Palettes

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Highlighting Eyeshadow Palette Vol III

September 8th, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

tarte rainforest of the sea vol iii — The Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Vol. III palette

I’ve always been intrigued and a little bit confused by the name of Tarte’s “Rainforest of the Sea” palettes.

Because it’s a little confusing, right? I picture a rainforest literally emerging from the sea like an Amazonian Atlantis, or something from a kids cartoon.

There’s absolutely no way sober people came up with it.

Tarte’s latest color canopy, the Rainforest of the Sea Volume III Palette, is available now for $36.

Yup, they made a third one!

I don’t know if you remember the second one, but I thought it was epic. EPIC.

I never tried the first Rainforest of the Sea palette (my friend Jessica reviewed it for MBB), but I love the heck out of the second one and its beautiful, buttery, satiny blues and browns.

They’re to die for and so creamy. Easy to blend too.

tarte rainforest of the sea vol iii closeup — I see you, shimmer!

Volume III is more metal. It has seven high shine metallics and one matte beige. Like Volume II, the shadows are a super creamy combination of a powder and a cream, and they feel slightly bouncy, so you can practically blend them in yo’ sleep.

Or, when you’re half-awake because you didn’t get enough sleep, ha!

tarte rainforest of the sea vol iii k — I’m wearing Jewel and Rays mixed together on my lids, and Tiki in the crease. The lip is NARS Powermatte in Get It On topped with MAC Lipglass in Goldfinch. Cheeks are MAC Sunbasque Blush.

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The $32 Tarte Make Magic Happen Eyeshadow Palette

August 29th, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

tarte make magic happen palette 1 — Current palette crush: the Tarte Make Magic Happen Eyeshadow Palette, $32 and available meow!

This new Tarte eye palette is called Make Magic Happen…but I keep calling it Make Magic Mike 3 Happen, haha!

tarte make magic happen palette packaging — The limited-edition Tarte Make Magic (Mike) Happen Eye Palette, $32

“Amazonian clay eyeshadow palette featuring a magical, plush powder formula in 9 pigmented mattes & metallics to make you sparkle & shine EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.” –tarte.com

imagine (ivory)

abracadabra (copper)

charm (pink shimmer)

twinkle twinkle (gold)

enchantment (pale pink)

believe it (greige)

impress (slate)

fantasy (rose gold)

miracles (plum)

This palette must have powers, because every time I post a picture of it here or Instagram, I get lots of questions, like who makes that!? Why is it so effing gorgeous!? If I wear that, will Magic Mike/non-husky Channing Tatum show up in a leather thong!?

I totally get the attraction. I’m low-key obsessed with it too, which is why I keep taking pictures of it…

tarte make magic happen palette closeup — Hello, my pretty!

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Chanel Palette Essentielle: Fab, Facile Face Palettes for Dewy, Fresh-Faced Looks

August 16th, 2017 by Karen 16 Comments

chanel beige intense palette essentielle — Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense ($61)

Way to stay ahead of the curve, Team Chanel! The three new Chanel Palette Essentielles from the Travel Diary Fall 2017 Collection go against the grain of the “more is more” trend taking over the mainstream makeup world right now.

They strip face makeup down to the bare essentials — a cream concealer, cream blush and a cream highlighter. That’s it. As a makeup junkie who now wholeheartedly embraces minimal looks, I like it.

Travel Diary is Chanel’s LE fall collection, and it’s inspired by a California road trip that Chanel Makeup Designer Lucia Pica took with her friends up the California coast.

Based on these face palettes alone, even though I’ve also liked everything else I’ve tried from this collection, I can tell that Lucia totally gets me. I mean, did homegirl peek into my makeup bag?? Because these palettes are exactly the kind of palettes I’d want to bring if I were road-tripping.

chanel beige medium palette essentielle — Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Medium ($61)

There are three of them — a light, medium and darker option — and they’re all available now with the rest of the collection at Chanel counters and online.

Peach-toned concealer obliterates dark circles! NEWS AT 11!

There’s so much I love about these palettes, starting with the peach-toned concealer… It OBLITERATES dark circles. It’s brilliant.

I was a little concerned about the texture at first, because it feels dry — similar to Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which I’ve never had great luck with (looks heavy on my skin and settle into my lines), but this version looks much more natural. I can’t tell where the concealer stops and my skin begins.

chanel palette essentielle beige intense — I’m wearing Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense under my eyes and on my cheeks, the Chanel Road Movie quad also on my eyes, and Chanel Rouge Coco in Daylight on my lips.

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I’m Road-Trippin’ Over the Chanel Road Movie Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadow Palette

August 15th, 2017 by Karen 22 Comments

Holy highway, Thelma & Louise! I just realized that I don’t have a favorite road movie!

How’s that even possible? I’m such a movie fiend.

Oh, well. Thank you, Chanel Road Movie eyeshadow palette, for that realization.

Hmm… What about Speed starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves? It’s not really a road movie, but I love that cheesy classic (Thelma & Louise is another great one, of course).

Colors of the California coast

Road Movie ($61) is one of two limited edition quads in the Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection that were inspired by colors of the California coast, and I can definitely see the colors of the state along the coast between LA and Big Sur.

There are deep, oceanic navy blues and teals in this eye quad, but let’s get real — the water is usually darker, murkier and scarier than we ever see it in makeup, LOL!

The quad also has a satiny golden brown, which is a powder shadow version of Memory, the cream shadow in this collection, and a matte tan that looks like golden Cali sand.

chanel road movie eyeshadow palette — That’s Road Movie on my lids and lash lines, Chanel Palette Essentielle in Beige Intense (from the Travel Diary Fall Collection) on my cheeks, and Chanel Rouge Coco in Experimental on my lips (also from Travel Diary).

Packed with pigment

Powerful pigment isn’t the first thing I think when it comes to Chanel quads. The brand usually pulls back on the pigment — but not too much — which makes it easier for mere mortals like me to blend them and sheer out the edges. That’s one of the reasons I love Chanel shadows so much for everyday looks. They’re juuust pigmented enough.

This quad? Road Movie has Make Up For Ever-caliber color. The shadows are intensely pigmented, especially the blue and teal, but they’re still surprisingly easy to work with.

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Meet MAC Basic Bitch From the MAC Girls Collection and Her Posse of Plums and Grays

August 10th, 2017 by Karen 18 Comments

mac basic bitch palette — From the MAC Girls collection, the new Basic Bitch palette ($39.50)

OK, now, last time I checked, my sense of humor was more or less intact, but I dunno… Would you like to open your makeup bag and see a palette with the words “Basic Bitch” on it?

Eh, I wouldn’t.

I totally get that it’s supposed to be cheeky, but I’m not feelin’ that word (bitch). I guess I’m a Prissy Princess that way, ha!

Meet the other MAC Girls palettes!

Prissy Princess

Mischief Minx

Rockin’ Rebel

Fashion Fanatic

Power Hungry

Word bias aside, I like this palette more than I thought I would. For a smoky eye palette, performance-wise, it’s downright exceptional. In terms of fallout, which is usually my main concern when it comes to dark eyeshadows like these, I hardly see any — so little that I think you could do your foundation first and whip out the smokiest of smoky eyes while only having to flick away a few flecks here and there. It’s kind of amazing that way.

mac basic bitch palette k down — I’m wearing the palette on my eyes and cheeks. The lip is Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim Lipstick in My Favorite.

I like that MAC loaded it up with grays, plums and purples (there’s also a bit of black, too, though), and there isn’t an incredibly wide chasm among the colors in terms of contrast, if that makes any sense. Feathering out deep grays and plums like these is much easier than blending out dark, starker black and black-based shades, so these smoky shades are surprisingly wearable.

mac basic bitch swatches — MAC Basic Bitch swatches

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Meet MAC Prissy Princess From the MAC Girls Collection and Her Troupe of Tantalizing Taupes

August 7th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

mac prissy princess palette — MAC Prissy Princess, $39.50 and available now

I don’t identify at all with the name of this MAC Girls palette.

Prissy Princess? Come on! I don’t think I’m prissy, and I know I don’t act like a ?? princess. Although El Hub would probably beg to differ, LOL!

Now, if this had been called Punk Rock Princess, or Punk Princess? Hell, yeah, I’d claim that title in a heartbeat! 🙂

MAC Prissy Princess’s tantalizing types of taupe

OK, silly name aside, I like the colors in this palette, which is, in a manner of speaking, a meditation on taupe.

Satin Taupe, specifically.

Seriously, I could wear Satin Taupe almost every day, but I wouldn’t have to, thanks to MAC Prissy Princess, because it’s like someone started with a pan of Satin Taupe, and tweaked it in different ways.

So, we’ve mainly got a bunch of taupes that are complemented by cool and neutral browns, pink, a bit of gray and a sliver of silver.

It’s fab for cool AND warm skin tones

It looks like it’s designed for cool skin tones, right? But it isn’t as cool-toned as I thought. There isn’t that much gray in the mix, so I really do think that warm skin tones could rock it too.

mac prissy princess — Prissy Princess on my lids! I’m also wearing Lancôme Mosieur Big Liner and Mascara on my eyes, MAC Fleur Power on my cheeks and Nudestix Saint Matte Lipstick on my lips.

If you’ve been reading MBB for a while, then you probably already know that 1) my cat is a world-renowned kitty supermodel, and 2) I believe that cool-toned taupes and browns can totally flatter warm skin tones.

For me, it’s all about the crease, and mine isn’t deep, so I wear cool browns and taupes to play with light and shadow on my lids and create the illusion of a deeper-set eye.

Meet the MAC Girls palettes!

Mischief Minx

Rockin’ Rebel

Fashion Fanatic

Power Hungry

Great blending

Just like the shadows in Mischief Minx, Rockin’ Rebel and Fashion Forward, these are easy to paint with, and easy to blend into each other and other shadows, regardless of which finish we’re talking about.Most of the shadows in Prissy Princess are Satins and Mattes.

mac prissy princess swatches — Here are your swatches, your royal highness!

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Meet MAC Fashion Fanatic From the MAC Girls Collection and Her Plucky Purples and Pink

August 4th, 2017 by Karen 4 Comments

mac girls fashion fanatic review — She’s a Fashion Fanatic, i.e. she doesn’t have baby food on her clothes.

I hope “MAC Fashion Fanatic” applies to all the ladies who live in black leggings, because that’s as fashionable as I get these days, haha!

mac fashion fanatic swatches — Swatchezzzzz

It’s one of the six in the MAC Girls collection, which is on counters now. It’s $39.50, and it’s the fun one! There’s a bright reddish pink and two punchy purples, and the brights are front and center.

But there are also wearable shades, too. There are peaches, taupes, beige, a gorgeous silvery, peachy taupe and a sheer dark plummy brown.

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Meet MAC Mischief Minx From the MAC Girls Collection and Her Bevy of Bewitching Warm Browns

August 3rd, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

Could the leopard print on the new MAC Mischief Minx palette be any more cat lady? ?

MEOW.

You wanna know what’s even more cat lady, though? I keep calling it “Mischief Manx.”

I would say, “why?!” to this, but we all know why… (It’s because I’m obsessed with cats.)

Mischief Minx is from the new MAC Girls collection, which is available meow, by the way. It’s up on the MAC website and on counters at select MAC locations, which basically means all over the place, but we’re not sure exactly where, so you should probably give your local counter a quick call if you’re interested, just in case.

It’s one of the six $39.50 palettes in the launch, each of which has eight powder eyeshadows in it and one highlighter.

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