Lips

Chanel Holiday 2017: Rouge Allure and Rouge Allure Velvet Lipsticks From the LIBRE 2017 NUMÉROS ROUGES Holiday Collection

November 15th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

chanel collection libre numeros rouges no-2 — Enrapturing raspberry red! Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lipstick No. 2 from the Chanel Holiday 2017 Collection Libre Numéros Rouges

Girl, if you invited me over to your house to look at your makeup collection (because — hi, isn’t that a normal thing? In my mind it is…), and you opened up a drawer with just, like, red lipsticks, and all of them looked more or less the same, I’d be like, “Hello! Hallelujah! We’re high-fiving a million little angles right now, because you’re doing it right!” OK? Because when you’re a red lipstick lover, none of them are the same, and you appreciate all of the nuances.

That’s the first thing I’d say. The second thing I’d say is “Let’s go to Chanel right now, because you will freak out over the lipsticks in the Chanel holiday collection.”

chanel collection libre 2017 numeros rouges 1 2 3 — Crimson cravings… From the left: No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.

There are four of them, and the swooning starts as soon as you see the packaging. They’re all Rouge Allures, $37 each, with the same signature featherweight formula (couple different finishes, though), and they come in gorgeous gold limited edition tubes with red lacquered caps (yes, they have that classic and very satisfying Rouge Allure *click* when you press them).

chanel collection libre 2017 numeros rouges caps — Click!

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#FancyLadyThings: Christian Louboutin Goldissima Gloss

November 8th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

In #FancyLadyThings Land, it’s perfectly acceptable for you — in fact, you’re encouraged — to carry a sheer $85 nude peachy golden gloss in your Goyard Bag.

Christian Louboutin’s limited edition six-piece Metalinudes Loubilaque Lip Lacquer in Goldissima came out with a six-piece shimmery metallic collection last summer that included three $85 Lip Lacquers (also known as “glosses”) and three $50 nail polishes. Even though Goldissima was a summer launch, it’s wearable all year long, ESPECIALLY if you’re heading to Bali for the holidays this year. So YAY FOR THAT. 🙂

Oh, it’s also still available at counters and online.

Every #FancyLady needs at least one luxe lip gloss in her collection, and while a nude $85 golden peachy pink gloss would be cray-cray in the regular word, in #FancyLadyThings Land, this one is pretty fabulous.

It’s comfy, non-sticky and moisturizing, and there isn’t any grit whatsoever in the golden pearl, which is so key at any budget, right?

Even though Goldissima doesn’t feel sticky, the formula is on the thicker side. I’d say it’s even thicker than a MAC Lipglass. It stays practically glued to your lips. I get about three hours if I’m wearing it on its own or four hours on top of a lip liner.

The gloss is indubitably high quality, but you’re clearly also paying for the name — Christian Louboutin, maker of those famously expensive red-soled shoes — and the fancy packaging. Louboutin “presents” Goldissima in a huge black box stamped with the logo and lined in velvet on the inside, and the gloss tube is covered in a pattern reminiscent of mermaid scales…

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Look Book: A MAC Snow Ball Kit Makeup Look With Smokin’ Shimmery Taupe Lids

November 7th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

mac snow ball eye bag smoky gold — Wearing the MAC Snow Ball Eye Bag in Smoky Gold from the MAC holiday collection.

Look Book! This is the first in a new series of makeup look posts I’ll be doing that will be kind of like faces of the day, which are like, “Here, look at my makeup,” except not. They’ll be open spaces to try different makeup looks, because I’ve been in a rut for the past two years, and I want to get out of it. Sometimes I’ll get into technique. Sometimes there will be quick commentary on the products. Fun things like that.

I totally went into this look thinking I’d do something outside my comfort zone, and I even gave myself one of those pre-game pep talks, like “Karen, you’re going to push yourself! You’re going to do something cray!” — but I still ended up totally staying in my lane with these smoky taupe lids and glossy nude lips.

LE. SIGH. I don’t even know why I fight it… I end up doing these subtle smoky looks like 99% of the time, all the time now. It’s my wheelhouse, man!

mac snow ball mini lip gloss kit — Glossy nude lips with a sprinkle of sparkle

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Introducing the MAC Velvet Matte Lipstick Collection

October 31st, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

Sometimes velvet finishes can go really wrong, you know, like the red Pier 1 pillows that I ordered online for my couch. I returned them the same day they arrived because they looked a little too shiny — almost sleazy, like a threadbare velvet robe in a motel room with a heart-shaped waterbed.

Yep.

But when velvet goes right, it goes really right. It’s luxurious, rich and sophisticated, like the new $17.50 MAC Velvet Matte Lipsticks.

Dude! They totally get it right. They’re an example of when velvet goes really right.

New on counters now, the MAC Velvet Matte Lipstick Collection contains nine deep, dark reds, browns, purples and grays, all with blackened, moody tones that are perfect for fall.

A dark lipstick can be tricky, though, and not just on a technical level, in that you have to bust out a lip liner and a lip brush, but there are a couple things you can do to work them well. Like, the best ones get the formula and finish juuuust right, whereas the less-than-best ones can leave you with a patchy mess that looks like you got your lipstick at Party City in the Halloween section.

So, you can either end up looking super trendy, or super tacky, and I know this because I’ve danced on the tacky side… Not on purpose, though!

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Mwah! Kisses From the MAC Snow Ball Collection Lipsticks

October 26th, 2017 by Karen 13 Comments

mac snow ball lipsticks — MAC Snow Ball Lipsticks from the left: Warm Ice, I’m Glistening, Holiday Crush, Shimmer & Spice, Rouge En Snow and Elle Belle ($17.50)

Oh, ’90s vibes. I’m sitting here feeling them wash over me — wave after crashing wave! — and I’m this close to grabbing the darkest plum lip liner I can find and outlining the edges of my lips, and then filling them in with one of the frosty lipsticks from the new MAC Snow Ball collection, because there is frost galore.

Of course I’d leave the lip liner unblended…

I know! I’M A MONSTER. But that’s what ya did back in the day. Makeup trends are crazy, dudes!

Four of the six MAC Snow Ball lipsticks, which are $17.50 each, are frosty, and they go all out. And no, you absolutely don’t have to do the dark liner/no blending thing, but if you wanna do legit late ’90s lips, that’s the way to go. Don’t shoot the messenger.

mac snow ball lip swatches — Warm Ice, I’m Glistening, Holiday Crush, Shimmer & Spice, Rouge En Snow, Elle Belle

Depending on the level of pigmentation of your lips, the four frosts will either look very distinctive, or very similar. My lips are pigmented, and I can’t see that much of a difference between the three light pink frosts (Warm Ice, I’m Glistening and Holiday Crush). I think the most distinctive of the frosts is Shimmer & Spice, which is a glittery bronzed rose and the deepest color of the bunch.

I wore Shimmer & Spice the other day and loved seeing the multicolored glitter bits sparkle in the light (don’t worry, the glitter’s dainty, so it looks expensive). I also liked how the frost finish didn’t seem to emphasize my lip lines, although my lips did feel pretty thirsty by the end of the day. They didn’t quite hit flake status, which was good, but I definitely felt the need to smear a thick layer of Urban Decay Lip Love all over them after I removed all of my makeup.

OK! There are also two non-frosty lipstick shades in Snow Ball, and they’re both reds. Rouge En Snow is a bright, festive matte apple red, which seems pretty neutral because it doesn’t skew overly warm or cool. It’s like right smack dab in the middle between warm orange-red MAC Dangerous and cool blue red Ruby Woo. It’s smooth and doesn’t catch on my flakes, and the pigment isn’t playing around.

Warm Ice, I’m Glistening, Holiday Crush, Shimmer & Spice, Rouge En Snow, Elle Belle

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NARS Fall 2017 Audacious Lipsticks: Vibeke, Linda, Dayle, Louise, Aya and Kirat

October 24th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

nars audacious lipsticks fall 2017 2 — Falling for fall lips

Oh, François! You know…even though I’ve dropped so many hardcore hints that you need to add a “Karen” to your Audacious Lipstick line, and even though you keep ignoring said hints, you’re still my number one makeup guy. I’m not mad atcha’ for not including K-Money among the new fall shades of your Audacious Lipsticks.

Yes, I just referred to myself in third person. With my street name. KAY. MON. EEE.

NARS has six new limited edition fall lippies, and there’s a lot of brown! It’s very autumn leaves. Some of the colors look similar to existing Audacious shades at first glance. I mean, I thought they’d be easy to dupe, so at first I was like, “Eh, show me something I haven’t seen before,” but they’re actually tweaked a li’l bit.

Like Dayle, which is the light purple, looks like it could dupe Dominique in the tube, but it’s quite a bit paler on the lips, and it’s the same with most of the other new colors — they look similar to existing shades but really aren’t.

The only shade that really does seem to be super similar to an existing shade is reddish brown Louise, which could be a stand-in for Sandra, one of the permanent shades.

The Audacious Lipsticks are a separate line from the original NARS lippie collection, with its classic colors like Honolulu Honey, Schiap and Jungle Red.

The Audacious lippies are the ones with the magnetic cap that automatically twists and clicks into place, and they’re all, across the board, intensely pigmented. I think of them as the solidified version of the NARS Powermatte Liquid Lipsticks.

If the idea of sheer lipstick makes you wanna toss your head back and go “HAHAHAHA, NO SON!” they’re for you. They’re intense, long-lasting, and they don’t settle into fine lines. They’re a lot like the Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks like that.

Big surprise, the one I’ve been wearing most of this new batch is nude warm beige Vibeke. It looks so good with warm golden brown eyeshadows and peach blushes.

nars audacious lipstick fall 2017 — Vibeke, Linda, Dayle, Louise, Aya, Kirat

nars audacious lipstick fall 2017 swatches comparison — Lipsticks from the current line that look similar to the new shades: Kirat (new) and Liv, Vibeke (new) and Catherine, Linda (new) and Jane, Louise (new) and Sandra, Dayle (new) and Domnique, Aya (new) and Deborah

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Urban Decay Vice Metal Meets Matte Lipstick Palette for Holiday 2017

October 18th, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

urban decay vice meets metal lip palette — That’s a whole lotta Vices…

Is it just me, or is something usually a little off about the lipsticks that come in LE lipstick palettes? Like they feel and work different than they would if they came in a tube? I dunno… Maybe something changes when they pour them into a pan instead of a bullet.

I know that a lot of makeup artists say that applying lipstick with a brush makes your lipstick last longer and look better, and OK, I see a little of that happening, but it’s not enough for me to want to whip out a lip brush every time I put on lipstick.

Except with this one! 🙂 I’ll do it for Urban Decay’s new Vice Metal Meets Matte Lipstick Palette.

It’s $35, REALLY GOOD and available now with the 2017 holiday collection.

urban decay meets metal lipstick palette swatches — Banger, Amulet, CSB, Tame

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Urban Decay Rehab Makeup Prep Lip Love

October 18th, 2017 by Karen 2 Comments

urban decay lip love — The best lip balm!

I realize that I keep talking about this lip balm, but it’s THAT. GOOD. I’ve gotten to the point where I have tubes everywhere. I have one on my nightstand. I have one in my Kate Spade wristlet… I’m thinking now that I also need to keep one in my car.

It’s Urban Decay Rehab Makeup Prep Lip Love, and it’s $15, which, you know, is more expensive than something you can get from the drugstore for less than five bucks, but it’s really, really, really comfy and moisturizing.

Oh, my goodness! I barely even feel it. It’s a little slippery, but it’s not thick or heavy or sticky. And because it isn’t too thick, the balm also lays well underneath lipsticks and lipglosses, so it’s great for prepping your lips before color.

I realized just how much I truly love it after I swatched a whole bunch of lipsticks last week, and my lips felt like I’d been making out with a bag of broken glass afterward. Lip Love basically rescued my lips from flaky oblivion and restored them to their previously smooooove state.

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 read that some folks find the flavor to be a turnoff. I don’t mind it so much… I actually kind like it. It’s a little bit coconut and shea butter, which is good because it has both shea butter and coconut oil in it, and for the most part I think it’s nondescript.

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