Makeup

Bold, Shimmery Eye Makeup That Doesn’t Break the Bank: It’s Easy to Fall for These Six New L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadows

July 3rd, 2012 by Karen 52 Comments

loreal infallible endless
Wearing L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadow in Endless Sea

I’ve been kind of feelin’ the spirit lately with my eye makeup, you know, wanting to wear looks with 20 steps involving primer, 10 different shades of eyeshadow, liner (pencil, liquid, gel AND cake) and false lashes. Basically any and all eye makeup I can get my furry little hands on.

SIDE NOTE: And I’m so not kidding about the fur! Here’s what nobody tells you about your dirty thirties: they’re hairy, as in you start noticing hair growing in odd places (LIKE ON YOUR FINGERS), and suddenly questions like, “Is it faux pas for a woman to shave her hands?” cross your mind.

Ahem! Inside voice, Karen.

Right. But what about those days when Tabs is blowing up my phone with “urgent” pet assistant requests, like, “Please alphabetize my gravy cans, thanks!” and I have the inkling, but don’t have the time, to indulge in complicated eye makeup?

Well, there’s always one of the six new L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadows ($7.95 each). 🙂

Liquid Diamond, Golden Emerald, Endless Sea, Glistening Garnet, Bottomless Java and Smoldering Plum join 12 existing permanent shades in L’Oreal’s faboo Infallible Eye Shadow line of long-wearing, easy-to-blend powder shadows so satiny smooth that they make velvet jealous, and so shimmery that I keep expecting cherubic angels to emerge from the clouds and say, “DAYUM, GINA!”

And did I mention they’re long lasting? Worn with a primer, they cling to my lids for 8-10 hours without creasing.

loreal endless sea
Endless Sea

loreal infallible golden emerald
Golden Emerald

loreal infallible glistening garnet
Glistening Garnet
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The New $10 L’OrÃ©al Paris Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolours Are Rich in Pigment But Light on Pocketbooks

July 2nd, 2012 by Karen 51 Comments

loreal colour caresse colour riche violet chiffon 175
Wearing the new L’OrÃ©al Paris Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolour in Violet Chiffon

It’s been an exciting afternoon! First, I discovered what might be my new favorite drugstore lipstick (more on that in a minute); then, I improvised a pasta dish without following a recipe, and it didn’t turn out completely terrible. 🙂

loreal colour caresse colour riche If you’ve ever partaken of my improv cooking before, you’d know that it’s a crapshoot. Sometimes it works out, but sometimes, well, let’s just say that calling it “whack to the Nth degree” would be kind.

Luckily, I had some good ingredients on hand. I made a sauce of olive oil, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, halved cherry tomatoes and clam juice from a can, threw that in with some spaghetti, and garnished it with basil and salty Pecorino Romano cheese.

I wanted to add the clams for protein but didn’t realize they were whole clams until I opened the can.

Eww! I like diced clams, but I can’t deal with chopping them up when they’re whole. They’re just so…squishy and rubbery, and there’s that dark stuff that oozes out of ’em.

I ended up leaving out the clams, but I did add the clam juice to the sauce for flavor.

The dish was probably the best improv pasta I’ve made in a while, and I should have immortalized it with a pic! — but blast if I didn’t forget to take one before I finished devouring the meal.

Finding my new favorite drugstore lipstick this afternoon helped to soften the blow. The new $9.99 L’OrÃ©al Paris Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolours are more than just mouthfuls. They’re also all kinds of rad.

loreal colour caresse colour riche
From the left: Pink Cashmere 171, Blushing Sequin 172, Violet Chiffon 175 and Pink Vinyl 183

Loaded with pigment and moisture, these 16 creamy, modern marvels are rarities among moisturizing lippies because they don’t highlight any flakes on my perpetually parched lips. L’OrÃ©al’s lightweight Luminous Lipcolours are pigmented enough to satisfy my almost insatiable thirst for color, even with a single swipe, and hydrating enough to keep the flakes at bay.

After trying four of the colors so far, my lips and I are happy, moisturized and utterly impressed.

The unscented, unflavored pinks, neutrals and berries in the line headline the show like silent movie matinee versions of the far more expensive Pure Colour Sensuous Rouges from Estee Lauder ($28 each) and Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shines ($32).

loreal colour caresse colour riche swatches
Swatches from the left: Pink Cashmere 171, Blushing Sequin 172, Violet Chiffon 175 and Pink Vinyl 183

loreal caresse colour riche blushing sequin 172
Wearing Blushing Sequin
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The Urban Decay Smoked Palette: Smoked Signals That Urban Decay Is Thinking About Jewels and Neutral Colors This Fall

July 2nd, 2012 by Karen 56 Comments

urban decay smoked palette

Vacations are synonymous with summer in many parts of the world, especially those parts that get downright chilly in winter, but I like to set aside some time for a quick trip or two each fall.

Temps are usually a little cooler, the crowds a little smaller, and, beauty weirdo that I am, I like being able to use the season as my rationale for wearing smokey eyes almost every day, and in all of my vacation pics. 🙂

LOL! I had a feeling you’d understand. Now let’s pinky shake for being makeup nerds 4eva!

Thanks to Urban Decay, I think I may have found a perfect palette to take on my next fall foray. It’s called Smoked, sells for $49, has smokey eyes written all over it, and arrives at Sephora and Ultra stores, Macy’s and the Urban Decay website later this week.

urban decay smoked palette

Comprised of mostly neutral colors with a few smouldering jewel-toned shades, lacking any electric hot pinks or teals, it seems almost subdued for Urban Decay, but not at all in a bad way.

These are colors a rock goddess might wear to a black-tie affair with fishnets beneath her formal gown and heels bristling with chains and spikes.

It’s as if a warlock took Urban Decay’s Naked and Naked2 palettes, dropped them into a boiling cauldron, added the Black and 15-Year Anniversary palettes, let that stew for a few hours, and then poured the mixture into the Midnight Emergency Kit’s packaging.

The sleek zippered case contains 10 Eyeshadows, five of them new and five repromoted, but all of them in Urban Decay’s new eyeshadow formula; one full-size 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (repromote), an inky black the color of a starless sky at midnight; a travel-sized Primer Potion (repromote), and a booklet called the Smoked Get The Look Book, with 12 step-by-step smokey eye tutorials (new).

Truth be told, I’d probably leave out the Primer Potion, as I have a tough time blending shadows on top of it (I don’t think it’s “slippery” enough for me), but I do know many gals who swear by it. If I were going on, say, on a 10-day trip to Italy this fall (hi, El Hub! Hint-hint!), that’s the one piece that come with the palette that I might just leave behind.

Ah… I can see it now — traipsing across the country on a quest to find the perfect pasta, and eating plate after plate of fettuccine, fusilli, spaghetti, ravioli and linguine with clams, perhaps while wearing a look like the smokey cat eyes I’m wearing here.

And I wouldn’t even have to worry about having to reapply after having that second cannoli because these easy-to-blend shadows, which exhibit very little fallout, stay put for at least 12 hours without fading or creasing.

My lower lash and water lines, however, might need a quick touch-up with Perversion pencil after 5-6 hours, but I can live with that.

If I happen to be in a more dramatic mood, because lawd knows that nothing goes with bread, wine and cheese like two smouldering smokey eyes (LOL!), I could even follow one of the tutorials in the Get The Look Book, or line my lash and water lines with Perversion, and then smudge one of the shimmery shadows along the lash lines.

urban decay smoked palette

urban decay smoked palette k4
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Tonight on CSI: Novato, Urban Decay Fall 2012 Collection Pics and Swatches

June 29th, 2012 by Karen 43 Comments

Urban Decay Smoked Palette Fall 2012

OMG! I was just on my way out the door for my lady date with my friend Marisol (gonna see Magic Mike!) when I heard the news…

Urban Decay’s new fall 2012 palette got smoked!

Fo’ reals! Here are some quick pics of the palette and other bits from the Urban Decay fall collection for 2012…

The $49 Urban Decay Smoked Palette, coming soon to Sephora and Ulta stores, select Macy’s stores and online to urbandecay.com (next week)

urban decay smoked palette

urban decay smoked palette
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Bellissima Bellucci! The Dolce & Gabbana Monica Collection Voluptuous Lipsticks

June 29th, 2012 by Karen 37 Comments

Dolce & Gabbana Chic Italian Monica 160
Wearing Dolce & Gabbana Monica Collection Lipstick in Chic Monica 100

A few shots of the new super-saturated luxury lippies from Dolce & Gabbana’s six-piece Monica Collection ($32 each), available now exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue stores and online at saksfifthavenue.com.

The collection’s named after one of Dolce & Gabbana’s muses, the Italian actress and fashion model Monica Bellucci.

Um…I’ll have whatever she’s having, LOL!

Dolce & Gabbana Monica Collection
Lipsticks from the left: Italian Monica 160, Attractive Monica 140, Magnetic Monica 120, Chic Monica 100, Only Monica 80 and Natural Monica 60

Dolce Gabbana Monica collection swatches
Swatches from the left: Natural Monica 60, Only Monica 80, Chic Monica 100, Magnetic Monica 120, Attractive Monica 140 and Italian Monica 160
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Today I Tried to Answer the Question Tarte Poses With Their New Makeup Kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 28th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

This morning, while Janet rocked, “What have you done for me lately?” I sang something similar while applying the products in Tarte’s latest makeup kit.

What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately? — that’s a good question, and it’s also the name of the $49 six-piece kit (a QVC exclusive).

Listening to Janet, I came this close to teasing my hair and slipping into something with shoulder pads, but then I came to my senses, thankfully, because real life ’80’s fashion wasn’t always as cool as a John Hughes film… 🙂

For this look, I’m wearing all of the products in the kit except for the Maracuja Oil, and I’m also wearing Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Peaceful on my cheeks, because the kit doesn’t come with a blush.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately
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A Liner Poseidon Would Use: The New Trident Shaped 3*Way Lash Lining Tool From Too Faced Creates Thicker, Fuller Lashes

June 28th, 2012 by Karen 41 Comments

too faced 3 way lash lining tool

I need another black liquid liner like I need another reason to watch Magic Mike! — but that’s not stopping me from wanting another black liquid liner, especially a good one with the power of innovation. 🙂

Fellow liner lover, walk with me for a bit as we bat our lashes at the new 3*Way Lash Lining Tool from Too Faced ($22).

Do you suffer from chronic tardiness? (I do!) Thin lashes got you down? (Yup!)

If you answered in the affirmative to either of those inquiries, Too Faced feels they can help, and their solution takes a three-pronged approach.

The new 3*Way has a three-pronged tip — kinda like a trident — designed to create the illusion of a full lash line; the product doubles (triples?) as a liquid liner to draw both thin and thick lines, hence the name.

too faced 3 way lash lining tool tip

It works like this: starting at one end of your upper lash line, place the prongs at the base of your lashes between the roots. Gently apply pressure to dispense the liquid, stamping three black dots. Repeat along the full length of your lash line, filling in the spaces between your lashes.

When you’re done, your lash line should look a whole lot thicker.

Alternately, to use the 3*Way as a liquid liner for super skinny lines, just drag the edge of one of the three tips along your lash and water lines, or for thicker lines, like for cat eyes, make contact with all three tips placed flat.

Now, dotting liner along the base of your lashes and between the roots isn’t a new trick. Sometimes it’s referred to as “backing the lashes,” and truth be told, most any black liner, be it liquid or pencil, can deliver a similar effect.

too faced 3 way lash lining tool swatch

too faced 3 way lash lining tool hand
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Tired of Being Disappointed With Your Makeup? With Their New QVC Exclusive Kit, Tarte Asks, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?”

June 27th, 2012 by Karen 21 Comments

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately

Every time I say the name of Tarte’s new $49 QVC exclusive kit, “What Has Your Makeup Done For You Lately?” (a $160 value) I think of this old-school Janet Jackson jam…

I find it really funny that I can’t remember the last name of that boy I dated for three months in my freshman year in college (Mike something-or-other? I want to say Mendoza?), but I can recite the lyrics from Janet’s video word for word!

“What’s up, girl?”

“He stood me up again.”

“Again?!”

“Um-hmm.”

“Well, what’s up with this guy? Do you really like him that much?”

“Yes, honey, I love him. He is fine. He does a lot of nice things for me.”

“I know he used to do nice stuff for you, but what has he done for you lately?”

Don’t even get me started on the choreography. 🙂

But I digress…

Tarte’s latest makeup kit, a QVC exclusive (QVC and QVC.com) on July 13, features six pieces, most of them new.

For $49, or about 70 percent off the regular price of all of the products purchased separately, you get one LipSurgence Lip Shine in Smitten (a glossy pink), the new Pure Maracuja Oil Rollerball, the new Retoucher Flawless Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush, the new Maracuja Miracle 12-HR Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 (choose from one of five shades in Fair, Light, Medium, Tan and Deep), the new modernEYES Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner in Plumberry/Plum Brown, and a re-promoted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara.

Oh — and as a bonus, you also get a sample jar of Tarte’s new Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment, a cream designed to conceal dark circles immediately and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time.

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately box

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately in hand

tarte what has your makeup done for you lately foundation
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