Makeup

CoverGirl Intense ShadowBlast Eyeshadow in Blue Bomb Looks Hot But Misbehaves

July 27th, 2011 by Karen 41 Comments

Being a straight dude who frequents Mervyn’s, El Hub almost never notices my eye makeup, so I was shocked and delighted when he noticed mine the other day and said he liked CoverGirl’s Intense ShadowBlast Eyeshadow in Blue Bomb ($9).

One of six shades in CoverGirl’s new Intense ShadowBlast Eyeshadow line, Blue Bomb, like the other colors in the line, is billed as waterproof with a built-in primer.

I’m a big supporter of products that save me steps throughout my day, in part because they give me more time to lust after Vampire Eric.

CoverGirl describes these shadows as “intensely beautiful,” which kinda sets â€˜em up for something quite dramatic, right?

Drum roll please…

PROOT! Well, I wasn’t expecting to have to apply two or three layers or do so much patting and blending to achieve luscious, rich color, but I did. Beyond that, I think the fluffy texture, which feels almost whipped to me, also makes Blue Bomb a little difficult to control.

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Someone at Essence Deserves a Raise for These $2.49 Essence Lipsticks

July 24th, 2011 by Karen 29 Comments

essence lipstick kiss you

The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot are questionable, but the monster who steals socks from the dryer? — totally real. And he has a side job stealing lipsticks from legal assistants who ride the bus to work. For serious!

Back when I worked in one of San Francisco’s cubicle jungles, I used to ride the 38AX Geary Express to work, and on more than one occasion, somewhere between the time I’d step out of my apartment and sit down at my desk at work, I’d lose at least one tube of lipstick.

It was the weirdest thing! — like I was being targeted by a makeup pickpocket.

But now I know the truth: monster. 🙂

The silver lining to being the frequent victim of a makeup monster was that it gave me an excuse to go to one of the four Walgreens stores near work to get a tube of “emergency lipstick.”

I wish these Essence Lipsticks had been around back then because, GURL, they’re kind of amazing (and only $2.49 each)!

These cuties come in 10 colors, some with matte and some with shimmer finishes. Each one comes in a tube the same color as the lipstick inside, which actually really helps locate a particular color. The packaging feels pretty sturdy, too, which is a nice change of pace from the flimsy lipstick packaging that many budget lines use.

Right now I’m stuck on Kiss You, a shimmery cool pink with silver glitter. The consistency’s thin, and wear time is only about three hours, but that’s fairly typical of a lipstick that isn’t billed as long wearing.

Kiss You has a lightweight, smooth, slick texture that feels wonderful on my lips, and based on the reviews on ulta.com, the other colors should, too. I don’t mind the faint vanilla flavor and scent, but for the record, both of them fade fast.

Kiss You also layers well, so it’s easy to take from sheer up to opaque coverage, but no matter how many layers I wear, it doesn’t dry out my lips.

Oh, and have I mentioned that these are just $2.49 each?

$2.49!

essence lipstick kiss you
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These Dolce & Gabbana Summer 2011 Crayon Intense Eyeliners Prefer Lash Lines to Water

July 23rd, 2011 by Karen 24 Comments

Gosh, I sure do love the color of Dolce & Gabbana’s two new limited edition Summer 2011 Crayon Intense Eyeliners…

They’re from the new Italian Summertime Collection (here are some of the lipsticks from the release). First, there’s Agave, a shimmery khaki green with a hint of gold, and also Bronzo, a bronzy taupe.

I think both look faboo along my lash line, with Agave seeming to emphasize my brown eyes while Bronzo has more of a brightening effect, sort of like Chanel’s Rose Platine.

Agave (left) and Bronzo (right)
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Wow, This Is Big: Flirt! Big Flirt Sheer and Shiny Lipgloss

July 21st, 2011 by Karen 49 Comments

These new Flirt! Big Flirt Sheer and Shiny Lipglosses ($15.50) are like the Big Gulps of the gloss world. They come in super-size tubes with big@ss doe-foot applicators similar to the ones on the large-and-in-charge Lipglasses from the MAC Wonder Woman collection.

Flirt claims their massive “megatip applicator” helps them cover up to 170% more surface area than a standard doe foot…

That’s a lot of lip! I don’t know how practical it is for someone with small lips (like me), but I think the big applicator looks kinda cool. The trick, however, is using it without getting gloss all over the place.

Berry Bombshell, Big on Beige, Big Blush, Big Pink Kisses, Big Time Nude, Bigger than Rose, Big Pink Sunshine and Coral-Me Fabulous

With a regular MAC Lipglass for size

With a MAC Lipglass doe foot for scale
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What’s the First Thing You Look for in a Mascara?

July 21st, 2011 by Karen 70 Comments

What's the first thing you look for in a mascara?

I was thinking about priorities yesterday while testing the new Cover Girl NatureLuxe Mascara ($9).

For the mascara’s mousse formula, CG says they used beeswax instead of the synthetic polymers they would have normally used. The wax is supposed to thicken lashes but keep them feeling light at the same time.

Sounds great, right? My lashes are naturally thin and mousy, so volume is my top priority when it comes to mascaras (with length coming in a close second).
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It Takes You to Make the New Givenchy Les Ombres de Lune Palette Go Right

July 20th, 2011 by Karen 58 Comments

Givenchy Les Ombres de Lune

One thing Givenchy limited edition makeup releases have never been lacking is style. Whether it’s a pan of powder embossed with an intricate floral pattern or a palette with clean, understated lines, Givenchy understands the words “special” and “fancy.”

Whenever I see Givenchy on a counter or dressing table, I’m almost guaranteed to utter “oohs” and “aahs.” Just like when Alcide bares his chest on True Blood, the visuals are just too dang good. 🙂

Performance-wise, the products may hit or miss, but they are quite capable of knocking it out of the park. When it comes to their two new Les Ombres de Lune Shadow & Light Eyes palettes ($58 each) for fall, color my smokey eyes impressed.

Each of the two new face and eye palettes comes with two powder products — a darker eyeshadow for use as a shadow or liner, and a shimmery highlighting powder for the eyes, cheeks and face. I’ve been alternating between the two of them, Les Lune Mysterieuse and Les Lune Mordoree, for the past week, and both have been fantastic for giving skin a glow and creating quick smokey eyes.

Lune Mordoree palette

A shimmery, cool-toned lemony chiffon gold
A cool sapphire blue with black undertones and subtle shimmer

Lune Mysterieuse palette

A frosty neutral beige
An ebony black with a subtle shimmer

Shoot, I thought the Velvet Eyeshadows from Benefit’s Maggie and Annie kits were soft, but these powders are even softer. They’re like snuggling with silky, blue-eyed, baby ragdoll kittens (awww).

And they’re right on point when it comes to performance, too, flawlessly blending with intense pigments, but no creasing, fading or fallout to hold them back.

Givenchy Les Ombres de Lune

Givenchy Les Ombres de Lune
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Elizabeth Arden Ultra Ceramide Lipstick in Watermelon Is a Casually Cool Summertime Treat

July 20th, 2011 by Karen 53 Comments

One of these days Tabs is going to walk downstairs and find a super sweet, 5-foot 1-inch-tall seedless watermelon sitting in my computer chair.

It’ll have skinny brown arms and hands with long fingers, and flat arches at the bottom of its high-heeled feet.

From behind it Tabs will ask, “Meow?” wondering what happened to his previous assistant, and the watermelon creature will slowly turn toward him in its chair and say, “Tabs, it’s me.”

SCARY!

I’ve eaten so much watermelon over the past month that I just might turn into one.

And if I do, where would that leave Tabs? How would he get his lurvies from a giant watermelon girl? It would be like an episode of The Twilight Zone — the old-school, black-and-white one with Rod Serling. Except with fruit. A cat. And makeup.

Of course, it makes total sense to extend this fruity fantasy into the realm of makeup, right? First, with MAC’s watermelon pink Impassioned lipstick, which we looked at earlier this month, and now with Elizabeth Arden’s Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Watermelon ($22.50).

With its slick, thin texture and high-gloss finish, EA’s Watermelon reminds me of some of the other stick gloss lipsticks we’ve seen over the past few years.

The Ceramide Ultra Lipsticks are Elizabeth Arden’s recently-released new line of medium-to-full coverage plumping, moisturizing lippies. Available in 18 shades of red, coral, neutral, pink and plum across three finishes in cream, shimmer and pearl, they’re packed with hydrating ingredients that EA claims make lips look fuller and younger.

Do my lips look fuller and younger with it on? Maybe a little? Methinks any noticeable difference in plumpness might be due to a trick of light from the glare.

Good enough for me. 🙂

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How Much Does L’Oreal Double Extend Eye Illuminator Eyeliner Turn Up the Bright?

July 20th, 2011 by Karen 25 Comments

Adding to the list of things that keep me up at night (uncharted asteroids, coyotes howling in the distance, that one spider that got away, El Hub’s snoring), Tabs has been acting extra creepy lately, and it’s really freaking me out.

He’ll crawl into bed at night when I do and fall asleep beside me, but then, once or twice in the night, he’ll abruptly sit up on his haunches, which startles me awake, and stare intensely down the dark hallway as if he’s watching something (or someone)…

In the house!

El Hub says it’s probably just freaky cat senses detecting a twig drop half a mile away, but then he goes on to tell me about a story he read that claims cats may be able to see ghosts that humans can’t.

Oh, that’s great. Good to know. Thanks!

Long story short, this hasn’t been a good week for sleep, and I’ve getting up feeling and looking more tired than usual.

So when I came across the new $9 Double Extend Eye Illuminator Eyeliners from L’Oreal, I hoped they’d help disguise my fatigue. Each of the four dual-ended liners comes with a jewel-toned eyeliner on one end and a creamy off-white pencil on the other, with the eyeliner tip designed to enhance one’s natural color, and the off-white pencil tip designed to highlight and illuminate. Used together, both are supposed to brighten better than they would alone.

I gave Black Quartz, which is supposed to flatter brown eyes, and Black Crystal, which is designed for all eye colors, a try this week (haha, I almost typed “a tired this week”).

Black Crystal (left) and Black Quartz (right)

Black Crystal (left) and Black Quartz (right)
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