Eyes

Performing Tonight, Karen and the Tartelettes, With the New 12-Pan Tarte Tartelette Eyeshadow Palette for Spring

January 2nd, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

When you hear the word “tartelette” do you think of tiny, tasty tarts?

Because I do.

And I don’t just think of one of them. I think of dozens of them in different flavors, but I don’t think that’s terribly unusual. I mean, who’s going to eat just one tart, right? CRAZY PEOPLE, that’s who. I would eat five or six of them and just rapid fire toss them into my mouth without even taking a breath, because that’s how I roll…

The term, “Tartelette,” as I’m unsuccessfully trying to use it here, is actually the name of a new all-matte 12-pan neutral eyeshadow palette from Tarte.

It’s also what Tarte calls their fans. So no, a Tartelette is not a tiny tart (or is it?); nor is it a backup singer for a band, even though that totally sounds like a legit thing (“And now, give a warm welcome to Karen and the Tartelettes, YAAAY!!”).

I wore the Tartelette palette a lot over the holidays because the colors, being neutral and matte, are perfect for family time, and I could wear them around my parents without having to answer questions like, “Why are you dressed like you’re going to the disco?”

Also highly recommended for watching Shark Tank with your in-laws (OMG! You haven’t lived until you’ve sat through four hours of Shark Tank with your in-laws.), going back for thirds at dinner, and going to brunch with your nieces and nephews — you know, just the regular, everyday family stuff that doesn’t require false lashes and red lips. 🙂

Tarte Tartelette Swatches from the left: Free Spirit, Force of Nature, Dreamer and Multi-Tasker — Tartelette Swatches from the left: Free Spirit, Force of Nature, Dreamer and Multi-Tasker

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Clinique’s New Wear Everywhere Neutrals All About Shadow 8-Pan Palettes, and the Perpetual Pursuit of Purple

December 12th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Clinique Wear Everywhere Pinks and Greys — The new $36 Clinique Wear Everywhere Neutrals All About Shadow 8-Pan Palettes in Pinks (on the left) and Greys (on the right)

Since discovering that Clinique’s purple eyeshadow pigments, unlike so many other purple shadows I’ve tried, don’t make my eyes freak out (thank you, Act II palette, for that), I have yet another reason to lurk around the Clinique counter like the creepy makeup stalker that I am. 🙂

MOAR PURPLE!!

Have you seen the purples in these two palettes from the Wear Everywhere Neutrals line?

Clinique Wear Everywhere Neutral Greys — Wear Everywhere Neutral Greys

Clinique Wear Everywhere Neutral Pinks — Wear Everywhere Neutral Pinks

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Satiny Lids, Red Lips and Soft Black Cat Liner: A Friday Face of the Day With the NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow Palette

December 12th, 2014 by Karen 37 Comments

The sun is out there…

Somewhere…

It’s out there somewhere behind the oppressive soup of (now) light gray clouds over our little hill here in Novato, but at least it isn’t raining! 🙂 By no means am I hanging out on the deck in a pair of booty shorts and drinking a margarita or anything, but it looks like Stormageddon 2014 has at least temporarily paused.

Compared to yesterday’s monsoon, the current minor gloom is welcome. I also tried to inject a little more brightness into the vicinity with my makeup, a glowing neutral lid with soft black cat eyeliner and a bright red lip.

I started this look with the new NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette ($79, coming to NARS Boutiques and the NARS website January 1, 2015; on counters February 1)…and I apologize in advance if I blabber and ramble when I talk about it because it drives me wild (I’m also thinking that the lines on the pans are hypnotic).

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Clinique’s $36 The Nutcracker Suite Act II Palette Is Perfectly Purple

December 11th, 2014 by Karen 25 Comments

Clinique Nutcracker Suite Act II — Wearing the $36 Nutcracker Suite Act II Palette on my eyes and cheeks, along with the Chubby Stick Baby Tint in Flowering Freesia and Blended Face Powder in Snowflake Dreams, all from Act II of Clinique’s The Nutcracker Suite holiday collection

Part deux of Clinique’s holiday collection, The Nutcracker Suite, puts the spotlight on soft, romantic colors… And purple!

The overall collection is split into two parts, with the first part, Act I, being pumped up about pink, and the second part, Act II, being passionate about purple.

In Act II, purple eyes and a sheer purple lip pair with pretty pink cheeks, and for the eyes, there’s The Nutcracker Suite Act II Eye and Cheek Palette ($36).

The Nutcracker Suite Act II Eye and Cheek Palette ($36)

Clinique The Nutcracker Suite Act II Palette — The Nutcracker Suite Act II Palette ($36)

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The $59.50 Make Up For Ever Studio Case Looks Like Something for Pros, But It Has a Lot of Help for Beginners Inside

December 4th, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

The intimidation factor with Make Up For Ever’s Studio Case ($59.50) is high…

If I were unable to tell the difference between a domed brush and a shader brush, or the words “lid” and “crease” made me immediately think of mason jars and those ubiquitous pressed khaki pants worn by tech dudes, I may have just cruised right by the sleek black Studio Case and thought, “That is some scary sh*t.”

But not “scary” as in The Taking of Deborah Logan, which scared the living bejeezus out of me, but scary as in daunting as all hell — as in, you can only be allowed in its presence if you wear a brush belt around your hips at work.

The question is, does one require an advanced certificate from the Tabs the Cat School of Makeup Artistry (est. 2007) to beat major face with this kit?

No, I don’t think so… Not after seeing it up close.

In fact, the products in the case are surprisingly user-friendly, thanks, in part, to the way MUFE organized the 12 shadows (you can also pop the palette out of the case if you want).

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Clé de Peau Beauté Perfect Lash Mascara: So Close to Perfect That It Almost Makes Up for the Price

November 28th, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

Clé de Peau Beauté Perfect Lash Mascara, $50 — Clé de Peau Beauté Perfect Lash Mascara in Black ($50)

Clé de Peau Beauté Perfect Lash Mascara may be the most expensive mascara I’ve ever touched.

It’s $50! — a price that makes Guerlain Cils D’Enfer, Chanel Le Volume and YSL Faux Cils look like castoffs in a discount bin.

Logically, I know that it’s completely insane to even consider a mascara that costs as much as two bags of groceries at Trader Joe’s (that’s a lot of Pretzel Slims), but oh, my gosh, it’s the mutha-truckin’ ish.

I don’t have a lot to work with in the lash department naturally, but when I wear Perfect Lash, I look like I got lash extensions in Beverly Hills. My short, wispy lashes look impeccably long, lifted and defined, and I feel like a 1940s screen siren when she bats her eyes.

One layer works well, but I prefer two.

Clé de Peau Beauté Perfect Lash Mascara, Before (top) and after (bottom) two coats — Before (top) and after (bottom) two coats

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Cool-Toned Grays Signal a Smoky Black Friday at MAC: Available for One Day Only, the $25 MAC Smoky Black Friday Veluxe Pearl Fusion Shadow Trio

November 26th, 2014 by Karen 9 Comments

Ya know…we should really figure out some sort of long-range communication system that doesn’t involve technology, just in case the sh*t ever hits the fan, and the Internet goes dark, and we need a way to ask each other important questions like, “Girl, are you doing any Black Friday shopping?” or, “What do you think of the new MAC Smoky Black Friday Velux Pearlfusion Shadow Trio?”

My first thought was carrier pigeons, but then many of us have cats…

So now I’m thinking smoke signals, but I haven’t figured out the vocabulary yet.

Like, how would you say, “I think the three Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadows in this online exclusive are just OK,” with a small fire and smoke?

I don’t know…

I’d also want to say, “I probably wouldn’t take off my hoop earrings and throw down if there was a shortage of these trios and I was forced to fight for the last one, but I might reach for one on a Friday night if I wanted to do a fast and shimmery smokey eye that didn’t require a ton of work.”

But that seems like a lot to say with puffs of smoke…

MAC Smoky Black Friday swatches — Wearing Smoky Black Friday on my lids and MAC Matte Lipstick in Nouvelle Vogue on my lips

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Tantalizing Trios Await! With the Transformative bareMinerals Ready Convertible Eyeshadow Palette, You Can Take It With You

November 25th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

This new $39 Ready Convertible Eyeshadow Palette by bareminerals is a lot like the last Transformers movie…except without the fast-twitch camera cuts, ear-splitting explosions and, ya know, robots.

OK, so now that I’ve thought about it more…it’s actually nothing at all like the last Transformers movie.

But it is like the slogan. 🙂 “More than meets the eye.”

With 12 full-size shimmery eyeshadows that you can pop in and out, this holiday set is something of a quick-change artist. The idea is to place three colors into the smaller mini-palette in the middle of the bigger palette, which you can then slide out and take along with you — you know, for touchups, booty calls, impromptu acts of makeup artistry in airport bathrooms, etc.

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