Face

NARS Packed Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF30/PA+++ With Pigment to Spare

May 11th, 2012 by Karen 46 Comments

nars pure radiant tinted moisturizer

I have a thing for tinted moisturizes, in particular ones that let me easily dial up or down my level of coverage.

Because really, who wants a totally inflexible tinted moisturizer? That would be like having to eat the same bland gruel for breakfast every single day, bluh. I guess that’s why I like NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF30/PA+++ ($42).

All nine oil-free shades in the line, which launched a few months back, contain copious amounts of pigment, and that spells flexibility. 🙂

Mixing equal parts of St. Moritz (a medium with neutral yellow undertones) and Cuba (a medium with a balance of neutral pink and yellow undertones) has been working pretty well for me since I got back from Kauai with a bit of a tan, but I think St. Moritz by itself is a pretty close match for my natural skin tone.

nars pure radiant tinted moisturizer

nars pure radiant tinted moisturizer
[Continue reading…]

Wild Sables Couldn’t Keep Me Away From the Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders in Sable Beige and Sable Rose

May 8th, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders
Wearing Sable Beige on my cheeks and Sable Rose as a contouring bronzer

I’m a card-carrying, unabashed, self-styled Chanel nut.

Even El Hub knows it, and it took him three days to notice that I dyed my hair pink. 🙂

Whenever I see those interlocking double Cs, I’m like a doe in headlights. I freeze in my tracks! Spittle dripping down my chin…

Hey, those beautiful black compacts are more than good looking. They’re also good listeners, and they’re always there for me when I’m feeling needy or craving affection.

Poor El Hub just doesn’t understand… When he came home yesterday, I was giving tiny kisses to the two Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders ($60).

“Um, sweetie?” he asked, uncertainty heavy in his voice. “Are you kissing your Chanel…?”

“Mmm…” I answered, “Yes.”

“That’s so weird.”

“Mwah! They get kisses because they’re good! And I love them!”

“Okay, but what’s really strange,” he replied, “is that this is not the first time this has happened.”

“Wanna hear about these new bronzers? They’re pretty rad.”

“Is this a trick question?”

“Oh, fine. Party pooper. I’d rather talk about it with the gals on the blog anyway.”

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powders
Sable Beige (left) and Sable Rose (right)

Chanel designed Sable Beige, a golden bronzed beige with whispers of peach, and Sable Rose, a darker golden pinkish bronze, to impart a subtle warmth to the skin. Both are limited edition and part of the new Summertime de Chanel collection available now on counters and from chanel.com.

chanel sable beige
Sable Beige

See the strips of color up there in the pan? Chanel did something similar last summer with the $50 Soleil Tan de Chanel Moisturizing Bronzing Powder, except that one had four strips of color, and these two have seven.

The strips are pretty narrow, but you can try to apply them separately, or swirl all of the colors together.

That’s what I’ve been doing, swirling and wearing them as both a blush and a bronzer.

chanel sable rose
Sable Rose
[Continue reading…]

MAC Unsung Heroes: Breezy Sheertone Shimmer Blush

April 26th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

MAC breezy blush

Oh, MAC Breezy Sheertone Shimmer Blush ($20), you’re just so…breezy.

Breezy. That’s been a very popular word around the beauty-sphere as of late. It’s funny how certain words and phrases ebb and flown, isn’t it? One week it’s glow; then it’s sheer. Or shimmery — that’s a word that never seems to go out of style.

This here Breezy also shimmers, and I can safely say that I don’t have anything else quite like it in my makeup collection.

It looks mad scary in the pan, ma! And it’s also a little easy to over-apply, at least for me, but the MAC Skunk brush hits the sweet spot, delivering a beautiful, multi-faceted flush one step above light.

MAC characterizes it as a plum with pearl, but oh! — it’s so much more than that. It’s almost like a mash-up of all my favorite blush colors in a single, opalescent pan. One minute, Breezy’s a berry, and then a rose, a pink and plum, and the dewy, golden shimmer gives it an ethereal dimension.

Breezy also loves different lip colors and skin tones (oh, and I think redheads can really rock it well). I like to pair it with berries, roses, pinks and almost anything with a hint of golden shimmer, and I think it looks great on NC and NW gals in shades from light to dark.

Lighter lovelies may want to use a light hand to apply it because Breezy is easy to go overboard with (it’s very pigmented).

One of my favorite ways to wear Breezy is to make it the focus of my look. Just like a smokey eye or a bright red lip can be the focal point of a look, Breezy makes a big, bold statement on cheeks.

mac breezy sheertone shimmer blush

mac breezy blush swatch
[Continue reading…]

With NARS LibertÃ© Blush, Tanned Cheeks Have the Freedom to Rock

April 17th, 2012 by Karen 26 Comments

nars liberte blush

“Give me LibertÃ©, or give me…!” Forget that, just give me LibertÃ©. 🙂

Its name means “freedom” in French — freedom from cheeks that look blah! Freedom from having to apply layer upon layer of blush! Freedom from that mile-long to-do list! And freedom to embrace lazy days spent lounging in the sun by the pool!

Freedom!!

Yup, NARS LibertÃ© Blush definitely feels like a vacation blush to me, and I sure do like the way it looks with a tan.

I can see it now… The tropics. A beautiful beach. We get up early to catch a few waves before the crowds. A week frolicking in the surf like that, and our cheeks are bronzed and tan.

LibertÃ© would love something like that.

NARS describes the color as a burnished apricot, which leads me to wonder, “How do you burnish an apricot?” But I digress…

LOL! I think it looks more like a matte reddish orange on me — a lighter, slightly peachier matte version of NARS Taos Blush, and it’s the solitary blush in the new nine-piece Summer 2012 collection from NARS.

It’s classic NARS all the way, with a super pigmented, easy-to-blend formula that lasts all day, and wow! I can’t believe it looks so intense in these pics of the pan and the swatch, because as long as I use a light touch when I apply it with something like a fan brush, I think it looks very natural on my cheeks. It reminds me of the way my cheeks look right after a run (when my heart’s still beating a mile a minute).

Something tells me it would look amazing on darker skin tones — heck, on lighter skin tones, too, especially ones that wear warmer colors well. I think it looks pretty fierce on Ginta Lapina, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty featured in the campaign imagery.

nars liberte

nars summer 2012 swatches
From the left: Calabria Soft Touch Shadow Pencil, Ramatuelle Trio Eyeshadow, Marie-Galante Duo Eyeshadow and LibertÃ© Blush
[Continue reading…]

Doctor, Do My Cheeks Look Pink to You? The New Physicians Formula pH Matchmaker pH Powered Blush in Rose

April 13th, 2012 by Karen 8 Comments

physicians formula ph matchmaker ph powered blush

When it comes to makeup, patience is not a virtue I have in great supply, which is why the instant gratification I get from seeing the new Physicians Formula pH Powered Lip Gloss change color on my lips suits me just fine.

Thing is, the doc’s new pH Powered Blush ($12.95; available in two shades, Natural and Rose) doesn’t work the same way.

Physicians Formula says they’re supposed to, but I dunno. Like the glosses, they’re supposed to react to your body chemistry — your pH level — and transform within 60 seconds into a custom color personalized for you, but I must have swept the glittery hot pink shade called Rose on my cheeks half a dozen times this week, and I’ve yet to see it change color.

It could be the effect is just too subtle for me to see, but even if Rose isn’t changing color at all, I’m still diggin’ it. I love how super saturated it is, and I think the packaging’s just adorable.

Rose is so bright and potent — the most intense of all the new Physicians Formula blushes I’ve tried — that a little goes a long way. Finally! A shade that darker damsels can easily wear, too, without having to go overboard on layers.

Physicians Formula pH pH Matchamker Powdered Blush 2

I’m always a little leery of blushes that claim to last longer than 8 hours, but this one really does. Physicians Formula claims it’ll go 14 hours, and it’ll do that much and more. Yesterday, in fact, I applied it before 8 in the morning, and when I went to remove my makeup a little after 10 last night, I could still see it cheering up my cheeks.

Physicians Formula pH pH Matchamker Powdered Blush 1

Physicians Formula spring 2012 swatches 2
pH Matchmaker Powdered Blush, Happy Booster Glow Mood Boosting Blush in Pink, Happy Booster Glow Mood Boosting Bronzer Blush in Bronze/Natural, Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush in Natural and pH Matchmaker pH Powered Lip Gloss in Light Pink
[Continue reading…]

Becca Mineral Blush in Bolero Gets Better as the Day Wears On

April 9th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

becca bolero blush

I was quite the Flowerchild back in my Becca Halcyon Days. Yup, they called me Damselfly…

When Flowerchild and Damselfly, two of Becca’s flawless Mineral Blushes from last spring’s Becca Halcyon Days collection, worked their way into my heart and my everyday makeup routine, it was just like the first time I tasted bubble tea. I wanted, needed, craved them 24/7 for weeks.

Mmmm, tapioca pearls…

With the Balearic Love collection, the compact Becca Mineral Blush clan grows by one member. Bolero ($32), a bronze with faint reddish tones and the sole blush in the release, is just as pigmented, easy to apply, long-lasting and resistant to fading as the other Mineral Blushes I’ve tried, but those pluses aren’t even my favorite things about it.

What makes Bolero really stand out to me is how it just seems to look better and better over the course of the day.

I’ve been trying to unravel its secret, and I keep coming back to one thing: the finish. Becca loves combining shimmers and mattes (like Cabrera liner, also from Balearic Love), and with Bolero and its semi/demi-matte finish, they’ve done it again.

Bolero rides into town on a mostly matte finish with a super subtle sheen, but as the day wears on and oil builds up on my skin, Bolero turns up the radiant shine (picture a gal holding her surfboard on the cover of Shape). I’ve been wearing it as both a blush and a bronzer for sun-kissed, sculpted looks.

I also love how Bolero ~~caters to my lazy side~~ looks when it’s worn with minimal makeup. Over the past couple weeks, I’ve tried it on top of bare skin, tinted moisturizer and full-coverage liquid foundation, and it seems like the less makeup I wear with it, the better Bolero looks.

becca bolero blush

becca bolero swatch
[Continue reading…]

Dry Cheeks and Knitters Wool Love Physicians Formula Cashmere Blush

April 7th, 2012 by Karen 16 Comments

physicians formula cashmere blush

Physicians Formula Cashmere Blush Now is one of those times I wish I belonged to a kick-@ss stitch-and-bitch group.

See the pattern on that pan of Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Blush ($12.95)? Totally makes me want to knit and purl… Yeah, I’m a closet knitter. Not a very good one, but I can make scarves (and that’s about it).

I love so many things about knitting. I love picking out yarn (does anyone else like to smell the skeins, or is that just me?), love the satisfaction I feel after completing a knitting project, love how a well-balanced bamboo needle feels in my hands…

Shoot, I’m still cursing the day I lost my favorite pair of needles. It was at a Bebe sample sale in South San Francisco a few years back.

I knew it was going to be crowded, so I brought along a scarf to work on while I waited in line to get in. When it was my turn, and I finally got inside to shop, somewhere between the jeans and embroidered jackets, my bamboo needles must have fallen out of my tote bag and forever disappeared.

Sucks, too, because I could have used them to defend myself against a couple of the girls who straight-up grabbed things out of my hands. Those sample shoppers are NO JOKE! They’re like UFC fighters about clothes.

I would not be surprised if the textile pattern on pans of Cashmere blush caused some of them to see red.

Physicians Formula refers to Cashmere, a new product recently released for spring, as “the ultimate in attainable luxury,” and I gotta say — it just might be that. It’s available in two shades, Natural and Rose. I’ve been road testing Natural, a fairly sheer warm pink (I have use two layers to clearly see it on my skin) with light silver shimmer.

The formula supposedly contains 100 percent pure cashmere extract, which the company says helps create skin that looks smoother and line-free. Soft focus pearls in the powder also help further diffuse the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

It’s fragrance-, oil- and paraben-free; hypo allergenic; and designed for all skin types, although it sounds like dry skin might benefit from it the most, since the formula is quite moisturizing, and it was designed to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles (more on that in a minute).

As for the packaging, isn’t it nice? Especially for a drugstore blush? It almost looks like a present. What a great-looking gift. I love the bookish tassel on the front and how the back side opens to reveal a mirror and a brush.

I’m not really a fan of the brush … but it could come in handy for impromptu touch-ups.

Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush 1
Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush in Natural, $12.95; also available in Rose

Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush 4

Physicians Formula Cashmere Wear Ultra Smoothing Blush 5
[Continue reading…]

The MAC Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinishes: MAC Found an Extra Dimension Where Hybrid Cream/Liquid/Powder Highlighters Live

April 6th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

mac extra dimension skinfinish in superb
Wearing MAC Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinish in Superb

The new MAC Extra Dimension Mineralize Skinfinishes ($28 each) start with an almost blinding shine! — almost like looking directly at the sun (which I know you’re not supposed to do but…).

These three shimmery highlighters have more in common with the new Extra Dimension eyeshadows than mere quantum mechanics. They also have that same easy-to-blend cream, liquid and powder hybrid formula, and offer a glazed, shiny finish similar to the finish I get when I apply MAC’s regular powder Mineralize Skinfinishes with a wet brush.

With the Extra Dimension Skinfishes, I can get that same super intense, glazed shine in fewer steps. Instead of trying to find my brush, spraying the brush with MAC Fix+, swiping it across the pan, and then blending on my skin, all I have to do is open a pan of Extra Dimension, pat a small amount on my upper cheekbones, my temples and down the bridge of my nose, and … that’s it. All done. Blending out the edges is a snap, and because they’re so pigmented, a little goes a long way.

Of the three Extra Dimensional shades in the launch, Superb, the soft peachy nude, is my pick for Best in Show. I think it’ll look great on most skin tones.

The lightest shade, white gold Whisper of Gilt, may look a little chalky on darker damsels, while lighter lasses may feel like the darkest shade, coppery gold Glorify, appears a little too bold/dark.

Oh! Random lipgloss moment… I think all three of these look fantastic with bronzy Oh Baby Lipglass.

mac superb
Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Superb ($28 US; $33.50 CDN)

mac glorify
Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Glorify ($28 US; $33.50 CDN)
[Continue reading…]