they aren’t gritty at all, which is great, so they’re quite comfy, even though they’re super sticky, and there’s no way in hell you can avoid getting your high pony stuck in your gloss when you wear them.

That’s just not happening!

But, on the flip side, they last a solid four hours.

mac money honey rags to riches — Money Honey (top) and Rags to Riches (bottom)

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BECCA Lush Lip Colour Balm for Build-Able Rich Browns and Burgundies

August 14th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

Reading the names of the colors for the new BECCA Lip Colour Balms is like reading the menu at a hip neighborhood coffee shop.

There’s a Chai Crème, a Cherry Ganache, Café au Lait, Almond Fraise and a few others…YUM! “Yeah, can I please get a medium Toasted Hazelnut with 2% and no foam?”

Never been a fan of the foam…

Which reminds me, I found THE BEST coffee drink on planet Earth about a month ago. Problem is, it was two hours away, GAHHHH! But more on that in a few.

Look and feel like the Chanel Rouge Cocos

The BECCA Lush Lip Colour Balms are Ulta exclusives available now for $22 in the permanent line. They’re incredibly lightweight, hella hydrating, highly pigmented nude lip balms that won’t last long on your lips. I get about two hours at the most.

There are eight sheer shades, and you can build them up to medium coverage. For me they fall smack dab in the “shiny but not too shiny” category, a la the Chanel Rouge Cocos.

Nudes for all skin tones

I like that there are some rich browns and burgundies among them (good nude options for deeper skin tones), so they aren’t all just standard pale pinks and beige. BECCA has always been great about including shades for a wide range of skin tones, and they’re keeping it up here.

But do they taste like coffee?

I expected they might based on the shade names (which would be SO next level!), but alas, they don’t.

They taste a little like vanilla. Maybe. If I close my eyes and think about it, LOL!

Chai Creme, the one closest to my natural lip color, has been chillin’ in my purse for the past two weeks, except when it isn’t because I’ve swapped it out for Ginger Vanille or Cafe Milk Chocolate. I dig that I can slick any of them on my lips without needing a mirror.

I’m diggin’ these darker nudes

They’re low-maintenance, and you can still dial up the intensity by adding an extra layer or two. Recommended if you like moisturizing lip colors but refuse to deal with drama!

becca lush lip colour balm cherry grande — Cherry Grande

becca lush lip colour balm black violet — Black Violet

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A Little Time With Chanel and My Camera

August 14th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

The Chanel Rouge Cocos are the most photogenic lipsticks, I swear! 🙂

I wear these lippies a lot because they’re smooth, lightweight and moisturizing, and they come in a whole bunch of colors. Dimitri and Edith are two of my current faves, but I’ve also been wearing pinkish brown Mademoiselle lately because it’s one of those easygoing “my lips but better” colors.

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The MAC Pizza Cutter Eyeliner, Also Known As “MAC Rollerwheel Liquid Liner”

August 11th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

On the list of things I never would have imagined could be combined in a semi-logical way: liquid liner and pizza.

Props to MAC for bringing together these two unlikely cohorts in their new Rollerwheel Liquid Liner.

That’s the way to think outside the (pizza) box, man!

Rollerwheel made a big splash backstage at Fashion Week a few months ago where it was dubbed “the pizza cutter liner” because of the little pizza cutter-shaped wheel-doohickey on the applicator.

mac rollerwheel liquid liner — Pizza, pizza!

It’s not out yet, but it’ll be available on the MAC website starting August 17th (it’s LE), and then in stores from September 14th through October 26th, 2017.

mac rollerwheel liquid liner swatches — When you try to draw a pizza on your arm and fail… The blue shade is called Roller Royale, and the black shade is called On a Roll Black.

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Meet MAC Basic Bitch From the MAC Girls Collection and Her Posse of Plums and Grays

August 10th, 2017 by Karen 18 Comments

mac basic bitch palette — From the MAC Girls collection, the new Basic Bitch palette ($39.50)

OK, now, last time I checked, my sense of humor was more or less intact, but I dunno… Would you like to open your makeup bag and see a palette with the words “Basic Bitch” on it?

Eh, I wouldn’t.

I totally get that it’s supposed to be cheeky, but I’m not feelin’ that word (bitch). I guess I’m a Prissy Princess that way, ha!

Meet the other MAC Girls palettes!

Prissy Princess

Mischief Minx

Rockin’ Rebel

Fashion Fanatic

Power Hungry

Word bias aside, I like this palette more than I thought I would. For a smoky eye palette, performance-wise, it’s downright exceptional. In terms of fallout, which is usually my main concern when it comes to dark eyeshadows like these, I hardly see any — so little that I think you could do your foundation first and whip out the smokiest of smoky eyes while only having to flick away a few flecks here and there. It’s kind of amazing that way.

mac basic bitch palette k down — I’m wearing the palette on my eyes and cheeks. The lip is Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim Lipstick in My Favorite.

I like that MAC loaded it up with grays, plums and purples (there’s also a bit of black, too, though), and there isn’t an incredibly wide chasm among the colors in terms of contrast, if that makes any sense. Feathering out deep grays and plums like these is much easier than blending out dark, starker black and black-based shades, so these smoky shades are surprisingly wearable.

mac basic bitch swatches — MAC Basic Bitch swatches

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