Makeup

Unsung Makeup Heroes: NARS Reykjavik Velvet Shadow Stick

November 18th, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of my all-time favorite permanent collection products.

Reykjavik.

OK, that word is hard to spell. For me. It’s like “fuchsia” and “necessary.” In the 10 minutes I’ve been sitting here trying to write about this fantastic Velvet Shadow Stick from NARS, I’ve had to look at the packaging and mentally spell out the word (R-e-y-k-j-a-v-i-c) at least 10 times, LOL!

WHY CAN’T I SPELL THIS WORD?!

I should be able to. I want to be able to, because this velvety $28 matte cream masterpiece of an eyeshadow is SO PRETTY. It’s my NARS November smoky eye BFF, and one should be able to spell the name of their smoky eye BFF, right?

Right?

The word is also the name of the capital and largest city of Iceland.

NARS Velvet Shadow Stick in Rejkavic…

Wait — Reyk-ja-vic — works as a bad-@ss base for smoky eyes. Lots of different colors of smoky eyes.

At a glance, it can look like a dark gunmetal gray, but it completely depends on the lighting and any other colors you layer it with. Sometimes, it leans more toward a bluish gray; other times, a blackened gray. It’s a surprisingly complex cream shadow, and it works with a ton of different color combos. I’ve been wearing it a lot lately as a lid base for smoky brown, black, blue and gray eyes.

Yup, I’m kind of a smoky eye addict, as you’re probably well aware. 🙂
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Neat and New to Me: NARS Albatross Highlighter

November 17th, 2015 by Karen 25 Comments

Neat and New to Me

Unlike my Unsung Heroes series, which features permanent collection products I’ve known and loved a long time, the Neat and New to Me series showcases permanent collection products that slipped under my radar for a while, but then I discovered them! — and now I think they’re neat and new to me.

I’m not gonna say that NARS Albatross Highlighting Blush is the most exciting beauty bird to have ever soared above the oceans and the forests. I mean, it’s not a peacock or a toucan.

Quite frankly, that stark white scared the crap out of me for years. “Albatross is for the birds!” I used to think every time I saw it.

Buuut, not so much anymore. 🙂

I tried it again in one of those Sephora makeup classes not long ago (the one on highlighting and contouring) on the recommendation of one of the instructor artists.

I said that I wanted to try a highlighter other than the usual suspects (a BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, Hourglass Ambient), and she suggested shimmery yellow gold Albatross.

I’ve been wearing it pretty consistently ever since.

Now, if you’re big into super glittery highlighters, you might want to keep flying, because yellowish golden Albatross doesn’t have giant flecks of glitter in it. It’s not one of those powder highlighters, but that’s one of the reasons I like it.

It’s just less muchness, if you know what I mean.

It is shiny, however — even more than the Hourglass Ambients — but it isn’t as shiny as the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfectors. The finish is right there in between, right there in the sweet spot. It catches more than enough light to be noticeable.

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Introducing MAC Maximized False Lashes Maximizer

November 16th, 2015 by Karen 34 Comments

See that pristine white porcelain candelabra/bed post in the picture below?

Haha, just kidding. It’s actually a tube of new $17 MAC False Lashes Maximizer (coming to the MAC website November 30 and to MAC counters and stores December 3), and it only stayed looking pristine like that for about 18.325 seconds…which is about how long it took me to get foundation fingerprints all over it.

If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed that this stuff was designed to take false eyelashes to the next level, because of its name, False Lashes Maximizer, but it’s actually designed to make the most of your real lashes.

It’s a lash treatment and volumizing lash primer rolled into one, with the idea being that it’s supposed to make your real lashes look like falsies.

As the owner of stick-straight, underwhelming natural lashes, THAT’S an idea I can totally get behind. 🙂

The formula, which goes on white but dries clear, is supposed to condition lashes while priming them for mascara layered on top, and it’s also supposed to make your lashes look thicker and plumper.

So it’s basically a mascara primer, but unlike some others, it doesn’t have those tiny fibers in the formula.

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The Delectables Palettes by Laura Geller in Delicious Shades of Cool and Nude

November 13th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

laura geller the delectables top final — The Delectables, by Laura Geller ($45)

Combine one part cool shades with one part warm, add a dash of shimmer and a pinch of matte, and then bake until done.

No, this isn’t another banana bread recipe! 🙂 Although I admit those are quite high on my priority list these days…

I’m describing these two The Delectable Palettes by Laura Geller.

Delectable… That is a very tasty word, haha.

laura geller delectables delicious shades of nude — Delicious Shades of Nude ($45)

laura geller delectables delicious shades of cool — Delicious Shades of Cool ($45)

All of the baked shadows within these two palettes, both of which launched this past summer, begin their journey as liquified pigments, which are then poured by hand into molds and baked, rather than pressed…

Mmm… Why does that remind me of artisan bread?

(Yes, I’m always hungry these days.)

Making them this way is supposedly make them perform better when used wet, for more intensity, or dry, for a sheerer, less opaque finish.

laura geller delectables delicious shades of nude dry swatches — Delicious Shades of Nude swatched dry

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Have You Seen the Make Up For Ever Lash Show?

November 6th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

Quick! — I need an excuse to wear a pair of these new false lashes by Make Up For Ever…

How about a drag queen-themed baby shower?

Is that even a thing?? If it isn’t, I think we need to make it one, because if I can do drag queen karaoke for my thirtieth birthday party, then a drag queen-themed baby shower is the next logical jump, obviously. 🙂

make up for ever lash show c 802 — Make Up For Ever C-802 Lashes ($18)

MUFE just launched these last month in a staggering 50 styles! They’re $18 each, made of synthetic fibers and come with a small bottle of latex-free lash glue.

The styles are divided into four categories — Natural Volume (for everyday enhancement), Dramatic Volume (slightly fuller lash styles for amped up day or night looks), Winged (for cat eye-style meow!) and Artistic (for show-stopping lashes).

make up for ever n 403 — Make Up For Ever N 403 Lashes ($18)

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Tom Ford Holiday 2015 Noir Color Collection

November 5th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

There should be a video embedded in this post. If you can’t see it, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.

So, the Tom Ford Holiday 2015 Noir color collection. I mean, really, it’s not like I was going to do a freaking cut crease with these products. The collection has smoky eyes written all over it!

And when I realized that, of course I had to do a little wiggle dance in my chair, because nine times out of 10, I’ll pick smoky eyes over just about anything else, so thank you, Tom, for helping me indulge my natural smoky eye makeup tendencies. Sending you matte lipstick kisses from across the Interwebs. 🙂

Cream and Powder Eye Color in Night Sky ($66)

Five of the seven pieces in the limited edition release, which is available now online and at Tom Ford counters, are eye products. The other two include a black nail polish and a re-promoted matte pinkish nude lipstick from the permanent line, and for extra fancy effect, all of them even have special limited edition packaging (see how the caps are black instead of the regular dark brown?).

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Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer: I Love This Stuff!

November 4th, 2015 by Karen 56 Comments

A bright future.

I hope so. I hope we all have a bright future, and despite my infatuation with post-apocalyptic zombie TV shows (and one in particular), I REALLY do think the future looks bright.

So…why am I talking about this?

Because of these Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealers ($14 each and available in MANY shades). I stumbled on them back in September and have been using them regularly since.

When you haven’t touched what had been your holy grail concealer (NARS Pure Radiant Creamy Concealer) in two months, it’s time to give what you have been using in its place a shout-out and a thumbs-up.

So this is me giving an official shout-out to these full-coverage gel concealers: Haaaaay! 🙂

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Buxom and bareMinerals Holiday 2015 Highlights

November 3rd, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

If you’re reading this in the newsletter and can’t see the video, you can also click here to watch it on YouTube.

buxom bareminerals holiday 2015 — Highlights from the Buxom and bareMinerals Holiday 2015 collections…

Buxom, bareMinerals and the phrase “Bay Area,” which is where both of the aforementioned companies are headquartered (in San Francisco), all start with the letter “B,” as does the word “bad@ss,” which is what you probably are if you’ve already finished your holiday shopping.

Have you?! Because if you have, I bow down!

For the rest of us penitent procrastinators, there are fewer than 10 weeks left till Christmas! We’re in the single digits now, so if you need help with gift ideas for the makeup lovers in yo’ life, consider these new holiday sets from Buxom and bareMinerals.

Both lines launched their limited edition holiday collections last month, and here are some of the best gifting options, IMO. 🙂

buxom leave your mark kit — The Buxom Leave Your Mark Collection (a $59 set)

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