Makeup

Don’t Gloss Over Korres Raspberry Liquid Lipstick

August 28th, 2010 by Karen 26 Comments

Korres Raspberry Liquid Lipstick review

Is it a liquid lipstick or a gloss? Since Korres bills Raspberry Antioxidant Liquid Lipstick ($22) as — you guessed it — a lipstick, why does it look (and feel) so much like a gloss?

Not that I’m complaining.

At. All.

Ultra smooth and non-sticky, these vibrant, long-lasting lippies have a smooth, slick texture and shiny finish, no matter what they’re called.

Are these really liquid lipsticks, or are they more like gloss? It’s a mystery, like Speidi (are they or aren’t they together?), or why McDonald’s Happy Meals never decompose.

Korres Raspberry Liquid Lipstick review One way they’ve got typical liquid lipsticks beat HANDS DOWN is in the way they feel on my lips — comfortable, moist and light.

Launched exclusively at Sephora earlier this summer, all five colors contain antioxidant-rich raspberry and pomegranate, but they don’t contain parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, pthalates or GMOs.

Today I went with a layer of Natural on my lips. It’s a warm rose with a glossy finish, and I like how lightweight, thin and slick it feels.

After putting it on around noon, I puttered around the house and ran a few miles on the treadmill. Three hours after applying it, Natural was still going strong. Pretty darn good for a product with such a thin consistency.

Korres Raspberry Liquid Lipstick review
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I Like NARS Pure Matte Lipstick, as a Matte-er of Fact

August 27th, 2010 by Karen 47 Comments

nars pure matte review

You know what they say, right? You can take the girl out of the ’90s, but you can’t take the ’90s out of the girl.

Well, I’ve never actually heard that before…but wouldn’t it make an awesome fortune cookie?

Back in the day matte lipstick was my BFF, and I always had at least one in my little black backpack (gawd, remember those?). I loved the look, but dangnabbit those old school matte formulas made my lips dry and flaky!

After all these years, I still love matte lips, and now with uber-moisturizing formulas like the one in new NARS Pure Matte Lipstick ($25), matte lips can be comfy, too (think spaghetti strap dress/baby-T combo, circa 1995).

Available in six shades with spectacular geographic names — Volga (a deep aubergine), Bangkok (a soft rose), Tonkin (a plum), Tere De Feue (a blackish cherry), Tashkent (a nude beige) and Vesuvio (a bold red) — the unscented, unflavored line conditions lips with hydrating vitamin E, wild mango butter and acai oil.

All four of the ones I’ve kissed so far feel smooth and soft on my lips. The texture’s considerably thicker than the similarly packaged MAC Mattenes (which I happen to like a lot), but isn’t as slick/slippery.

Lipstick Tips from Francois Nars

For a modern matte look, choose a lip color close to your natural skin tone, or pair a darker lip color with simple face makeup

For full, hard-to-miss lips, go with an audacious color spruced up with a dab of gloss or shimmer applied in the middle

Use lip liner to fill the shape of your lips, but make sure you blend out any obvious edges

Avoid over-applying your lipstick; the more you wearing, the heavier it looks (and, interestingly, the quicker it wears off)

nars pure matte lipstick swatches review tonkin
Tonkin
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Say Hi, Shine, with the Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Glossticks

August 25th, 2010 by Karen 23 Comments

jemma kidd hi-shine glosstick review

Some cats possess talent; others are possessed by it. When that happens, as the great Rod Serling once said, “a talent becomes a curse.”

Imagine, if you would, a cat with sharp claws resting on an air mattress (the same one you’ve been sleeping on since your in-laws arrived).

This cat has a talent for destruction…

…and for keeping me awake at night.

As sleep deprived as I’ve been these past two weeks, I’d be a heck of a lot grumpier if it weren’t for Jemma Kidd’s new Hi-Shine Glossticks ($25 each, available in five shades).

Inspired by the beautiful colors of beachy Barbados, these hydrating lipstick/gloss hybrids contain nifty light reflective particles to go with their SPF 15. The particles create the illusion of fuller lips, making them great for gals looking for a little lip boost.

Do you remember the MAC Slimshines (now discontinued)? If you liked those, I think you might also like these. They have a similarly thin, sheer, slick texture — unflavored and unscented — and both last about the same 60-90 minutes on my lips.

I’ve been wearing shimmery peach Sugar Cane off and on for a few days…

jemma kidd hi-shine glosstick review swatch
Swatch of Sugar Cane on NC35 skin

jemma kidd hi-shine glosstick review lip swatch
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NYX Studio Effect Liquid Liner and a Tuesday Hello

August 24th, 2010 by Karen 70 Comments

Hey, boo. 🙂 Howzit? Sorry if I’ve seemed a little distracted lately, but I’ve been trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with my in-laws before they head back to Hawaii on Friday. Yup, it’s been an interesting beauty balancing act — trying to be a considerate host while also being biologically incapable of resisting makeup for more than a few hours at a time, ha!

But like any self-respecting member of the Borg collective knows, “resistance IS futile.” Keeping this beauty fiend away from her makeup is like trying to keep Tabs away from gravy (read: hard). Today I even locked myself away in the bathroom for an hour just to be alone with the new NYX Studio Liquid Liners ($4.50 each).

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Back to School Beauty: From Class to Off-Campus Party with LORAC Close Up Real Life to Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit

August 23rd, 2010 by Karen 34 Comments

If happy hours, ramen noodles, party crashing, mac and cheese, Taco Bell bean burritos and Totino’s frozen pizzas are fixtures of your college life (like they were mine!), take a little look at LORAC. Their $36 Close Up Real Life to Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit has “I’m a [hawt] broke college student” written all over it.

I’ll never forget the first time I went to buy books in college… YIKES! I guess I didn’t get the memo about every thick, hella boring science textbook costing an arm and a leg, and maybe it was out of a desire to prevent that same kind of eye-bulging sticker shock that LORAC came up with the idea.

The kit makes it easy to go from lunch in the campus cafeteria to a look ready for dinner and a movie. For $36 you get four full-size LORAC all-star products — a primer, a mascara, an eyeshadow trio and a liner — along with a small dual-tipped eye brush and a tutorial booklet with step-by-step directions for three different looks. Bought separately, the liner, primer and shadow trio by themselves (not including any of the other cool stuff) would cost almost twice as much as the entire kit.
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The Beauty of Disneyland’s Fortuosity Shop

August 20th, 2010 by Karen 15 Comments

Anaheim’s Disneyland theme park is beautiful in more ways than one. Sure, it’s a colorful feast for the eyes, but it’s also quite literally beauty-full, bursting with Disney-themed jewelry, clothing, makeup and art.

The upcoming MAC Venomous Villains collection is the latest in a long line of historic Disney beauty collaborations, many of which are available for purchase in the park.

Girlfriend, they don’t call it The Magic Kingdom for nothin’.

If you find yourself strolling down Main Street, take a minute to check out the Fortuosity Shop (next to Carnation Cafe). It’s like a playground for beauty addicts, with a slew of Disney-related products and accessories ranging from nail polishes to jewelry to designer bags.

beauty of disney main street
Disneyland’s Main Street
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These Chanel Ombres Contraste Duo Eyeshadows Are Smooth Operators

August 19th, 2010 by Karen 44 Comments

chanel ombres contraste eyeshadow duo review swatches top

Chanel should have issued a warning with their new $42 Ombres Contraste Duos: “Caution: The contents of this compact may be hard to resist!” 🙂

Seriously, you might want to steel yourself against potential temptation and simply stop reading now.

The part of me that loves elegantly effortless makeup just can’t get enough of these eyeshadow duos. The six of them make me feel like screaming, “Gimme, gimme more!”

This fall luxurious textures and intense pigments have been all the rage among the high-end makeup lines (hello, Givenchy Le Prisme Quartets!), and while these duos may not look the part at first, they’re no exception.

Each one comes with a light cream shadow designed to be used as a base and a darker powder matte shadow for contouring and creating the illusion of depth.

Conveniently, skin is where these products really POP! — both in terms of color and texture — and being as smooth as they are makes them remarkably easy to blend.

In the look below I’m wearing Khaki (a matte dark green) from the Khaki-Clair duo. In it I’m barely wearing any, yet the ample pigmentation makes the color pretty hard to miss. BONUS: These leave behind absolutely no shadow fallout whatsoever — zip, zero, zilch.

chanel ombres contraste eyeshadow duo review swatches k2
Wearing Khaki-Clair
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Which Do You Prefer: Brown or Black Mascara for Blondes?

August 18th, 2010 by Karen 40 Comments

Earlier this week MBB reader Emma emailed to ask for mascara recommendations. She’s a blonde beauty, and I’m hoping we can help her out.

“Hey Karen!

So I am in high school and a blonde and very pale. Should I wear brown mascara or black mascara? Will black be too harsh?”

Hi, Emma. Hmm… I have blonde friends that like both, and I think both colors look great — it really depends on the look you’re going for. In general, though, for a natural look, I’d suggest brown, and for a more amped-up, dramatic look, try black.

This, of course, coming from a brunette. 🙂

You might want to try a few drugstore mascaras first to figure out which color you like better. Rimmel makes a few affordable drugstore mascaras that work pretty well. Two to consider: Rimmel Glam Eyes Mascara in Black Brown ($7) and Rimmel Glam Eyes Lash Flirt in Black ($7 each).

Oh! I also asked the girls on Twitter for some recs, and here’s what they had to say:

Ultimately, I like to follow the “there are no rules” philosophy when it comes to makeup, and I think it’s safe to go with whichever route you like best.

Do you have any specific mascara recommendations for blondes like Emma? Maybe some brands or colors you really like? 🙂 Please share in the comments.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen