Product Reviews

The Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 Collection: For Ladies (and Lords) Who Love Luminous Looks

February 8th, 2016 by Karen 20 Comments

You know what? Eff it! Let’s play hooky this afternoon. Whatdya say?

COME ON! Let’s do it. 🙂 The sun’s out; we could drive into the city, go to the Japanese Tea Gardens, walk around, check out the cherry blossoms, have a cup of tea and watch the pink petals glide in the wind… Doesn’t that sound nice?

I would love that, actually, and by the way, I’ll be wearing the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection, because this collection is all about that laid-back spring lifestyle.

No, not like you’re hiking up a mountain or, like, parasailing or doing X games. More like just enjoying a sunny day outside at the park, or kicking it in the city with your girlfriends.

guerlain spring glow 2016 packaging — Highlights from the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection…

guerlain spring glow 2016 — A few pieces from the Guerlain Spring Glow 2016 collection

[Continue reading…]

Good to the Very Last Drop: Essential-C Day Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF 30 | PA+++

January 25th, 2016 by Karen 22 Comments

Stick-to-itiveness. That’s what I don’t have when it comes to a lot of beauty products.

OK, I TRY A LOT OF BEAUTY PRODUCTS, ALRIGHT!? And it’s rare when I stick with one thing long enough to finish it, but that’s what I did with this sunscreen by Murad. It’s called Essential-C Day Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF 30 | PA+++, and it carried me through completely different climates and seasons. I started wearing it in the summer when we were having hella 90-degree days, then wore it through the fall and well into winter.

And back when it was still warm here, I was spending a lot of time outside — lots of walking and working out — and when I wore this, it stayed where it belonged. It would never, like… You know how some sunscreens get into your eyes and STING when you start sweating? Not this stuff. It stays put, and the SPF certainly appears to have worked, because I tan easily — my skin picks up color after just few minutes outside — but this year I didn’t tan as much as I usually do.

I wish it wasn’t $60 for a 1.7-oz. tube, but at least it lasted six months, and that’s with me using it every day. It’s just a lovely, dependable sunscreen with UVA/UVB protection and antioxidants that are supposed to soothe stressed out skin and help with firmness and hyperpigmentation.

I didn’t really pay close attention to those things while I used it… I probably could/should have tracked my progress by taking pictures of my skin every few days, but I can confidently say that the hyperpigmentnation on my upper cheeks hasn’t gotten worse.

murad-essential-c-day-moisture-3-final — Active ingredients: Octinoxate 7.5%, Homosalate 6.5%, Octisalate 5%, Avobenzone 3%, Oxybenzone 2%

[Continue reading…]

Yeah, It’s Time to Highlight These Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powders

January 22nd, 2016 by Karen 19 Comments

Whenever I think of Hourglass makeup, I think of elegance…refinement…and makeup that’s friggin’ beautiful, and their four new $38 Ambient Strobe Lighting Powders evoke the living daylights out of all three of those things (I also talk about them briefly in this 5 Things I’m Loving Lately video).

To me, this is highlighting done so incredibly right.

hourglass ambient strobe lighting powder 2 — The four new Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powders

hourglass ambient strobe lighting powder brilliant — Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Brilliant Strobe Light

I admit it: I get persnickety sometimes about my powder highlighters because, ya know, when you’re a woman of a certain age, the metallic ones? — even though they’re lovely, dramatic and ever-so eye-catching, they can also be a bear to work with when the frosty flecks go snorkeling in your pores and fine lines, and they end up highlighting all the stuff that you actually didn’t want to highlight at all…

hourglass ambient strobe lighting powder euphoric — Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder in Euphoric Strobe Light

[Continue reading…]

Dew You Want Glowing Skin? If You Dew, Try New BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation

January 18th, 2016 by Karen 18 Comments

Do we like new BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation? Yes, yes we dew-y. Because — oh, my goodness! — the finish is so dewy and so glowing that I’m crediting it for almost singlehandedly lifting me out of my mid-winter funk and propelling me toward summer.

Aqua Luminous is the latest foundation in BECCA’s permanent line and, as you can probably tell from its name, it’s one of those thin, serum-like foundations with a watery consistency that have been muy popular at the moment.

Typical of foundations with this kind of formula, it comes in a glass bottle with a dropper, but BECCA tweaked that idea a little by giving this one a special cap. When you twist it, a button pops up in the middle, and pressing it dispenses the product from the dropper.

Ooh! Fancy!

[Continue reading…]

Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Escalator Mascara Takes Your Lashes to Jurassic Levels

January 15th, 2016 by Karen 12 Comments

Because…DINOSAURS.

I have this theory that if you want something to be more awesome, stick a dinosaur on it. Or in it. Whether it’s a movie, a lunchbox or, in this case, a mascara…although the dinosaurs don’t have much to do with the lash lengthening, curling and separating properties of $25 Too Cool for School Dinoplatz Escalator Mascara.

They do, however, enhance the experience… Because they’re cute. 🙂

[Continue reading…]

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer

January 12th, 2016 by Karen 29 Comments

Let me tell you what happens when you’re addicted to sugar, and all of a sudden you can’t have it in the morning, and you’re hella pregnant.

You get fixated on things, like eating a plate of beignets and drinking a latte, and that becomes all you want in the world, and you can’t stop thinking about it.

And then there are the hallucinations, which are real and legit, I swear! Everywhere I look, I see sugary delights, even in the nifty tip on this new Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Concealer ($27).

[Continue reading…]

Urban Decay UD Gwen Stefani Collection Blush Palette, Lipsticks, Lip Pencils and Brow Box: Review and Observations

January 11th, 2016 by Karen 18 Comments

Wearing the UD Gwen Stefani Wonderland Lip Pencil and Lipstick, and the Blush Palette — Wearing the UD Gwen Stefani collection Blush Palette and Wonderland Lip Pencil and Lipstick

I could go on and on about my super fangirl crush on Gwen Stefani, but I think you and I have already done that dance before, haven’t we?

Yes, I love her — love her look, love her music, love her makeup, LOVE HER. (Note to self: consider dressing up Baby Girl as Gwen Stefani next Halloween, and try to find some red plaid baby pants, ASAP.)

Part two of the Urban Decay UD Gwen Stefani collection drops online tomorrow, and very soon at stores and counters, so grab your L.A.M.B. stilettos (the ones you can barely walk in but love anyways), and let’s do this. 🙂

Like she did with the eyeshadow palette from part one of the release, Gwen put together a selection of shades that she said she’d want to have with her in her makeup bag. I’ve been wearing the lipsticks and blush palette for the past few days, including that two-day birthing class I think I mentioned, and I think the stunt baby was impressed…

Chillin' with the scary stunt baby — Chillin’ with the scary stunt baby

Er, well…maybe not.

So which of these are worth your time?

UD Gwen Stefani Collection Blush Palette ($45)

ud gwen stefani blush palette — The UD Gwen Stefani Blush Palette

How cool is that packaging for the Blush Palette? I definitely think this one is worth considering, but ideally for lighter lords and ladies.

In the palette you get two powder blushes (a shimmery cool pink and a shimmery golden plum), three powder highlighters (a shimmery golden beige, shimmery peachy beige and an opalescent peachy pink) and a warm matte orangey brown powder bronzer, and while I like how soft the powders feel and how they last all day long, a couple of the colors look — how should I say this? — a tad wonky.

ud gwen stefani blush palette packaging — Packaging for the UD Gwen Stefani Blush Palette

[Continue reading…]

NARS Spring 2016 Collection First Impressions & Swatches

January 6th, 2016 by Karen 16 Comments

There’s a video review in this post, but if it’s not appearing, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.

Ya know, I never would have thought to wear icy mint with rose gold — never in a million years! — but because NARS is NARS, for some reason, they go together. Who knew?! I sure as heck didn’t.

I really appreciate how NARS gets me out of my usual color comfort zone, and it’s their unexpected color combos that I think make their seasonal collections some of the most interesting ones around.

This year for spring 2016 we get a small, succinct NARS launch of nine products — about half of them eye products, half lips products, and a powder blush — mostly in sweet rosy and beige tones.

There’s also that icy mint up in the mix and a shimmery blue for a fun, springy touch.

I tried something a little different with this video by filming my first impressions as I use each of the products.

Um…please excuse mah crazy hair! It’s been raining cats and kittens here in NorCal this week, and I haven’t wanted to bother, LOL!

The NARS Spring 2016 Nouvelle Vogue collection…

Tarvos Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow, an icy mint ($29)
Cressida Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow, a shimmering midnight blue ($29)
Kari Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow, a soft rosy pink ($29)
Hammamet Duo Eyeshadow, a matte beige and a bronze rose ($35, limited edition)
Impassioned Blush, a pink orchid ($30)
Instant Crash Lip Gloss, a soft shimmering apricot ($26, limited edition)
Vida Loca Lip Gloss, a guava ($26, limited edition)
Rosecliff Lipsticks, a soft rose ($28)
Banned Red Lipstick, a mulled wine ($28)
Available January 15 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and February 1 at NARS counters

As always, thank you for watching!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen