Eyes

Smashbox Full Exposure Waterproof Mascara Totally One-Ups the Non-Waterproof Version

September 9th, 2014 by Karen 17 Comments

Smashbox’s latest waterproof wunderkind, the brand-spankin’-new Full Exposure Waterproof Mascara ($20), earns the Raging Hormone Stamp of Approval (also known as the R.H.S.A in less formal circles).

In my testing this week, it withstood not one, not two, but THREE spontaneous PMS-fueled crying fits.

One of those fits may have been triggered by sad-looking, slow-motion kittens on YouTube, but that’s a topic I’d rather not analyze right now…

Full Exposure Waterproof Mascara is the waterproof alter ego of Smashbox’s original Full Exposure Mascara, which my BFF Jen happens to be obsessed with. We’ve had a surprising number of text convos that reference that O.G. version (“It’s good work makeup and doesn’t smudge.”), but to be honest, I’ve always felt that the original one is just OK. I like the color but feel like the formula doesn’t hold a curl as well as I’d like.

This waterproof Clark Kent-ian alter ego version, however, does. It lifts curls like Atlas lifts the earth and lasts at least 10-12 hours. It gives good length, volume and separation; plus, it’s even more resistant to smudging and flaking than the non-waterproof version.

As far as the lash look itself, I love it. It’s dramatic but doesn’t go over the top. I’d say it’s about two drag queens, a martini and a pair of Swarovski crystal-encrusted roller skates shy of the MEGA GLAM look I get from Guerlain’s Cils D’Enfer Waterproof, which is my current out-to-THERE waterproof mascara, but I think both are great. Full Exposure Waterproof just happens to be better for a slightly less flashy lash look.

Smashbox Full Exposure Waterproof Mascara before and after — Before and after two coats

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: The Dolce & Gabbana Desert Quad

September 5th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

It was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

That’s how how hot it gets in Davis, California, where I went to school. I can’t believe I’d go jogging in the middle of the day back then at the height of summer. It would be 110 degrees outside, with waves of heat rippling off the sidewalk and vultures circling high overhead, and there’d I’d be, jogging my steaming buns off between classes.

In parts of the California Central Valley, it gets hotter than Death Valley. I’m serious. A whole swath of the state basically turns into a desert every summer, which reminds me…

I’ve liked Dolce & Gabbana’s Eyeshadow Quad in Desert ($60) ever since I started wearing it off and on in 2010, but I only recently fell Beyonce-crazy-in-love with it.

I noticed that I was bringing it with me on all of my trips this summer. I literally wasn’t leaving the house without it, and I think the mattes have everything to do with it.

Dolce & Gabbana Desert Eyeshadow Quad — The Dolce & Gabbana Eyeshadow Quad in Desert ($60)

There are three of them in this quad — a beige, a golden brown and a dark chocolate brown, all of which are the freakin’ ish — as well as a hit-the-pan worthy golden shade, which we’ll get to in a minute.

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Purple Plus Matte Equals Music to My Ears: The New Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Les Violines

September 4th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Guerlain Les Violines Ecrin 4 Couleurs Long-Lasting Eyeshasdows — Wearing the new Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Les Violines ($63)

It occurred to me while fiendishly gurgling on my third cup of coffee this morning and scouring every surface of my office (including the floor) for my missing, precious pan of MAC Soft Brown (I eventually found it) that on any given second of any given day, there are women, and makeup-loving men, around the world joining Team Matte Eyeshadow.

If you’ve already been drafted, congratulations, and welcome. 🙂 Now check it — Guerlain’s new Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Les Violines is like the Super Bowl for violet eyeshadow lovahs.

It’s $63, which, ya know, is business as usual at Guerlain, but if you’re open to the idea of paying that much and have a yearning, burning love for matte purples, I think these are pretty great.

Les Violines strums a tune about violet. Its three lightest shades are tonally near and dear to each other, making them ideal for blown-out matte purple looks with smooth transitions, like what I’m wearing on my lids in these pics. I paired Violines with contoured cheeks and a slightly shiny berry lip, for a look that I think has that meow-rrific ’90s thing going for it.

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Laura Mercier’s New High Coverage Concealer For Under Eye Disguises Dark Circles, But Demands Significant Elbow Grease

September 3rd, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer For Under Eye in shade 4 — Wearing the new Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer For Under Eye ($28) to cover up ye olde dreaded dark circles

If your current full-coverage under-eye concealer were a skimpy Brazilian-cut bikini, then Laura Mercier’s new High Coverage Concealer ($28 for a 0.27-oz. tube) would be a Victorian Era bathing costume, complete with skirt, bloomers, bonnet and shoes.

In other words, no skin be showin’ here, ma! Those dark circles will be covered-the-eff-up.

A recent addition to Laura’s permanent line, High Coverage is referred to as “three in one” by Team LM. It’s supposed to cover, de-puff and brighten under-eye circles, all at the same time, and it comes in 12 shades that correspond to the colors in Laura’s existing Secret Concealer range.

I had hoped to experience significant makeup nirvana testing High Coverage based on how much I’ve been loving the new Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide Foundation Laura released at the same time (one word: amazing), but to be honest, my feelings run hot and cold… My overall opinion depends on how psycho my skin is acting on any given day.

Annoying Dry Skin Issues: Chapter 1,576

My under-eye area is usually some degree of dry, from slightly dry to very, and when it’s very dry, High Coverage Concealer does not look cute.

Yes, it completely covers my dark circles, which is great, but the texture looks thick and heavy, and cracks appear around my fine lines.

It’s a different story, however, when my skin is behaving better (and I also jump through some extra hoops, which I’ll describe in a moment), in which case, High Coverage looks and works great. The cracking is kept to a minimum, and the texture looks natural.

Being somewhat dry and thick (it looks and feels like a thick paste, as opposed to a runny liquid), the formula is also pigmented — things that don’t often lend themselves to easy blending — so if you attempt to half-@ss the application, you could be in for a janky surprise (particularly if you have mature skin).

The way around it is to really get in there and do the work, and if you do, High Coverage can look lovely.

Here’s how I apply it

A drop the size of a pin head is enough, literally, to do both eyes. The back of the tube recommends dotting a bit on a fingertip and patting that beneath your eyes, but I tried that and wasn’t too crazy about the way it turned out. I thought it looked a little heavy…

Instead, I load a smidgen on the back of my hand, where I sheer it out using a synthetic tapered blending brush (you could use a brush with natural fibers for this, but I find that synthetic brush heads usually have stiffer bristles, which in this case handle the thick-ish formula better.)

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When It Comes to Burnished Brows and Long-Lasting Formulas, Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Eye & Brow Maestros Give a Command Performance

August 29th, 2014 by Karen 8 Comments

Wearing the new Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye & Brow Maestros in 1 Jet Black, 9 Gold and 2 Wenge Wood — Sporting the new Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye & Brow Maestros in 1 Jet Black (on my upper lash lines), 9 Gold (lower lash lines) and 2 Wenge Wood (brows)

OK, don’t worry. We’re going to get through this. You’re going to put down the 20-pound tabby, and step away carefully…

Not yet! Wait for me to give you this signal [I demonstrate a gesture with my hand].

I know, it’s hard because he’s so soft and cuddly, but you have to trust me on this. He really likes his deep-tissue kitty massage, and if you stop abruptly, he could just go off, and no one wants that.

Alright, are you ready? Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon, and then you’ll be able to devote your full attention to this thought: shiny eyebrows.

Yup, you heard me. Shiny eyebrows.

Kind of weird, right? You wouldn’t think it would work…but it does when Giorgio Armani Beauty does it.

Unlike most brow fillers, their nine creamy new $34 Eye & Brow Maestros have the slightest hint of a sheen. The sheen is supposed to get brows looking as natural as possible by simulating your hairs’ natural shine (as in the hair on your head!).

Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye & Brow Maestro in 1 Jet Black — 1 Jet Black

Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye & Brow Maestro in 2 Wenge Wood — 2 Wenge Wood

Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye & Brow Maestro in 9 Gold — 9 Gold

Giorgio Armani Beauty Eye & Brow Maestro Swatches from the left: 1 Jet Black, 2 Wenge Wood and 9 Gold — Swatches from the left: 1 Jet Black, 2 Wenge Wood and 9 Gold

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Giorgio Armani Beauty’s New Fall 2014 Eyes To Kill Liners Have Killer Shine

August 28th, 2014 by Karen 16 Comments

Wearing Giorgio Armani Beauty's Eyes To Kill Liner in Rose Iron — Wearing Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Eyes To Kill Liner in Rose Iron

With his heat ray vision, Superman has eyes to kill.

Medusa has eyes to kill (well, turn you to stone, but that’s basically the same thing).

And now, with new Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Liners (called Ametista, Oro Oscuro, Perla Nera and Quarzo on the website), we mere mortals can also have eyes to kill.

Shiny eyes to kill, because when I wear these liquid liners on my lash lines, I feel like I have shine for days, yo!

But it’s an unusual shine…

Starting at the finish

“Muted metallic.” That’s how I describe the finish. Mind you, it’s not as frosty or shiny as some metallic or glitter liners, like the kind you might see at Urban Decay or MAC, some of which reflect so much light that you can look like you’re wearing a costume if you go too far with them.

There’s no mistaking these for matte — that’s for sure — but the shiny finish seems softer to me, more diffused and more elegant than the finish that a lot of other shiny liners have.

Giorgio Armani Beauty Eyes to Kill Liner in Rose Iron — Rose Iron on my lash lines, MAC Smolder on my water lines, and Armani’s Black Ecstasy Mascara on my lashes

Not everyone is gonna get the distinction. Like, El Hub, adorable yet clueless dude that he is, he probably wouldn’t get it. “What’s the big whoop?” he’d say. “They just look shiny to me.”

Now, if you’re the kind of guy or gal who carries eight different black liners in your makeup bag and can quickly rattle off their names and differences, you’ll probably appreciate these and their muted metallic finish.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Liners from the purple shade on the left: 3 Mercury Nude, 2 Acid Gold and 3 Rose Iron — Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Liners from the purplish shade on the left: 3 Mercury Nude, 2 Acid Gold and 3 Rose Iron

Easy-peasy application

As for the formula itself and the way these feel, one word: bomb. They’re sort of halfway between a liquid and a cream, almost like a watery gel, and it makes them easy to control, especially with the included, fine-tipped brush applicator. With it, I can easily draw skinny and thick lines with sharp edges in a single swipe.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Liner — With a MAC Lipglass for scale

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Turn on Your Eye High Beams With the Giorgio Armani Beauty Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette

August 20th, 2014 by Karen 19 Comments

Wearing the new Giorgio Armani Fall 2014 Fade to Grey Eyeshadow Palette, $88 (!)

Words one does not expect to hear at a Giorgio Armani Beauty counter: “Where’s, like, the dollar menu?”

Because everything is pricey! — like this new $88 eye palette from Giorgio Armani’s Fade to Grey fall 2014 collection.

That’s a lot of glow, yo.

The sleek, stylish black packaging houses two absolutely beautiful eye luminous shimmer shadows, side by side — one, a warm, shimmery golden peach, and the other a purply taupe-ish grey.

On lids, these shadows are like Buzz Lightyear, reflecting light to infinity and beyond. The super shiny finish makes my eyes look BIG, doe-eyed and bright, and the effect is even more pronounced when I incorporate a dramatic mascara, like Armani’s new Black Ecstasy, which I’m wearing here.

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Dior’s 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Trafalgar: Your Seasonal Summer-to-Fall Chaperone

August 15th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Dior Trafalgar — Wearing the Dior 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Trafalgar

Oh, gawd! That red in the center of Dior’s new 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Trafalgar ($60) is utterly terrifying…and yet so tantalizingly tempting at the same time.

I have to be careful… If I stare at it too long, I can’t look away. Kind of like watching The Hills (which I’ve been doing A LOT lately).

When I haven’t been pondering the sanctity of girl code and how it was broken in the infamous Brody/Lauren/Jen Bunney love triangle, I’ve been looking for makeup to take me from summer into fall.

Trafalgar has two gorgeous shades that’ll make the seasonal transition easier — a shimmery plummy bronze and a shimmery gold.

Bridging the gap from summer to fall

Both of them have warm, rich tones that look lovely on an end-of-summer tan. I’ve been wear them lately with purple and bronze liners on my lash and water lines, and pairing them with nude cheeks and lips to keep the overall look light and summery.

The plummy bronze and gold also happen to work well with richer cheek and lip colors, like berries, browns and plums, so when fall rolls around, all I’ll have to do is swap out the nude cheeks and lips for something like the dusty rose blush and berry lipstick I’m wearing in these pics…

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