Face

A Few of My Favorite Things Sing in This New Holiday Makeup Set From Too Faced Cosmetics

October 7th, 2013 by Karen 31 Comments

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things — Wearing the new A Few of My Favorite Things palette from Too Faced ($56 US and $64 CDN)

You know what would totally take Too Faced Cosmetics’ new A Few of My Favorite Things holiday set to the next level??

If Fraulein Maria, and the whole gang of von Trapp children on bicycles, showed up at my doorstep with play clothes made out of curtains.

If you actually got that reference, then paws up for being a fellow Sound of Music super fan. 😀

Inspired by one of my favorite musicals of all time, the new palette makes me feel like singing A Few of My Favorite Things at the top of my lungs!

But you don’t have to be a Sound of Music nerd to love it. Not at all. If you merely have an appreciation for wearable brights and neutrals for eyes, lips and cheeks, you’ll probably like it, too.

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things: The rundown

The set comes with colors hand-picked by Jerrod Blandino, co-founder and creative director of Too Faced Cosmetics.
It includes 20 powder eyeshadows
2 powder blushes
2 bronzers
A full-sized Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting
A deluxe-sized Better Than Sex Mascara
A zip-up pink and gold case to use as a purse, or to just store your goodies in (CUTE!)
The set arrives soon, exclusively to Sephora stores and sephora.com.
It includes a balanced blend of neutral and bright products. I think the blushes, bronzers and mascara are perfect! — but I do wish the glittery and shimmer shadows exhibited less fallout. I also wish the lip color was brighter.

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things eyeshadows — How cute are the names?

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things blushes bronzer — Blushes, bronzers and Lip Injection Color Bomb in Bee Sting

Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things booklet — A few looks to try…

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The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette: Like a Portable Photograhy Lighting Kit That Fits in a Purse

October 4th, 2013 by Karen 38 Comments

Just when I thought there was absolutely no way Hourglass could improve upon the perfection of their Ambient Lighting Powders, they go and release a stunning new Ambient palette and effectively knock my cat lady socks off.

(No, seriously, I wear cat lady socks.)

New for the holidays, the $58 limited edition trio ($67 CDN) comes with three Ambient Light Powders and a travel-sized bottle of Veil Primer.

Be warned — when you open the palette and gaze upon Dim Light, Radiant light, and the new limited edition Incandescent Light, you may experience beauty vertigo and feel the need to sit down, so take care to open it within reach of your fainting couch. 🙂

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Dim Light — Dim Light

If you haven’t partaken of these Ambients before, you’re in for a treat. The line of universally flattering pressed powders was designed to sort of simulate different lighting effects, like candlelight, by diffusing, softening and tinting light on the skin.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette Incandescent Light — Incandescent Light

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The Chanel Collection Nuit Infinie De Chanel Collection for Holiday 2013: Cheeks and Lips

October 3rd, 2013 by Karen 21 Comments

Chanel Collection Nuit Infinie De Chanel: Cheeks and Lips

Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Accent ($43): A sheer pinkish beige with a hint of plum and a sheen finish; I need 2-3 layers to see it on my cheeks
Poudre Universelle Libre Natural Finish Loose Powder in Moon Light ($52): A sheer peachy beige with glitter; I’d use this sparingly, otherwise skin can end up looking REALLY glittery
Rouge Allure Lipstick in Radieuse ($34): A blueish pink with a smooth and creamy texture and soft shine finish; surprisingly wearable
Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in La Precieuse ($43): A vivid red matte that leans slightly blue; similar to MAC Ruby Woo, but with a thinner texture and less severe matte finish
Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick in La Desiree ($43): An extremely pigmented burgundy red matte with smooth texture; can’t skip the lip liner with this one

Chanel Accent Joues Contraste — Joues Contraste in Accent ($43)

Chanel Radieuse La Desiree La Precieuse 1 — Rouge Allure and Rouge Allure Velvet Lipsticks ($34 each)

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RiRi Hearts MAC Fall: Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush Duo

September 18th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

MAC Hibiscus Kiss — The Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush Duo is blooming on counters with the rest of the MAC RiRi Hearts collection for fall.

One of the themes in last summer’s RiRi Hearts MAC summer collection was the idea of opposites — rich, opaque lips contrasting against sheer cheeks — and MAC seems to have weaved that same idea through RiRi Hearts fall as well, with bold lipsticks balanced with sheer eyeshadows (see: the Smoked Cocoa quad) and cheeks via the re-launched Hibiscus Kiss Powder Blush Duo.

Remember Hibiscus Kiss from last summer? This new version’s basically the same flower, but with updated plumage/attire.

There’s a super sheer matte bronze (well, at least it’s super sheer on me!) and a cool coral with a satin finish inside.

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RiRi Hearts MAC Fall: Bad Girl Gone Good Powder Blush

September 17th, 2013 by Karen 27 Comments

Good girl gone goofy… That’s RiRi Hearts MAC Bad Girl Gone Good Powder Blush ($23) on mah cheeks!

The name of this powder blush from the RiRi Hearts MAC fall collection is a play on Rihanna’s song, Good Girl Gone Bad, but for real though, when I wear it, I feel much more like “Good Girl Gone Goofy.”

There’s just something about this satiny copper! It makes me giddy in the best possible way. 🙂

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Everything’s a Little Brighter With New Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder for Face and Body

September 12th, 2013 by Karen 22 Comments

When I picture no-makeup makeup, as in makeup that looks “au naturale,” Urban Decay isn’t the first brand that springs to mind. I mean…the have an entire sparkly rainbow of glitter eyeliners living in their permanent collection (and they’re great!).

Lately, though, with new additions to UD’s Naked Skin product line, they seem bound and determined to get makeup lovahs thinking about them in that way.

But based on my first swatch of the new Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder for Face and Body ($29) on the back of my hand, I did not expect subtle. In the swatch I saw a silvery beige powder so frosty, so sparkly, that I pictured roller skating rinks and knee-high socks.

We’re talking disco ball territory.

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Illamasqua Zygomatic Cream Blusher

September 4th, 2013 by Karen 12 Comments

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Tiffany Nguyen of willworkformakeup.blogspot.com. You can also find Tiffany on Twitter and Instagram.

You know that shade of blush that just seems to always suit you, without fail? For me, it’s a pinky beige. Something not too pink, nor too brown; more of a complexion enhancer, if you will. I’m actually kind of embarrassed to admit that I have more than a few variations of this in my collection, but one blush in particular stands out in my mind…maybe because I feel like it doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves!

Illamasqua is a brand that just knows how to make blush. I’m a fan of their powder blush formula, too (Hussy, anyone?), but their cream formula is particularly divine. Zygomatic is a seemingly boring pinky beige, but coupled with its dewy, long-lasting, non-sticky formula, and it becomes one of the select few fail-safe blushes in my collection I know I can always rely on.

Although Zygomatic certainly does not fall short in the pigmentation department, it’s not quite as dark as it appears in the pan, so it’s probably better suited for light and medium skin tones. It’s creamy without being greasy, and it blends out with close to no effort at all (I use a brush, by the way. Not really of fan of using my digits!).

The long-running Makeup and Beauty Blog Unsung Heroes series features much-loved permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

I have terrible lighting in my apartment, and I often fall victim to the I-thought-I-barely-had-any-blush-on-but-I-actually-look-like-a-clown phenomenon once I see myself in natural light, but not with Zygomatic. Being more of a subtle shade, once it’s on, my complexion just appears awakened and healthy, rather than looking as though I’ve obviously applied a cheek color. Great news for those of us who may be more heavy-handed with our blush application (you know who you are!).

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Fresh, Poised and Polished With Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope Face Kit in Flawless

September 2nd, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

Le Metier De Beaute Flawless Face Kaleidoscope Face Kit — Wearing Le Metier de Beaute’s Flawless Face Kaleidoscope Face Kit ($95)

I’m really looking forward to going to Las Vegas tomorrow because 1) it’s for Photoshop World! — and I can’t wait to get my learnins’ on; 2) I am absolutely, positively certain that this will be the trip I finally win a mega-zillion-dollar jackpot (gotta think positive); and 3) I’m not even stressing about packing tonight.

Much.

I’m not even stressing about packing, much. 🙂 Fortunately, it helps that I never fully unpacked my luggage after Kauai. Plus, ever since the Kaleidoscope Face Kit in Flawless from Le MÃ©tier de BeautÃ© entered my life, makeup packing has gotten noticeably easier.

Le Metier Beaute Kaleidoscope Face Kit in Flawless — Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope Face Kit in Flawless ($95)

Like Optimus Prime, this road-ready, incredibly pricey four-pan face palette transforms. Each of its pans swivels out — WOOSH! — and then pops out from the bottom, so you can replace them when you’re finished.

Le Metier de Beaute’s Flawless Face Kaleidoscope Face Kit

The kit includes…

Classic Flawless Face Finish Translucent — a colorless, yellowish beige powder
Highlighter in Whisper — a pearlescent light peach highlighter
Radiance Powder Rouge in Echo — a warm pinky peach blush with a golden sheen
Le Metier Bronzer — a warm golden brown with flecks of golden glitter (although the glitter doesn’t really show up on my face when I wear it)

Reasons to toot-toot, beep-beep!

This kit has what it takes to create, dare I say it, flawless skin.

It’s redonk how expensive it is, but man! — it’s got the goods. Le Metier de Beaute probably could have called it anti-aging because I swear it takes a few years off. The powders are just so finely milled that they don’t look fake or heavy at all on my skin, not even close up.

When I do the bronzer, blush, highlighter and face powder combo, all four of them sit atop my trusty MAC Face+ Body, and my skin looks fresh and polished with a pretty glow. Not overly made up.

Le Metier De Beaute Flawless Face Kaleidoscope Face Kit swatches — Swatches from the left: Classic Flawless Finish Translucent Compact Powder, Highlighter in Whisper, Radiance Powder Rouge in Echo and Bronzer

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