Eyes

Introducing 6 New Shades of Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner for Holiday 2017

October 20th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

Wait! Stop! Hold up… Please don’t walk away just ’cause these are glittery. I’m serious, you can totally wear the Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliners.

I’ve been a fan of these for years because the glitter bits are so small and…classy? — for lack of a better word? This is classy glitter.

If you run a little along your lash lines, or even just your lower lash line, you get the most lovely (yet understated, by glitter standards) sparkle. I’ve been doing it for years with one of the shades, gold Midnight Cowboy, for lazy person’s party makeup.

UD just added these six new shades to the existing Heavy Metal Glitter permanent line, and of these, I’m all about Punk Rock, the dark purple one with multicolored sparkle, because it looks gorgeous along the lash lines with a black, brown or purple smoky eye (especially if you tightline your water lines with black liner).

[Continue reading…]

BECCA Après Ski Glow Collection Eye Lights Palette for Holiday 2017

October 19th, 2017 by Karen 1 Comment

becca eye lights palette k — BECCA Après Ski Glow Face Palette on my cheeks and NARS Vibeke Lipstick

If the thought of wearing a face product on your eyes freaks you out (apparently, it does not freak me out, ha!), don’t worry. The new $45 BECCA Après Ski Glow Collection Eye Lights Palette is officially an eye product…even though the “shadows” in it have almost the same formula as the actual BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Powders. 🙂

(Side note: am I the only one who already uses the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfecting Powders and Bronzers as eyeshadows? Just curious…)

becca eye lights palette open — Let’s talk about brown shadow, baby!

This is a gorgeous palette. It has seven neutral shades — two of them new (bodaciously buttery brown Toasted Marshmallow and Hot Cocoa) and five of them based on existing highlighters in the BECCA permanent line.

All of them feel just as soft and buttery, and blend just as easily, as BECCA’s full-fledged, official highlighters.

I like using the browns (big surprise) as quickie crease colors, because they aren’t very pigmented, so you can almost instantly define your eyes by swishing a few swipes on your lids.

Golden brown Toasted Marshmallow is basically rocking my world right now. It looks a little like MAC Soba to me, but with, like, amplified golden pearl. And reddish brown Hot Cocoa looks like a satiny version of MAC Swiss Chocolate. It’s red, but it isn’t too red, if you know what I mean.

The only big catch with this palette, and it is kind of a big catch, is that most of the shades — the lighter ones, especially — all (with the exception of Topaz) look pretty much the same on my NC 42 skin, so if you’re my shade or darker…it’s kinda repetitive.

I’m just sayin’.

[Continue reading…]

Urban Decay Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette for Holiday 2017

October 19th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

urban decay heavy metals metallic eyeshadow palette open — Heavy metals, mama!

Where the heck is the fallout? RIGHT? If you’re an Urban Decay fan, you expect a little fallout — OK, a ton of fallout — when you’re working with their eyeshadows. You just learn to live with it…

At least I have. At least most people I know who love and use the brand have in the past. I mean, it’s no big whoop if you do your eyes first and cleanup later, but wouldn’t it be a nice option to just, like, be able to do your eyes and not have to worry about dealing with massive amounts of stray eyeshadow? The $55 Urban Decay Heavy Metals Metallic Eyeshadow Palette, which is part of the brand’s holiday collection and houses a bevvy of shimmery metallics, gives you that option.

urban decay heavy metals metallic eyeshadow palette packaging — Purple power

I don’t know what happened over at UD, but a few of their recent eyeshadow palettes have exhibited very little fallout, including this one, and it’s been awesome. They’ve totally “leveled up” their eyeshadow game.

The eyeshadows in this palette have a completely new formula, and it’s exclusive to this palette. (I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if they eventually added it to the permanent line.)

There are 20 shadows, with brights on one side, neutrals on the other, and they’re all completely new colors. New formula. New, new, new, new, new!

urban decay heavy metals metallic eyeshadow palette right — The right side of the palette

urban decay heavy metals metallic eyeshadow palette left — The left side of the palette

The shadows have a foiled effect, meaning that when you pat them on with a finger or brush, they’re super shiny — not glossy, as in a wet way, but shiny like chrome or tinfoil.

Most of the time to get that intensely shiny, foiled effect with shadows you have to apply them wet. This palette removes that step. You can do a dry application, and it’s just as shiny as a wet one.

urban decay heavy metals metallic eyeshadow palette swatches neutrals — From the top: Bass, Glory, Demo, Starfire, Afterparty, Angel fire, Roadie, Maiden, Scream, Acoustic

[Continue reading…]

MAC Unsung Heroes: Saddle Eyeshadow

October 17th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

I know that a few of you gals and dudes who visit MBB also ride horses, so I need to know — does MAC Saddle Eye Shadow in any way remind you of actual saddles? Is this what color saddles are? Because I’ve never ridden a horse, so I have no clue.

All I know is I love this color, man, and I’ve been wearing it for years! It’s a — now please don’t run away when I say this — matte orange brown.

Yep, I said orange…but it’s more brown than orange. It’s not obnoxiously orange. The little bit of orange just gives it some warmth.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

mac saddle swatch — Howdy, pardner. I reckon I’m about a MAC NC42 for refrence, if’n yer inclined to know…

Sometimes I use Saddle to deepen my crease and make my eyes look like they’re set back further in my sockets…

OK, that sounded weirder than it did in my head…but anyway, mattes are useful when you want to make something look more recessed.

You could start with a light brown matte like MAC Soft Brown, Soba or Wedge in the crease first, then add Saddle on top on the part of your crease that you want to look deepest and furthest back.

Feathering it up into the lighter brown you started with also creates a gradient and gives the look a little somethin’-something, a.k.a. complexity.

I’m wearing Saddle and Wedge on my lids and in the crease, Brun and Mulch in the outer corners, Ricepaper to highlight the inner corners and my brows, and Feline Kohl on my water lines.

[Continue reading…]

NARS Man Ray for NARS Holiday 2017: The Duo Eyeshadows and Velvet Eyeliners

October 4th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

Uh…who is this Man Ray dude?

For their holiday collections, NARS usually pairs up with an artist and thematically incorporates the artist’s work into the release. This year, that artist is Man Ray.

No, we did not just teleport into an episode of Futurama. ?

Man Ray was an American visual artist known for his photography in the ’20s and ’30s, and he was a big time contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements. You’ve probably seen his work on your day-to-day travels. My favorite of his pieces is this picture here. It’s called Glass Tears. The first time I can remember seeing it was in a magazine when I was in high school, and it haunts me to this day.

I wonder if Man Ray liked purple, because the eye makeup in this color collection has purple, purple, purple!

Exciting stuff, if you ask me.

I’m into purple on my lids and lash lines, especially purples with bronze and gold, and there’s lots of that happening here. If you’re a NARS Cordura fan or a NARS Mekong or MAC Sketch or Shale fan, you’ll probably be feeling the duos and liners.

nars man ray for nars swatches debauched montparnasse — Swatches from the top: Montparnasse Duo Eyeshadow, Debacuhed Duo Eyeshadow, Santiago Velvet Eyeliner, Nagoya Velvet Eyeliner

Before we jump into the eye makeup, let me back up a little first. The Man Ray for NARS Holiday collection launches this Friday, October 6th at NARS Boutiques and the NARS website, and it’s set up the same way that NARS has been doing their holiday collections for the past few years, with a color collection, which is like your traditional makeup LE collection with eye, lip and cheek products, and then there’s also a “gifting” collection with kits and sets.

The color collection contains 11 pieces and includes glosses, eyeshadow duos, a highlighter and liners, and there’s LOTS of purple, bronze and gold on parade, to which I have to say “YAAAAS!” 🙂

There are two $36 eyeshadow duos, each with a pan of wonderfully wearable, joyful, GORGEOUS purple shadow. The wearable aspect is a bit of a departure for NARS Holiday eye shadows, as 2015’s Steven Klein and 2016’s Sarah Moon seemed more serious, heavy, and…challenging to me. Like, am I really gonna wear a single pan of frosty white shadow on a Tuesday afternoon? Probably not.

These two new duos may not be as edgy as the NARS shadows from recent holiday collections, but I’m fine with that. I’ll take easy-to-wear stuff any day of the week.

The first duo, Montparnasse, pairs a satiny, reddish bronzed purple with a frosty, cool yellow gold. The second one, Debauched, partners a rich, deep golden plum with a smoky blackened purple containing red micro glitter.

nars montparnasse — Duo Eyeshadow in Montparnasse ($46)

[Continue reading…]

Why “Eye” Love Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Caviar…

October 4th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

tom ford caviar — Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Caviar + your BFF black pencil liner + two coats of mascara = easiest smoky eye ever

Tom Ford’s gorgeous gunmetal Caviar cream shadow is many things: enduring, easy to blend, and it’s basically everything you ever wanted for the easiest smoky eye ever (just add black liner and mascara), but none of those are why it holds a special place in my heart.

It’s special to me because it’s what I was wearing when Connor said the word “eye” for the first time.

Backstory: she already knows some of the words for body parts, so if I say “Show mommy your ears,” she’ll point to her ears. She just hasn’t said many of the words yet, but last week when I was wearing Caviar on my lids with a Cargo black pencil on my lash lines (my eyes were a little dramatic that day, which is how I roll on a Friday afternoon!), I was changing her diaper and talking to her when Connor pointed up at me and emphatically said, “Eye! Eye! Eye!”

Uh… She was pointing at my makeup! I was almost ready to ask Tom to be her godfather, haha!

[Continue reading…]

Unsung Heroes: MAC In Extra Dimension Waterproof Mascara

October 3rd, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

mac in extra mascara review — THE BEST mascara in the entire MAC fam IMO is this one here.

MAC has megatons of mascara. There must be millions of them! You know this. They aren’t one of those brands that only does, like, one mascara and calls it quit. No.

I think quite a few of MAC’s mascaras are good, too, like Extended Play. I’ve gone through a number of tubes of that one, among others, but there’s one MAC mascara I’ve been using more than the others for months, and I think it’s leagues above the rest. It’s In Extra Dimension Waterproof Mascara, the one in the curvy black tube with the teal MAC logos all over it.

Now, Karen is someone who finds fault with pretty much every mascara she tries. (Karen is also apparently someone who refers to herself in the third person!). But this one’s The. Best. in the entire MAC mascara family IMO. And, girl, I’ve tried them all!

You get so much bang for your buck with it, and the look is almost as dramatic as falsies, and that’s with just one or two coats.

I mean, it’s a mascara…so it’s not gonna make you look like you’ve grown Snuffalufagus fringe overnight, but if you want it all — thickness, length, curl separation and, most importantly, THE DRAMA — In Extra Dimension Waterproof brings it.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

mac in extra dimension waterproof before after — Before and after! I’m also wearing MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC 42 mixed with MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite topped with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Golden (foundation and powder), Hourglass Radiant Bronze Light (blush), MAC Brow Sculpt Pencil in Spiked and Benefit clear Brow Gel (brows) and MAC Lipstick in MMMMM (from the new Nicki Minaj nude lipstick collection

There is one other thing I feel you need to know up front before you fall in love with it, and here it is: this mascara is truly waterproof. You’ll need an oil-based eye makeup remover and/or an eye-friendly cleansing balm to thoroughly take it off; otherwise, you’ll be stuck rubbing at your lashes for days and could even accidentally break them off (NOOOO!), which happened to me a couple times before I “wised up.”

Now when I wear this and go to remove my makeup at the end of the day, I soak a Shiseido Facial Cotton with a few drops of Klorane Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover with Soothing Cornflower (you can get it at Sephora), then gently press the pad on top of my lashes. When I hold it there for a few seconds, this mascara slides right off.

[Continue reading…]

Unsung Makeup Heroes: Shiseido Facial Cotton

September 19th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

The Unsung Heroes series highlights some of my ALL-TIME favorite permanent collection products from all sorts of brands.

Dang, I had my heart set on being crabby about these Shiseido Facial Cotton pads, because girl, they’re $10, and you only get 165 of them, which is craziness to me because you could roll up to Target right now and get a massive pack of 300 up & up brand cotton pads for $5.

But ugh, these Shiseido ones are so good!

I didn’t expect to be bougie about cotton pads, but I’m there, man. The Shiseido ones are the softest, most velvety facial pads I’ve ever used, and once you’ve felt their caress (it was unmistakable when they touched my delicate water lines), other cotton pads will feel like rough metal scouring pads. NO JOKE. Even Q-tips.

OK, that was a joke…but you know hear I mean’. The Shiseido Facial Cotton pads feel SOFT. Q-tips used to feel like tabby tum fur to me before I got spoiled by these.

I mostly use them to remove eye makeup, but you can use them like any other cotton ball or cotton pad. They’ll apply toners or liquid essences after cleansing, remove face makeup, and they’ll soften the edges of your blush, eyeshadow or your bronzer perfectly well.

I guess you could also use them to remove nail polish, but I won’t be using them for that. My fingers and toes just wouldn’t appreciate how soft (or pricey) they are.

A single pad can remove all of my eye makeup and face makeup, then STILL have enough oomph left to apply toner.

[Continue reading…]