Makeup

Smashbox Wish Collection, Holiday 2010: Pictures and a First Look

October 12th, 2010 by Karen 53 Comments

Smashbox wish holiday 2010 collection wish for the perfect pout wands

“What should I wish for?”

“I don’t know. Maybe one these new limited edition kits from Smashbox.”

“OOH! Those are pretty.”

“I know! They just came out with their holiday collection, Wish 2010.”

“Wish? Oh, very punny. Wish. I get it now.” 🙂

The four new kits range from $16-46 each and come with various combinations of products for eyes, lips, cheeks and face.

In the holiday spirit, Smashbox plans to donate $1 from the sale of each Wish collection purchase (up to $25,000) to the Children’s Miracle Network.

Even though that kind of thing can seem like a marketing maneuver, it isn’t always, and the fact remains — it’s something that quite a few cosmetics companies simply never do (donate a portion of sales to charity), so I say “Good job, Smashbox!” 🙂

Take a peek at these product pics and swatches of two of the four new kits, Wish For The Perfect Pout ($29) and Wish List ($49).

I’ll have face and lip shots up soon, along with more details a little later this week.

smashbox wish holiday 2010

Wish For The Perfect Pout, $29

Smashbox wish holiday 2010 collection wish for the perfect pout box
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Getting to Know Kiko Make Up Milano: Affordable, COLORful Italian Cosmetics

October 12th, 2010 by Karen 134 Comments

kiko make up milano

Not gonna lie, but shopping at Kiko Make Up Milano was hella stressful.

I checked out one of the big Italian brand’s freestanding stores in Milan last month, and it was PACKED! Wall-to-wall teenagers, makeup and Japanese tourists, except for one short, brown beauty blogger and a really clueless American dude who zigzagged into the store, held up a shopping list on his phone and bellowed to no one in particular, “I need to bring all this home to my girlfriend or she’s gonna kill me.” HA HA! Seriously, I couldn’t make this sh*z up.

kiko make up milano k in front of store

There wasn’t a lot of room in the store to move around because every square inch was covered with makeup (stimulus overload!). Enhancing the effect, they blasted loud techno music, so it was kinda like being in da club, or a makeup hybrid of Forever 21/Claire’s/Abercrombie and Fitch.

But the store was hopping for a reason. COLOR! It’s everywhere at Kiko, and the line is HUGE! They must have thousands of different products, everything from makeup to skin care to nail polishes, and even stuff for dudes. Better still, their products are all fairly affordable at 2-20â‚¬ apiece (about $2.50-$30).
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Dior Holiday 2010 and the 5-Colour Eyeshadow Quints: It’s a Holiday Tradition

October 11th, 2010 by Karen 52 Comments

dior holiday 2010 makeup swatches review

Whoa, what’s this? A holiday collection that actually looks like a holiday collection?!?

Get out!

Dior decided not to break with tradition while they broke away from the pack with a classic holiday color palette in shades of gold, black, gray and pink. They must have figured they’d leave the springy holiday stuff to their luxury counterparts (Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana) this time around.

Good call. 🙂

Four of the nine items in the collection (available now in stores) are palettes. Palettes have been playing a big role this season, and it looks like they also were over at Dior HQ.

Here’s a quick look at both of the eyeshadow quints and a pricing/availability breakdown of everything in the release:
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Stila Long Wear Lip Color Lipsticks: The Long and Short of It

October 11th, 2010 by Karen 35 Comments

stila long wear lip color swatches review

Things I wish were shorter:

Winter and the annual rainy season
The line at the DMV
Titanic (seriously, we already know how the story ends)

Things I wish were longer:

Summer
Cat lifespans (I might clone Tabs)
The wear time of these $20 Stila Long Wear Lip Color Lipsticks

It would make sense for the 16 permanent collection members of Stila’s Long Wear Lip Color Lipstick team to last a long time, wouldn’t it? I mean, Stila went out of their way to include the words “Long Wear” in the name, and they even wrote about wear time in the official product description…

“The next revolution in lip wear is here! A lipstick and lip gloss all in one that boasts extended wear while keeping lips feeling soft and smooth – never dry. The secret is a blend of patent-pending polymers that provide long-lasting wear with rich pigment that glides on like your favorite gloss. The tip of the pen is contoured to provide easy, precise application – hugging every curve of your lip.”

With that kind of pomp and circumstance, I expected at least 5-6 hours from these — but that’s about two hours longer than they actually last. 🙁

stila long wear lip color shades

I’ve tried three of the shades so far — Outrageous (a matte Mad Men reddish orange), Lover (a creamy deep red) and In the Nude (a creamy beige).

My eyes lit up the first time I saw them swatched on the back of my hand. “OOH!” I cried, “Look at how opaque and pigmented they are!”
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A Few Reasons to Fall in Love with Sonia Kashuk Fall 2010

October 8th, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

Clockwise from bottom right: Nail Colour in Tauped, Nail Colour in Stop Whining, Nail Color in Taunting Teal, Nail Colour in Rock Star, Nail Colour in Starry Night, Eye Shadow Quad in Brown Eyed Girl (yes, that pan in the upper left is broken!) and Velvety Matte Lip Crayon in Rosey Nude

Think about it: there was a time before Sonia Kashuk (B.S.K.). Dark days, those were. We had to apply our makeup by torchlight in caves and used reflective pools of rainwater instead of mirrors.

Okay, no, that’s not how it was, but the drugstore beauty landscape did dramatically improve when Target started carrying Ms. Kashuk’s stuff.

She made drugstore beauty cool again, and judging by her massive 22-piece winter/fall 2010 collection of makeup bags (the majority of the collection) and makeup for eyes, lips and nails, she’s still going strong.

Let’s pretend we’re walking through Target together, and we stop in the beauty aisle. Ooh! Look at those Nail Colours, that Brown Eyed Girl Eyeshadow Quad and the Velvety Matte Lip Pencil in Rosey Nude (available at Target stores now).

What do ya think? 🙂

NAIL COLOUR IN TAUPED, STARRY NIGHT, TAUNTING TEAL, ROCK STAR AND STOP WHINING ($5)

These polishes feel even better than they look with a thin, cooperative texture that’s easy to apply. They pack a lot of pigment, too, requiring just two layers to reach opaque. While the colors themselves aren’t necessarily groundbreaking, I think they’re very pretty overall. Starry Night, a shimmery silver glitter polish in a smokey black base, has, however, been speaking to my soul. It’s saying, “You’re a rock star, baby.” I haven’t been wearing these long enough to gauge wear time, but based on ease of use, price and pigmentation, these are big time bargain stars.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-

EYE SHADOW QUAD in BROWN EYED GIRL ($11)

Hello, glitter! If you like the Urban Decay Stardust Shadows, then here’s a quad for you. Each of its four shades — a taupe, an espresso brown, a mahogany brown and a moss green — scream “I LOVE GLITTER!” followed by a whisper of color. I like how well the glitter adheres to the skin on my eyes without any annoying fallout, but I do wish these weren’t so sheer. A little more pigment wouldn’t hurt.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

VELVETY MATTE LIP CRAYON IN ROSEY NUDE ($8)

This matte pencil is like the love child of a lipstick and a crayon. Its shape makes it easy to wield, but I’m not quite sure why SK named it Rosey Nude, since I think it’s more of a bold rosey red, but I’m not complaining; the color’s hawt! It’s also a wee bit drying on my lips, but at least the formula lasts all day long.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

Nail Colour swatches clockwise from lower left: Tauped, Starry Night, Taunting Teal, Rock Star, Stop Whining

Swatches from left on NC35 Skin: Eyeshadow Quad in Brown Eyed Girl (first four swatches), Velvety Matte Lip Crayon in Rosey Nude (fifth swatch)
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Chanel Les Tentations de Chanel: A Friday Face of the Day

October 8th, 2010 by Karen 39 Comments

chanel les tentations de chanel holiday 2010 collection face of the day karen from makeup and beauty blog 2

What’s up, ladies? It’s Friday, WOOT WOOT!

Okay…that little outburst actually spent the last of my energy. Now I’m plum tuckered out because, like a doofus, I stayed up too late last night watching the Jersey Shore. Lame, I know, but I just couldn’t pull myself away. Needless to say, coffee and I have been BFFs today (err, coffee and makeup).

Before I crashed and burned this afternoon, I tried the new Chanel Le Tentations de Chanel Holiday 2010 Collection on for size, and ooh, baby! — I’m lovin’ these chocolate browns and playful pinks.

Sure, the collection doesn’t exactly fit your standard holiday fare, but who cares? If you like it, you like it. And besides, it’s not like early October is the dead of winter, right?

chanel les tentations de chanel holiday 2010 collection face of the day karen from makeup and beauty blog 1
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Chanel Les Tentations de Chanel Holiday 2010 Collection: Holiday Is the New Spring

October 7th, 2010 by Karen 49 Comments

chanel les tentations de chanel holiday 2010 makeup collection swatches review photos

In case you didn’t get the memo, Holiday is the new Spring. Well, at least it is according to Chanel. To the traditionalists out there, the new Les Tentations de Chanel Holiday 2010 Collection isn’t your typical holiday fare — you know, reds, golds and plums — but this isn’t the first time Chanel’s decided to mix it up.

CHANEL MEMO: From Tabs to Karl

Last year they celebrated summer for Christmas with blues, greens, golds and corals over the holidays. With a mix of pinks, fuchsias, browns and beige, this year they’re all about spring.

Like last year, lips are again light and carefree, shimmering and sheer. Rouge Coco in Magnolia ($30) looked like a pigmented shimmery pink in her tube but applies surprisingly sheer; even the Glossimers get in on the act, with the exception of Pleasing ($27), which does look opaque.

Cheeks are bright this time around (they were more golden last year) with the release of the super pigmented Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Fuchsia ($45), which, I’m happy to report, packs enough pigment and shine to show up on light AND brown-skinned babes (unlike the Too Faced powders we looked at yesterday), but lighter lovelies will only have to apply a little.

The eye products are kinda blowing my mind, particularly Ombres de’Eau in Splash ($32), a liquid shadow. It’s a shimmery pewter — a perfect combination of brown, gray and taupe. I’m also moved by the pink, beige, medium brown and dark brown shades in the Tentation Cuivree eyeshadow quad ($56). The colors lean toward the warmer end of the spectrum, and if you get a chance to check it out in person, take a close look at the medium brown (LOVE!). It’s got the cutest little bits of gold and pink glitter!

Chanel may have rewritten the traditional holiday color story again, but they certainly aren’t repeating themselves. Les Tentations de Chanel feels quite different from last year’s holiday release. It’s still Chanel, but where last year they took us to a fancy five-star resort, this year it’s a black-tie benefit all the way downtown.

Here’s are pics of 10 of the 16 items in the collection. Take a look, and let me know what you think. 🙂

chanel les tentations de chanel holiday 2010 makeup collection swatches review photos les tissages de chanel tweed fuchsia
Les Tissages de Chanel Blush Duo Tweed Effect in Tweed Fuchsia, $45

chanel les tentations de chanel holiday 2010 makeup swatches review photos collection tentation cuivre quadra eyeshadow
Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow in Tentation Cuivree, $56
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Will Your Lips Love $31 Guerlain KissKiss Strass in Rose de la Reine?

October 7th, 2010 by Karen 44 Comments

guerlain collection les ors kisskiss strass rose de la reine review

Please tell me there’s room in the Lovely-Luxury-Lipsticks-That-Don’t-Last-Long-But-Have-Kick-Ass-Packaging Hall of Fame (or LLLTDLLBHKAPHOF for short), because I may have found their next inductee.

Llimited edition KissKiss Strass in Rose de la Reine ($31) is one of nine luxe ladies in the new Guerlain Les Ors holiday collection, pricey products from a line that’s been all about the bling since 1853.

Napoleon III’s wife loved Guerlain, so, ya know, budget’s not exactly their thang.

Like their $84 Ã‰crin 6 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palette, this KissKiss (there are other shades in the KissKiss line) won’t break any records for bargain beauty, but compared to some of the other products in the collection — namely the $73 Midnight Star Extraordinary Radiance Treatment and $85 Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder for Face & Body — it’s a total steal!

Too bad it disappears quicker than a $20 bill on the sidewalk (lasts about three hours on the lips), but dayum — at least while it lasts it makes me feel like a million bucks.

A sheer and shimmery beige pink, Rose de la Reine reminds me of the Chanel Aqualumieres and Dior Addict High Shines. It has a similar mirror-like finish, smooth texture, a hydrating formula and, yes, suffers from a limited wear time, too.

Everything about it says, “luxury,” even the light rosy lavender taste and scent.

guerlain collection les ors kisskiss strass rose de la reine product photo cap detail
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