Eyes

Ulta Adventures: Smashbox Photo Angle Pure Pigment Gel Liner

May 22nd, 2015 by Karen 19 Comments

smashbox photo angle gel — Smashbox Photo Angle Pure Pigment Gel Liner ($24 each)

Totes getting a Benefit vibe from these new Smashbox Photo Angle Pure Pigment Gel Liners ($24). They’re a new line of gel liners in twisty pens. The gel comes out of the flexible angled tip, just like Benefit’s They’re Real Push-Up Liner.

I was stoked to play with these when I spotted them at Ulta, but I got a little freaked out by the display… All of the liners had crusty bits of gel at the tips, which I cleaned off before taking these pics because they looked like a hot mess, and I couldn’t take it.

I dunno about the 36-hour wear time…. I don’t actually need my liner to last that long, LOL! Have you tried these yet? If so what do you think?

I’ve used Benefit’s gel liner before, and it looks a lot like these. With those there’s definitely a learning curve. They aren’t the easiest product to work with because it’s hard to get the gel to go where you want it to. Stuff has a mind of its own, but once you get it down, you can do some neat things with it.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The NARS Numéro 2 False Eyelashes: For Lashes That Long for Length

May 22nd, 2015 by Karen 13 Comments

nars numero 2 eyelashes — Wearing the NARS Numéro 2 false eyelashes ($20, one of eight styles)

Should you ever feel like your makeup mojo has pulled an Elvis and left the building (or has just gone on temporary hiatus), I highly suggest applying a pair of false lashes — the longer and more luscious the better, like the reusable Numéro 2 Eyelashes by NARS ($20 each, and one of eight styles).

“A medium-length false lash set with uniform volume from corner to corner, Numéro 2 Eyelashes’ full span expertly walks the line between boldness and subtlety. Designed to become a lash wardrobe staple. Named for the second model to walk the runway in a fashion show lineup. Versatile, reusable. Made for everyday use.”

—narscosmetics.com

I swear, whenever I wear the Numéro 2s, I feel like my eye makeup and I go into lady boss mode. It’s kind of like swapping out your off-white lunch lady comfort shoes for a pair of black patent-leather stiletto heels… Meow! Don’t mess with this girl, because she has claws, and she’s not afraid to use ’em. 🙂

The Numéro 2s are one of eight new reusable (you just have to be careful with them), natural-fiber false eyelash styles from NARS, all of which have their own distinct flava, and they’re one of my favorites in the line.

nars eyelashes numero 2 — NARS Eyelashes Numéro 2

See how the lashes are about the same length all the way across the spine? The Numéro 2s are designed to fake a full, lush fringe, and my lashes certainly feel lush when I wear them. Because they’re hella long.

Not like Beyonce-writhing-on-the-floor-in-a-video long, but probably too long to wear to your in-laws’ house for Tuesday dinner.

They’re probably better for wearing to a club with friends on a Friday night, or for sitting in your office while your cat takes a nap (which is happening where I am right now).

I really like the length of these lashes, because they’re noticeably long, but I don’t see them out of the corner of my eye, so they don’t interfere with my peripheral vision (an actual problem with some false eyelashes sometimes).

They’re reasonably lightweight, too, although not as lightweight as my go-to Eylure 117s. They aren’t uncomfortably bulky, but I can definitely feel them on my lash lines.

If you’re gonna wear them out (and I think you should!), here are a few things that might help…
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Does $20 L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1 Give $54 Urban Decay Naked a Run for Its Money?

May 22nd, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

loreal la palette nude 1 — Wearing L’Oréal’s $20 La Palette Nude 1

Knowing that L’Oréal owns Urban Decay, I wondered just how closely L’Oréal’s much less expensive $19.99 10-pan La Palette Nude 1 palette of neutral powder shadows would imitate its $54 Naked superstar cousin. Would La Palette’s three mattes be as easy to blend as UD Naked’s matte shadows, and what about pigment, shimmer and fallout? How would they compare? And what would I miss with only 10, instead of 12 shades?

I decided to find out.

The $19.99 L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1 vs. the $54 Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette

Briefly, what’s the idea behind L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1?
Well, it’s basically the Urban Decay Naked Eyeshadow Palette with 10 neutral powder shadows instead of 12. Seven of them are shimmers — a warm beige, a peach, gold, bronze, chocolate brown, silvery taupe and a cool-toned white — and three are matte browns — a medium taupe-brown, medium tan brown and a dark neutral brown. La Palette Nude 1 is one of two eyeshadow palettes that were added to the L’Oréal permanent line this spring, and it comes with a dual-ended brush with a sponge-tip applicator on one end and a small flat eyeshadow brush on the other. There are also four simple how-to tutorials for four different eye looks on the bottom/back. It’s available now online and at drugstores and Ulta.

What makes it interesting?
First, for me, the price. It’s $34 less than Urban Decay Naked.

The 10 shadows work out to $2 each, versus Naked with its 12 shadows, which work out to $4.50 each. So it’s less than half the price.

Yes, I can see your big saucer eyes from across the keyboard, ’cause that’s tempting stuff. 🙂 Seriously, I’m the last person in the world who needs another neutral palette of brown and beige shades, but when I saw La Palette Nude 1 at Ulta last week, I had to go there. I couldn’t stop myself.

What is this compulsion I have to try all of the brown eyeshadows…? It must come from the same place that makes me want all of teh kittehs. The struggle is real, my friend.

So, is La Palette Nude 1 as good as Urban Decay Naked?
In some ways, yes, I think it is. Like Naked, it has a good variety of matte transition shades (which are also highly pigmented! *thumbs up*), and a perfect balance between warm and cool color-temp shades.

The shadows also feel silky and soft like Urban Decay’s, which I guess isn’t a big surprise, considering that L’Oréal owns Urban Decay. Maybe there’s some crossover between the formulas, or maybe not and it just worked out that way. La Palette’s shadows also last seven to eight hours for me.

But there a couple of ways in which I think UD Naked trumps L’Oréal La Palette Nude 1…

Nude 1’s mattes, while fabulously pigmented, take longer to blend.
This first time I wore the Nude 1 palette, I used my trusty NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I layered the shadows on top of it, and I felt like I had to work pretty hard to buff out the edges and transition shades into each other. The overall look turned out a little choppy. Then I tried the mattes on top of a creamier base (MAC’s Paint Pot in Soft Ochre), which I hoped would give the shadows a more slippery surface. It seemed to help a bit, but things were still a tad choppy. It required more passes with my fluffy blending brush to get my gradients worked out than I could count, so if you’re going to invest in this palette and plan to give these mattes a daily workout, I highly recommend also having a cream shadow on hand to use as a base, along with a healthy dose of patience.

Nude 1’s shimmers aren’t all that shiny.
Compared to the shimmery shadows in UD Naked, Nude 1’s pearlescent shadows don’t shimmer as brightly, so I get more of a soft shine than a mirror. The shimmer also doesn’t seem anywhere near as pigmented or refined. In fact, I feel like it looks pretty chunky on my lids. It reminds me of the shimmers in the Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette.

I don’t know if it’s something that companies do on purpose to cater to the drugstore makeup crowd, or if it’s just a consequence of a lower price, but it is still possible to reach the point where Nude 1’s shimmery eyeshadows shine bright like diamonds. You may just have to wet your brush first and do a lot of layering.

It’ll take some effort, not gonna lie.
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Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine Eye Shadow Palette

May 19th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Mac Amber Times Nine Palette — The $40 Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine palette (center)

Gah!

Why?

Why, makeup gods, WHY?!

I don’t understand… The Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine eyeshadow palette, one of four $40 MAC Times Nine palettes available now in the permanent collection and released with the Eyes on MAC collection, is soooooo my style. On paper, it has everything I usually want in a neutral eyeshadow palette. It has some matte brown transition shades; it has a sprinkling of sparkle and shimmer, thanks to the inclusion of a few shadows with Frost and Lustre finishes; and it has not one, but two of my favorite MAC eyeshadows of all time in Cork and Ricepaper.

Plus…IT HAS A SHADE CALLED KITTIES!

All this for $40, which I considered a steal based on all of the looks I saw myself doing with it.

Then I delved in…

Wearing the Mac Amber Times Nine Palette — Here I’m wearing Ricepaper, Don’t Tell, Cork, Aromatic and Pepper Please on my lids

When the four $40 MAC Eye Shadow x 9: Times Nine palettes launched a while back, it was with the more expensive $85 MAC Cool Neutral and Warm Neutral 15-pan palettes.

In addition to Amber Times Nine, there’s also a Purple Times Nine palette, Navy Times Nine and a Burgundy Times Nine, but yesterday I played with Amber.

The pans in these Times Nine palettes are smaller than regular full-size MAC eyeshadow pans (they’re about the size of my thumb, LOL!) and hold 0.02 ounces of powder, compared to 0.05 ounces in a standard $10 Pro Palette refill pan.

Eye Shadow x 9: MAC Amber Times Nine gave me trouble…

This was my first time using one of MAC’s Times Nines, and while I was hoping to achieve neutral shadow nirvana with Amber, I didn’t. Seriously, what a letdown… I had so much trouble working with this palette.

The hard-packed shadows feel like concrete in their pans, and I have a tough time picking them up with either a brush or my fingers. Even the darker shades, which I expected to be more pigmented, apply disappointingly sheer. I have to layer and layer and layer some more to see them on my lids.

And the colors I know so well and love, like Cork and Ricepaper, are unlike the Cork and Ricepaper I’ve grown to love. I swear they’re sheerer here, and harder, and require more passes with my 217 to blend.

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With The Blushed Nudes Palette by Maybelline, Imitation Naked 3 Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

May 18th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

maybelline blushed nudes — Maybelline’s $10 The Blushed Nudes Palette

On the drive to the NKOTB/TLC/Nelly concert in San Jose last week, my friend and fellow makeup lover Marisol asked if I would mind us making a pit stop at a Walmart down there to see if they had Maybelline’s new $10 The Blushed Nudes Palette.

She said that she’d looked all over for it up in the North Bay where we live to no avail, and that the closest place she could track it down was the Walmart right next to the concert venue.

A $10 dupe for Urban Decay Naked 3?

“Do you mind if we swing by?” she asked.

Uh…do I mind stopping by a store with a huge beauty section to look at makeup?

I said I didn’t.

Marisol said that she heard the palette was a $10 drugstore dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.

“Of all the people I know,” she told me, “I thought you would understand.”

I did. 🙂

With a $10 dupe for Naked 3 on the line, shirtless Jordan Knight would just have to wait, LOL!

When we got to the Walmart, we made a beeline for the beauty department, where we found two Blushed Nude palettes in stock. I took it as a sign from the makeup gods that I needed to bring one of them home, and Marisol did too. She snagged the other one.

Forget about buying an overpriced New Kids t-shirt at the concert. This would be my souvenir instead. 🙂

The Blushed Nudes Palette by Maybelline: 12 eyeshadows in rose gold shades

With the rose gold packaging and 12 eyeshadows in rose gold shades, The Blushed Nudes looks a lot like UD’s $54 Naked 3 palette… Right? The resemblance is uncanny! For this one, it’s pretty easy to see where Maybelline got their inspiration.

Eyeshadow Trickery 101

But while very similar, there are some pretty big differences between the two.

Like first, the price. One is $10 and the other is $54.

That’s huge.

Second and third, the levels of pigment and shimmer. The Urban Decay Naked 3 shadows contain much more pigment and pearl. With them I think you definitely get more intense color and shine on your lids, but you can get there with the Maybelline Blushed Nudes eyeshadows. You just need to resort to a little makeup trickery.

Like you could…

Basically, use more. You can build up the Blushed Nudes shadows in layers, but you’re probably looking at using two or three times as many as you’d need with the Naked3s. Maybe five or six total layers with the lighter shades.
Intensify the colors by applying them with a wet brush.
Use your fingers instead of a brush, so you can really apply some pressure directly on your lids.

Of course, none of this is necessary if you actually want a softer, hazier eye look. Most of The Blushed Nudes shades are fairly sheer, so if that’s your agenda, your regular brushes would do you just fine.

Where are my mattes!?

And then there’s the whole matte situation… You get three matte shades — matte beige Strange, light matte pinkish taupe Limit and matte purplish taupe Nooner — in Urban Decay Naked 3, which are very handy as transition shades.

The Maybelline Blushed Nudes palette, on the other hand, has only one matte, a sheer pinkish taupe that looks like UD’s limit (only sheerer). I tried using it as a crease color…but I wasn’t too crazy about it. I had to use hella layers (I’m talking five or six) to have it really register on my medium skin tone, and even then I still couldn’t see it very well.

It may not be an issue for paler princesses, or if mattes just aren’t your thing, but if you’re around my shade (I’m a MAC NC42) or darker, or if you’re just all about that matte crease life, it’s something to consider.

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Tarte Precision Longwear Liner Sits Among the All-Time Greats in the Liquid Liner Pantheon

May 12th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

I’m picky when it comes to liquid liners… Pickier than a crabby reality TV show judge on a singing competition!

Seriously, if there’s even just one thing wrong with them — ONE THING! — I’m like Liam Neeson in the Taken movies when he threatens the kidnappers. “I WILL FIND YOU!!”

That said, Tarte’s Precision Longwear Liner ($24) passes the Liam Neeson Test with flying colors.

This dark chocolate neutral matte brown, which looks like a rich blackish brown in pics, is an absolutely legit alternative to errrrday black liquid liners. Great for when you want a cat-flicked liquid liner look with less contrast than black.

The long and firm, but flexible, felt tip draws precise flicks and lines with smooth edges, and you don’t have to freaking arm wrestle the damn thing to use it (it seems that way sometimes with liquid liner, doesn’t it?).

And — HUGE pro — the liner applies smoothly and filled with pigment. None of that uneven patchy nonsense that plagues lesser liquid liners.

It also layers well, doesn’t flake off my skin and lasts about seven hours. As far as where it sits in the liquid liner pantheon of all-time greats, I think it’s easily comparable to LORAC Front of the Line Pro, Rouge Bunny Rouge Nocturnal Ink and Tom Ford’s Eye Defining Pen.

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The Pacifica Power of Love Palette Is a Curious Thing That Could Make One Woman Weep and Another Woman Sing

May 8th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

pacifica power love palette — The Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette ($19.99)

Unless, as a child, your ears were fed a steady diet of cheesy ’80s pop music, you probably won’t think of Huey Lewis and the News when you open the new Pacifica Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette ($19.99).

But since I was THAT KID, that song creeps into my mind when I think about this palette.

“Try to think of other things, Karen,” I tell myself, “like how these mineral eyeshadows are cruelty-free, or how they’re infused with coconut water.”

But nooooo, all I can do is think about Back the Future…

So, Pacifica. Remember when they were just about bath products? Over the past few years they’ve moved further into the makeup space with color products for eyes, faces, lips and cheeks. Their focus is natural makeup — products made with vegan ingredients that are also cruelty free.

New for summer, the Power of Love Eyeshadow Palette is available exclusively at Target stores for $19.99. Inside the cardboard packaging, which is recyclable and printed with soy ink, in case you were wondering, are 10 powder eyeshadows, eight of them shimmers of varying levels of shine, and a couple of mattes. The shades are mostly neutrals, but there are a handful of accent colors as well. Most of the shadows are moderately pigmented, but a few are quite sheer.

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The Make Up For Ever Artist Palette Vol. 2 Colors You Crave: Nine Pigmented Pans Make This a Good Special Event Palette

May 7th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Current cravings:

A Pink Power Smoothie, even though I already had one today for breakfast.
Is there an unwritten rule I don’t know about against drinking two of the same kind of smoothies in one day?! #deepthoughts.
A hug from Tabs, because I haven’t seen him since I fed him gravy this morning.
He usually “supervises” me in my office during the mornings because he likes the sun in here, but I think he’s afraid of the new pink shelves, so he’s hiding.
The poppin’ pigments in Make Up For Ever’s new $42 Artist Palette Vol. 2 Colors You Crave

May brings us two new Artist Palettes from MUFE — Vol. 1, Nudes You Need, which I played with yesterday, and this brighter one here, Vol. 2, called Colors You Crave.

Now, if my stomach rumbles through these next few paragraphs in this post, I apologize. You see, I am currently craving lunch, in addition to these colors. 🙂

The palette houses nine pans, which are arranged into color-coordinating columns of three (or rows, if you turn it sideways), of Make Up For Ever eyeshadow in their incredibly soft, crazy creamy gel-[dash]-powder formula (they reformulated their eyeshadows last year).

So, how soft are they? Well, this morning El Hub stopped by my desk to loiter as he sometimes does and asked what I was doing. Before I could answer, he reached out and touched the palette.

Of course, he gouged a big divot into one of the pans just by brushing his Tarzan hand against it, so you have to be a little careful with these… All of that is just to say that they’re very soft. They almost feel like a cream, but they’re not. They aren’t wet at all. They’re still powders, but they’re squishy powders.
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