Eyes

With 40 Shades, Urban Decay’s Recently Relaunched 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils Scribble, Sketch and Paint a Colorful Picture on Lids

March 27th, 2013 by Karen 24 Comments

Urban Decay 24 7 Glide On Eye Pencils relaunch 2013 top — Eye liner mania! I haz it!

— WARNING —

You may want to avert your eyes.

— WARNING —

Urban Decay’s recently relaunched collection of long-wearing, waterproof 24/7 Glide-On Pencils has been known to drive makeup lovers bat-sh*t crazy (in the best possible way).

The brand recently added 13 new shades and 14 previously released limited edition colors to their permanent line, bumping up the total number of available shades to 40.

40!

Heck, on most days I’m lucky if I can decide between Perversion and Bourbon. Forget being able to decide among 40 shades.

And the rainbow of colors comes in a range of finishes, too, like matte, shimmer, sparkle and satin.

Here are pics and swatches of the new and previously released shades… Let me know if any of these pencils draws you in. (Haha, draws? Get it? Okay, I’ll stop.)

Urban Decay 24 7 Glide On Eye Pencils relaunch 2013 new shades — Smoke, Roach, Desperation, Scorch, Goldmine and Loaded

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Makeup Breakdown: The Better Than False Lashes Look From Too Faced Cosmetics

March 27th, 2013 by Karen 36 Comments

A Too Faced Cosmetics Makeup Breakdown — My new fave makeup look…

Hello and welcome to the hump! I’ve been awake since the crack of dawn because your nephew has figured out a new way to annoy me.

A good 30 minutes before my alarm’s supposed to go off, he claws at the side of the mattress so that I’ll wake up and feed him the gravy he so richly deserves.

tabs-feel-my-wrath — Feel my wrath, woman

Tabs isn’t exactly a kitty rocket scientist, but when it comes to food, the gears in his tiny brain churn just enough for him to put two and two together. Ah, the joys of pet assisting a plus-size diva super star…

Needless to say, I’m feeling like I need an extra jump start to go along with the coffee this morning, so I’m thinking about re-creating the same look I wore in the Too Faced Better Than False Lashes post from the beginning of the week. I feel extra sassy when I’ve got this makeup on, and it’s my new favorite look. 🙂

I guess you must like it too, because I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a step-by-step breakdown. So here it is!

Since it was a post for Better Than False Lashes (by the way, have you entered the giveaway yet?), I’m wearing mostly Too Faced makeup.

Also, today’s the last day of the Better Than False Lashes giveaway, so if you haven’t already entered, head on over right away! You don’t want to miss out.

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. What makeup are you wearing today? Tell me about your look in the comments.

BECCA Belle Ã‰poque Ultimate CrÃ¨me Eyeliner Keeps a Lined Eye on the Future With a Purple Nod to the Past

March 26th, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

BECCA Belle Epoque Ultimate Creme Eyeliner — Wearing BECCA’s new Belle Ã‰poque Ultimate CrÃ¨me Eyeliner ($20 for a 0.08-ounce jar), one of four completely brand-spankin’ new CrÃ¨me Eyeliners recently added to BECCA’s permanent collection

I’ll be the first to admit it because it’s totally true. When it comes to purple eye liner, I’m the star of my own personal snooze-fest.

It happens sometimes after 25 or 26 years… That’s how long I’ve been wearing purple eye liner (since about 1987).

I started by sneaking a rogue stick of purple LancÃ´me liner out of the house with me every day and lining my upper lash lines with it when I got to school (so sneaky!).

Admittedly, I had no idea what I was doing, so I probably looked like Honey Boo Boo on a bad pageant day, but I didn’t care. I loved the stuff. Still do.

So predictable, I know. 🙂 But you know what? Purple liner does great things for brown, green and hazel eyes.

I’ve always loved the look and felt that brown eyes (mine are brown) look so much more chocolatey and delicious when they’re lined with plum.

Lately, the purple liner love o’ my life has been BECCA’s new teeny, tiny jar of Belle Ã‰poque (a shout-out to France’s “Beautiful Era,” I presume), a deep, shimmery eggplant cream liner that draws feathery strokes in a single sweep and has a formula that lasts all day long.

BECCA Belle Epoque Ultimate Creme Eyeliner swatch — Yummy, plummy, shimmery goodness!

BECCA Belle Epoque Ultimate Creme Eyeliner fluidline for size — A 0.08-ounce jar of BECCA Belle Ã‰poque Ultimate CrÃ¨me Eyeliner on the left, a 0.10-ounce jar of MAC Fluidline in the middle and a 0.12-ounce Laura Mercier CrÃ¨me Eye Liner on the right for scale

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Milani Liquid Eye Liquid-Like Liner in New Perfect Purple and Graphite for Eye Looks Both Bold and Gentle

March 22nd, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

Milani Liquid Eye Perfect Purple Graphite — Milani has two new $6.99 Liquid Eye shades for spring: Graphite and Perfect Purple

With the days getting longer, hillsides turning green again and flowers beginning to bloom, I’m not as inclined to spend as much time indoors. I feel like getting out there in it, ya know? Playing outside. Going to the mall, extra trips to Target, the grocery store — whatever. Anything that’ll get me outside.

This applies to makeup. I don’t feel like spending as much time on mine when it’s 70 degrees and sunny outside.

Milani’s Liquid Eyes Liquid-Like liners in Perfect Purple and Graphite ($6.99 each) can help with that.

The company just added both new shades to their super smooth, long-wearing Liquid Eye Liquid-Like line for spring, and in short, they’re essentially drugstore dupes for the MAC Pearlglides.

Milani Liquid Eye Perfect Purple Graphite 1 — That’s Graphite on the left and Perfect Purple on the right…

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Does the Addition of a Primer Help These $8.49 Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows Last Longer on Lids?

March 19th, 2013 by Karen 49 Comments

El Hub and I have been talking about taking a trip somewhere soon. It’s been about a year since the last time we got well out of Dodge, and even though we have no definite plans whatsoever, the very mention of the word, “trip,” is enough to get me thinking about travel makeup.

I’m wondering if these Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows should tag along…

The formula for this new line of six smartly priced $8.49 shimmery cream shadow sticks contains a primer, supposedly reducing/eliminating creasing and fading, while the colors brighten and revive your eyes.

Not a bad idea for the price, right?

Sounds good to me. I like the convenience of stick products like these and love the notion of skipping primer. And then there’s the price, which works out well for travel, seeing as accidents (crushed or missing makeup bags, GASP!) occasionally do happen when I’m out and about.

Five of the six Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows from the left: Perfect Pink, Constant Copper, Stay Golden, Forever Platinum and Stay-Put Plum

Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadow Swatches — Swatches of the Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadows from the left: Perfect Pink, Constant Copper, Stay Golden, Forever Platinum and Stay-Put Plum

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I’ll Take Two Coats of the New Milani Grandissimo Lashes and a Vanilla Scone, Please

March 15th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

“Um, yeah, could I please have a Grande Grandissimo Lash and one of those YUMMY-looking vanilla scones?”

Haha! Okay, you caught me. Part of the reason I like new Milani Grandissimo Lashes mascara is because it sounds like something I’d order at Starbucks instead of my regular grande soy chai latte (no foam, please). That, and I just like saying the name over and over again… Grandissimo. Grandissimo. Grandissimo.

Just launched for spring, Grandissimo and it’s oversized accompanying brush promise a false lash look with “incredible volume,” and all without smearing or clumps.

I’ve had my eyes peeled for a budget version of my favorite dramatic mascara du jour, Le Volume de Chanel, and I was hoping Grandissimo would be a good drugstore dupe.

Milani Grandissimo Lashes before after — Two coats of Grandissimo on the left, and my bare lashes on the right

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The Doctor Is Into Silky Shadows: Dr. Hauschka’s New Limited Edition Eyeshadow Trio

March 14th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

A closeup of the new Dr. Hauschka Limited Edition Spring 2013 Collection Eyeshadow Trio ($39.95), available now at Dr. Hauschka counters and online

Oh, it hurts, doctor! Right here in my heart (and my makeup bag). It’s like a yearning, aching hunger for a trio of silky smooth shadows in natural shades…

Yes, Dr. Hauschka, I’ll take one of the new $39.95 Eyeshadow Trios and call you in the morning. It’s one of five pieces from your limited edition spring 2013 collection, you say?

The Dr. Hauschka Limited Edition Spring 2013 Collection — The five-piece Dr. Hauschka limited edition spring 2013 collection, clockwise from the trio in the lower left: the Eyeshadow Trio ($39.95, limited edition), Eyeshadow Definer Blush ($22.95), Eyeshadow Blender Brush ($27.95), Black Volume Mascara ($29.95) and Black Eyeliner ($17.95)

Should I take it with food? Oh, I see. It doesn’t matter. 🙂

You say that you designed the shimmery beige, rosy pink and chocolate trio to flatter every eye color and fortified the formula with botanicals like black tea to baby the delicate skin around the eyes?

Fascinating… And you used a smooth base of silk and talc powder?

Dr Hauschka Eyeshadow Trio small — The new Dr. Hauschka Eyeshadow Trio ($39.95)

Dr. Hauschka Limited Edition Spring 2013 Collection Eyeshadow Trio Swatches — Swatches on my NC42 skin

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When Lashes Take a Dark Turn: The Carbon Pigments in MAC’s Remixed Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara Blast Beyond Black, Relieve Beauty Lovers’ Fears of Tarantula Fringe

March 12th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Wearing two coats of the new MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash ($16) mascara, available now at MAC counters, stores and online

Currently holding one of the top spots on my List of Silly Fears, right under 1) the inevitable zombie apocalypse, and 2) dressing like a cougar in a too-tight teenage girl’s dress?

Tarantula lashes.

You know what I’m talking about. The tipping point after which long, lush lashes venture into predatory hairy spider legs territory.

To be honest, mascara and I have totally gone there many times (accidentally, of course). Sometimes it happens when I get a little too enthusiastic with the layering…

If you’re as bothered by the idea as I am, let the new MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash mascara ($16 and available in a single shade called Intense Black) allay your fears.

Gigablack is the latest incarnation of MAC Extended Play (the “Blanche Deveraux” mascara from last spring), and the latest addition to MAC’s permanent mascara line.

It’s similar to the original Extended Play in how well it separates and lengthens lashes while ensuring that they still look natural — but not too natural, if you know what I mean.

No hairy spider leg-like lashes here. 🙂

Wearing two or three coats, my lashes look long, smooth and dark, yet still feel soft and light, and they remain that way for 15-16 hours (!) without flaking or smudging.

So, what’s the big diff between this new version and its predecessors? Two words: carbon pigments. MAC added ’em to the formula to make the black color more intense.

But that’s not the only thing…

MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash before and after — No mascara on the left and with two coats of Gigablack on the right

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