Product Reviews

The MAC Wash and Dry Collection Technakohl Liners: This Time Around, Practice Made a Perfect Blue

May 4th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

So. Much. Yes!

Rarely does a liner sweep me off my feet.

I think the last one was MAC Costa Riche. Or was it was BECCA Cabrera…? I’m pretty sure it was one of those two.

Whenever it happens, since it doesn’t happen very often, I almost immediately panic a little. One of my first thoughts is usually along the lines of, “How am I going to function when I wear this down to a nub, which I’ll most certainly do?” Or, how much am I going to freak-the-eff out when I can’t find one of my backups? Because let’s be real — if it’s that good, I’m probably getting a backup. Or two. OK, three.

Seriously, though, I think MAC’s new Technakohl Liner in Practice Makes Perfect is…well, perfect. They should have just called it Perfect and cut out any confusion. I think it’s just about perfect in every single way.

It’s a deep, rich, intensely pigmented bluish green pencil liner with a twist-up tip. Fab for lash lines, of course, but I love, love, LOVE it on my water lines (especially the lower water lines). I think it does wonders for browns eyes, in particular, and I swear mine look more milk chocolatey when I wear it.

It’s fairly no-fuss, too. Compared to some blue liners, where I feel like I have to apply four or five layers to ramp up the intensity to a decent level, I just use two layers of this and I’m good.

On top of that, it’s incredibly smooth and doesn’t migrate or make my sensitive eyes water. I usually reapply after about five hours to freshen it up, which isn’t bad, and even then I’m only adding a little.

Ooh! — the color goes really well with blue, green and khaki clothing (and accessories), and I bet it would also complement gold shadows and golden brown shadows nicely, too.

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Lustrous Lips Are a Lipglass Away With the MAC Wash and Dry Collection

May 1st, 2015 by Karen 18 Comments

Boy howdy! These new MAC Wash and Dry Lipglasses will make you tumble dry into some seriously high heat!

Honestly…what does that even mean? I think I might be scraping the bottom of the barrel for new laundromat references. I mean, one can only make so many before they’re tapped.

Laundromats and makeup — leave it to MAC to come up with something crazy like that.

mac wash and dry collection lipglass — The four MAC Wash and Dry Lipglasses from the left: Girl on Board, Laundry List, Hot/Cold and Domestic Diva

There are four $16.50 Lipglasses in the new MAC Wash and Dry collection, and all I have to say about them is this: “Hello, brights!” I would happily roll in the haaay with the three vivid shades. Bronzed beauties, in particular, will probably like bright creamy orange Laundry List (like a glossy version MAC Morange Lipstick), creamy true red Hot/Cold and shimmery pink Domestic Diva. Spreadable like butter, they apply easily and evenly on my lips, but I do feel like the red and orange shades benefit from the help of a lip brush, because they’re hella pigmented.

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The MAC Wash and Dry Collection Lipsticks: Helping Lips Look Lovely While Cleaning Up Their Act

May 1st, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Oh, yeah, it’s about to get sudsy in here!!

Wait — what do you mean you don’t have any quarters?

None?? Not even one quarter…?

Who shows up to a laundromat without any quarters?

LOL! I’m just kidding. 🙂 That’s alright. I brought enough quarters for both of us. Have a seat here next to me, and we’ll contemplate the four lipsticks from the new MAC Wash and Dry collection while we wait for our laundry to finish.

Steam Heat: This vivid yellowish red hangs tough from the moment you put it on until the end of the final rinse cycle. And shoot, it doesn’t stop there. In other words, it lasts a really long time — like six, or maybe even seven hours, but that’s only if you can manage to resist that bag of Trader Joe’s cheese puffs in the closet, which is to say that it doesn’t last through meals.

I swear…whenever I open one of those bags of cheese puffs, it is physically impossible to NOT eat at least half the bag in one sitting.

But I digress…

Tumble Dry: Almost better than that moment when you realize that your last load of laundry is done, hurray! This warm-toned light peachy coral nude with soft shimmer is very easy to wear and moisturizing. Sheer enough to allow my natural lip color to peek through, it still packs enough pigment to make an impression.

It’s a perfect summery shade.

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MAC Wash and Dry Collection High-Light Powder in Freshen Up: Before and After

April 30th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

In less time than it takes to throw a load of delicates in the wash (read: very little time; i.e. super fast), you can “freshen up” your cheekbones with MAC Freshen Up, the brand’s newest highlighting powder, coming soon as part of the Wash and Dry collection.

So, what’s the 411 on Freshen Up?

It’s a limited edition warm-toned highlighter housing three satiny shades in one pan — a deep pinkish coral, a peachy coral and a yellow gold. Bust it out to add shimmer and shine to your skin. Interestingly, the shimmery golden overspray that coats the entire pan sticks around for a surprisingly long time — this, compared to other oversprays that seem to vanish into thin air after a couple swipes. The shimmer dust here settles into the little holes and crevices in the pan’s design, so even after it looks like it’s all gone, my brush continues to pick up some of the shimmer.

How do you use it?

I sweep the powder on the high points of my face — my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, on my Cupid’s bow and just above my brow bone — where I want to catch the light. Wear the shades individually, like by loading a small tapered eye brush (like the MAC 266), and then applying, or use a fluffier blush or a highlighting brush to swirl all three colors together. In this pic, I’m wearing all of them swirled together.

(Note: if you’re a lighter lovely, you’ll probably also be able to use Freshen Up as a blush, too.)

How well does it work?

Here’s the deal: with more of a satiny sheen than the high-shine finish that many traditional highlighters have, these powders remind me of the Hourglass Ambients. It takes a second to realize, “Oh! Homegirl is wearing highlighter,” so they don’t reach out and slap ya silly, in other words.

It’s more like a gentle tap. LOL!
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Chanel Summer 2015 Collection Méditerranée: The Climate Calls for Elegantly Understated Lips With This Summer’s Rouge Coco Shines

April 28th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

chanel summer 2015 rouge coco — Three of the four Chanel Summer 2015 Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshines ($36 each)

According to my well-worn copy of the Makeup Handbook for Fancy and Expensive Yacht Vacations, the Chanel Summer 2015 Collection Rouge Coco Shines are all 100% approved for traipsing around the Mediterranean.

It’s mentioned right there on page 212 in the chapter on Chanel. These sheer, shiny lipsticks are in the “Do” column.

Um…you know that’s not actually a real book, right? — although I wish it was, because where else am I going to find out what to wear when Bey finally asks me to babysit? 🙂

In the Chanel Summer 2015 Collection, otherwise known as Collection Méditerranée, lips are slick, shiny and sheer thanks to four Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshines ($36).

The three shown here are re-promotes from the permanent line — golden pink Réveuse, shimmering violet Intrépide and pinkish coral Insoumise — while the fourth shade, coppery brown Amorosa, is limited edition.

If you’re new to the Rouge Coco Shines, they sure live up to their name, being hydrating, sheer and shiny at the same time. For me they last from 3-4 hours on my lips, depending on the particular shade, and have a barely-there rosy flavor and scent.

These three start out glossy (just shy of a mirror-like lipgloss shine), but fade to a soft satin over the course of about a half an hour.

How sheer each one is depends on the intensity of the color, with the mellower shades — Réveuse and Intrépide — being closer to traditional sheer lipsticks, where I can still see plenty of my natural lip color peeking through, while the deeper pinkish coral Insoumise is closer to medium coverage.

chanel summer 2015 insoumise — Rouge Coco Shine in Insoumise, a pinkish coral

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New From FLOWER Beauty: Lip Radiance High Shine Lip Lacquer Extremes, That’s So Kohl! Kohl Eyeliners and D.B. Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Cremes

April 21st, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

flower beauty spring 2015 — Look! Something’s blooming at FLOWER Beauty

I’m in the mood for a walk. Care to come with?

Ooh! I’ll take you to a beautiful garden… Have you heard of FLOWER Beauty? Don’t worry — you won’t need your allergy meds. The flowers there are actually some of the new products in Drew Barrymore’s affordable makeup line available exclusively at Walmart.

Now, before I go off on a Drew fangirl moment (I LOVE her)…

FLOWER Lip Radiance High Shine Lip Lacquer Extreme ($7.98 each)

These full-coverage, unflavored, unscented Lip Lacquers start out creamy and opaque but fade while you’re wearing them to a soft semi-matte stain. I can definitely feel them on my lips — the formula has the heft of a MAC Lipglass without the stickiness. They’re also paraben-, phthalate- and sulfate-free.

I’m totally in love with these… They’re pigmented, smooth, super comfy and bright, and still very natural-looking. I can’t believe they’re drugstore and less than $10 each (just $7.98)!

Available in five shades — Pink About Me, Give Peach a Chance, Cherry-O!, Autumn Rose and Classic Nude.

FLOWER D.B. Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Creme ($8.98 each)

flower daily brightening undereye — FLOWER D.B. Daily Brightening Undereye Cover Creme in DB3 and DB4, $8.98 each

I had high hopes for this rollerball-like concealer contraption. You’re supposed to roll it on your under-eye circles, where it leaves behind an illuminating full-coverage concealer that you then pat with fingers or a brush.

It sounded like fun!

And it is. I like the rollerball part of the equation… It feels great on my skin, but the concealer doesn’t wow me. It’s close to full coverage, but not quite there, and the formula’s a little on the dry side, so it settles into my fine lines.

I also can’t seem to find a good shade for me. I’ve tried two of the darker ones, and neither is anywhere near dark enough for my NC 42 skin.

Available in four shades — DB1, DB2, DB3 and DB4.
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With the Urban Decay Summer 2015 Ultimate Ozone Multipurpose Primer Pencil, Ozone Bulks Up

April 9th, 2015 by Karen 23 Comments

One thing’s clear about Urban Decay’s $20 Ultimate Ozone Multipurpose Primer Pencil — this handy husky wonder multitasks, and it handles some of its tasks better than others.

This here is basically a larger version of UD’s existing clear Ozone Lip Pencil, which many makeup lovers use for multiple purposes. It’s a clear-colored, unscented, unflavored multipurpose pencil with a silicone-like texture.

Have you ever tried Benefit’s dr. feelgood? It feels a lot like that — slippery and velvety — and did I mention it multitasks?

For instance, you can use it as a lip primer, where it helps keep your lipstick or gloss from wandering beyond your natural lip line, anchoring them down for extended wear time. Just trace and fill in your lips with Ozone first, and then layer your gloss and/or lipstick on top.

You can also use it as a makeup remover, by dabbing Ozone lightly over any mascara, eyeshadow or liquid liner boo-boos/mistakes, and then lifting any wayward flecks and bits away with a Q-tip.

Or, use it as a blurring face primer, by blending it all over and around fine lines and wrinkles.

First, I think it rocks as a lip primer. It makes my lipgloss last and stay put much longer than when I’m just left to my own devices without it (I’m a lip smacker/rubber, as you may already know if you’ve watched my YouTube videos… I know, I know. I’m trying to break the habit, but it’s so hard!).
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Urban Decay Summer 2015 Collection: Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush Has Boomchickawawa Written All Over It

April 7th, 2015 by Karen 41 Comments

Afterglow.

Like boomchickawawa!

In a pan.

But without the sweat and potentially awkward conversation.

And/or nakedness. 🙂

Yes! — Urban Decay’s new line of powder blush singles joins the permanent line on April 15 with the rest of the Urban Decay Summer 2015 Collection. The brand does already have a line of blush trios (which are called Naked Flushed), but these represent their first foray into The Land of Blush Singles in a while.

They’re $26 each and available in 12 shades, with the idea being that you put one of them on, and boom! — you look like you’ve been boomchickawawa-ing all day long, which would certainly burn a lot of calories, but I digress…

There are some neutrals here, as well as some crazy colors, but I think they’ll all be fairly wearable by beginners and full-on makeup divas with a capital “D.” And even the brighter colors, like bright purple Bittersweet and reddish orange Bang, are easy to blend out on my cheeks.

Unfortunately, there is a catch… They kick up a lot of powder, because the formula is super soft and airy, and very light. When I run a brush across one of the pan, the brush picks up and scoots around a lot of powder — more than when I use denser blushes by MAC or NARS.

So, on the one hand, you might make a little mess with these while you’re applying ’em, but on the other hand, they’re easy to blend. There are some things you can do to minimize the messiness factor, too, like, after swirling my brush in the pan, I’ll tap, tap, tap it firmly against the edge of the compact to unload every ounce of excess, and if that still isn’t enough, I’ll lightly blow on the brush head before bringing it to my cheeks.

urban decay afterglow blush — Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush ($26 each)

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