Makeup

Marc Jacobs Beauty O!Mega Lash Volumizing Mascara Is More Dramatic Than a Soap Opera Cliffhanger Before a Commercial Break

October 13th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Do I want a mousy mascara, a timid one that keeps its eyes glued to the floor, too nervous to embrace the music and attack the dance floor with verve!

No.

How about a mascara that shushes me when I laugh a little too loudly in public, then says, “Be quiet! You’re making a scene and attracting to much attention”?

Not a chance.

Or a mascara that never wants to go out? It just wants to stay at home and watch Law and Order and fall asleep by 8:30?

ABSOLUTELY EFFING NOT.

I want a mascara that hits the gas and takes my hand while looking straight into my eyes and yelling, “We’re about to Thelma and Louise this ish, boo!” as our convertible dives off the cliff! 🙂

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This Hot Pink C.P. Yu From the $49 NARS Digital World Set Made Me Feel a Million Megabytes Better

October 9th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

I'm Wearing NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Yu from the Digital World Kit — Wearing NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Yu, from the $49 Digital World set

Memory is a funny thing, isn’t it? So many times I read the same tips over and over again — tips that have helped me before, but then I forget that they exist until I read them again, and it’s like, “Well I’ll be damned. That would totally work!”

Here’s one I know I’ve heard before, but I recently read it again: sometimes when you aren’t feeling great first thing in the morning, it can help to spend a little extra time getting ready.

Like, say goodbye to the sweats, and put something on that makes you feel cute. You know, fix your hair, do your makeup — that kind of thing — even if you totally aren’t in the mood.

To the first person who figured that out, wherever you are, thank you. You saved my butt this morning.

I woke up exhausted after an orange alert meltdown last night. It’s my fault, because I haven’t been taking my breaks throughout the day, which slowly turns me into a crazy person.

On top of that, I’ve been riding a PMS-fueled hormonal tidal wave, and everything has been getting on my last nerve. I’m serious, that one nerve is RAW.

Ha! OK, but seriously, I turned into a rabid cat in my office yesterday, and my poor computer chair… I kicked the living crap out of that thing, and then I cried non-stop for 45 minutes.

I felt much better this morning, but nowhere near my usual self. Without really thinking about it, I grabbed a pair of stretchy pants and a wrinkled tee shirt and planned to put my hair up in a bun and skip my makeup.

But then I remembered that tip about spending a little extra time getting ready when you feel blue…

After a long shower, during which I did a hair mask, a body scrub and even shaved my toes (yay!), I put on one of my favorite dresses, spritzed some Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Perfume, and slicked a hot pink lipstick on my lips.

Never underestimate the power of hot pink lipstick, my friend. It’s even better than chicken soup.

Today I haven’t once felt the urge to punch any office furniture. 🙂 Cupcakes for everyone!

NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Yu, the hot pink I’m wearing in these pics, couldn’t be easier to apply (unless it applied itself…which would be scary and weird). It’s from the new Digital World holiday set. One of the things I like about it, in addition to the color, is that I can line and fill in my lips with the same pencil.

Yu is one of five Lip Pencils in the $49 Digital World set (coming November 1 exclusively to Sephora), which also includes the Satin Lip Pencils in tea rose Descanso and peachy coral Torres Del Paine, and the Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in scarlet Cruella and warm orange Iberico.

NARS Digital World Lip Pencils from the left: Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella, Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Iberico, Satin Lip Pencil in Descanso and Satin Lip Pencil in Torres Del Paine — From the left: Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella, Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Iberico, Satin Lip Pencil in Descanso and Satin Lip Pencil in Torres Del Paine

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For Queen B Cheeks, Try Matte Tan Rose NARS Almeria Blush

October 9th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

NARS Almeria Blush Swatch — Wearing the new NARS Almeria Blush on my cheeks and, yes, I’m standing in front of a fan, Beyonce-style

“Just to warn you…I look completely insane.” A good thing to broadcast right before you enter a room if you’re wearing NARS Blush in Almeria ($30) but didn’t spend enough time blending.

If, however, you did invest the time in blending — because you’ll need to with this intensely pigmented matte tan rose from the new NARS Holiday 2014 Laced with Edge collection — then you shan’t need to warn the general public, because your cheeks will look so naturally fabulous and flushed that witnesses will just assume that you’re Beyonce, and that you wake up like this. 🙂

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The NARS Holiday 2014 Hardwired Eyeshadows in Gabon, Canberra and Opal Coast: My Lids Are Hardwired to Like These

October 8th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Also wearing in the picture above…

EYES: NARS Bronzer in Laguna in the crease, NARS Hardwired Eyeshadow in Gabon in the outer corner and inner corner, NARS Hardwired Eyeshadow in Opal Coast in the center of the lid, NARS Hardwired Eyeshadow in Canberra on the lower lash line, NARS Larger THan Life Long Wear Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte on the water line and Topshop Doe Eyed Lashes mascara on my lashes.

CHEEKS: NARS Bronzer in Laguna to contour and NARS Blush in Almeria on the apples.

LIPS: NARS Lipstick in Femme Fleur and NARS Lipgloss in Soleil D’Orient.

OK, help me out. These are the three new Hardwired Eyeshadows from the 13-piece NARS Holiday 2014 Laced with Edge collection, so I’m trying to think of puns using the word “hardwired.”

Tabs is hardwired to kack at birds.

I am hardwired to lose track of time in Sephora.

The Terminator is hardwired by John Connor, in the future, to travel back in time to kill John’s mother, thereby ensuring Skynet’s…

Yeah, that one’s not working.

How about this? I am hardwired to like NARS.

Simple, clear, to the point. I like it. 🙂

I gasped out loud when I swatched this new line of sparkly powder eyeshadows in Opal Coast, Canberra and Gabon.

NARS Holiday 2014 Hardwired Eyeshadows from the left: Canberra, Gabon and Opal Coast — Hardwired Eyeshadows from the left: Canberra, Gabon and Opal Coast

NARS Holiday 2014 swatches from the left: Hardwired Eyeshadows in Opal Coast, Canberra and Gabon — Hardwired Eyeshadow swatches from the left: Opal Coast, Canberra and Gabon

It’s no secret, but sometimes iridescent and metallic finishes can be difficult to wear, especially when they’re really chunky and gritty and just sit on top of my skin highlighting my fine lines…

Being slightly creamy, the Hardwire formula seems to bind a little better to the skin. Sure, my fine lines are still there, but they don’t look as obvious as they do when I wear other metallic eyeshadows. As far as shiny shadows go, I think these are very forgiving.

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When You Want Marvelous Medium Coverage and Natural-Looking Skin, There’s Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation: Pores Don’t Fear It, But Pocketbooks Might

October 8th, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

Yeah, this foundation is $80. It’s Tom Ford, so it comes with 10,000 volts of taser-like TF sticker shock.

Traceless Perfecting Foundation is a new addition to Tom’s permanent line, liquid foundation formula, available in 15 shades for $80, and that gets you a 1-ounce bottle.

The medium-coverage formula has a super subtle sheen and a velvety finish, so skin looks natural, real and not flat, and you can sheer it out even more to enhance that.

The formula doesn’t do much by way of controlling oil, so if you have oily skin, it may not help you out there, but for normal or dry skin, this would be a good, lightweight, natural-looking foundation for everyday wear.

With a fairly painful price.

To be honest, the coverage doesn’t dazzle me in pics, where I like my coverage closer to full and opaque, and my pores are totally unafraid of this stuff. I wish it blurred them into the background a bit better, but that’s me. If you already have perfect skin, you’ll be fine, but homegirl needs more help. Seriously, it takes a village.

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For Makeup and a Light Meal, Try Gerard Cosmetics Color Your Smile Lighted Lip Gloss

October 2nd, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

Wearing Gerard Cosmetics Color Your Smile Lighted Lip Gloss in Butter Cream, $24

If I’m ever invited to one of those restaurants where you dine in the dark, I’m bringing Cocoa Bean or Butter Cream with me, two of the 24 Color Your Smile Lighted Lip Glosses ($24 each) from cruelty-free indie line Gerard Cosmetics.

Gerard Cosmetics Color Your Smile Lighted Lip Gloss in Butter Cream and Cocoa Bean — Let there be light!

And not just because they double as a light source. They’re also intensely pigmented, highly moisturizing and comfy. Plus, the lightweight, non-sticky formula should easily last through the dinner (wear time: 4-5 hours).

While my tum is plumping during the meal, my lips will be, too — just slightly — because these also contain lip-plumping collagen peptides, for less visible lip wrinkles without one of those painful plumping stings.

But with these, really, it’s all about the flashlight. That’s the hook right there — the two bright LED lights in the cap.

And they are BRIGHT! Borderline blinding. One thing’s for sure, they aren’t dim.

Gerard Cosmetics Color Your Smile Lighted Lip Gloss in Cocoa Bean — Cocoa Bean

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The MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Palette Is a Dignified Diva Strengthened by Neutrals

October 2nd, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

I can say with the utmost sincerity that I have never been this excited to wear MAC Soft Brown.

And I love Soft Brown! It’s one of my all-time greatest hits, most loved staples, and I’ve been wearing it for years. I’m always happy to see Soft Brown staring back at me as I get ready in the morning.

Now, though? Next to so many other dope-@ss neutral eyeshadows in the $85 MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas palette? The impossible has happened: I like Soft Brown even more.

“But,” you might be thinking, “slow your roll, sweet thang.” We’re talking about an $85 palette. An $85 neutral palette. Another neutral palette.

I know, you’re right. More neutrals, and $85 is a lot, but it’s half what MAC usually charges for their 15-pan palettes (those are $160).

Here’s the thing, though: if Gravitas were a gymnast, it would have perfect poise and balance. It would easily win a gold medal.

And to attempt an even stranger metaphor, if there were such a thing as an eyeshadow palette soulmate, Brook Shields would be mine, because I love almost everything about Gravitas. I feel like, eyeshadow-wise, it has everything I need.

Well…almost everything, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Definitely, Gravitas contains great everyday basic shades, like Soft Brown, Shroom, Carbon and Satin Taupe, but that’s far from everything it has to offer. It also has an interesting combination of warm- and cool-toned khaki, plum, gold and pink shades, which together with the basics, open up a world of elegant eye look possibilities that don’t necessarily involve me looking like I’m wearing a sh*t-ton of makeup at lunch on a Tuesday.

MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Swatches 2MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Swatches, Top Row: Pretty, Soft Brown, Expensive PInk, Clove and Satin Taupe — Top Row: Pretty, Soft Brown, Expensive PInk, Clove and Satin Taupe

MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Swatches 2MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Swatches, Middle Row: Canter, Luscious, Antiqued, Psyche and Carbon — Middle Row: Canter, Luscious, Antiqued, Psyche and Carbon

MAC Brooke Shields Gravitas Swatches, Bottom Row: Shroom, Persuade, Plummed, Lofty and Pepper — Bottom Row: Shroom, Persuade, Plummed, Lofty and Pepper

And the addition of the darker gray, black and purple eyeshadows gives Gravitas even more flexibility. When I want to dress up like a sparkly disco roller diva and ride my glittery unicorn Giselle, I can apply one these colors in the crease, the outer corner and on my lower lash line. Then just add a pair of falsies and go. 🙂

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These $8.99 L’Oreal Infallible Silkissime Eyeliners Are Like Getting Two of UD’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils for the Price of One

October 1st, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

“YOU DON’T NEED ANY MORE EYELINER,” yelled my friend Cindy over email yesterday as we discussed what to do on our next meetup (this was right after I proposed lunch and a trip to Ulta).

Oh, really, Cindy? L’Oreal’s new Infallible Silkissime Eyeliners ($8.99) would beg to differ. 🙂

L'Oreal Infallible Silkissime Eyeliner shades from the purple to the silver: Pure Purple, Cobalt Blue, True Teal, Gold and Silver — Left to right, from the purple pencil to the silver one, those are Pure Purple, Cobalt Blue, True Teal, Gold and Silver

When I hold one of these pigmented, long-lasting, silky smooth liners up to my ear, I hear one of my favorite sounds in the world… The sound of spare change jingling into my Hello Kitty coin bank. 🙂 Because they’re less than 10 bucks! And they’re more or less the same as Urban Decay’s $20 24/7 Glide-On Pencils, which means they’re pretty awesome.

Don’t dawdle after you apply them, because once they set (it takes about a minute), they don’t budge. I like using them, especially Pure Purple and Cobalt Blue, for pops of bold color along my lower lash lines and inner corners.

L'Oreal Infallible Silkissime Eyeliner swatches from the left: Pure Purple, Cobalt Blue, True Teal, Gold and Silver — Swatches from the left: Pure Purple, Cobalt Blue, True Teal, Gold and Silver

The only thing I’m not crazy about is their reluctance to hang out on my water lines. On my lash lines? Not a problem. They’ll stick around for eight hours between touchups, but on my water lines, they’re gone within two.

L'Oreal Infallible Silkissime Eyeliner in Pure Purple — Pure Purple (lipstick is Lipstick Queen Play It)

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