Daily Beauty

Aw, How Sweet: It’s The Legends Lip Gloss Set by NYX

July 24th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Some legends are sweet, like these bright candy-colored glosses in The Legends Lip Gloss Set ($15) by NYX.

Not only do they look like candy, but they taste like it, too (like the sugary outer layer on Sour Patch kids, yum!).

The kit comes with five lipglosses in Classic Pink, Classic Coral, Classic Red, Classic Fuchsia and Classic Violet, all of which start bright when you apply them but sheer down to about 50% intensity over the first 10 minutes or so.

The moderately thick, semi-sticky formula lasts about two hours for me.

I’m kinda bummed they aren’t as bright and I wanted them to be…but I still think they’ll be fun layering glosses, especially with bright lipsticks.

PRICE: $15 for a set of five glosses
AVAILABILITY: Available now at NYX counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

NYX The Legends Lip Gloss Set Swatches — From the left: Classic Pink, Classic Coral, Classic Red, Classic Fuchsia and Classic Violet

theBalm Read My Lips Lip Gloss in Pow Packs a Wallop

July 23rd, 2014 by Karen 5 Comments

You’d expect a lipgloss named “Pow!” to pack a punch, and this opaque fuchsia gloss by theBalm does just that (it even contains ginseng!).

I like wearing this with black cat eye liner and lots o’ lashes on days when I can’t be bothered by eyeshadow (*flips hair*).

A word to the wise: wear lip liner with this one, as it’s pigmented and opaque, which is great, but it also has a lot of slip because it’s not very sticky, so it tends to scoot around outside the natural lip line, especially if you rub your lips throughout the day like yours truly.

Yeah, I wore this the other day, and my bottom lip ended up looking all sorts of Baby Jane cray…

A lip liner will keep it from wandering beyond where you want it to go, POW! 🙂

You can find Pow making a statement at theBalm counters and online. It’s $15 for a 0.219-ounce tube.

PRICE: $15
AVAILABILITY: Available now at theBalm counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A- (slightly high maintenance, needs lip liner)

Read My Lips: This Nude Lip Gloss by theBalm Deserves Big Snaps

July 22nd, 2014 by Karen 5 Comments

theBalm Read My Lips Lipgloss in Snap (1)

Oh, snap, honey! As far as nude lipglosses go, theBalm’s Read My Lips Lip Gloss in Snap has it — *three snaps in a Z formation* — on point.

I find that many lipglosses, particularly nude lipglosses, aren’t pigmented enough to completely cover my naturally pigmented lips, and so my natural lip color peeks through.

And then with opaque nude lipglosses, so many of them look chalky or patchy or just plain weird.

Snap by theBalm ($15) suffers from none of that nonsense/crazy-business. It’s incredibly smooth and completely full coverage. A subtle injection of rich, rosy brownish pink gives it just enough color to lift up my lips…so I don’t look like some unfortunate extra on CSI who got picked off early in the first few minutes of the show.

PRICE: $15
AVAILABILITY: Available now at theBalm counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

So I Was Wearing This Pink Lip Gloss From theBalm When All of a Sudden, Bam!

July 21st, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

“BAM!”

For some reason, this is what I imagine Tabs says in his little kitty brain whenever he strikes a pose that involves showing off his butt (which is often).

Wait for it… Wait for it… Aaaaand, BAM!

LOL!

That was probably a little too much crazy cat lady to admit in print, but what the hell.

Full-coverage yellowish pink Bam is one of the new Read My Lips Lip Glosses from theBalm, a gang of 11 glosses with a comic book theme. They’re enriched with green tea, antioxidants and moisturizing aloe, with coverage ranging from medium to full, depending on the color. Cost, $15 a pop.

The basics on Bam

Finish: Creamy, with no glitter at all.
Texture: Comfy. Bam’s non-sticky formula goes on smoothly and feels great.
Moisture level: More moisturizing than Aquaman and Prince Namor combined, aka hella moisturizing.
Wear time: About 2-3 hours on my lips.
Flavor and scent: Yup, both. Bam has a faint berry flavor and scent that quickly fades.

Bam has been a steady member of my purse gloss superhero team for about a month because it goes with everything. Smokey eyes, neutral eyes — you name it. And because it’s highly pigmented, I can get a nude lip look with just a couple swipes.

Plus, the warm yellow undertones keep my lips from looking too flat or blah…which can happen sometimes with light pink glosses.

I can only think of one thing that would have taken it to the next level… Wear time. Four hours would’ve been nice (instead of 2-3), but that’s just me being picky.

Other than having room for a little longer wear time, Bam is a winner with me.

PRICE: $15
AVAILABILITY: Available now at theBalm counters and online at thebalm.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Roses and Queens, Coming Soon to L’Occitane: The New Roses et Reines Collection

July 17th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

This scent brings back so many good memories!

I used to live near Golden Gate Park in SF, right next to the rose garden, and this new scent by L’Occitane, Roses et Reines, smells just like when I’d walk through the park when the roses were in bloom.

Roses et Reines means “Roses and Queens” in French. 🙂

“The queen of flowers is an olfactory, evocative muse that inspired L’OCCITANE, perfumer in Provence, to create the captivating tale of a fresh and velvety Eau de Toilette. This tale goes back to the legend of the Count of Forcalquier and his four daughters, who became queens through love, and through their favorite roses.”

–L’Occitane PR

According to L’Occitane, they used roses from Bulgaria, Turkey, Grasse, Morocco and Provence in the fragrance (I guess that’s neat).

I love rosy scents… My first ever “big girl” perfume was YSL’s Paris, which I wore as a senior in high school.

This one feels fresh, light and modern to me, as far as rose scents go. I think some of them seem very heavy and dated.

It opens with bergamot and blackcurrent notes, before moving into rose and raspberry, and then drying down to deeper blackberry, cedar, musk and heliotrope.

Very feminine and delicate.

I’ve been enjoying three things from this new collection — the Hand & Nail Cream (absorbs quickly), Beautifying Body Milk (moderately moisturizing and great for summer) and the Eau de Toilette (sparkling and fresh).

The 11-piece collection comes out July 30 with…

Extra-Gentle Soap – A bar soap enriched with rose water to gently cleanse skin. $8 for 2.6 oz.
Silky Shower Gel – A scented shower gel to gently cleanse skin. $20 for a 8.4 oz.
Beautifying Body Milk – A beautifying scented body milk to moisturize the body. $25 for 8.4 oz.
Hand & Nail Cream – Contains shea butter, vitamin E to soften and protect the hands and strengthen nails. $12 for 1 oz.
Fresh Face & Body Mist – A moisturizing and fresh face and body mist enriched with rose water. $16 for 1.7 oz.
Solid Perfume – A solid perfume in a small take-along tin. $12 for 0.3 oz.
Roll-on Eau de Toilette Intense – A travel-friendly roll-on fragrance. $22 for 0.33 oz.
Shower Scrub – Enriched with rosehip seed extracts, this shower scrub gently exfoliates the skin. $20 for 6.7 oz.
Gentle Bath Salts – Bath salts with rose water to soften skin. $24 for 10.85 oz.
Pearlescent Body Gel – This moisturizing body gel refreshes the skin and adds a beautiful pearly sheen. $25 for 8.4 oz.
Eau de Toilette – A sparkling, refreshing rose fragrance. $50 for 2.5 oz.

Look for Roses et Reines at L’Occitane stores and counters, and online at usa.loccitane.com.

Get the Kate Spade Look for Less

July 16th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

I made a vow on my birthday that I would officially stop shopping in the juniors department (I’m 39; it’s time), but I may have to “bend” that vow for this necklace I saw at Nordstrom today.

It looks kind of like the $76 Kate Spade Graceful Floral Graduated Necklace I’ve been coveting but more bling-y (OH, YEEEEEEAH!), and it’s only $24.

It also comes in cream, which I think looks even more Kate Spade-y.

We’ll see how long I can hold out…

The NARS And God Created the Woman Eye Kit Is Back…Even Though It Never Really Disappeared

July 15th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

NARS And God Created the Woman Eye Kit (1)

Hey, wait a minute.

If you’re thinking that you’ve seen this $59 three-piece kit before, that’s because you may have.

Kind of.

It was released as a Sephora exclusive last year (it’s actually still available online at sephora.com), except that here it looks like the eyeshadows are playing musical chairs… They’ve been placed in slightly different positions in the palette.

The palette includes…

Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow (right side), a metallic rose mist
Bellissima Duo Eyeshadow (right side), a matte grayish brown
Kalahari Duo Eyeshadow (left side), a shimmering gold
Galapagos Single Eyeshadow, a bitter chocolate infused with gold
Coconut Grove Single Eyeshadow, a deep taupe brown infused with gold
Night Clubbing Single Eyeshadow, a black with golden pearl

NARS carried over the mini Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base Primer (yay!) from the previous incarnation of the kit but swapped out the flat eyeshadow brush for a travel-sized Wide Contour Brush #43.

Lots of classic NARS eyeshadows in this one… If I were building my dream NARS palette, I’d include most of these shades.

The $59 NARS And God Created Woman Eye Kit arrives August 1 at NARS Boutiques, narscosmetics.com and at department store and specialty store NARS counters.

The New Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadows: The Brights

July 14th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow (2)

More Bella Eyes Gel Powder newness from Milani. This time, brights! (Here are the neutrals.)

Top row from the left, that’s Bella Violet, Bella Purple, Bella Rouge and Bella Fuchsia. Second row, that’s Bella Rose, Bella Pink and Bella Mandarin. Third row, the blues, that’s Bella Navy, Bella Cobalt, Bella Teal and Bella Sky. And bottom row, the two greens, that’s Bella Khaki and Bella Emerald.

These bright beauties are available now online and at drugstores for $3.99 each.