Palettes

She’s a Pretty Rebel: The Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette

July 30th, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

I’m about as naturally rebellious as a miniature pony at a 5-year-old’s birthday party, which is to say not very rebellious at all.

My idea of shaking things up is playing Katy Perry a little loudly in my office (shout-out to my next-door neighbors, who’ve heard me sing Teenage Dream at the top of my lungs many times).

But the winds, they are a-changin’. 🙂 I am a bona fide rebel now — a Pretty Rebel, that is, thanks to Too Faced Cosmetics, and all I have to say is, “Welcome to the Thunderdome, b*tches! Sh*t just got real!”

WARNING: You may find yourself pumping your fists randomly toward strangers when you wear this limited-edition eyeshadow palette. I did when I opened the door this morning to say hi to our FedEx guy.

He was like, “Hi. Why are you doing that? I like your eye makeup. You’re making me a little nervous.”

Pretty Rebel is the star attraction in the Too Faced Cosmetics Fall 2013 makeup collection. Inside the gold, black and pink packaging reside 10 powder eyeshadows, all of which are new shades.

You’ll find mostly saturated, shimmery colors and jewel-toned metallics here, with a sprinkling of mattes and glitters — the kinds of colors I’d be more inclined to wear on a Friday night, as opposed to a Sunday brunch with the fam.

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How Does Chanel’s Mystere Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow Last as Long as It Does? It’s a Mystery…

July 29th, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

Chanel Mystere Quad — It’s a mystery… Or is it? Perhaps I’m wearing Chanel’s Mystere Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow ($59) from the Chanel Fall 2013 collection

Current mysteries plaguing my life…

Why does Tabs meow, desperately, for food when his food bowl is still halfway filled? I know you’re always hungry, Tabs, but you can’t be THAT hungry. Is it out of worry/concern? You just don’t want to take any chances?
If Fifty Shades of Grey were made into a movie, how awkward would it be to have to sit through it with my parents? (I’m guessing pretty awkward.)
I want an app like Siri that I can tell all of my problems to, and it answers every one of them with a perfect solution…because my Magic 8 Ball just isn’t cutting it anymore.
Why is binging on television so satisfying? I’ve watched half of the entire first season of House of Cards on Netflix in two days and man! — it’s almost as satisfying as eating an entire tub of HÃ¤agen-Dazs.
Is there, in fact, a mystery behind the Chanel Mystere Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eye Shadow quad? Did Karl have to, like, go incognito or something to track down the secret ingredients? For some reason, I can see him working crazy wigs and disguises, a la Sydney Bristow in Alias.

And now, Chanel Mystere…

I wore it when I visited my in-laws in Redding last week, and I’ll say this right now: when I layer Mystere on top of my good ol’ NARS Pro-Prime, it’s the sh*t in terms of wear time, because Redding is hella hot, like 150 degrees in the shade, yo, like “Oh, mah gerd! I’m stuck in a microwave oven!”

And even though it felt like the heat was doing a number on my makeup, Mystere didn’t fade or crease from dawn till dusk.

Wear time? BOMB.

I like this quad, especially the way it looks on cool-toned gals who dig grays. On me, I think it seems a little awkward by itself, and I have to use some tricks to make it work, like by starting with a yellowish base like MAC Ochre Paint Pot and then mixing in a warm orangey brown like MAC Soft Brown into my crease.

When I do both of those things, which I did in these pics, the warmer colors transition into the cool grays and taupes, making them appear less harsh on my warm tan, but when I don’t, the gray/taupe undertones — of which there are plenty here, as even the light gold has a hint of gray in it — look chalky.

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When Your Eyes Could Use a Little Fairy Magic, Give Them the Chanel DÃ©licatesse Ombres Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow Palette

July 4th, 2013 by Karen 11 Comments

Chanel Delicatese Ombres Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow — From the Land of Fey by way of Coco’s castle, the new $60 Chanel DÃ©licatesse Ombres Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow palette

Mermaids, elven archer girls and fairy princesses might not need the new Chanel DÃ©licatesse Ombres Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow palette because their immortal eyes already shimmer in sunlight, but mortal mavens looking for a luminous quad to fake their way into the Land of Fey could do a lot worse than this $60 quad.

The pink and plum shadows have an almost ethereal effect, like sunlight filtering through fairy wings, while the jade and mint green (yep, that white pan actually appears minty on my skin!) bring to mind images of water droplets glistening on a mermaid’s tail.

Part of the limited edition Chanel Les Delices de Chanel collection, Ombres DÃ©licatesse Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow isn’t only about spritely eyes, soft spring-like colors and delicate shimmer. It’s also about the Benjamins, as in it costs $60!

Chanel Les Delices de Chanel Ombres Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow — Ombres Fleuries Quadra Eye Shadow ($60)

Containing colors with medium coverage, it’s one of those quads where you can pile on the layers like sediments in the Grand Canyon and never look like you’re wearing too much makeup.

If you struggle with blending sometimes, this could be a good quad to consider, because even if you accidentally apply too much, you can just buff it out and be fine. It’s kind of magical that way.

Chanel Delicatese Quad swatches — Swatches

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Unsung Makeup Heroes: Dolce & Gabbana Contrasts Eyeshadow Quad

June 18th, 2013 by Karen 45 Comments

contrast n. |kon-trast|
noun
1 The state of being strikingly different from something else, typically something in juxtaposition or close association : tabs has been unusually nice to me today, in startling contrast to his behavior yesterday.

contrast v. |kon-trast|
verb
2 Differ strikingly : contrast my hair today with my hair of the 1990s, and be like whoa!

Do you ever think about how you got your name, or do you know the actual story?

Dolce & Gabbana’s Contrasts Eyeshadow quad has me thinking about names…

I was named after the actress Karen Black, but my mom almost named me Stephanie, which I can’t even begin to imagine… Not that I don’t like the name. I do. It’s just that when I look in the mirror, I don’t see a Stephanie, Steph or Steffie. Nope. Does not compute.

Funny, though, that last weekend I met a gal at the Bliss Spa who said that she didn’t think I looked like a Karen. She thought maybe a Leah, Leilani or a Lorelei. Something with an L, and I can kinda see that. Definitely more than Stephanie.

Anywho, I think whoever named Dolce & Gabbana’s Constrasts quad knocked it out of the park, since it really is strikingly different from the other everyday quads in my stash of staples.

If I could, I’d give that gal/guy a banana split with extra scoops of ice cream, whipped cream and cherries, because they nailed it!

And then, if he/she wanted, I’d go running with them, so we could burn off the calories and talk more about Constrasts. 🙂

The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorite permanent collection products from a variety of bodacious beauty brands.

This quad is a total workhorse, one I could easily see myself wearing daily, and yet it’s unlike the usual brown/beige/taupe/gray neutral suspects we see a lot.

Starting with the colors, ohmigosh! Inside the golden compact hides four potently pigmented powder shadows that you can easily take from day to night — a golden pinkish peach (a favorite for dusting all over my lids when I’m in a hurry because it brightens everything up), a pinkish beige, a warm purple and a plummy dark chocolate.

Versatile and flattering on many different skin tones, and just hella pretty.

Dolce Gabbana Contrasts Quad Swatches — From the left: shimmery golden pink, shimmery pinkish beige, shimmery plum and shimmery plummy brown (looks like a MAC Teddy in eye shadow form)

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Pearl Particles Collide (BAM!) to Create a Whole Mess o’ Glitter in the MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadows, Coming June 20 to the Permanent Line

June 17th, 2013 by Karen 25 Comments

What do you get when you put pearls in a particle accelerator?

I’ll tell you what you get — undersea oysters solving nuclear fusion equations, Ford Fusions with strands of pearls dripping from their rear-view mirrors, fusion cuisine that combines Asian flavors, and knitting (and purling!).

In other words, awesomeness. You get a whole lot of awesomeness. 🙂

You may also get MAC, as in the six new MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow palettes ($40 each) in MAC’s newest eye shadow formulation to join the permanent line. Powder shadows that feel like creams, they can be worn dry for a soft, sparkling finish, or wet for something shiny and metallic.

All six of the MAC Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadows

Lawd, I think I may have accidentally inhaled a little too much stray glitter playing with these palettes… The stuff was flying all over the place!

It was kind of weird, truth be told.

I expected these, with their soft, creamy texture, to glide effortlessly across my skin and blend together with a few swift swipes, and most of them did just that. With the palettes comprised primarily of satins and metallics, like Smokeluxe, Brownluxe and Greenluxe, I didn’t have any trubs at all. They were coo’.

When I applied Brownluxe, my heart skipped as I watched the shadow skate across my skin. My 217 barely had to do any work to smooth away every last line.

I actually had to stop myself from over-blending, as the colors melted together like good fondue.

Mmm, cheese…

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Voted Most Likely To Steal Your Heart This Summer: The Gold, Chocolate Brown and Plum Shades in the Clarins Splendours Colour Quartet & Eye Liner Palette

June 10th, 2013 by Karen 21 Comments

WARNING: Do not wear the new Clarins Splendours Colour Quartet & Eye Liner Palette ($42) unless you plan to kick all other gold summer eye palettes to the curb.

Put another way, if this were makeup high school, it’s the palette that would have been voted “Most Likely To Be Mistaken for Cookies” in the yearbook.

And we all know how awesome cookies are.

Remember those things?

Wait — no, not cookies. I mean those yearbook things where the seniors cast a bunch of votes for “Most Likely To…”

I wasn’t really one of those kids, but I was voted “Too Sexy for This Band” by my compatriots in the musical arts (BAND GEEKS!). 🙂 And to this day I have no idea whether they were being serious or sarcastic…

Still, I’m surprised it wasn’t “Most Likely to Become a Cat Lady.” You feel me?

Yep, hindsight’s 20/20.

Like one of those popular girls who got nominated for everything (Best Hair, Most Likely to Succeed, Biggest Flirt, Best Pronunciation in Spanish Class), the categories in which this palette would dominate are…

Most Likely To Flatter Warm-Toned Tans
Most Likely To Dance From Dawn Till Dusk With a Minimum of Creasing and Fading
Most Likely To Be Mistaken for a Dior Quint
Most Likely To Mix It Up (as in mixing colors to create your own custom shades, which I’ve been doing a lot with this palette and really liking my results)
Most Likely To Be the Palette That Melts Your Makeup-Loving Heart This Summer

Inside are four shimmery powder shadows — three golden shades (a rose gold, copper gold and a pale gold) and a plummy chocolate brown — and a creamy plum liner, all of which work together as well as root beer and vanilla ice cream.

Clarins Splendours Colour Quartet Eye liner Palette Swatches — Swatches from the left: the powder eyeshadows in pale gold, pinkish gold, coppery gold and chocolate brown; and the cream liner in plum

For day, go casual with a single wash of color over your lids (or mix two of the shadows together), and line your lash lines with the soft, smudgy liner.

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A Bit o’ Bobbi and Gray Makes for a MAC Rainy Season: The $40 MAC Rainy Season Eye Shadow X 4 Quad

June 5th, 2013 by Karen 20 Comments

Like a freak summer thunderstorm, MAC’s $40 Rainy Season Eye Shadow X4 quad might seem a little out of place this time of year, but it sure is practical. I’ll give it that.

Maybe it’s the combination of conservative cool and warm-toned grays, but there’s something very Bobbi Brown about it, I think.

And what the Rainy Season Eye Shadow X 4 quad might actually look like in the rain…

It’s hard to go wrong with shades like these. They’re useful — especially for soft cat eyes, mrrrow! — but useful doesn’t always set my world on fire, if you know what I mean.

Will I look back in five years, sigh wistfully with a tear in my eye and say something like, “Remember the Rainy Season quad from the MAC All About Orange collection? Gosh, that one sure rocked my world.”

Um…probably not.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I do.

Like it, that is.

MAC Rainy Season Eye Shadow X 4 Swatches — Swatches from the left: Rainy Season (a light warm gray frost with a Satin finish), Arctic Grey (a mid-toned gray with a Frost finish), Courtly Grey (a cool gray with a Matte finish) and Typographic (an asphalt black with a Matte 2 finish)

I get why it was included with the orange lip and cheek products in All About Orange, but…ya know. Fine.

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Is the Summery Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette Flexible Enough for Fickle Feline Enthusiasts/Makeup Lovers?

May 22nd, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

I’m equal parts enthralled and dismayed that there’s a TV show called America’s Worst Tattoos.

My mind wanders when it’s on…drifting like an asteroid in the Kuiper belt, but then I start to feel guilty for watching it, because I know that I should probably be doing something productive instead, maybe reading something more substantial, like The Grapes of Wrath or For Whom the Bell Tolls or Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret.

But I have learned one or two things from the show, like that there is A LOT of tattoo regret out there, and that because of my fickle nature, I should restrict myself to tattoos of the temporary Cracker Jack variety.

I’m way, waaaaaay too fickle for permanent ink.

Even if I went with something safe, like a picture of Tabs, how would I decide which one?? A single pic of Tabs to stare at for all eternity? But…he has so many good looks.

T-Money insists on being hand fed at snack time

As an example of my fickleness, I can’t decide whether I prefer the powder eye shadows in the new Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette more when they’re applied wet or when they’re applied dry.

I like both ways for different reasons.

Flexible like WHOA!

Smashbox designed this palette of 10 warm and neutral summer shades to be worn wet or dry. A big WHOOP-WHOOP for that, right?

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