Eyes

The Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette, 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils and Vice Lipsticks: Burn, Baby, Burn!

June 7th, 2017 by Karen 31 Comments

urban decay naked heat heat k — I’m feeling the heat! That’s the new Urban Decay Naked Heat palette on my eyes, the UD Alkaline 24/7 Glide-On Pencil on my lash lines, and UD Vice Lipstick in Heat.

I don’t know if there’s an official term to describe the fear of Bunsen burners…like “Bunsenburn-a-phobia,” but if there isn’t one, there totally should be, because whenever I was in the lab back in college and had to stand near a Bunsen burner, I’d always quiver a little…and not in a cute booty shaking way.

OPEN FLAMES —–> SO SCARY!

You’ll be happy to know that there are no intense open flames in/around the new Urban Decay Naked Heat collection. *Whew!*

urban decay naked heat open — Sooo many mattes, YES!

The new $54 Urban Decay Naked Heat palette arrives June 12th, but that’s only for UD Beauty Junkies, members of UD’s online rewards program (which you can sign up to join here). Beauty Junkie members will get exclusive early access to an extremely limited supply of Naked Heat palettes that day. For everyone else, Naked Heat lights up later this month, and it’ll continue to smolder in perpetuity, though, as it and the two eye pencils launching with it are being added to the permanent line.

There are also three lipsticks in the collection, but those are limited edition.

urban decay naked heat swatches final — From the top, the Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette, the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils and the Vice Lipsticks

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Take Me With You, Maybelline City Mini Palettes!

June 7th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

I think I may have discovered a potentially life-changing beauty packing hack this morning.

And here it is: instead of bringing the biggest makeup bag I own (which is what I usually do, BIG surprise!), I’ll bring a small one and only allow myself whatever will fit into it on the trip.

Yes, I know this is Captain Obvious, but hear me out.

maybelline city min palette open — Six of seven Maybelline City Mini Palettes

Clearly, someone out there has figured this out before, but it never occurred to me. Seriously, OMG! SHRINK THE BAG, KAREN!

maybelline graffiti pop — Graffiti Pop in the palm of my hand

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Take Me With You, Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Color!

June 2nd, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

nudestix magnetic eye color — A few of my favorite Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Colors ($24 each and available in 10 shades)

When I take a trip somewhere, I NEED to bring along my makeup brushes. That’s one of my non-negotiables. I literally never leave home without them — literally…unless I forget them at home. 🙂 Which has happened.

It was a few summers ago… El Hub and I drove up to visit family in Redding, which is a couple hundred miles north up near the Oregon border.

As luck would have it, I completely spaced out and forgot to bring my brushes (!), so the first thing we did when we got there was go on an emergency brush run.

Never mind using a restroom or saying hi to relatives after four long hours on the road. All I could think was, “Take me to the mall! Stat!”

If I’d had one or two of these Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Colors with me, I probably would have freaked out less. They’re long-lasting $24 cream shadow pencils. They come in 10 neutral shades, and you don’t need to use blending brushes with them (although you can if you want).

If you hit the road a lot or frequently find yourself doing your makeup in the back of a cab or in the ladies’ room before work, I’ve got one word for you: Nudestix. All of their makeup comes in either stick or pencil form, and you can blend them with a finger (or a brush), so they’re completely not fussy. They also have a wide selection of colors for different skin tones, too, and everything is cruelty-free.

nudestix magnetic eye color terra putty — I’m wearing Putty on my lids and under my brow bone, Terra and Fig in my crease, and Army on my lash lines. On my cheeks, that’s the Nudestix Nudies in Bare Back and Naughty N’ Spice, and that’s Kosas Electra Lipstick on my lips.

These set in about three or four minutes, which gives me enough time to blend out the edges. I don’t ever feel rushed. Most of the time, after drawing a few strokes on my lids (I don’t have to use much because they’re packed with pigment), I buff out the edges with a finger (or a MAC 217 if one’s handy).

Speaking of MAC now, a few of the Magnetic Matte shades could pass for near-dupes of some of my favorite MAC matte shadows, like Putty, which looks a little like matte beige Brule, and warm brown Terra, which reminds me of MAC Soft Brown. Oh, and warm brown Fig kindasorta looks like MAC Swiss Chocolate.

nudestix magnetic eye color swatches — From the top: Nudestix Putty, Terra, Fig and Army

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Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 3

June 2nd, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

1. Yes To Liquid Hand Soap ($3.99 each)

I’m the weirdo who washes her hands about, oh, let’s see… 20 times a day? I’m so not kidding, either. And I’m REALLY picky about my hand soaps, but I thoroughly plan to love the dickens out of this bottle of Yes to Liquid Hand Soap because it doesn’t dry out my skin, even when I wash my hands hella times.

Also, the Marula Oil Mango var-eh-TAY smells like marvelous mangoes, but here’s the thing: it doesn’t smell fake, which is important if you wash your hands as much as I do, because, as you know, it’s nice to have a yummy fragrance waft up into yo’ nose.

It removes dirt, oils and all manner of baby goo, and it easily rinses off and doesn’t leave behind an annoying residue.

VERDICT: Need!

Yes To Liquid Hand Soap ingredients
Water (Aqua), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Glycerin, Sclerocarya Birrea (Marula) Seed Oil, Mangivera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Chloride, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Benzoate, Hexyl Cinnamal Linalool

2. E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ($6)

elf illuminating palette — E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ($6)

The four-pan E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette is darned-near perfect for the price. The finely milled powders look really expensive and natural.

The highlighters are on the neutral- and cool-toned sides, which is a cool surprise (haha, bad pun) because of how many highlighter palettes skew warm.

The shimmer in these shades is also low-key — which again makes them seem higher end than they are.

Heck, I’d go so far as to call these drugstore Hourglass Ambient powders.

VERDICT: Need!

E.L.F. Cosmetics Illuminating Palette ingredients
Talc, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone, Silica, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Boron Nitride, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Ve), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742)

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Drugstore Needs and Nopes, Vol. 2

May 26th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

I like kickin’ it at the drugstore because I can “ooh” and “ah” over eye palettes and shampoo without my wallet raising hell.

Here are some drugstore gems that caught my fancy this week, along with a few misses.

1. Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balms ($4.99 each)

If I were eight years old and spotted these Revlon Kiss Balms at CVS, I would BEG my mom to get me one or two or three. (“Pretty please, Mommy!”)

They’re so cute! These moderately moisturizing twist-up balms contain fab fruit oils and SPF 20, but they’re super sheer, so I can’t really tell the difference between them. Juicy Peach and Fresh Strawberry look pretty much the same, but that’s OK, because they’re just TOO CUTE.

They’re just basic balms, but oh, yeah — they taste and smell like gummy ? bears, too.

BOOM. 🙂

VERDICT: Need!

Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balms ingredients
Avobenzone 2.0%, Octinoxate 7.5%, Oxybenzone 3.0%. Other Ingredients: Polybutene, Diisostearyl Malate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Polyethylene, Ozokerite, Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Cera Alba ((Beeswax) Cire D Abeille), Parfum (Fragrance), Flavor, Punica Granatum Seed Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Cetyl Palmitate, Benzoic Acid, Oxidized Polyethylene, BHT, Silica, Sodium Saccharin, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Amyl Cinnamal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool

2. Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo and Conditioner ($5.99 each)

herbal essences volume arabica coffee fruit — Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo and Conditioner ($5.99 each)

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Stay (Rose) Golden, BECCA: The New BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette

May 16th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

becca chrissy teigen closeup — The new BECCA Chrissy Teigen X Glow Face Palette ($46)

So, remember when rose gold hit the scene this last time, and everybody went crazy for it? When was that…? 2014? 2015? I keep thinking that one day it’s going to fall out of fashion, but it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, am I right? Like, the new BECCA X Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette ($46) is ROSE. GOLD. EVERYTHING. And I’m lovin’ it.

Isn’t it pretty??

This face palette… It caused quite a stir when it launched a couple weeks ago. I had a friend text me, and she was like, “Should I get it? SHOULD I GET IT?” and I was like, “I dunno! You should get it if you want to,” and she texted back, “Well, OK, I guess I’ll hold off on it…” Then she wrote back 30 minutes later and said, “I bought it!”

I totally get why it would ignite a frenzy. I mean, even the outside packaging is beyond beautiful. It’s got pinkish peach marbling and the BECCA X Chrissy logo.

But when you open it, it gets even better.

becca chrissy teigen — Wearing the palette on my lids and cheeks

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Purple Power! A New Purple Liner Love I Found at Sephora

May 16th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

purple eyeliners — Kindasorta obsessed with purple at the moment. Here’s an assortment of old faves (and a new one!) from the top: MAC Eye Kohl in Prunella ($17), Urban Decay Glide on Eye Pencil in Vice ($20), Sephora Colorful Shadow & Liner in Violet ($14), Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eye Pencil in 1-90 ($21) and MAC Pearlglide Intense in Designer Purple ($17)

It’s both wonderful and terrifying to live so close to a Sephora, because when I get on a makeup whim, I can just hop in my car, and BAM! Five minutes later I’ve got every purple liner in the store swatched on the back of my hand.

Yeah, I’m going through a purple liner phase right meow, big time (in case you haven’t noticed, LOL!). I love the look of a warm brown lid with purple liner on the lash lines. I’ve just been into it lately! Please be patient with me as I work my way through it…

Anyways, Connor convinced me to go to Sephora last Friday (yes, it was all the baby’s doing), so we went looking for a new purple to add to my collection. This latest love is a shade called Violet by Sephora Collection.

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New Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potions! UD Fix, Freebase, Caffeine and Sin

May 15th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

urban decay fix — New New eye primers from Urban Decay! From the top: Fix, Freebase, Caffeine and Sin

I do this thing, and I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but whatevs, but whenever I think of the word “base,” like eyeshadow base, as in Urban Decay’s new Eyeshadow Primer Potion eyeshadow base, I think of Ace of Base from the ’90s, ya know? I saw the sign? I can hear the first few bars in my head. Clearly TMI. Whatever, I know you secretly love that song and know all the words. 🙂

Yeah, Urban Decay released a bunch of new eyeshadow bases, a.k.a eye primers. There are four, and they’re $20 each.

How do you feel about eyeshadow bases? Are they a must have? Or a waste of time? I’m a fan. The one I use daily is NARS Pro-Prime, and it’s my fave, but I like UD’s a lot, too.

I like how it intensifies and holds on to color, but I think the NARS one is slightly easier to do more complicated blending with, which is why I tend to use it (not that I’ve been doing a ton of complicated blending lately, but hey).

But Urban Decay’s works great, too, and it’s a good option if you’re into cruelty-free. Shadows that I wear on top last just as long as they do with NARS Pro-Prime.

urban decay fix swatch — Swatches from the top: UD Fix, Freebase, Caffeine and Sin

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