Eyes

Urban Decay’s Perversion False Lashes in Trap Might Lure You Into Thinking That You Could Wear Them To Buy Cat Food

July 29th, 2014 by Karen 7 Comments

Urban Decay Perversion False Lashes in Trap

If you think you’re going to wear Urban Decay’s new Perversion Lashes in Trap ($15) to Target to buy cat food without having people really, really stare at you, you are mistaken. Because these lashes look completely cra-zay-zy in real life.

I mean, they look great in pics! They’re definitely dramatic…which makes sense; that is what the new Perversion Lash line is all about.

If you’re going out clubbing or have a big night on the town or if you just landed that job as a full-time dominatrix (*cracks whip), then yeah. Awesome lashes.

But for, like, real life kind of stuff, nuh-uh. I look downright insane with these on, like I should be hanging out with Britney when she shaved her head, and attacking cars with an umbrella.

Trap is one of three new $15 Perversion Lash styles, all permanent members of the UD line.

It’s weird… Whenever I wear Trap and post pics, I usually get some nice comments, and I think it’s because of the length of the lashes, especially the bundles around the center.

I think they make my eyes look wider, like that doe-eyed thing to the Nth degree, which I like. Too bad they’re about as comfortable as a pair of six-inch pointy high heels a half size too small.

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Giving Thanks for an Epic Summer Glow With the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Tangier

July 29th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

Dolce Gabbana Tangier Eyeshadow Quad — Wearing the new $60 Dolce & Gabbana’s new Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Tangier and dreaming about corn…

Mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, buttered corn…

CORN! Mmm, corn.

I’m trying to get a grip on myself, but my body is acting of its own accord (*tummy rumbles*). Every time I open the new Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Color Quad in Tangier, I immediately think “Happy Thanksgiving!”

It’s not my fault. It’s the orange, man. Seeing it there next to that brown and gold, and I momentarily forget that it’s not fall. I feel like busting out my boots with the fur (with the fur) and jumping into a pile of autumn leaves.

Funny thing is, it’s not a fall quad. Tangier is one of two limited edition quads in the new Dolce & Gabbana Summer Glow collection, available now at counters and online.

With its rich amber and gold, it’s perfect for sexy screen siren looks, whether now in the summer, or later in the fall.

Sixty bones is a lot for an eyeshadow quad, but at least this one is remarkably easy to use. I’ve been wearing it for the past few days, and I’m surprised. I can’t believe how easy it’s been to incorporate into casual and dressy looks — even that cray-cray matte orange.

For these first pics I tried to think outside the box, so I’m wearing it in the crease with a hazy orange smokey eye.

Only semi-cray. 😉

But I’ve also used the quad in more causal ways. Like, the other day I buffed the light peach, which has just the perfect amount of sheen so it isn’t too shimmery, from my lash line up to my brow bone, blended the matte brown into the crease, and then lightly dusted the shimmery gold in the inner corners, before finishing with a bit of black liner and mascara.

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Looking for a Polished Party Quad? Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien Fits the Bill

July 28th, 2014 by Karen 32 Comments

Fact: Chanel’s new Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien ($61) will not be tardy for the party.

No way. She’ll be right on time.

Chanel Quadra Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow in Tissé Vénitien — Tissé Vénitien, from the new Chanel Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow Collection

This quad dazzles with shimmering greens — one of which, the metallic light greenish platinum on the left, is the star of the show for me — and a quiet dash of pink.

The greenish platinum sparkles like the desert sky at midnight during a new moon, yet amazingly, it isn’t obnoxious. For a party ready look in mere seconds, I like to use my finger to apply it to the center of my lids.

Tissé Vénitien is one of the new Chanel tweed-inspired quads with the baked formula.

Like the others, it’s supposed to cover all the bases for an eye look from start to finish, but with that, I have to disagree. I feel like you also need at least one matte up in the mix to contour with, and also to contrast with all of the shimmer here; otherwise, it’s sparkle overload.

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Urban Decay’s Fast Easy Sexy Partial False Lashes Are Exactly What Their Name Implies

July 25th, 2014 by Karen 12 Comments

Urban Decay Instaflare — Wearing Urban Decay’s new Fast Easy Sexy Partial False Lashes in Instalure ($15) on the outer corners of my upper lash line

I’m keeping Urban Decay’s new Fast Easy Sexy Partial False Lashes ($15) on metaphorical makeup speed dial for the next Monday morning when I’m feeling blah and need an easy pick-me-up. These will definitely hit the spot, since they’re so quick to use and easy to apply.

When you and/or your lashes need a lift, and you either don’t have, or don’t want to spend, the time dealing with the drama that often accompanies false lashes, partials like Fast Easy Sexy are great.

I’m a big fan. 🙂

I call them starter falsies, since the shorter band makes them much easier to manipulate and control.

Perfect for fledgling false lash aficionados, or anyone who wants an easier fancy fringe.

These three new styles from Urban Decay are like lightning in a bottle. I can apply any one of them in less than a minute.

Because they’re not as wide as full-size false lashes, I don’t have to trim them at all to fit, and ’cause they already have a blackened band, I can also skip the extra step of having to darken the band with liner.

Urban Decay Instalure Falsies — Instalure

And I think they just dramatic enough to get the job done.

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Like a Good Pair of Kicks, Tarte Colored Clay Tinted Brow Gel Offers Major Arch Support

July 25th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

Tarte Amazonian Clay Tinted Brow Gel in Taupe — Tarte Colored Clay Tinted Brow Gel in Taupe

Tarte’s new cruelty-free Colored Clay Tinted Brow Gel ($21) comes in three shades, and the one we’re looking at today, Taupe, is actually nowhere near my natural brow color. It’s the lightest of the three shades, and the one best suited for blondes.

Buuut, I thought I might be able to use it for the inner part of my brows to do that whole ombre brow thing, or when I just feel like wearing my Lil’ Kim/Nicki Minaj wig to scare the UPS guy.

Good times, my friend… Good times. 🙂

Just to see how it would look, I also pulled the color all the way through my brown to the outer tail, and HOLY WOW MAMA! — this stuff is unbelievably pigmented.

Despite it being way too light for me to use as my primary brow gel, Taupe still completely covers Raul, also known as “the bald spot in my left brow.”

Taupe also keeps my stray hairs from flapping in the wind and has so much pigment that it even lightens the overall color of my dark brunette brows by several shades (only while I wear it, of course).

Kind of shocking, considering that the tiny brush, which doesn’t look like much, has bristles so small that they look like they wouldn’t be able to hold much product at all.

“No frickin’ way,” I thought the first time I saw it, but it works, both the brush and the gel. Together, they fill in all the sparse spots, lay down plenty of color (on the hairs and the skin), and corral those wayward hairs into place.

Tarte Colored Clay Tinted Brow Gel in Taupe — Taupe

It’s a firm, yet manageable hold, and I can still run a brush through my brows when the gel dries down if I want to, so the hold isn’t as firm or stiff as, say, Anastasia’s Clear Brow Gel, which could hold those hairs down through a category 5 storm, I kid you not.

But it is firm enough to hold the hairs in place when I dance in front of my Beyonce fan. #truestory #dontjudge 🙂

Tarte Colored Clay Tinted Brow Gel in Taupe, before (left) and after (right) — Before (left) and after (right) Tarte Amazonian Clay Tinted Brow Gel in Taupe

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The Tarte Colored Clay CC Eye Primer Stick: For Lids So Smooth It’s Criminal

July 24th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

For lids so smooth that people might think you sold your soul AND your cat to a sketchy character in a shady back-alley deal, there’s Tarte’s new cruelty-free Colored Clay CC Eye Primer Stick ($21).

I swear, this primer makes my lids, which are usually a hotbed of fine line action, look 10 years younger.

As it is in several of Tarte’s new fall products, Colored Clay is the star ingredient. It’s supposed to color correct itself on the skin, absorb oil, smooth the skin and, over time, reduce redness.

When I apply eyeshadows on top of it, I get about 8-10 hours of wear with very little creasing, and whatever I layer on top looks great — smooth, elegant, refined, and not heavy at all.

I just draw a bit of the creamy pinkish beige on my lids (twist up the pencil, and swipe directly on your skin), blend it out with a finger from lash line to brow bone, and that’s it. Products layered on top look exceptionally smooth, and I really do think my lids look younger.

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Shedding Some Light on the New Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencils in Cult, Lure, Lush, Minx and Plushie

July 24th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Your kitty nephew is shedding like crazy!

This happens every summer. The hair — it’s everywhere! I can’t escape it. It’s on my clothes, on my face, in my nostrils, on my lips, and it may or may not be in my belly button.

Speaking of shedding…these new $20 Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencils shed a lot, too.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencils from the left: Cult, Lure, Lush, Minx and Plushie — From the left: Cult, Lure, Lush, Minx and Plushie

Within minutes of applying any of these five (there’s also a black shade, Black Velvet, previously released and not shown here) intensely pigmented liners on my lash and/or water lines, once they’ve dried down, little flecks and specks appear under my eyes, on my nose, on my cheeks, chin and upper lip.

That ish is all up in my grill!

New additions to UD’s famous 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil family, these Velvet cousins, which are waterproof and paraben-free, have a soft, powdery texture and a matte finish designed to create smokey, smudged out, super blended eye looks sans drama. #smokeyeyetillidie

You might recall the original smokey 24/7 Velvet shade, Black Velvet, which came out a while back. The five new shades here — Cult (a forest green), Lure (a gunmetal gray), Lush (a coffee brown), Minx (a sapphire blue) and Plushie (a deep eggplant) — are like her sassy sisters. They’re $20 each and new members of the permanent line.

Urban Decay 247 Velvet Glide On Eye Pencil Swatches clockwise from the purple shade in the lower left: Plushie, Cult, Lure, Lush and Minx — Swatches clockwise from the purple shade in the lower left: Plushie, Cult, Lure, Lush and Minx

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Waterproof Wednesday: Tarte Amazonian Clay Dual Liner in Black/Bronze

July 23rd, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

Tarte Amazonian Clay Dual Liner Black Bronze — The new Tarte Amazonian Clay Dual Liner in Black/Bronze ($28), available now exclusively at Sephora

I originally intended to test the waterproof-ness of Tarte’s new limited edition Amazonian Clay Dual Liner ($28) by doing cannonballs at the pool today, but check it — that is not happening.

It’s drizzling and overcast outside and kinda cold actually, which is very unusual for us this time of year.

Weird.

Even so, in the interest of science (goooooo, science!), I did perform an improv waterproof experiment this morning while I exercised instead.

I popped the shimmery bronze shade on one eye and the matte black on the other…and then ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes like I was chasing Ryan Gosling. 🙂

Interestingly, this liner has a cream formula of the kind I’d typically use for softer, more diffused lines, but because of how pigmented and smooth it is, the edges turn out extremely sharp, and about as defined as the crisp lines I’d expect from a liquid liner.

And the velvety finish, while not as shiny as most liquid liners, has more oomph than a flat matte. I like to wear it with a shimmery eyeshadow on my lids because I love the way the two contrast — the velvety finish of the liner and the shiny eyeshadow.

Just adds another interesting visual element to yo’ makeup. 🙂

As Tabs is fond of pointing out, Tarte is a cruelty-free line, and they have mad love for Amazonian clay. It’s often up in the mix with their products, as it is in this liner.

The purpose is twofold. First, they say it makes for richer pigments that are intense enough to draw an opaque line in a single pass. Second, it’s supposed to be good for your skin by absorbing oil and smoothing out the texture.

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