Eyes

Summer Is Al Fresco Time at Tarte With the Poppy Picnic Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette

April 3rd, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

tarte summer 2015 poppy picnic — Tarte Summer 2015 Poppy Picnic Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette ($38, available now)

I live for picnics…

The fun in the sun, the food, the friends, the family, the food…

Did I already mention the food? 🙂

I might actually love picnic fare more than I love brunch, and you know how much I love brunch.

(A lot.)

It’s because of the sides, man! I’m all about the sides. The potato salad, macaroni salad, fruit salad, that weird Jello salad that one of my aunties usually makes which looks totally gross but tastes hella delicious.

Oh! — and the corn on the freaking cob?

I wants it… I wants it all.

Speaking of picnics (how’s that for a lazy transition, ha!), there’s one happening now at Tarte, and it’s new for summer 2015.

Say “Please pass the potato chips!” to the Tarte Poppy Picnic Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette ($38)

The Tarte Poppy Picnic Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek Palette: A Quick FAQ/Rundown

What is it?
A $38 limited edition eye & cheek palette (available now) containing six new powder eyeshadows and one re-promoted powder blush (it’s called Glisten) containing Tarte’s jam, otherwise known as Amazonian clay, which is supposed to soak up any oily bits while simultaneously balancing moisture levels in your skin.

Are there any limited edition shades?
Yes, ma’am, there are. The eyeshadows in Summer Breeze (a matte cream), Sweet Tea (a matte tan), Ice Cream Cone (a matte chocolate), Barefoot in the Grass (a matte light tan), Peach Poppy (a matte peach) and Picnic Basket (a matte deep brown) are all limited edition.

What size are the pans?
Shimmery golden pink Glisten Blush is a 0.20-ounce full-size pan, and the eyeshadows are smaller at 0.06 ounces each.

What can you tell me about the texture of the eyeshadows?
Well, I can tell ya that they kick up a lot of powder, so it helps to tap off your brush before applying them; otherwise, you get a little fallout.

Beyond that, though, they feel smooth to me, and they’re easy to blend.

Are the eyeshadows pigmented or sheer?
I’d say that the lighter tan and peach shades are sheer to medium, while the two darkest shades are medium (I built them up for the swatches to make ’em nice and dark), and none of them look heavy on the skin.

How about the texture of the blush?
Slightly grainy…which is probably because of the pretty big flecks of golden glitter in it.

How pigmented is the blush?
Moderately pigmented, but not crazy town/crazy clown pigmented. I only need a single layer.
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Is the Too Faced Natural Matte Neutral Eye Shadow Collection/Palette Right for You?

March 31st, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

It’s about sexy time. 😉

Kind of. If you look at the names of the colors in the new Too Faced Natural Matte Neutral Eye Shadow Collection/palette, there are some that I can’t even say without blushing a little, like Sexpresso…?

Oh, my gosh.

Nudie? Risqué? Strapless?

But then they throw in the food-related ones like Honey Butter and Chocolate Cookie. There’s probably some relationship…

No, I’m not even gonna go there.

Recently released for summer 2015, Natural Matte is based on the Natural Eyes palette they released last year, except that that one had shimmers. This time around, I don’t think Too Faced was seeking to revolutionize the world of eye palettes as we know it. I think this was just meant to give Too Faced fans more matte options.

The whole matte palette trend has been big over the past couple years, and there are lots of good ones out there. This one, which comes with nine powder eyeshadows in a mix of cool and warm tones and useful beiges and browns, has a pretty appealing price. It’s $36, which doesn’t make it the most affordable matte palette out there when you consider drugstore, but I think you get a lot.

Compared to the $40 BECCA Ombre Nudes Palette, it comes with almost twice as many shades (nine vs. five).

Both palettes are good in their own way, but I think Natural Matte is better for simple looks involving one or two shadows, like a simple lid color and maybe a liner, or a lid color and something in the outer v.

Here’s also a quick video about the palette…

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This MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot Really Is a Genuine Treasure: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Genuine Treasure From the MAC Philip Treacy Collection

March 27th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

mac genuine treasure — Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Genuine Treasure from the new MAC Philip Treacy collection on my lids

Like Vanessa Williams in 1991, I saved the best for last. 🙂 This Paint Pot really is a genuine MAC Philip Treacy treasure.

Like, if you were chasing a rainbow astride a teal pegasus pony with a rainbow mane high up in the pretty blue sky surrounded by pink clouds, at the end of the rainbow, you’d find Genuine Treasure…instead of a black cauldron filled with gold, although that would also be extremely convenient and nice.

Really, though, this Paint Pot is more like a glitter top coat, and I call it that because pigment-wise, it’s actually pretty sheer.

I built it up in the swatch below so you could get a better feel for the color, but when you apply it to skin, what you get is mostly glitter.

You can wear it on top of other eye products, or wear it on bare lids, which is what I did last Sunday (because who doesn’t like to wear a little glitter on a Sunday sometimes?). I applied it on my bare lids, added a couple coats of mascara, and then went furniture shopping and beignet eating. It was fun.

Genuine Treasure is handy if you need/want to get party ready, and you don’t have a ton of time between work and the shindig.

As a Paint Pot, which are among the longest-wearing things in the MAC eye makeup stable, it has a cream formula. You just twist off the little top and apply with either an eyeshadow brush or fingers (for this one, I recommend fingers).

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A Quick Look at the New Too Faced Natural Matte Neutral Eye Shadow Collection in Action [VIDEO]

March 25th, 2015 by Karen 11 Comments

Yes, another matte neutral palette, this one by Too Faced, and it’s new and available now for summer 2015.

This is my first time wearing the new Natural Matte Neutral Eye Shadow Collection, so I’m still testing it for wear (swatches and more detailed review coming soon), but here’s a quick overview and a look at it in action.

The gist of it is this: Too Faced took their $36 Natural Eyes palette, turned all the shades matte and created this.

As always, thank you for watching.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I am so hungry right now I could eat my phone! I need to eat a massive amount of vegetables, or the world will suffer my wrath!!

P.P.S. Happy hump day evening, by the way. 🙂

I Flip My Hair for MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Brassy, One of 16 Fluidlines in the MAC Is Beauty Collection

March 25th, 2015 by Karen 16 Comments

MAC Brassy Fluidline — Wearing MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Brassy from the new MAC Is Beauty collection on my upper lash lines

No, I have not taken up the science of metallurgy, nor have I purchased mining rights along a river someplace. This post is not about mining, blacksmithing, alchemy, mineral rights, or trumpets or trombones or other instruments in the brass section (go French horn!).

I believe this MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline is called “Brassy” because of the new MAC Is Beauty collection to which it belongs, which has references to beauty salons and, you know, “getting your hair did,” and low-lights, and that kind of thing. I’m assuming that “Brassy” is in reference to what can happen sometimes to your hair.

Mind you, I’m not totally sure about that, but I’m making an educated guess. I think the name has to do with brassy-colored hair, which I’m guilty of having when I don’t go in to get my highlights touched up often enough. My hair turns brassy.

When I tried to explain this phenomenon to El Hub, he looked thoroughly confused, like I was saying that my hair turned bright gold.

“Brassy’s a thing, babe!” I had to tell him. “Girls will know what it is.” 🙂

Brassy, a metallic golden bronze, is one of 16 Pro Longwear Fluidline gel liners in the new MAC Is Beauty collection, and I can’t recall ever seeing it before.

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MAC Blue Peep Fluidline From the MAC Is Beauty Collection: Little Bo Peep May Have Lost Her Sheep, But I Found a Perfect Fluidline

March 23rd, 2015 by Karen 32 Comments

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that MAC Blue Peep Fluidline does not have anything to do with Little Bo Peep (of nursery rhyme fame), but for the record, I am picturing Little Bo Peep going to a MAC counter and sitting down and telling the MUA, “Put all that ish on me, and make it bright!”

And all her sheep would be right next to her…

That would be cute. 🙂

The day I walk into a Nordstrom and see sheep at the MAC counter — that will be a great day.

A super cool, rare gem, Blue Peep is a bangin’ bright gel liner re-promote in the MAC Is Beauty collection, and I can’t remember the last time I saw it. I think it’s one of those pieces MAC doesn’t release very often.

Even though it’s a Fluidline, it doesn’t perform the same as all the others. They vary because some of them have shimmer or glitter, and some of them just adhere a little better to the skin than others. Blue Peep is one of those for me that does everything right.

It’s super smooth and pigmented, and when I brush it on my skin, I don’t see any patchy areas, which happens sometimes when I use some of the other Fluidlines.

Yes, there’s a sea of turquoise liners out there, it’s true, but I find that most of them have shimmer or glitter. It’s rare to find a flat matte turquoise liner like this one that doesn’t look dull. Blue Peep is so vibrant and intense that you just can’t miss it.

MAC Blue Peep Fluidline — MAC Fluidline in Blue Peep

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MAC Dives Into the Deepest Blue With New Pro Longwear Fluidline in Siahi From the MAC Is Beauty Collection

March 19th, 2015 by Karen 21 Comments

Siahi…

It’s like diving into the deepest, bluest, most secluded stretch of ocean in the world. So of course I would like it, right? 🙂

Even though I don’t dive.

I totally don’t dive! I’m claustrophobic, but I do love the ocean, and I do love this color.

Siahi…

You might remember it from back in the day because it’s a re-promote. It also appeared in the Mickey Contractor collection a few years ago, and I loved it then, as I love it now.

It looks like a National Geographic photo of a secret ocean… You know when you see those pictures of untouched places that man hasn’t come along yet to pervert? That’s Siahi. It’s a deep, complex, intense teal ocean blue, and what makes it special isn’t just the richness of the color, but the finish as well. It’s ever-so-slightly metallic.

Other products I’m wearing in this look…

MAC Eye Shadow in Bouffant
MAC Eye Shadow in Soft Brown (permanent)
MAC Eye Shadow in Saddle (permanent)
MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline in Lowlights
MAC False Lashes mascara (permanent)
MAC Beauty Powder in Alpha Girl
MAC Beauty Powder in Pearl Blossom
MAC Lipstick in Make Me Gorgeous

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The Bronze Age Returns! Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes

March 11th, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess 2015 — Wearing makeup from the latest in a long line of annual Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess collections

If I had to be a goddess, I would not say no to being a goddess of bronze, but what I’d really want to be is a goddess of cats.

No, scratch that. I’d be the goddess of plus-size tabby cats with low-hanging bellies, because it’s all about being specific.

Yes, I have no idea what I’m talking about. 🙂

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette — That’s the Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette on my eyes and cheeks, the All Over Illuminator on my upper cheekbones, and Pure Color Gloss Pen Nude Coral on my lips

Every year around this time, like clockwork, Estée Lauder reveals a new Bronze Goddess-themed collection, and this year it’s Shimmering Nudes.

The collection’s face and eye palette, stick highlighter and gloss, all of which will be available this April with the rest of the 14-piece collection at Estée Lauder counters and online, are telling me that 1) summer is right around the corner, and 2) I should probably book a vacation to someplace warm soon.

Is it just me, or does the Shimmering Nudes Face & Eye Palette ($55) radiate a MAC vibe?

Its eyeshadows could totally pass for Ricepaper, Amber Lights and Bronze, and even though I’ve seen the colors before, I still like this formula and the way they’re executed here.

The powders meld seamlessly into each other on my lids, and blending them is like three snaps in a Z formation. In other words, “haaay!” So good.

I actually did my foundation and concealer before this makeup look, and I didn’t have to do any additional cleanup under my eyes afterwords. No problems at all with fallout.

And I like the bronzer, too. It has a strong undercurrent of red that mimics a legit tan. There’s also golden flecks of glitter in it, which makes me think that this bronzer might even work better as an all-over warming product than one to contour (I prefer to use ashy cool-toned mattes to really carve out those cheekbones).

Interestingly, the face and eye palette is a Sephora exclusive, which is kind of cool and weird, and by that I mean this: have you actually seen Estée Lauder at your local Sephora store? Because mine doesn’t carry the line, and I don’t know if this is a one-shot deal or the start of a long-term trend. I really hope it’s the latter.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess All Over Illuminator — Bronze Goddess All Over Illuminator, $30

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