Face

The Urban Decay X Kristen Leanne Collection Beauty Beam Palette

January 18th, 2018 by Karen 7 Comments

urban decay kristen leanne beauty beam — Stay gold

Every time I open the $34 UD X Kristen Leanne Beauty Beam Highlight Palette and see the words “STAY GOLD” there in the corner, I think back to a phase I went through in high school when I would sign all of my letters — this was back before email and text, when we actually had to write things down on paper like animals — with the phrase, “Stay gold, Ponyboy,” hearkening to the book, The Outsiders…

I’m sure a lot of other people also did that… Right? LOL!

From what I understand, one of Kristen’s catchphrases is “Stay Gold,” and now those words are here, immortalized forever in this trio of face highlighters from her new LE UD collection.

All three of these powder highlighters are different shades of shimmery gold. There’s a rose gold on the left, which looks a little like BECCA Rose Gold highlighter from the Chrissy Teigan palette — a palette which, to this day, makes me clutch my pearls. I still love it so much.

And then there’s the highlighter in the middle, a white golden pearl with a BECCA Opal vibe, and the one on the right, a warm golden pearl similar to Now’s the Time highlighter from the UD Jean-Michel Basquiat collection.

urban decay kristen leanne beauty beam swatches — Urban Decay X Kristen Leanne Collection Beauty Beam Palette

Assuming you like to wear gold (I do!), caution is still advised with these colors because they seem to apply, at least on my skin, much lighter than they look in the pans.

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10 Ways to Work MAC Fix+

January 16th, 2018 by Karen 23 Comments

There are so many ways to use Fix+ (officially, MAC Prep + Prime Fix+) beyond the standard makeup setting spray procedure.

I love Fix+ and use it daily to prep my skin, and I’m so into it that I even bring a mini bottle with me when I travel.

MAC recently added three new Fix+ “flavors”…

OK, they aren’t really flavors. Just different scents with the same Fix+ formula as the original, which is still my favorite, BTW (has a white floral/green tea scent). Now there’s also Coconut, Lavender and Rose.

Spraying Coconut ? on my face right now…

Ah… I love it.

I don’t know if you’ve ever used Fix+ before, but if you haven’t, give it a try. It’s weirdly much better than water, and it doesn’t leave splotches. You can use it as a setting spray or as a moisturizing skin prep spray to wet your skin before doing your skin care, but those aren’t even half the things it’s good for.

Here are 10 more ways to work MAC Fix+…

1. You can spray it on your hair!

Yes, that’s right. You can spray it on wet hair to loosen tight knots. Or, if you have naturally curly hair, spray it on your hair while it’s wet or dry to kick up your curls.

2. As a body moisturizer/refreshing body spray

You can also use Fix+ on your bod. Store it in the fridge, then spray it all over your arms, torso and legs for a cool, light, refreshing layer of moisture.

3. Intensify your brows

For an intense brow look, load an angled brush with your favorite brow powder, and then spray it with Fix+. Apply that directly to your brows and watch out!

4. Conversely, use Fix+ to mellow out an overly intense brow application

If you accidentally apply too much brow pencil and make your brows too dark, dampen a spoolie with Fix+, and run it through your brows to take down the intensity a few notches.

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Antonym Cosmetics Organic Certified Highlighting Blush in Cheek Crush

January 12th, 2018 by Karen 10 Comments

antonym highlighting blush cheek crush — Grown lady disco shimmer

Whoa, disco lady! This is way shiny… Almost too shiny for me. Antonym Cosmetics Organic Certified Highlighting Blush in Cheek Crush ($42) is a two-for-one combo. You get a baked blush and a highlighter in one alluring pan, and, seeing as how it was made in Italy and all (the land where the best baked powders come to life), I hoped it would romance my cheeks…but alas, I just can’t hang with the intense shimmer and the limited pigment.

antonym highlighting blush cheek crush k — Cheek Crush on the apples of my cheeks and my upper cheekbones

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: NUDESTIX Intense Matte Lip + Cheek Pencil in Purity

January 10th, 2018 by Karen 28 Comments

nudestix purity k — This is your new favorite matte blush and lipstick for 10-minute makeup looks.

Just because you have to do your makeup under the clock and stick to a strict schedule doesn’t mean it has to be a slapdash situation with, like, BAM! — a little eyeshadow here, some eyeshadow there. You can still do looks that are elegant, refined and pretty. You just have to find ways to move the whole process along.

If you’re always looking to save a little time like I am, using multitasking products can help.

But aha! — not all multitasking products are equal, right? Dusty rose NUDESTIX Intense Matte Lip + Cheek Pencil in Purity ($24) works as both a matte blush and a matte lipstick, but in the vast sea of multitasking makeup, its smooth formula makes it exceptional.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

I’ve noticed that the smoother and creamier a multitasking pencil is, especially a matte like this one, the easier it is to push across the skin and manipulate, so when something is creamy like this is and doesn’t skip or tug when you apply it, then it also means that it won’t fight you when you feather it. In the end, you won’t have to spend more time blending than you need to.

This is one of those products where the hardest part of using it is drawing a few stripes on your cheeks. Let’s just do it right now…

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Antonym Cosmetics Baked Foundation in Medium Dark

January 5th, 2018 by Karen 15 Comments

antonym baked foundation medium dark — Viva l’Italia!

Italy.

Land of pasta, romance, wine, George Clooney’s villa on Lake Como, and baked powder. A long time ago, someone told me that if you want the best baked powders, go to Italy, which someone at Antonym Cosmetics apparently did, because their bad-@ss $38 Baked Foundation hails from the boot,

Viva l’Italia!

antonym baked foundation medium dark k — Antonym Cosmetics Baked Foundation in Medium Dark on top of Antonym Skin Esteem Foundation in Tan

I think it’s a little inaccurate, though, to call this a baked foundation. “Baked tinted moisturizer” might be more apt. First, this isn’t full coverage, and it isn’t super dense like so many other baked foundations are. The coverage is sheer but build-able up to medium, and the velvet matte finish is one of the most convincingly skin-like finishes I’ve ever seen.

antonym baked foundation medium dark swatch — Medium Dark is the second to darkest shade

Antonym Cosmetics Baked Foundation in Medium Dark ingredients

Talc, Mica, Lauroyl Lysine, Zea Mays Starch*, Squalane, Octyldodecanol, Hectorite, Water, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Benzyl Alcohol,Dehydroacetic Acid, Sorbic Acid. *Ingredient From Organic Farming (+/-) May Contain: Ci 77491 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide)

Like every powder product I’ve tried from the cruelty-free organic Antonym line so far, this is all kinds of fabulous. It’s a lot like MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, a.k.a. “The only powder I’ve worn every day for the last five years.” (It’s that serious.).

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Revlon Youth FX Fill + Blur Concealer Gets Some Things Right and a Couple Things Wrong

January 4th, 2018 by Karen 14 Comments

revlon youth fx fill blur concealer swatches — Yaaaargh!

In theory, Revlon Youth FX Fill + Blur Concealer should totally work for me. It’s a smoothing liquid under-eye concealer for mature skin, and, well, I’m 42, got some fine line action, killer under-eye circles, dry skin, and I’m usually tired as hell.

Buuut the spongy applicator is a frickin’ mess to use! The concealer gets stuck in the sponge, and there’s no easy way to clean it. Oh, and then when I put the cap back on, the stuff gets all over the inside, and the cap is clear, so it gets all crusty while it mocks my desperate need for order in this chaotic world…

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Antonym Cosmetics Skin Esteem Foundation for Fab Liquid Foundation Eco-Luxury

January 3rd, 2018 by Karen 11 Comments

Antonym Cosmetics is the new Wet n Wild, YAY!

Wait…what?

Well, they are called Antonym, a word that means opposites, so they actually remind me of Hourglass.

They’re a five-year-old Miami-based cruelty free organic/eco-luxury makeup line (read: expensive), and their beautiful bamboo packaging and marbled powders instantly caught my eye on the Sephora website.

Unfortunately, eco-luxury usually means expensive, and it does in this case. Their Skin Esteem liquid foundation is $52 (!), but it delivers awesomeness for that price.

antonym cosmetics skin esteem tan — Wearing Tan set with Antonym Baked Foundation in Medium Dark

I’ve been wearing Tan for about a week now, and I’m into it, even if it is a tad too warm and too dark for my winter coloring (I just sheer it out). Tan is one of six satiny, mousse-y medium-coverage shades. There’s also a Nude, Beige Light, Beige Medium Light, Beige Medium and Dark, and Tan is the second from the darkest one, so the shade selection is limited.

If you like NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint, but you’ve always wanted an organic version, hello! —–> pointing right here. Give Skin Esteem a try. It has a similarly satiny, natural-looking, pore-blurring finish that elegantly evens out your skin tone all day long.

antonym cosmetics skin esteem tan swatch — The shade I wear is Tan (I built it up in this swatch).

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NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Update: Six New Shades Join the Full-Coverage Crew

December 28th, 2017 by Karen 17 Comments

nars radiant creamy conealers swatches new top — There are six new shades of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer ($30 each).

Waaay back in 2013 when NARS introduced the Radiant Creamy Concealers, they were revolutionary, but there were only 10 of them. They had lots of pigment and a spectacular satin finish that covered everything — dark circles, blemishes, cat scratches on your cheeks (which, yes, I can attest to from personal experience). They covered EVERYTHING, and they shook up the makeup world.

Since then, so many other brands have come out with their own full-coverage, mousse-y concealer thangs (see: Urban Decay and Kevyn Aucoin).

Fast forward to 2016…

NARS added more shades; the makeup world rejoiced!

Time hop to today, and now there are six more shades, bringing the grand total up to 22. By comparison, MAC has 16 in their Pro Longwear Concealer range and 23 in their Studio Finish Concealer range, and Urban Decay has 14 in both their Naked Skin and All Nighter concealer fams.

nars radiant creamy conealers new — Fun fact: You can also use the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealers as highlighters or contour shades.

Most of the newbies have yellow or golden undertones (extra ideal if you have lots of yellow in your skin tone).

nars radiant creamy conealers swatches new — Truffle, Walnut, Sucre D’Orge, Tiramisu, Marron Glace and Cafe Con Leche

I know a lot of people who love using Radiant Creamy Concealer to hide dark circles, and I wish I loved it for that too, but it settles into my fine lines after a few hours, so I primarily use (and love using them!) as an alternative to foundation.

For all-day natural-looking medium coverage, I like to mix a teeny, tiny amount of Ginger and Caramel (two of the old-school shades) with either MAC Strobe Cream or BECCA Backlight to thin them out a little. Then I pat that on my cheeks and around my nose with my fingers.

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