Makeup

Paul and Joe Spring 2010 Is Tempting Me BIG TIME!

January 28th, 2010 by Karen 29 Comments

Well, hello, beautiful! 🙂 Judging by the look of Paul and Joe’s spring 2010 makeup, spring has *totally* sprung.

I mean, I thought their cutie-pie Alice in Wonderland collection looked cool, but that’s not all they had in store for spring. They’re also releasing new eye, cheek, nail and lip products, too, in (classic Paul and Joe form) flirty, femme, yet oh-so-sophisticated packaging and colors.

I’ve got my eye on the customizable shadow palettes… PJ made 25 colors available for ’em in Satin (a shimmery frost), Silk (a sheer sheen) and Cashmere (a smooth matte) finishes.

And, because they couldn’t stop there, they made these creamy Cheek Powders and Nail Enamels, which are also tempting me BIG TIME!
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Estee Lauder Love Your Lips Swatches and Feline Floral Arrangements

January 27th, 2010 by Karen 40 Comments

Heya, ladies. 🙂 How was your day? What was the highlight? Mine was the big Cherry Kiss I gave myself with a little help from Estee Lauder Love Your Lips.

Isn’t she bright?

Signature Lipstick in Cherry Kiss, $20

I’m imagining it paired with thick black cat eyeliner and falsies, YUM!
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A Quick Look at Urban Decay Eden Primer Potion and Razor Sharp Powder

January 27th, 2010 by Karen 42 Comments

There’s been some serious *brou-ha-ha* over Urban Decay’s new Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows (first about the cute packaging and second about the shades having been previously released under different names), but UD didn’t stop with Alice. They also released two new face products, namely a powder and an eye primer for spring.

I’m still doing some ~~playing~~ testing, but here’s a really quick look… 🙂

Urban Decay tried to make their new loose powder universally flattering, but they sure didn’t make the name easy to say, ha! Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder ($30) is quite a mouthful (say it five times fast!), but it does feel soft, slippery and very finely milled.

What seems different about it? Well, it’s supposed to create an optical blurring effect (almost an airbrushed effect) that UD says will minimize imperfections on the skin. To that I say, “My skin’s hella imperfect, so bring it on!”

A sprinkling of Razor powder

Razor’s also supposed to be flexible enough to wear in different ways, like alone on bare skin to mattify or smooth, sprinkled on top of foundation to set, or applied beneath liquid foundations to form a sort of hybridized liquid powder.
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Time Balm Concealer Blows Dark Circles Away

January 26th, 2010 by Karen 110 Comments

After using The Balm’s Time Balm Concealer for about a month, I gotta say — this stuff is totally legit (too legit to quit, even!).

It’s already replaced Dior Sculpt as my Numero Uno concealer love, making it worthy of a celebratory head bang (insert flying hair, rocking head and sign of the beast [HERE]).

Oh, Time Balm, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

First, price, which at $18 is $13 less than a tube of Dior Sculpt. Sure, neither one is drugstore-level affordable, but $18 sounds a lot better than $31 (and that extra $13 could go toward a tube of something wonderful like MAC Nymphette… I’m just sayin’.)

Time Balm Concealer in Medium

Yet price isn’t even the main reason I heart this tamer of dark circles so much. Quality is. In just about every way, I give Time Balm the edge over Dior Sculpt.

Time Balm: The Deets

Available in six shades from light to medium-dark (find them at Sephora), this cream concealer comes in a wee pot with a screw-on top and an applicator sponge. SIDE NOTE: I actually ditched the sponge, finding it a little too small for me and difficult to use. I prefer to apply and buff it with a foundation brush.

One issue I often have with concealers is how many will settle into my fine lines and look obvious after a few hours of wear. I’ve struggled to find ones that appear to blend into my skin, as opposed to sitting directly on top of it.
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Estee Lauder Says, “You Better Love Your Lips on Valentine’s Day”

January 26th, 2010 by Karen 28 Comments

Rise and shine, morning glories! 🙂 Do you feel the “love” on the lippies and glosses in Estee Lauder’s new Love Your Lips collection? You may, because all 16 of the limited edition lipsticks and glosses have the word emblazoned on their lipstick bullet or tube.

Estee Lauder Love Your Lips Collection

Signature Lipsticks in Pink to Berry Shades, $20: Lustrous Pink, Lush Rose, Cherry Kiss, Perfect Pink, Pink Kiss
Signature Lipsticks in Mauve to Plum Shades, $20: Radiant Wine, Rich Berry, Chelsea Rose, Radiant Rose
Siganture Lipsticks in Coral to Red Shades, $20: Coral Kiss, Portofino Coral, Spanish Red
Kissable Lip Glosses in Pink to Berry Shades, $18: Sweet Kiss, Cherry Kiss, Pink Kiss
Kissable Lip Gloss in Coral to Red Shades, $18: Coral Kiss

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Not-So-Secret Sci-Fi Tendencies and (More) Urban Decay Stardust Swatches

January 25th, 2010 by Karen 51 Comments

I was 8 when I watched cybernetic Ah-nold pop out his own eyeball in the first Terminator movie, and ever since then I’ve harbored a not-so-secret obsession with science fiction.

Consequently, it probably comes as no surprise that I’m over the moon in love with the out-of-this-world glitter in Urban Decay’s new Stardust Eyeshadows.

—– RANDOM SCI-FI TRANSMISSION —–

Are you watching Caprica, the new Battlestar Galactica spinoff?

In a nutshell, it precedes the near-extinction of humanity at the hands of man-made androids called Cylons.

Stay with me! 🙂

The show’s set 58 years before the events in Galactica, on a near future Earth-like planet that looks oddly like Vancouver, and even though Galactica seemed more shoot-em-up and space invaderish, there are still delightfully scary robots up in the mix (YAY!).

I don’t know if you liked BG, but you don’t have to have followed it to appreciate Caprica. If you like sci-fi, jump in! — and then let me what you think. 🙂

—– END RANDOM SCI-FI TRANSMISSION —–

*BEEP* LOL!

Back to the shadows (ha!). The four cuties I talk about here — Atmosphere, Retrograde, Griffith and Diamond Dog ($20 each) — perform basically the same as the others I tried earlier this month. Like those, they apply with sheer pigmentation while packing of loads o’ glittery sparkle, and they stick to my skin with minimal fallout.

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5 Unsung Makeup Heroes!

January 22nd, 2010 by Karen 31 Comments

How’s it going tonight, girls? Are you having a good time? I just got back from dinner (pizza again) and decided to look through the blog archives (this is post no. 2,538!) for something to wear tomorrow.

I’ve narrowed it down to five often overlooked products that I know I love but sometimes forget about, and here they are. 🙂 Each picture also links back to a longer post.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

NARS Kuala Lumpur, Facebook Drama and Hello, Weekend!

January 22nd, 2010 by Karen 33 Comments

Heya, ladies. 🙂 How was your Friday? Sorry I haven’t posted much today, but I had a little disaster with Facebook early this morning that sorta threw me off schedule.

Long story short, but someone hacked my account yesterday and, pretending to be me, was hitting my Facebook friends up for money! Yup, several readers alerted me to it this morning. I quickly changed my password, but it was too late. Facebook disabled my account, and I still don’t know how many people the hacker may have contacted in my name.

ALERT: If you get/got a weird Facebook chat request from a version of me supposedly stuck in London after being robbed at gunpoint, I’m so sorry! It wasn’t me. Tabs and I are still here at home in California.

Here’s how I think the hacker got access to my account: I must have fallen for a phishing scam. I don’t recall when or if I did, but it looks like others have been going through the very same thing.

The nerve of some people, right?

I was a little fussy after the Facebook fiasco and didn’t get a lot accomplished, but I did find a few minutes for the NARS Kuala Lumpur Eyeshadow Duo ($32). 🙂

She’s one of eight precious pieces in the NARS spring makeup collection. Here’s a closeup.

How cool is it that NARS named it after the capital of Malaysia? Francois, if you’re reading this, name something after Novato, California (LOL!) 🙂
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