Eyes

Dolce & Gabbana’s $67 Desert Is a Hot Eyeshadow Quad With Leopard-Print Packaging That’s Driving Me Wild

December 5th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

dolce gabbana desert eyeshadow quad from the animalier collection — Wearing the Dolce & Gabbana Eyeshadow Quad in Desert ($67), from the new Animalier collection

It’s a jungle out there. Thank goodness for makeup…and cats (what, you couldn’t tell I was a cat lady?).

And whenever my two favorite interests collide, let’s just say, I have a moment.

Like a straggler gazelle on the African savanna in the crosshairs of a hungry lion, I fell prey to the new Dolce & Gabbana Animalier holiday collection… It was inevitable — the cycle of life as it pertains to the new Eyeshadow Quad in Desert ($67).

Leopard-print packaging, golden neutrals and flawless performance? Yes, this is the quad I’m bringing with me when J.Renn and I get stranded on that deserted island (that incidentally also has modern conveniences like plumbing, air conditioning, a Sephora store and Internet access).

Granted, the $67 price tag is like a deep, painful cat scratch for wallets, but that’s Dolce & Gabbana for ya. They may charge borderline redonkulous prices, but when they get a product right, they knock it out of the park…

…and all the way to the Dolce & Gabbana Eyeshadow Quad in Desert. 🙂

The leopard-print packaging

Even if I wasn’t a cat lady, I’d love this limited edition quad’s packaging. Not only do I like the way it looks on the outside, but the colors inside it are based on the print! How cool is that?

The colors

Three of the quad’s four neutrals — the matte beige, shimmery gold and matte light brown — have golden, mid-color temperature tones, which should make them flatter a wide range of skin tones.

The darkest shade, the plummy reddish brown, is a touch warmer than the other colors, and because it’s the darkest, I use to smoke out the other shades and as a liner (works well on lash and water lines).

If you have very cool-toned skin (quick tip: if the veins in your arm appear blue, you’re probably cooler toned; if they’re greenish, more warm), the darker shade might be a little tough to pull off, but it could still come in handy as a fallback liner.

The performance

Man, these eyeshadows should get Hollywood agents because they’re superstars! They’re everything I could ever hope for and expect from a high-end makeup line (that charges $67 for a quad).

I have no idea how D&G managed to make them this pigmented and yet keep them so easy to blend. And the fallout? — what fallout? Zero, nada, zilch. And they last all day long for me without creasing or fading.

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For $15, Sephora Brings the Bling: The New Sephora Blinged Palette Squeezes Some Great Pieces Into a Bedazzling Product

December 4th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

sephora blinged palette review — Wearing the products in Sephora’s new $15 Blinged Palette on my eyes, cheeks and lips

“Bling it.”

“Oh, it’s already been blough-it.”

Sorry… Made myself laugh. 🙂

So, what’s better than getting a great deal on a face palette with eight pigmented shadows, a perky pink powder blush and five flattering lipsticks?

How ’bout this: getting it all with a side of bling.

No need to bust out your BeDazzler to bejewel the new limited edition Sephora Blinged Palette, because it already comes complete with sparkly rhinestones. It’s also pretty affordable at $15.

Oh, how do I love thee, Sephora Blinged Palette? Let me count the ways…

The shadows

Fallout? What’s that? I hardly see any at all from these eight powder eyeshadows. Worn with my beloved NARS primer. With the primer’s help, they’re a breeze to blend and last all day long on my lids.

I love the mix of matte and shimmer finishes and the brown, gold, peach, beige and green shades, which are nicely balanced between cool and warm tones.

Only thing is, the high-shine shimmery shades have an appetite for fine lines — meaning they like to highlight ’em.

The blush

What a nice surprise! It’s so smooth and natural looking.

The lipsticks

I wish these five unscented, unflavored lipsticks weren’t seated so close to the blush (such a pain), but I think the colors work so well with the palette that I’m willing to let it go.

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Benefit Set Out to Make This Christmas One of the Best Ever With Their New World Famous Neutrals Kits

November 29th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

The brand-spankin’ new Benefit World Famous Neutrals kits

If you decide to add one of Benefit’s new World Famous Neutrals kits to your holiday wish list, there’s a good chance (at least 93.5%) that your sis, mom, BFF or Secret Santa will find it hard to resist keeping it for herself.

(Because that’s totally what I’d be tempted to do.)

These three new $30 Sephora exclusive kits are some of the most exciting neutrals I’ve seen since Naked2, and I’m going bananas (B-A-N-A-N-A-S) over the colors, almost all of which are new.

Just when I thought the whole neutral palette craze was completely played out, along comes Benefit to put their signature spin on it.

First, they created “Eyenessa,” the magical, mystical makeup maven/character who graces the covers of all three World Famous Neutral kits, and judging by her giant hoop earrings and affinity for gold jewelry, she’s a girl after my own accessories-lovin’ heart. 🙂

Second, there’s the Creaseless Creams! — which are my favorite things about these. Each kit comes with two of them in tiny pots, along with four Longwear Powder Shadows.

Now, it seems like every brand has a nude/neutral palette of powder eyeshadows, but not many of them come with cream shadows. By including two Creaseless Creams with each of these, Benefit takes these kits to the next level. I think the Creams give Bene-babes much more power to layer and create their own custom combos.

What do ya say we take a closer look now at each of the kits? 🙂

KIT #1: Most Glamorous Nudes Ever

Abracadabra! This spellbinding kit’s combination of rich, warm neutrals is prompting me to put my obsession with Skinny Jeans on pause (BTW, have you tried Skinny Jeans yet?? It’s one of my favorite cream eyeshadow colors of all time!). The kit features two enchanting Creaseless Creams of its own, the shimmery champagne Birthday Suit and My Two Cents, a shimmery warm golden copper.

The kit also comes with Longwear Powder Shadows in Call My Buff (a pearly, peachy beige), Kiss Me I’m Tipsy (a warm reddish brown with a hint of plum), It’s Complicated (a shimmery pinkish gold) and Gilt-y Pleasure (a shimmery peachy gold) to add even more glow to your eye looks.

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Laura Mercier’s Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight Sets the Gold Standard for Easy-to-Use Eyeshadows

November 28th, 2012 by Karen 24 Comments

laura mercier gilded moonlight swatch — Wearing the new Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight ($24)

Why settle for a shimmery golden eyeshadow that merely illuminates your lids when you could wear a shimmery golden eyeshadow that also caters to your inner lazy girl?

Wait — let me try that again…

With a few quick pats and swipes to blend out the edges, Laura Mercier’s intensely pigmented warm golden $24 Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight will take you from bare lids to bold shimmer in less time than it takes to say, “The only reason I’m watching Jersey Shore is because I don’t want to look for the remote…” Not that I’ve ever said anything like that to El Hub while sprawled out on the couch with a bag of Baked Cheetos.

Nope.

Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Moonlight, one of four Illuminating Eye Colours in the new Art Deco Muse holiday collection

laura mercier gilded moonlight — Gilded Moonlight on my eyes and Wearing Hourglass Extreme Sheen High-Shine Lip Gloss in Icon on my lips

Laura, if your master plan was to get me to book a reservation at ChÃ¢teau de Lazy Girls, it worked. Like your equally easy Gilded Bronze, Gilded Moonlight takes but a minute to use. Just pat, blend and go.

NOTE: Gilded Moonlight isn’t light on pigment at all. In fact, it’s loaded with it! — which also means it can be easy to over-apply.

Even though it’s a holiday release, I can see myself wanting to wear it when the weather warms up again next year. For a bronzed beach babe look, I’d just swap the red lipstick and black liner for a sheer, coral gloss and a liner in green, purple or teal.

Racing to get out the door but you still want to look polished? Perhaps soft, silky Gilded Moonlight can help.

PRICE: $24
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Laura Mercier counters and lauramercier.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Catch ya later, Wednesday! See you again next week.

I hope your day went well. No complaints out here, other than the rain, which keeps trying to bring me down.

Tonight I’m just massaging my brain in front of the TV (re-watching Battlestar Galactica). I wanted to go to a Cat Behavior Clinic at the Novato Humane Society, but the timing didn’t work out. Maybe next time…

Not that Tabs really needs behavioral help. Despite his diva propensities, he’s actually a pretty awesome cat (most of the time). I just think the clinic sounds interesting.

Whatever you’re up to, enjoy the rest of your night, and sleep well. I’ll talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Sonia Kashuk’s Hosting a Formal Affair in a Posh, New Holiday Palette

November 27th, 2012 by Karen 17 Comments

sonia kashuk formal affair — Wearing the new $19.99 Sonia Kashuk Formal Affair Palette on my eyes and cheeks

Wait — are you kidding me?! You two haven’t met yet? Well, we need to fix that immediately.

Babe, this is Sonia Kashuk’s new Formal Affair Palette; Formal Affair, this is one of my beauty besties.

I think you two will hit it off. Formal Affair here is quite a bargain at $19.99. She may spend her days in drugstores, but at heart, she’s 100% department store-caliber makeup.

It’s as if Sonia said, “I’m going to make the perfect powder palette, and it’s going to contain two blushes, one bronzer and four eyeshadows for girls who want to look like they’re wearing NARS, Bobbi Brown and Urban Decay but don’t want to spend that much.”

Is that the NARS Orgasm/Laguna duo??

Don’t the golden brown powder bronzer and shimmery, golden peachy pink blush on Formal Affair’s far right look inspired by the NARS Orgasm/Laguna duo? Except that Sonia’s bronzer is sheerer than NARS Laguna, with slightlier grittier grains of golden glitter, and the golden pearl within the blush looks less pronounced to me than NARS Orgasm (maybe they’re just kissing cousins).

Look who’s getting Naked2

Okay, although I feel kinda lame getting excited about a brown eyeshadow (with so many great flashy colors out there and all!), Formal Affair’s brown is just so chocolaty…so shimmery…and so Mmmm! — buttery smooth.

It reminds me of Snakebite from the Urban Decay Naked2 palette.

It’s just so blendable, and I love how easy it is to wear sheer or build up in layers.

Sparkle like Bobbi Brown’ Sparkle Eyeshadows

The tan and black glittery shadows in Formal Affair would fit right in with Bobbi Brown’s Sparkle Eyeshadows. Like those shadows from Bobbi, they’re loaded with gobs of medium-sized glitter, but Sonia takes things a step further by using an intensely pigmented base. Patting either shade on the brown shade from Formal Affair is a quick way to dress up a look. I do have to be mindful, though, of the fallout, which is slight, but still. At least it’s easy enough to clean up, especially if I do my eyes first.

sonia kashuk formal affair swatches — Sonia Kashuk Formal Affair Swatches from the left: pink blush, bronzer, peachy pink blush, shimmery white eyeshadow, glittery tan eyeshadow, shimmery brown eyeshadow and glittery black eyeshadow

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Like We Did This Morning, Laura Mercier’s Easy-to-Use Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze Rises and Shines

November 27th, 2012 by Karen 25 Comments

Wearing the new Laura Mercier Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze ($24)

What if my eyelids naturally shimmered, and all I had to do was be awake? I’d probably stumble out of bed as usual, with my crazy-@ss hair and (sometimes) crusty drool around the corners of my mouth, and shamble to the bathroom.

But then! — then I’d gaze upon my reflection in the mirror and be almost blinded by my shimmery eyes. Wham, glam, thank you, ma’am!

Of course, that’s just a fantasy… Real people don’t have eyelids that naturally shimmer (le sigh), but I think I may have found the next best thing, Laura Mercier’s $24 Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze, one of four shades in the new Art Deco Muse collection.

Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze ($24)

These eyeshadows have a luminous, pearlescent finish and a soft, almost bouncy texture similar to the MAC Extra Dimensions (which I love!), and they shower eyelids with shimmer and pigment.

Gilded Bronze, an easy-to-use neutral bronze with taupe tendencies, is my favorite of the bunch. I have a feeling it’ll get along swimmingly with skin tones on both ends of the color temperature spectrum.

For the kind of shine I can comfortably wear to daytime events, I just pat a miniscule amount directly on my lids (I think you can get away with using less on darker skin) with a firm, flat eyeshadow brush like Laura’s All Over Eye Colour Brush, and buff out the edges with a tapered blending brush like Laura’s Pony Tail.

Then, I curl my lashes, treat them to Chanel Le Volume Mascara, swipe a smidgen of Laura’s stunning Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge gloss on my lips, and “Why, yes, I am ready for my closeup, Mr. Deville.” 🙂

Alternately, for a bolder, high-shine metallic shimmer, I’ll simply add a second layer.

More to adore about Glided Bronze…

When the medium-sized flecks of shimmer catch the light, they demand attention! This is definitely not a shadow for shimmer shy wallflowers.
The buttery smooth formula blends easily into other shadows.
I don’t detect any fallout at all.
When I layer it on top of my NARS primer, it resists fading and settling into those annoying little lines on my lids…

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What’s the Matte-er With Public Nudity? According to Urban Decay, Absolutely Nothing, Thanks to the Mattes in the New Naked Basics Palette

November 26th, 2012 by Karen 29 Comments

urban naked basics palette — Wearing the new $27 Urban Decay Naked Basics palette on my eyes, with Crave on my lids and lash lines, Faint in the crease and Venus along my brow bone

NOVATO (MBB) — Makeup mavens predict a dramatic rise in public nakedness over the holidays this year as legions of Urban Decay fans don the all-matte shades in the new $27 Naked Basics Palette.

Many plan to go to work naked, spend time naked in their living rooms, at clubs, and even at local eateries and shopping centers.

“Yesterday I got naked at Trader Joe’s,” said Karen, editor and co-founder of Makeup and Beauty Blog, “and with these six neutral shades, none of which are too cool nor warm, just about anyone can get naked anywhere they please.”

urban decay naked basics palette — Swatches from the left: Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked2, Faint and Crave

Honk if you love mattes! I think it’s always a great idea to have some mattes around for adding contrast, depth and dimension to eye makeup looks, and Naked Basics comes complete with six useful shades — four beiges, one medium brown and a dark brownish black.

Urban Decay, the brand that sparked a neutral eyeshadow resurgence/revolution with their Naked and Naked2 palettes, imagined that the mattes in Naked Basics could work as companion colors to the company’s other neutral shades.

Stay tuned, because Naked Basics bares all on Sephora and Ulta counters, and in select Macy’s stores soon, and online at urbandecay.com November 29.
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Unsung Heroes: Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara

November 23rd, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

I have a theory that if by some magical force we were all turned back into babies and allowed to go buck wild in a drugstore, I doubt that very many of us would go goo-goo, gaa-gaa over Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Waterproof Mascara based solely on its simple, unassuming tube.

I mean, just look at it. That’s some pretty basic packaging right there. No neon to speak of, vibrating brushes, fancy fonts or flashing lights.

But man! — I gotta say, this $7 workhorse is quite a wonderful drugstore gem.

My reasons for having kept a tube of it in my makeup bag for the past few years (I literally never leave home without it) reads like an awesome laundry list (or an awesome list of awesomeness from Trader Joe’s).

First and foremost, it’s only seven bucks! And it’s carried in probably 5,000 drugstores nationwide.

I think those are two pretty great reasons, but Full ‘N Soft Waterproof also does all of the things I want a mascara to do — adding length and separation to my lashes while holding a curl, so that I look wide awake (even when I’m not).

What about raccoon eyes? you might ask.

Great question, but nope. None of that. Full ‘N Soft doesn’t flake, smudge or run, and one of the things I really like about it is how well it layers.

No bumps or clumps, just smooth, evenly coated lashes, which means I get control over how my lashes look.

When I want them to look natural, like for the beach, I just apply one or two layers for that feathery, separated look. Or when I’m craving something more dramatic, I’ll do three or four.

Either way, I think my results with this mascara are consistently great.
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