Makeup

Even Brows Need Good Arch Support, and the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil Delivers That

October 31st, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

Did you hear the news?? TMZ is reporting that pop princess/cat lady Katy Perry attended the SF Giants victory parade in San Francisco today. 🙂

And that’s not all. Surrounded by throngs of rowdy revelers, she threw an impromptu concert!

LOL! Yeah, that’s me hammin’ it up…

Dude! I have to tell you about a great product I used today, but before that, you ever play Where’s Waldo?

Or how about Where’s Marmalade? Can you spot him in the top pic? I figured that since Katy’s a cat lady, I ought to have at least one kitteh with me on tour.

Please, I implore you, don’t tell Tabs…

So, that blue wig? I LOVE IT! But too bad it hid my brows today, because I think they looked pretty darned fierce thanks to the new $32 Hourglass Arch Sculpting Brow Pencil.

Surprise! — I was running late getting out of the house in Katy costume this morning and had a lot to do, but only 10 minutes to do it in, so I raced through everything. Quickly, I filled in my brows with Arch’s awesome twist-up triangle tip, using broad strokes with one of its longer edges to fatten the sparse spots.

After that, I sculpted the ends a little, sharpening them using the triangle’s tip. All told, it probably took about a minute.

Of course, the brows were concealed by my wig…but I knew they were there, looking all full and fabulous, as opposed to harsh, ala Cruella de Vil.

According to Hourglass, the Arch Sculpting Brow Pencil’s formula combines the benefits of a powder and a wax to create brows that look soft, natural and full. Not quite hard like a stiff eye liner, or soft like a creamy kohl, the consistency has a little give to it. It’s firm, but not too firm, and it feels almost powdery. Soft wax within the formula binds the powdery pigments to each individual hair, keeping the strays in line.

I’m sporting a pretty strong brow look in these before and after pics, but I could’ve toned it down by running the included brow brush, which is on the opposite end of the pencil, through my brows.

hourglass arch review before after — Before (left) and after (right)

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Peanut Butter and Jelly, Meet Black Liner and Red Lipstick (Another Power Couple): The New Hourglass Icon Collection and Film Noir Kohl Eye Pencil in Eclipse

October 30th, 2012 by Karen 35 Comments

Wearing the new Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Icon and Film Nor Kohl Eye Pencil in Eclipse, and thinking about a PB&J sandwich…

The six or seven (no kidding) peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I ate last week got me thinking about other great pairings, like Bogie and Bacall, Hall and Oats, Nutella and anything, and red lips and black liner…

Red lips and black liner — a quick and easy, everyday combo that always hits the spot (much like, in my case, creamy peanut butter and raspberry jelly sandwiches on super soft, fresh bread).

But woman cannot live on sandwiches alone. No, this one also needs makeup! Like these pieces from the new Hourglass holiday collection — four long-wearing, blueish red lip products in a shade called Icon ($28-30 each), and a black pencil liner called Eclipse (the $28 Film Noir Kohl Eye Pencil in Eclipse, which is also available in a brown called Espresso).

Altogether, they’re like comfort food (but for your face). 🙂

Hourglass Extreme Sheen High-Shine Lip Gloss in Icon, $28, and Film Nor Kohl Eye Pencil in Eclipse, $28

Hourglass Panoramic Long Wear Lip Pencil, $28

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Icon, $28

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Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas: Disco Queen

October 30th, 2012 by Karen 48 Comments

last minute halloween ideas: disco queen

When that brief moment of pause hits as you’re about to push the “order” button on that sequined, sleeveless black jumpsuit, and you think to yourself, “Really, will I ever have a reason to wear this crazy contraption?!” — IGNORE IT.

You just never know when you’ll get the urge to look like Blanche Marie Elizabeth Hollingsworth Devereaux. Or when you’ll need something to wear with your last-minute Disco Queen Halloween costume.

last minute halloween ideas: disco queen — Keep on dancin’!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love disco? Yes, my fellow Dancing Queen, I like to Let It Whip to Brick House!! You could’ve done The Hustle to half the songs played at my wedding, fo’ reals!

So when I found this plastic “Disco” necklace at Party City last week (just a few feet from the Sexy Clown costume), it beckoned me to bring it home.

zoya ziv — I’m wearing two coats of Zoya Ziv on my nails, but you could easily get away with just one

#catlady moment: I kindasorta wish I had a kitty-size one to put on Tabs, so we could match. Oh, wait…

disco tabby — He’s mighty, mighty…just lettin’ it all hang out!

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What Is the Nature of Your Beauty Emergency? Dial Fine-One-One for Benefit’s Latest Cheek and Lip Trio

October 29th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

benefit fine one one review, swatches and photos — Wearing the new Benefit Fine-One-One on my cheeks and lips

This is Benefit Fine-One-One. What is the nature of your beauty emergency?

(Mumbling) Uh…

Hello? Miss, you’re gonna have to speak up.

(Whispering) I can’t. My guy is sound asleep in the other room, and I don’t want to wake him.

Okay…what is the emergency?

Well, I’m kinda sorta panicking because it’s the morning after our first sleepover, and I forgot my makeup bag.

Seriously?

Yeah, he hasn’t seen me without my war paint on yet, and I’d like to maintain the illusion that I just wake up with great hair and makeup, ya know?

…

OHMIGOSH! I think I’m hyperventilating!!

Alright, first of all, I need you to remain calm. Can you do that for me?

Yes…okay. I think so.

Good. Now I’m going to dispatch our Emergency Glam Squad to your location and a stick of Benefit’s new Fine-One-One.

Ooh, what’s that?! I’ve never heard of it before.

It’s a new brightening cheek and lip stick — a trio of creams perfect for situations like these. They can be used separately, or together, whenever you need a sheer flush in a flash.

How do I use it? What do I do when it arrives?

First, remove the cap, and twist the dial at the bottom. The stick, which has a shimmery pink champagne color, a matter watermelon and a matte coral, pops up like a tube of deodorant.

Swipe it directly on your cheeks…

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Neither Long Nights Nor Wig-Snatching Tabbies Can Stop the New MAC Extra Dimension Glamour Daze Eye Shadows

October 29th, 2012 by Karen 28 Comments

Gurl, I wish I could say that during the 10 hours the ah-MAY-zer-ing new $19.50 MAC Glamour Daze Extra Dimension Eye Shadows lasted on my lids the other day, I cranked out that young adult novel I’ve been meaning to write…

But nope. That book remains unwritten.

Instead, after layering a few of the shades on top of NARS Pro-Prime (my current primer fave) in the Katy Perry Halloween look, I…

…was the victim of a wig-snatching! — and the culprit was Tabs. He tugged the wig off while I was sitting on the couch (and now I know how it must feel to star on The Real Housewives of Atlanta).
…went shopping for Halloween candy at Target still dressed as Katy Perry. Mini-Snickers for everyone! 🙂
…painted my nails twice! Okay, three times… Two words: OPI Skyfall.
…talked to my mom on the phone and got caught up on all the family gossip (“Oh, but the thing is, HE’S A MARRIED MAN!”) and her favorite Korean soaps in less than five minutes.
(And I fear I’m beginning to confuse the family events with some of the plot lines from the soaps.)

Poster child for productivity, I’m not, but at least these shadows look good. 🙂 They up the ante on the first batch of Extra Dimension Eye Shadows MAC released last spring, incorporating the same shiny, vibrant finish, negligible creasing and smooth formula that steers clear of my fine lines with an improved wear time that lasts well beyond the original formula’s six hours.

Grayish black Tall Dark & Handsome, soft peach A Natural Flirt and pinkish purple Stylishly Merry last on my lids for at least 10 hours, which is as long as I’ve worn ’em, but I suspect their real wear time may be closer to 16!

Thing is, I haven’t had an occasion to wear them that long yet (no all-nighters at da club on my to-do list this week), but if/when I do, I bet they’ll last.

mac glamour daze holiday 2012 — Four of the eight Glamour Daze Extra Dimension Eyeshadows from the left: A Natural Flirt, Stylishly Merry, Divine Blue and Tall Dark & Handsom

mac glamour daze extra dimension eye shadow swatches — Swatches from the left: A Natural Flirt, Divine Blue, Stylishly Merry and Tall Dark & Handsome

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The New Hourglass Holiday 2012 Collection, Spaghetti Squash, and What I Do for Excitement on a Typical Thursday Night

October 25th, 2012 by Karen 23 Comments

Tonight is all about experiments.

First, this spaghetti squash…

I’m thinking that after I cook and shred that bad boy, I’ll toss the “noodles” in olive oil, salt, pepper and so much damn parmesan cheese that I oughta be ashamed of myself. Say it with me — “More cheese, please.” 🙂

Second, some new noms from the Hourglass holiday 2012 collection: two luscious lippies that look creamy enough to put some meat on ya, a pitch black eye kohl, a brow pencil and a fire engine red lip liner and lipgloss (find the whole schebang now at sephora.com).

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Say Hello, Kitty, to the New Hello Kitty Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Thing

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 40 Comments

Apparently, I’m a one cat woman. This, according to Tabs.

That cat is so protective, or territorial, or whatever it is, that he won’t even tolerate another feline diva in the house if it’s orange and stuffed!

Witness his fearsome reaction to this predatory plush toy…

Observe the menacing posture, raised claw and puffy tail. There was also a lot of angry meowing and hissing.

Hello Kitty, however, is a completely different story.

Tabs just loooooves anything and everything Hello Kitty, and that includes the new Say Hello Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Thing ($36).

Like a brazen alley cat, the new limited edition palette recently strutted onto shelves at Sephora, just in time for the holidays. The funky print packaging (um…is that a giraffe or a leopard pattern?) contains two tiers of products, one row of shimmery powder eyeshadows, and a second row with a bronzer and a pale powder matte blush.

I also Hello Kitty, but I’ve always thought of Sephora’s Hello Kitty makeup line as something targeted to teens and tweens (MAC’s Hello Kitty collection, on the other hand? — totally different story).

I am kinda feelin’ this palette, though, especially the eyeshadows. A couple of the colors seem surprisingly complex. There’s a pretty purple, all packed with flecks of golden glitter; an opalescent, peachy pink that reminds me a little of MAC Vex, except without the green and blue; a warm bronze; and a neutral gold. All four of them apply with little-to-no fallout, a good amount of pigment and a striking, shiny finish.

Hello Kitty Say Hello Eyeshadow Palette in Wild Thing — Hello Kitty Say Hello Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

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MAC Unsung Heroes: 33 Lash

October 24th, 2012 by Karen 20 Comments

The MAC 33 Lash ($16) is a bundle of joy — well, technically, bundles of joy — and my favorite false lash style in MAC’s entire permanent line.

See how the lashes are gathered into little bundles along the strip? And how within each bundle, the individual lashes on the sides are shorter than they are in the middle?

Also, notice how the biggest, baddest bundles are near the middle of the strip?

Now that’s just cool. And fancy. 🙂

“Well, hello there, young sir. Why, yes, these are my natural lashes, and yes, I do always look this wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, thank you for asking. I hope you don’t mind if I bat my “natural” lashes at you. It’s a nervous habit, tee-hee!”

I love that when I wear these, I can really see the difference in the length and thickness of my lashes, but I still feel like they could almost pass for natural. They’re big, but not crazy, totally outlandishly huge.

That said, these are not the false lashes I’d want to wear if I were otherwise covered in glitter at da cloob.… Not that I’ve done anything like that in, like, 10 years.

Seriously, if there were a cage, glitter and dancing in my immediate future (stranger things have happened), I’d probably opt for something more club-rageous like MAC’s 34 or 36 lashes instead.

These 33s are more like wedding day lashes — flirty, classic, beautiful and comfy. The super thin lash strip feels like nothing at all on my lids, and the lashes themselves aren’t so long that they make my eyes feel all droopy, which happens with some really ridonkulously huge false lashes.

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