Makeup

NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint SPF 30 Makes Makeup Life Easier With Sheer, Natural Coverage

January 5th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

nars velvet matte skin tint spf 30 review — The new NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tints ($44 for a 1.7-oz. tube), coming in 12 shades January 15 to NARS boutiques and the NARS website, and February 1 to NARS counters

It’s a bold statement to say that I love a foundation after only using it three or four days, but that’s all the time it took for me to see how NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint SPF 30 rocks.

I put it through its paces last weekend on my three-day trip to Monterey and Carmel, and I can’t remember the last time I thought my skin looked better, whether in real life or pics. I think when you’re on vacation — and, assuming that you’re wearing makeup on that vacation because, let’s face it, on some vacations, like beach vacations or long walking tours, you don’t always want to wear makeup, especially a full face of makeup — that’s a good time to really test a new foundation, because you’re out and about for long stretches of time and probably taking hundreds of pictures along the way.

Also, and maybe this is just me, but I don’t like to spend a ton of time on my makeup when I’m on vacation, especially first thing in the morning. I can usually tolerate spending about 15 minutes (ideally less), but then I want to be out the door because adventure awaits!

I can say with absolute certainty that new NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint — which is really just a fancy name for a tinted moisturizer with an almost fabric-like matte finish — is the sh*t. Based on the crucial vacation/low-patience-for-makeup test, it totally checks off all the right boxes.

In some ways, NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint is a lot like that superstar of the NARS foundation line, Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, of which I’ve gone through bottles, and on which I’ve gotten many friends hooked. And, mind you, these friends don’t even wear makeup on the regular, but they still love Pure Radiant.

Yup, it’s that good, and this new one, Velvet Matte, is just as great, if not better.

Like Pure Radiant’s finish, this one looks like real skin, but it still evens out your skin tone. Also, again like Pure Radiant, Velvet Matte Skin Tint contains broad-spectrum SPF 30, along with extra skincare bells and whistles like vitamins C and E.

“This oil-free formula delivers NARS’ signature natural-looking finish and shine control with the skincare benefits of an all-in-one treatment. NARS’ innovative Velvet Illusion Complex Technology creates a soft-focus effect with a soft-touch feel. Transparent Blurring Powders instantly enhance the look of skin by helping to blur imperfections and even tone — naturally dimensional skin that doesn’t look flat, masked, or chalky.”

–NARS PR

The coverage is sheer but build-able up to medium, by the way, so don’t expect it to cover every single freckle or imperfection. My freckles and moles peek through, but I’m totally fine with that right now. I’ve been loving a more natural look lately, but I think you really have to like that whole, “What, me? Am I wearing makeup?” look to appreciate the finish.

nars velvet matte skin tint spf 30 swatches — NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint swatches from the left: Terre-Neuve, Finland, Alaska and Groenland

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NARSissist L’amour Toujours Eyeshadow Palette Swatches and First Impressions

January 4th, 2016 by Karen 13 Comments

narsissist lamour toujours lamour palette 1 — New for spring, the NARSissist L’amour Toujours Eyeshadow Palette ($59, available now at NARS boutiques and the NARS website; coming Feb. 1 to NARS counters)

Today I learned a valuable life lesson from the new $59 NARSissist L’amour Toujours Eyeshadow Palette ($59), and it was this: ’tis better to drink the blueberry smoothie — the one you made for yourself as a healthy snack — after you’ve taken pictures of yourself wearing a new eyeshadow palette, as opposed to before.

(Lest you end up with pics of yourself with a blue tongue and teeth!)

Just as an FYI, you know, in case you ever find yourself in that particular situation. 🙂

narsissist lamour toujours lamour palette 6 — Wearing the NARSissist L’amour Toujours Eyeshadow Palette on my lids

So, I took L’amour Toujours, a new NARS palette for spring, for a test drive around the block today (well…more like around my condo after I got back from seeing a nutritionist who assured me that I can have “a very small amount” of sweets here and there! Life is grand!).

The quick and dirty deets…

Limited edition
Available now at NARS boutiques and NARS website and coming Feb. 1 to NARS counters
12 powder shadows, none of which, I believe, have been previously released (but I’ll have to double check that). Four are mattes, and eight are shimmers.
The mattes, and the names are numerical, which is a little tricky, include “I” (which is a sheer cream bisque), “IV” (a semi-sheer black truffle), “VII” (a cool-toned medium brown) and “X” (a regal blue).
Of the shimmers, there’s “II” (a shimmery pink sand), “III” (a neutral medium brown), “V” (a shimmery golden beige), “VI” (a shimmery copper), “VII” (a shimmery pistol gray), “IX” (a shimmery grayish blue), “XI” (a shimmery taupe) and “XII” (a shimmery blackened licorice).

And some quick first impressions…

When I popped the matte cool-toned medium brown (VII) in my crease, the shimmery pink sand (II) on my lids, the matte regal blue (X) in the outer corner, the matte black (IV) on my upper lash lines and the shimmery pistol gray (VIII) on my lower lash lines, I found that the shadows blend together beautifully. I do see a little fallout with the black shade, though…
Um…Roman numerals for eyeshadow names? That’s very confusing for some reason!
So far I like the combination and variety of warm and cool-toned colors. I also like how smooth they feel on my skin. They don’t feel heavy or look powdery either. I also lake how deep and rich most of the shades are, especially VII, VIII and X.
So far, however, I am not crazy about the sheer matte light beige or black, which are sheerer than I’d like, and I have to build them up to see them in swatches. I also feel like I’ve seen a group of colors just like these from NARS before…
Jury’s still out on whether I can recommend this palette with the gusto of a marching band and a ticker-tape parade, but it’s nice enough, I guess, and I can definitely see myself doing a number of neutral looks with it.
I think I’ll have to use it a few more times to get a better sense of its value and gauge its flexibility.

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Ease Chocolate Withdrawal With the Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Eye Shadow Palette

December 28th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Chocolate withdrawal is a REAL thing

Seriously, the closest I’ve gotten to chocolate over the past week has been this new Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons Palette ($49), and oh, the sweet, sweet torture of it! Why does it have to smell like chocolate?!

“Discover a candy-coated confection of heart-shaped delights with 16 matte and shimmer shades in cool pops of color, sugary brights, and beautiful go-to neutrals—all infused with our chocolate-scented, antioxidant-rich cocoa powder formula. Chocolate Bon Bons is the third palette in our bestselling Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Collection (and some might say the cutest!). We’ve included our signature Glamour Guide with three beauty looks to get you started, but don’t stop there—the looks are limitless.”

–toofaced.com

With the whole gestational diabetes thing, I’m on a pretty strict meal plan until Baby Girl arrives in March. I gotta eat six times a day, which sounds like it could be super cool, but it’s sooo not, on account of how carefully I have to monitor my carbs and sugar.

Yeah, the days of stuffing myself silly with TJ’s Dark Chocolate Stars are gone, at least temporarily…

“Good thing I’m seven months pregnant and have been totally craving chocolate in massive amounts!” she said sarcastically as she took a big whiff of the palette that has been haunting her for days.

To summarize, I really, really, REALLY miss chocolate.

The Bon Bons Palette has been out about a month (note: it doesn’t actually come with the chocolate bar I’m holding here), and I played it pretty safe with this look because I didn’t want to go over the top. I blended the matte beige shade, Divinity, all over my lids, then swept the matte brown shade called Mocha into my crease before taking it along my lower lash lines.

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Lessons Learned From Doing 15-Minute Makeup for the Past Three Weeks…

December 21st, 2015 by Karen 32 Comments

Maybe it’s because I’m subconsciously preparing myself for when Baby Girl arrives and I don’t have any time whatsoever to do my makeup, but for the past few weeks, I’ve had NO energy or patience whatsoever to do any makeup look that takes more than 15 minutes. And that’s a totally weird thing for me because I usually love sitting in front of the mirror with all of my colors and my brushes and just going to town for freaking hours.

I’m assuming it’s just a phase, but it’s also been a rapid-response 15-minute learning experience, and knowledge is power, right? 🙂

Here’s what I’ve learned so far…

It helps to let go of the idea of “perfect makeup”

Clinique Pretty Easy Eye Palette, Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen and Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara

For this 15-minute makeup look I used a few products from Clinique, namely their Pretty Easy Eye Palette ($44.50), Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen ($19.50) and Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara ($17), and even though I think it’s a fully functional look, now that I look closely at the pictures, I see things I could have fixed, like, I could’ve blended out the shadow in the outer corner a little better and perhaps thickened the liner on that end.

I also could’ve spent more time on my brows and used a lash primer before my mascara to make my lashes look longer and thicker, but ya know what? I had a schedule. After my 15 minutes was up, I just let it go…

And that’s the big thing I’ve learned about 15-minute makeup looks so far — to give up on the idea of perfect makeup, which, I know, sounds blasphemous. 🙂

But seriously, sometimes good enough is good enough, and a lot of the time, the little imperfections are only noticeable by hardcore makeup people, and only if they’re studying your face intensely.
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I Want These Boots…

December 18th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

My justification for these Packable Tour Boots in Military Red (they’re $150, OMG!) by Hunter is that El Niño is coming/almost here, and I’m not about to mess with El Niño, man.

If The Niño is going to unleash his wrath on my feet and the surrounding area, I need to be prepared. Plus, hello! — they’re red, so they’ll match MAC Velvetease Lip Pencil in Anything Goes, my new favorite red lipstick.

Having red rain boots to match your red lipstick is of the utmost importance! I know you feel me on this!

Also, they’d match the little red lipstick kisses on this sweater I got from A Pea in the Pod last month (on sale, haaay). 🙂

I can’t seem to find it on their website anymore, but if you’re moved by it, it might be on the rack in their stores (here’s a link to their store locator). It’s warm, comfy, isn’t scratchy (because NOBODY has time for scratchy sweaters), and I’d still want to wear it if I wasn’t pregnant.
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Have You Hit Pan Lately?

December 18th, 2015 by Karen 28 Comments

This happened this morning to my pan of Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze (which is a total unsung hero, by the way), and all I have to say is VICTORY!

It felt glorious, in case you were wondering. 🙂

Have you hit pan lately? Inquiring minds want to know.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. The lip is MAC Just My Type Velvetease Lip Pencil, by the way.

P.P.S. STAR WARS!!!!!!!!! We’ve got tickets for tomorrow. 🙂

Alleged Minimal Makeup

December 16th, 2015 by Karen 35 Comments

I say “alleged minimal makeup” here because, let’s get real, this is more like maximum makeup, but being an obsessive makeup lover I actually wear more makeup than this on a regular basis with primers and color correctors and blending for days and layering and liner and basically everything and the kitchen sink (I’m sooo not shy when it comes to wearing zeh face paint), so even though this probably isn’t “streamlined” (air quotes) for many makeup lovers, it’s streamlined for me.

Um…I think this might be a little confusing? Because now I’m totally confused, HAHA! What I’m trying to say, I guess, is that this is by no means minimal makeup when you look at the sheer number of products, but it’s minimal makeup for me at the moment, which for me is also maximum makeup at the moment, because I seriously…I cannot handle anything more than this.

THIS BABY IS MAKING ME CRAY-CRAY!!!!

I’ve been wearing the products here in some fashion or other pretty much daily for the past two weeks (like, if I’m in a hurry, I’ll skip the highlighter and bronzer) and, depending on how much time I have and what I’m in the mood for, my makeup has been taking me anywhere from 5-15 minutes to do.

For the most part, the other elements of my looks haven’t varied much, with the exception of lip color, which has varied a lot, and when I can’t decide on a lip color, I’ll just throw on a pinkish nude ’cause it’s easy, ya know?

What’s up in the mix…
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MAC Faerie Whispers Collection: First Look

December 8th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac faerie whispers collection foiled eyeshadows 1 — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Foiled Shadows from the left: In Your Eyes, Feminine Wiles and Sweet Illusion ($20 each)

What do fairy (or faerie) whispers sound like?

I think it’s safe to assume they aren’t incredibly loud. Because of the whispering. Obvs… And I imagine they’re also high pitched and chipper, kind of like a piccolo.

A well-played piccolo, because a badly played piccolo is… NUH-UH. Trust me, as a former flautist, I know this.

I think that if a MAC Faerie were to flitter along — and this isn’t the first (or second or tenth) time I’ve fantasized about MAC fairies before, LOL! — she’d likely land on your shoulder and softly say into your ear, “Hello! Ooh, I love eyeshadow! Would you like to talk about it?”

Clearly, I spent too much of my childhood in an imaginary world…

Actually, I’ve also spent most of my adulthood in an imaginary world, LOL!

mac faerie whispers collection foiled eyeshadows 2 — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Foiled Shadows in Fairy Land (left) and Enchanted Forest (right), $20 each

mac faerie whispers beauty powder — MAC Faerie Whispers Collection Beauty Powders in Pearl Sunshine (left) and Sparkling Rose (right), $22 each

MAC regularly releases a collection shortly after Christmas each year, and this year, that collection is the very spring-like, glowing, ethereal MAC Faerie Whispers.

Most of the time, their post-Christmas collections lean sort of cool in terms of color temps, but this one has a lot of warm tones in it. It arrives December 23 on the MAC website and flutters into stores and counters December 26, where it remains through February 6 next year.

MAC Faerie Whispers Collection Powder Blushes in Cheek Pollen (left) and Spellbinder (right), $22 each — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Powder Blushes in Cheek Pollen (left) and Spellbinder (right), $22 each

mac faerie whispers lipsticks — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Lipsticks from the left: Lustre Lipstick in Gossamer Wing, Frost Lipstick in A Sprinkle of Magic, Cremesheen Lipstick in Midsummer Night and Cremesheen Lipstick in Among the Fireflies ($17 each)

This is just a quick overview while I continue testing the products, and I’ll have a more detailed review in a few days.

But my first impressions? Shine. Various degrees of it, from subtle sheen to lustrous metallic.

As for the big news, it’s probably the new Foiled Shadows, a completely new formulation. I popped a couple of them on my eyes this morning… Incidentally, I’m wearing two different eye looks right now! One eye is completely purple, and the other one is golden brown, and so today will probably be the day when at least 10 different people knock on my door and I have to answer it this way.

But I digress…

mac faerie whispers cremesheen glass — MAC Faerie Whispers collection Cremesheen Glasses from the left: Softly Lit, Calypso Beat, Just Superb and Enchanter ($20 each)

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