Makeup

The Chanel Ombres Perlees de Chanel Eyeshadow Palette, Kitty Tron and Chai Tea

December 24th, 2010 by Karen 24 Comments

chanel ombres perlees de chanel on karen

Christmas came early this year! Granted it’s only a couple of hours away, but it really did come early, in the form of these three very cool things.

1. Big Train Spiced Chai

Reader Bunny Masseuse recommended this powdered chai mix in the comments a couple weeks ago, and HOT DAYUM! I actually raised the roof in my kitchen this morning when I made a cup (to quote El Hub from the other room: “What the hell are you doing?”). If you like chai, you gotta give it a try (ha! I made a rhyme!).

2. This kitty Tron outfit

I don’t have the words to convey how totally awesome this is. Someone tweeted it today, and the first thing I thought was, does it come in kitty XXL?? Um…Tabby got a big ol’ booty.

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Quick-Change Artists, Do You Plan to Make MAC Stylishly Yours?

December 23rd, 2010 by Karen 31 Comments

MAC Neon Orange on Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog

You don’t have to be a crazy cat lady (or a rotund tabby cat with a low-hanging belly) to appreciate a strong cat eye liner look with bold lips. It’s an enduring, timeless combination that looks great on almost everyone.

The new 19-piece MAC Stylishly Yours collection, a limited edition release for eyes, lips and face (pieces $14-22 each), embodies this tried-and-true classic in a modernized, 21st century way.

The collection purrs onto MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com on December 26 and stays put through January 11, 2011. Tabs, being the ho for brights that he is, can’t wait.

mac stylishly yours product shot
A few MAC Stylishly Yours products clockwise from the mascara wand at the lower left: Zoom Lash Mascara in New Hue, Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Lipstick in Neon Orange, Cream Colour Base in Movie Star Red and Fluidline in Dark Diversion

With Stylishly Yours, MAC offers fans fun, fast ways to give makeup looks a shot of dramatic color (without having to think too hard). Eyes in the look are kept simple, clean, and simultaneously dramatic with matte black and burgundy gel liner and mascara. Bright coral, pink, magenta, red and violet leap onto lips and cheeks in lipsticks, cream blushes (they double as lip colors, too!) and loose pigments with creamy and shimmery finishes. But that’s not all — two pink pressed highlighting powders imbue faces with a lovely soft sheen.

What I really like about the release are how the brights are both sophisticated and easy to use.

When you know you want to wear something bold but don’t want to invest the time into a super complex drag queen eye with teal, gold and purple, you could slip into one of these lipsticks instead, top it off with a layer of Clear Lipglass, and strut out the door.

Or, you could quickly do a swipe of thick burgundy cat eye liner with the blackened plum Fluidline in Dark Diversion, add a few layers of the burgundy New Hue Zoom Lash Mascara to your lashes, and blend one of the Cream Colour Bases (Virgin Isle’s my fave!) on your cheeks and lips.

MAC Stylishy Yours: Swatches on NC35 Skin

MAC Stylishly Yours swatches cream colour base
Cream Colour Bases from left: Virgin Isle, Tickle Me Pink, Movie Star Red, Madly Magenta

MAC Stylishly Yours swatches lipstick
Lipsticks: Neon Orange, Something New, Cockney and Style Curve
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I’m Bubbly About the Neutrals in the MAC Cham Pale Collection

December 22nd, 2010 by Karen 68 Comments

mac champale on karen of makeup and beauty blog

I would like to propose a toast, friends — my very first serious toast ever — and I think there’s something fitting about it being dedicated to makeup. If you’ll bear with me for a moment, please raise your glass, be it filled with bubbly, wine, water, chai latte or anything else, to the MAC Cham Pale collection, one of the most inspiring neutral releases this lass has seen this year.

Launching right after Christmas (Dec. 26), the limited edition collection is a relatively small one for MAC, with just 26 pieces for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips, nails and skin in prices ranging from $14-36.

As much as I love neutral colors like gray, beige and and peach, collections dominated by them run the risk of venturing into snooze territory, especially when the finishes are mostly matte. They may be practical as all getout, but matte beige and gray don’t exactly set the world on fire, ya know?

Which is why I’m so surprised by MAC Cham Pale. The collection does for neutrals what Glee did for musicals on television. Like a mimosa on the beach, these finishes — which range from soft, pearly shimmers to high shine frosts — sparkle in the light. MAC made something practical into something inspiring, and I think it’s a refreshing take.

mac champale
Some items from Cham Pale, clockwise from the peach pan in the lower left: Special Reserve Highlight Powder in Rose Ole, Paint Pot in Dangerous Cuvee, Paint Pot in Vintage Selection, Eye Shadow x 4 in Caviar Dreams, Special Reserve Highlight Powder in Chez Chez Lame, Lipgelee in Luxure, Nail Lacquer in Soiree

The color palette almost looks like someone started by melting a gilded gold and silver jewelry box and siphoned the colors into makeup pans, tubes and pots. Quiet pink, cool gray, warm peach and inky onyx weave their way into the metallics, keeping the colors soft and wearable. Nothing’s either too warm or too cool, and I’m betting these shades are going to look fabulous on a wide range of skin tones.

I love everything in this release, but the eye makeup is exciting me most, especially the Paint Pots and the quad.
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Wishes Come True with Chanel Extrait de Gloss in Genie

December 22nd, 2010 by Karen 26 Comments

chanel genie on karen of makeup and beauty blog

A few days ago I made a wish, and this week it came true. I wished for a new purse gloss, and it appears a genie was listening.

What’s a purse gloss, you ask? It’s a gloss that’s worthy of permanent residence in your purse. You keep it close for touch-ups and other beauty emergencies…like when you randomly run into your ex and his new lady love at the mall (she’s cute, but you’re cuter), or when a TV crew asks you for an impromptu sidewalk interview about hot dog street vendors (yep, that really happened).

With a tube of Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Genie ($32) in your purse, you’ll be tough to catch off guard. One of two Rouge Allure glosses in Chanel’s limited edition Le Perles de Chanel collection for spring 2011, it’s a shiny but wearable coral with golden micro glitter and comes in Chanel’s trademark Extrait de Gloss formula. Non-sticky, luscious, hydrating, and lacking any potentially bothersome scents or flavors, it’s ready for drama AND flexibility. With a four-hour wear time, it’s also designed to laaaast.

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I’m Dreaming of a Rouge Springtime with Chanel Rouge Coco in Peregrina

December 21st, 2010 by Karen 32 Comments

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco on karen of makeup and beauty blog

I’m supposed to be battening down the hatches right now to brace us for a big storm, but I’d rather play with the new Chanel Rouge Coco in Peregrina ($30) and daydream about sunny skies (let’s hope I don’t regret that later tonight…).

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco

Forget dark clouds. I see myself wearing this warm and creamy peachy pink on a leisurely stroll through Golden Gate Park in the springtime. I’m wearing a shimmery bronze and khaki eye look, a peachy golden cheek and sheer, creamy peach nails (ya know, to match). At one point, just to complete the fantasy, Ryan Reynolds and I stop at a park bench to discuss the finer points of mens grooming. Oh, and I’m also about six inches taller. 🙂

For more on the Rouge Coco lipsticks (texture, wear time and all that good stuff), click here.

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco swatch

Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco lip swatch
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The NYX Soho Glam Collection Is Perfect for Fickle Girls

December 21st, 2010 by Karen 57 Comments

nyx soho glam on karen of makeup and beauty blog

I was sitting in bed reading Stephen King’s Under the Dome the other night when it hit me. No, not the book, silly. 🙂 It occurred to me that I should get a tattoo of Tabs.

Don’t ask me why, because the book doesn’t have anything to do with cats, tattoos or cat tattoos, but since Tabs is my kitty BFF, and he comforts me whenever I get scared (like when I’m reading a Stephen King book), it makes a kind of weird sense.

I don’t have any tattoos right now, but most of my friends have ’em. My brother’s covered in tats, but I haven’t gotten any mostly because 1) I’m not into pain, and 2) I’ve never really liked anything enough to permanently inscribe it on my body.

Except for Tabs (and maybe El Hub, but that’s just too cliche, LOL!).

I’m still mulling over the idea, and it’s not official yet. Knowing me I’ll probably chicken out. El Hub’s totally against it. He’s afraid a cat tattoo would only serve as a gateway tat, but not necessarily into more tattoos; he’s afraid my level of crazy cat lady-ness would escalate, and I can’t argue with that logic.

Since I’m about as fickle with makeup as I am with body art, I’m especially thankful for blockbuster sets like the new NYX Soho Glam Collection ($30).

(Yes, I know it took me an unusually long time to get around to the actual subject of this post. Sorry.)

Girls and guys who love experimenting with color just might love the massive variety of shades, textures, levels of pigment, and finishes (oh hai, shimmers, glitters and mattes!) in this limited edition palette of 54 eyeshadows — a few of them even double as face powders — four powder blushes, eight lipsticks, two glosses and one lip liner.

Released new for the holidays, Soho Glam covers a lot of makeup territory. Here are some quick observations on the palette…

Eyeshadows — Although I had an easy time blending these shadows together, the color payoff varies wildly, with the mattes being more sheer than the shimmers and glitters. I wish NYX had gone with less gray on the neutral side, because for me it gets a little repetitive. But if you appreciate the nuances among the shades you might not mind. As for fallout, I experienced a bit with the shadows in the center of the palette, but in general these remained on my lids without any trouble.
Blushes —All four of the blushes apply very sheer, and they’re particularly great for a naturally-flushed cheek look.
Lip Products —Both the pan lipsticks and lip liner are unscented and unflavored (yea!), and I like the wide range of colors. I was a little nervous about the gloss in the tubes and expected them to have that gnarly NYX taste and scent, but thankfully they don’t.

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The Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow Quad in Regard Perle Will Shine a Light on Your Eyes

December 20th, 2010 by Karen 55 Comments

chanel regard perle

Every girl remembers her first…Chanel eyeshadow quad. 🙂

Mine was Garden Party. Ah, Garden Party… Just saying the name brings back memories (and a warm, fuzzy feeling) of the first time I laid eyes on that mix of green, peach and pink.

I still love that quad so much that it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw promo pics of the new Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow quad in Regard Perle ($56). I was kindasorta hoping Perle would look more like it in person.

It’s not a Garden Party dupe, but I think it’s very pretty in its own right, particularly if you have a thing for glowy skin.

Each of its four soft powder shadows shine with a mirror-like finish that lights up eyelids when when they’re applied. Chanel channeled pearls this season — or rather the way skin glows when you’re wearing pearls — and here they got it spot on. The chai latte I had last night right before dinner screwed with my sleep, and it was evident all over my face this morning. But a few swipes of Regard Perle today, and my eyes looked visibly brighter and more awake.

chanel regard perle closeup
Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in in Regard Perle

Ladies who kneel at the altar of the glitter gods may want to take a look at the shimmery grayish green and peach shades on the quad’s left. Both of them burst with the cutest flecks of silver micro glitter. Be prepared, though, to deal with serious fallout from both of them. They’re kinda powdery and don’t adhere to my skin as well as the other two colors in the quad, so that might be something to keep in mind.

The light beige and salmon pink on the right are the more pigmented of the four. Speaking of that, the beige in the lower right really surprised me. When the light hits it just right, I see subtle flashes of gold and green. The shimmery salmon pink in the upper right may not have the same wow factor as the beige, but I think it’s still a nice complement to the other three shadows.

chanel regard perle
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Chanel Mat Lumiere Soft Matte Makeup with SPF 15 Helps Combo Skin Face the Day for $54

December 20th, 2010 by Karen 92 Comments

chanel mat lumiere soft honey

Who among us hasn’t crossed paths with her share of craptacular liquid foundations? — the runny ones that leave streaks, the heavy pore-suffocating ones, and, oh, how about the ones with the open-mouth bottle…like the one you accidentally spilled on your buddy’s white shag carpet back in school (so sorry, Shell!).

I know it’s asking for a lot, but I would love a great, preferably inexpensive medium-coverage liquid foundation that I can wear every day (something I can throw on before I run out for a chai latte). That said, it’s with great joy, and a little pain, that I type these words: Chanel’s $54 Mat Lumiere Long-Lasting Soft Matte Makeup SPF 15 just might be the best liquid foundation I’ve used in years.

But…it’s $54.

At the Chanel counter a couple weeks ago, while I was taking a look at the Rouge Allure Extrait de Glosses, a friendly makeup artist made me a sample jar of Mat Lumiere in Soft Honey and predicted that I’d “be ba-aaack!”

Guess what (she was right).

One of five liquid foundation formulas in Chanel’s permanent line, medium-coverage Mat Lumiere is available in 12 shades. It’s oil-free, designed for combination skin, and has been around for a while.

I treated my combination oily/dry skin to it for two weeks until the sample ran out. I couldn’t believe how natural the finish looked and how it felt as light as a feather on my skin.

Even though my heart stopped yesterday when I handed my credit card over to the sales associate, I still went through with it.

The texture? It’s so smooth that it’s almost like a gel. Blending away imperfections with it is a breeze, and it never leaves any weird patches or streaks behind.

As for the finish, it’s matte, but not so matte that it makes my skin look flat, artificial or severe (not mannequin-ish at all).

On top of everything else I like about it, it’s practically weightless, like I’m barely wearing any makeup at all.

chanel mat lumiere soft honey bottle with box