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Hello, Glossy! Hair Do You Do? Introducing the New Oribe Beautiful Color Collection Holiday Set

November 28th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

I’m still deeply in love with the Kerastase Bain Elixir Ultime Shampoo and Conditioner I picked up at the salon after my last haircut, but you know how it is to be a beauty junkie. One week you’re making a lifelong commitment; the next week you’re eyeing a new crush. 🙂

Aaaaand, my latest crush? The shampoo, conditioner and hair mask from the Beautiful Color Collection by Oribe limited edition holiday set.

First…it’s $75.

Yup, it’s a splurge, but if you want glossy, shiny strands and regularly stock your shower with pricey products for your color-treated mop, it could be worth it. You get an 8.5-ounce full-size bottle of Oribe’s Shampoo, a 6.8-ounce tube of their Conditioner for Beautiful Color and a 1.7-ounce travel-sized jar of Oribe Masque for Beautiful Color.

On mornings when I plan to bust out the flat iron and wear my hair straight, I like using a good shampoo and conditioner in the shower (I don’t shampoo every day because it dries out my scalp and hair). These products from Oribe add lots of shine without tons of weight, and oh, gosh, the scent!

Like mandarin oranges and jasmine… I love it, and the fact that it’s not so strong that it interferes with my perfume is the icing on the cake.

“Intense cuticle-enriching conditioners, color-protecting UV filters and next-generation frizz-taming biopolymers supercharge this reparative, glossifying trio.”

— From the PR for the Oribe Beautiful Color Collection

The products do contain silicones, though, in case you’re trying to avoid them. I’m OK with them in moderation, so I won’t be using these every day. Maybe once or twice a week, which is about how often I straighten my hair.

If you’re interested in checking out the set, it’s available now online and at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores.

It’s a Clear Case of Lipstick Efficiency: The New Empress Lip Palette by Napoleon Perdis

November 27th, 2013 by Karen 6 Comments

Much as I love fancy palette packaging, there’s something to be said for good ol’-fashioned clear cases, like the one for the new Empress Lip Palette by Napoleon Perdis. Being able to see exactly what’s inside makes it easy to find the right color, and this does come in handy, especially when you’re running late, and your kitty overlord is demanding lurvies and/or gravy.

The Empress holiday lip palette comes with 12 warm neutrals and brights, all containing moisturizing Vitamin E.

It’s available now (limited time) for $59 at Neiman Marcus stores and neimanmarcus.com.

This Tom Ford Jasmine Rouge Nail Lacquer Is…Shameless

November 25th, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

For guys/dolls with an unabashed weakness for classic creamy reds (and who don’t mind dropping a little extra cheddar on their nail polishes) comes the new $32 Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Shameless.

It’s one of two polishes in the new Jasmine Rouge holiday color collection, available now at Tom Ford Beauty counters and online.

“Introducing Tom Ford’s audacious new red lip and nail pairings: two duos of classic crimson or sumptuous cherry shades inspired by the daring femininity of his private blend fragrance, Jasmin Rouge. They evoke the scent’s decadent, spiced floral notes and iconic red bottle, and capture its mood of hedonistic glamour.

“Experience the power of crimson with Tom Ford Lip Color in Rouge Fatal and Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Shameless. Indulge in rich cherry with Tom Ford Lip Color Vampire Kiss and Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Trophy Wife.”

— Tom Ford Beauty

Inspired by a fragrance? Does that mean the polishes are scented?

Well, nope. They most certainly aren’t.

But it is crazy pigmented. Even though I’m wearing two coats in the swatch above (force of habit!), I’m sure I could’ve gotten away with one.

The smooth, flawless formula is a cinch to apply with the easy-to-control brush. Granted…it probably should be for the price.

Gorgeous color, though.

The Pixi Icy Eye Palette in Buff Blizzard Incorporates Matte Neutrals and Shimmers

November 21st, 2013 by Karen 10 Comments

So many times, I’ll come across a neutral palette and first be like, “yay!” but then notice that the shades are all so shimmery and go, “boo!”

I mean, I love sparkle and shine, but ya know, sometimes, it’s just nice to have one or two mattes in there. They’re convenient, and it keeps things interesting.

That’s one of the reasons I’m crushing on this new eye palette by Pixi. It has six gorgeous neutral shades in shimmery white, shimmery golden beige, shimmery golden brown, shimmery gunmetal gray and — yay! — two matte browns in medium and dark.

The mattes are yummy chocolate shades… I’ll pop ’em in the crease for a smokey look, or wear them along my lash lines as liner. Muy versatile.

Wouldn’t this be a good stocking stuffer for a teen? Or for anyone just getting into eye makeup?

It’s available now for $12 at Target stores and online.

Woo-Hoo! It’s a Pigment Party Up In Here, $7.95 Cover Charge, With These Pigmented Forever Blushes by Coastal Scents

November 20th, 2013 by Karen 7 Comments

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Alluring Closeup

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Alluring Closeup 2 — A closeup of Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Alluring

Oh, hai! My, aren’t you a bright blush? 🙂

The NARS One Night Stand Cheek Palette and I have been joined at the hip lately (or, more aptly, at the cheek), but I intend to two-time it for a few days while I take these blushing beauties by Coastal Scents out for a spin.

These are 5 of the 18 shades in the Forever Blush powder blush line. Each is $7.95 and available now at coastalscents.com.

I’ve only had the chance to swipe the red shade at the top, Alluring, on the back of my hand, but based on that, dang! — it looks promising.

Talk about cray-cray pigment! I hope it blends like butter once I get it on my cheeks. Fingers tightly crossed…

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Alluring — Forever Blush in Alluring

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Sweet — Forever Blush in Sweet

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Lovely — Forever Blush in Lovely

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Charming — Forever Blush in Charming

Coastal Scents Forever Blush in Enchanting — Forever Blush in Enchanting

The New Sigma Beauty Enlight Collection $165 Set Was Made for Neutral Lovers

November 19th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

The Sigma Enlight Collection set, $165 (a $209 value)

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Sigma Land is paradise for neutral lovers.

Yup, Sigma Beauty has a new collection of neutrals and brushes coming December 9, and here’s a sneak peek.

The entire collection is available as a set for $165, or you can get the products individually.

Reviews, swatches and looks coming soon…

“The Sigma Beauty Enlight Collection includes an array of products with a new take on neutrals. This collection contains one eye shadow palette, three lip glosses, three eye liners, three eye shadow bases, three powder blushes and three eye brushes. All of the products featured in the collection were created to add a unique warmth and calmness to your makeup routine.”

— Sigma Beauty

The Sigma Enlight Collection includes…

Enlight Collection, $165 (a $209 value)
Eye Shadow Palette — Warm Neutrals, $39
E34 — Domed Utility Brush, $12
E52 — Soft Focus Shader Brush, $14
E54 — Medium Sweeper Brush, $12
Eye Shadow Base — Awake, $13
Eye Shadow Base — Composed, $13
Eye Shadow Base — Neutralize, $13
Blush — Mellow, $12
Blush — Peaceful, $12
Blush — Serene, $12
Eye Liner — Eclipse, $9
Eye Liner — Nutmeg, $9
Eye Liner — Vintage, $9
Lip Gloss — Hint, $10
Lip Gloss — Tint, $10
Lip Gloss — Tranquil, $10

Sigma Lip Gloss - Tint, $10 — Lip Gloss – Tint, $10

Sigma Lip Gloss - Hint, $10 — Lip Gloss – Hint, $10

Sigma Lip Gloss - Tranquil, $10 — Lip Gloss – Tranquil, $10

Sigma Eye Shadow Palette - Warm Neutrals, $39 — Eye Shadow Palette – Warm Neutrals, $39

Sigma Blush - Mellow, $12 — Blush – Mellow, $12

Sigma Blush - Serene, $12 — Blush – Serene, $12

Sigma Blush - Peaceful, $12 — Blush – Peaceful, $12

Sigma Eye Shadow Base - Awake, $13 — Eye Shadow Base – Awake, $13

Sigma Eye Shadow Base - Composed, $13 — Eye Shadow Base – Composed, $13

Sigma Eye Shadow Base - Neutralize, $13 — Eye Shadow Base – Neutralize, $13

Sigma Eye Liner - Eclipse, $9 — Eye Liner – Eclipse, $9

Sigma Eye Liner - Vintage, $9 — Eye Liner – Vintage, $9

Sigma Eye Liner - Nutmeg, $9 — Eye Liner – Nutmeg, $9

A Quick Look at the New Urban Decay Naked3 Palette: A Makeup Menage a Trois

November 18th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Girrrrrrl, there’s so much nudity up in here right now, we must be breaking some decency laws.

Here’s a quick look at the new Urban Decay Naked3 palette to whet your salacious appetite. Please note the “Do not disturb” sign on the door, as I am current indisposed, otherwise known as getting better acquainted with the new palette. 🙂

Looks, swatches and impressions coming up soon…

“We’ve spent a LOT of time getting Naked the past few years. We’ve done bronzy and taupey neutrals, but we realized there was a whole spectrum of gorgeous, flushed pinks we hadn’t explored yet. Rose- based hues look great on every skin tone. With 12 new shades, it’s hard to choose favorites, but we predict that Buzz (the pinkest of all the shades) will be a fan favorite. We’re also partial to Nooner (a stunning pinky-brown matte) and Dust (a pale metallic pink shimmer with amazing iridescent glitter), which can be worn on the lids or used as a highlighter. And for an edgy, smoky liner, there’s the aptly named Blackheart — a super dimensional black matte flecked with red glitter.”

— Urban Decay

Naked3 contains

STRANGE — pale neutral pink matte-satin
DUST — pale metallic pink shimmer with iridescent micro-glitter
BURNOUT — light pinky-peach satin
LIMIT — light dusty rose matte
BUZZ — metallic rose shimmer with silver micro-glitter
TRICK — light metallic pinky-copper shimmer with tonal micro-sparkle
NOONER — medium pinky-brown matte
LIAR — medium metallic mauve shimmer
FACTORY — pinky-brown satin
MUGSHOT — metallic taupe shimmer with slight pink shift
DARKSIDE — deep taupe-mauve satin
BLACKHEART — smoky black matte with rosy red micro-sparkle

Naked3 also includes a new double-ended Good karma shadow and Blending Brush and an Eyeshadow Primer Potion sampler with resealable samples of all four formulas (original, Sin, Eden and new anti-aging). According to UD, each sample holds about a week’s worth of primer.

Naked3 (SRP $52) will be available later this month from Sephora, ULTA and select Macy’s stores. Or, online at sephora.com, ulta.com, macys.com, beauty.com and urbandecay.com. If you’d like to sign up to find out the exact date, you can do so here.

Just Some…

November 15th, 2013 by Karen 6 Comments

…flowers for you, my friend. 🙂

Everyone deserves flowers sometimes.