Makeup

I Have a Blue Crush on the NARS Summer 2011 Collection

April 21st, 2011 by Karen 55 Comments

NARS Summer 2011

When I look at the colors in the new NARS Summer 2011 collection, every cell in my body wants me to do this:

I wonder what prompted this 11-piece release. I can imagine FranÃ§ois Nars, all tan and relaxed from a kick-ass beach vacay, dreaming up these playful colors because the teal, coral, citrus and cantaloupe fit the tropics to a (surf) T.

nars summer 2011

But there’s much more to the collection than that. An opaque white nail polish and warm, shimmery gold and silver metallics join the punchy, vibrant hues. By all appearances, someone had a blast this time around.

While the NARS Spring 2011 and Holiday 2010 collections reminded me of cocktail dresses, dainty heels and white wine spritzers at a bar in the Financial District downtown, this collection reminds me of a girl on vacation in Hawaii. She’s cruising around the island in a rented jeep with her surfboard in back. After catching a few waves, she stops by a beach bar, tucks a hibiscus behind her ear, and charms the bartender, who serves her free umbrella drinks all night long. 🙂

NARS Summer 2011 includes a mix of limited edition colors and items to be added to the NARS permanent line.

The Full Collection

Cap Ferrat Trio Eyeshadow (limited edition), $45
If I were a mermaid, I’d swim laps for this trio of sea blue powder eyeshadows. They draw inspiration from the Alpes-Maritimes region of Southeast France.

Dogon Duo Eyeshadow (limited edition), $33
Named after the people of Mali’s central plateau, this duo includes a metallic taupe with a green sheen and charcoal black eyeshadows. Oh, bending the shades together gives the charcoal a greenish cast.

Exotic Dance Duo Eyeshadow (limited edition), $33
This eyeshadow duo was a pretty piece of mixed metal jewelry in a past life. The metallic gold, and metallic white with a silvery sheen, contrast with the bright blues and greens.

Queen Soft Touch Shadow Pencil (limited edition), $24
This creamy, citrusy pencil contains flecks of golden glitter. It does triple duty as a liner, a highlighter and/or a base for powder shadows.
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Clinique’s Day-to-Night Palette Looks More Like a Day-to-Day Palette to Me

April 21st, 2011 by Karen 20 Comments

clinique day to night palette

“My eye looks huge!” I say, with my face practically pressed against the bathroom mirror. I get up close like that when I’m putting on false eyelashes — fare for nighttime fun. When it comes to nighttime makeup looks, if yours frequently feature fake eyelashes with rhinestones glued to the tips and glittery purple eyeshadow, everything else looks like library makeup by comparison, LOL!

I’m not exactly sure why Clinique named their new travel exclusive palette Day To Night because it looks more like a day-to-day palette to me.

Then again, I still think the kit, which arrives at select domestic and international airports and duty free stores in May, contains some interesting, useful colors, especially if you like your makeup on the subtler side (I usually do), or if you’re trying to build up the number of neutrals in your stash.

The kit’s three sheer eyeshadows (a matte beige, a shimmery shell and a shimmery reddish brown), lone blush (a matte plum), two lipglosses (a shimmery reddish plum and a shimmery purple) and single lipstick (a creamy reddish plum) should make for plenty o’ natural, everyday looks.

clinique day to night palette iphone
It’s almost the exact same size as an iPhone

clinique day to night palette swatches
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Now Here’s a Tip: It’s Atop the New Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner Pen

April 20th, 2011 by Karen 54 Comments

Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner

So tiny and cute! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a liquid liner tip as teeny as the one atop the new Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner pen ($32).

The pen’s extra fine 0.5mm nib would make drafting pens jealous. New for summer, it’s built for the ultimate in line drawing precision and lays down fine, thin lines along my lash line with very little skipping. It did, though, take me a couple of minutes of fiddling to find a good position to hold the pen, as the tip is shorter than most liquid liners and feels a little awkward in my hand.

Jett, the single color available, looks like a shiny grayish black with blue undertones on me.

Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner (bottom) and LORAC Front of the Line Pro (top)

Hourglass Script Precision Liquid Liner swatch
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Is Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor, Well, Pretty Amazing?

April 19th, 2011 by Karen 96 Comments

Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor strength 1

When makeup marketers name a product “Pretty Amazing,” they’re setting the bar high. I mean, what do they do if the product only ends up being mediocre? How do they answer their boss when she asks, “How did those new Pretty Amazing Lipcolors turn out?” Well, miss, I think they turned out…fine.

Ouch.

I have to admit, I had high expectations when I heard about the new Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolors line of hybrid liquid lipgloss/lipsticks ($16 each). I wondered if they’d make my eyes roll back in my head in ecstasy (I hope!). Would I find myself speaking in tongues?

Judging by their names, the eight new Lipcolors do have a certain swagger. There’s Bravado (a brick rose), Charisma (a coral pink), Ambition (a fuchsia), Courage (a warm strawberry), Fearless (a rosy mauve), Free Will (a pink nude; oddly, I keep wanting to call this one “Free Willy”), Moxie (a bright petal pink) and Strength (a vibrant red). Hot. I’ll call your positive messages, Bare Minerals, and raise you some power. 🙂

No, these aren’t lipglosses for wallflowers. They’re much stronger than that. These are like lipglosses on P90X — super thick and sticky with full-color coverage and subtle shine. Imagine the thick, sticky texture of a MAC Lipglass coupled with the uber-pigmented power of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams and BAM! — you’re Pretty Amazing.

They’re also unscented and unflavored, but neither of those is their most amazing trait. That distinction goes to their color. It’s saturated and opaque, like the stuff of technicolor dreams.

Even though I find some of the brighter, bolder shades like Strength a little tricky to apply, the flocked applicator helps. As long as I use it with a slow, steady hand, I’m able to precisely draw crisp lines along the edges of my lips.

Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor iphone
Beside an iPhone for scale…

Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor wands

Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor swatches flash
Swatches from left with the flash: Bravado, Charisma, Ambition, Courage, Fearless, Free Will, Moxie and Strength

Bare Minerals Pretty Amazing Lipcolor swatches without
Swatches without the flash
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How Hot Is the $36 LORAC Hot Off The Red Carpet Collection? It’s So Hot That It Made Summer Start Early

April 18th, 2011 by Karen 36 Comments

lorac hot off the red carpet

The LORAC Hot Off The Red Carpet Collection ($36) may not push the boundaries of summer makeup, but I’m okay with that. With plenty of metallic gold, teal, bronze and brown, products in the five-piece limited edition will look right at home this summer gracing makeup counters and tan, warm skin.

Two words: smokin’ hot. Hot, like Giselle working the Victoria’s Secret runway, or a shirtless Jakey Poo working an outdoor car wash.

Hot Off The Red Carpet joins five other products in LORAC’s Touch Me, Tease Me, TANtalize Me Summer 2011 Collection

The kit comes with four full-size pieces of makeup (two eyeshadow duos, a bronzer and lipgloss) and this cute golder-than-gold clutch…

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How Much Can You Fit in the New Urban Decay QuinceaÃ±era Makeup Bag?

April 17th, 2011 by Karen 78 Comments

The new Urban Decay QuinceaÃ±era Makeup Bag ($26, available now at Sephora stores and online) isn’t exactly helping me master how to pack light.

But who cares?! It’s party time! — a sweet 15 of sorts, aka a quinceaÃ±era — and Urban Decay is bringing the fun.

They released the limited edition bag to celebrate their 15th birthday, bedecking it with purple and sparkles, and like any good birthday it comes with a surprise: it holds a TON of stuff!

Just how much stuff? Well…

12 cans of cat food

urban decay quinceanera makeup bag

Or…

Two Urban Decay Blockbuster Eyeshadow Palettes

urban decay quinceanera makeup bag

Or…

39 pieces of Urban Decay makeup

urban decay quinceanera makeup bag

Or…

6 body butters and 1 body wash

urban decay quinceanera makeup bag
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Swatches of the Benefit Velvet Eyeshadows and the Summer of 2009

April 13th, 2011 by Karen 24 Comments

I was at the Benefit counter the other day picking up my umpteenth pot of Skinny Jeans, and while I was there I figured I may as well put my arms to good use by swatching the entire line of Velvet Eyeshadows.

These came out in the summer of 2009 — a truly great year for makeup — and I think they’re still some of the best things in the Benefit line. They’re silky and pigmented with a gorgeous, subtle sheen (like a very faint shine). And coupled with a good primer, they last all day long on my skin without creasing or fading.

I’m particularly fond of Where There’s Smoke (looks FANTASTIC atop Skinny Jeans), Nice Melons ( this for that wide awake look) and Fancy Pansy (gorgeous! — flashes from pink to purple to blue), but I like just about every shade in the line.

benefit velvet eyeshadow swatches
Velvet Eyeshadow swatches from left with the flash: Leggy, Fancy Pansy, Bikini Line, Bo Peep and Rich Beach
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Look Your Best Every Day with the Pixi Week of Wakeup Makeup Kit

April 12th, 2011 by Karen 28 Comments

When I was a kid I had one of those sets of underwear with a different printed pair for every day of the week, and being the rebel that I was, I liked to wear the days out of order. Sometimes, I’d wear the Saturday pair on Wednesday, the Thursday pair on Monday — you get the idea.

I wonder if that’s why I feel compelled to wear the products in Pixi’s new Week of Wakeup Makeup ($34) out of order… The new palette contains 21 powder eyeshadows, 7 powder blushes and eight lip glosses sorted into groups for a different look every day of the week (like Underoos for makeup, LOL!). 🙂

Products in the Pixi makeup line, which was developed by makeup artist (and mum) Petra Strand, are designed to enhance natural beauty, so you won’t find any crazy colors here. Just plenty of neutrals in warm and cool shades — basically, tones to bring out a slightly more colorful version of yourself.

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