Eyes

Shorty Schwing My Way: theBalm’s Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner Loves Ladies Who Pine for Precise Lines

November 21st, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner (4) — Wearing theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner ($17) on my upper lash lines

Winged eyeliner: making my life harder since the dawn of time.

Seriously, though, why does winged liner, particularly winged liquid liner, make me want to scream into a pillow?

The worst is that moment when the teeny wing you wanted — just a small kitten flick — suddenly morphs into a huge, oversized bat wing that reaches all the way up to your temples, and you have no control over the situation whatsoever.

It’s as if the universe invented winged liner primarily to mock us.

Well, universe, screw you and your plans for makeup mayhem, ’cause I just started using theBalm’s Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner ($17), and I am no longer clutching my chair and rocking back and forth. 🙂

theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner (3) — LOL, the box! This is kind of what it’s like to hang out with my friends Jen and Cindy.

You might think that a look with thin liquid liner and a tiny kitten flick would be easy, seeing as how you’re not using a ton of product, but oh! — those skinny lines and tiny wings are like the makeup equivalent of open heart surgery. They’re just hard, man.

But Schwing is all about control. The felt tip draws skinny matte black lines with the precision of a fine-tipped calligraphy pen. Hugging lash lines is easy.

theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner (2) — theBalm Schwing Black Liquid Eyeliner ($17)

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Eylure London Lengthening No. 080 Lashes: Take Highway 80 All the Way to London for Long, Lush Lashes That Still Look Natural

November 20th, 2014 by Karen 24 Comments

From this day forward, let the official makeup record show that “Never give up!” is my mantra when it comes to false lashes.

Eylure Lengthening 080 Lashes — Eylure London Lengthening Lashes No. 080 Triple Pack ($9.99)

Because today I almost gave up after 10 minutes, and if I had, I would have missed out on a great set of Eylure London No. 080 Lengthening Lashes.

It wasn’t because they were hard to apply or uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, actually.

The No. 080s weigh next to nothing and feel fab. Plus, they slip right on.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Fantasme

November 20th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

Fantasme…

Why did I just picture Penelope Cruz saying that, like from one of those Nespresso commercials?

“Nespresso!”

Are we really almost at the end of November? I can’t believe Thanksgiving is only a week away, but it reminds me that now is the time for holiday makeup.

There’s Thanksgiving next week, and then a couple get-togethers around Christmas, so I’m trying to think of ways to look dressed up that don’t require a lot of effort, like by using products I can layer on top of whatever other makeup I may have started the day wearing.

Say “happy holidays!” to Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Fantasme. This sheer, glittery white cream wunderkind ($36) makes getting party-ready looks as easy as three pats of a finger.

Well…three or four.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Fantasme — Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Fantasme ($36)

Wait — don’t walk away just because I said glitter! This is Chanel glitter, so it’s classy and refined (think: expensive chandelier), and it’s precisely the kind of glitter I imagine Choupette the cat leaves in her wake when she prances around her mansion. 🙂

Fantasme is one of those deceptively fantastic pieces… It pretends to be boring and nondescript in swatches, but it turns into a concert violinist on lids.

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

What I like to do is pat Fantasme in the inner corners of my lids with a finger.

Sure, you could use a brush, but I like using my fingers because it seems to cut down on the fallout…not that there’s very much of it anyway.

I just pat on top of whatever eye makeup I happen to be wearing. Doesn’t matter what colors or kind of look it is, either. Fantasme cranks it up.

Here I’m wearing it on top of teals and blues from the Urban Decay Vice 2 Palette…

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Is Kat Von D’s Star Studded Eyeshadow Book a Beauty Bestseller?

November 18th, 2014 by Karen 21 Comments

Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book — Wearing colors from Kat Von D’s new limited edition Star Studded Eyeshadow Book ($55) on my eyes

The first time I saw Kat Von D’s new $55 Star Studded Eyeshadow Book, all cloaked in black with that star pattern on the outside, I thought, “Ooh! It looks like something Slash would wear on his wedding day.”

Imagine my surprise when I opened it and found 24 uber-organized eyeshadows grouped into efficient color-coordinated quads.

I dunno… Chaos just strikes me as more rock ‘n’ roll, ya know?

Each of the four-color subsections includes a base, lid, crease and accent shade, like something you might find over at a more formal, buttoned-up line like Trish McEvoy, but don’t let that fool you — these shadows still have major rawr.

There’s also a helluva lot more glitter. 🙂

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Wield a Blending Brush Like a Wizard Wields a Wand With the $40 BECCA Ombre Nudes Eye Palette

November 13th, 2014 by Karen 29 Comments

“Is that the girl Kiera Knightly calls to get her beat face?”

With BECCA’s Ombre Nudes Eye Palette ($40) in your makeup bag, peeps will wonder if you’re a celeb makeup artist. The palette makes it a whole lot easier to create professional-caliber, super-blended eye looks, even if you’re totally new to makeup.

Seriously. If I gave a four-year-old hopped up on Oreos and Cherry Coke a couple blending brushes, this palette, a blindfold and my face, that kid would create hella tight makeup looks at least some of the time. 🙂 It’s that good.

The palette houses five matte brown neutral eyeshadows, some of which only vary slightly, and they all have subtle gray undertones. Some of the shades are so closely related that they wouldn’t even be allowed to marry in some states. 🙂

Because the shades are so similar, they’re very easy to transition into each other, making them absolutely fabulous for hazy, blown-out eyes with subtle gradients.

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Unsung Heroes: Rouge Bunny Rouge Nocturnal Ink Satin Eyeliner in Blue Roan

November 13th, 2014 by Karen 32 Comments

Rouge Bunny Rouge Blue Roan — Wearing my newest liquid liner love, Rouge Bunny Rouge Satin Eyeliner in Blue Roan ($28)

I’m afraid my pen of Rouge Bunny Rouge Nocturnal Ink Satin Liner in Blue Roan is about to start avoiding me because I’ve become totally obsessed with it. Pretty soon I’ll be knocking on its door at 3 in the morning yelling, “Blue Roan! I love you! Don’t you see?! We’re meant to be together forever!” Neighbors will call the cops and sh*t and complain about the wild-haired woman declaring her love for a liquid liner, but then I’ll just cut out a bunch of words and letters from a magazine and use them to make this note: Karen + Blue Roan = 4 Life!!!

Yeah, this dark navy blue liquid liner is le bomb, and not just because it survived season four of The Gilmore Girls (which I may or may not have marathon-ed in a single day).

The liquid flows smoothly and evenly from the flexible felt tip. This pen creates thin and thick lines and flicks faster than you can say, “Karen, you need professional help.” 🙂

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

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So Long, Horse, Because Jouer Just Made This the Year of the Mousse: The New Jouer Long-Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadows Make Lids Shine Without Highlighting Fine Lines

November 4th, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

Jouer Long-Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadow Swatches from the left: Dusk, Galaxy, Moonlight, Night Sky, Starlight and Twilight — The new Jouer Long-Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadows, $30 each

What can I say? Sparkly things give me grabby hands. 🙂

Unfortunately, I also feel like some flashy finishes look straight-up criminal on my eyelids… I’m all for wearing what you want, when you want, but I’m kind of at that stage in my makeup journey when super shimmery frosts, tempting as they are, highlight my fine lines a little more than I’d like.

That said, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to say, “So long forever, sparkle and gloss! I’m living a full-time matte life.” I think I’ll always like a little glitz.

Enter the Jouer Long-Wear Creme Mousse Eyeshadows ($30 each), which came out a little earlier this fall. If you have fine lines like I do, and you crave shimmer like the Gilmore Girls crave coffee, these easy-to-use cream shadows got your back.

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Diamond in the Rough or Hidden Gem? The New Smashbox on the Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette Is Both!

October 31st, 2014 by Karen 20 Comments

Basically, if a beauty burglar raided a fortified diamond emporium that also stocked jewel-toned eyeshadows and then crammed her beauty booty into a single palette, that palette might look like the new 28-pan Smashbox On the Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe.

Clearly designed to entice with endless eyeshadow possibilities and pics of holographic cushion- and emerald-cut bling, this limited edition palette is filled with a nice selection of surprisingly complex jewel-toned shades that are almost as dazzling as a diamond-encrusted tiara.

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